General Discussion

Paper details:

In the past, many business leaders led by blunt authority, relying heavily on the power of their positions to motivate their employees. This authoritarian leadership style rarely produces top results in today’s business climate. Instead, modern business leaders seek to inspire loyalty and hard work in their employees by modeling these behaviors themselves.

This week, you will continue to explore concepts related to “organic growth” strategies, focusing on effective leadership as a key element of successful implementation of strategy in general.

Review the Learning Outcomes for this week, and based on those objectives and your analysis of the readings and video segment, respond to either “a” or “b” below, making direct references to several of the week’s required or optional readings:

a. Identify the major internal elements that shape business strategy options and performance for a selected business with which you are familiar.

b. Outline general issues of culture and leadership, as they affect strategy formation and implementation. Use the example of a selected business with which you are familiar.

Note: Be sure to read the special posting and response guidelines below.

Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and any additional sources.

Course Text: The Road to Organic Growth: How Great Companies Consistently Grow Marketshare From Within

Chapter 6, “Measure Everything”

Chapter 7, “Build a People Pipeline”

Chapter 8, “Leaders: Humble, Passionate, Focused Operators”

Chapter 9, “Be an Execution and Technology Champion”

Epilogue

SWOT Analysis II:
Looking Inside for
Strengths and Weaknesses
Excerpted from
Strategy:
Create and Implement the Best Strategy for Your Business
Harvard Business School Press
Boston, Massachusetts
ISBN-10: 1-4221-0553-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-4221-0553-5
5535BC
This document is authorized for use only in Business Administration by Angela Montgomery, Laureate Education – Baltimore from September 2015 to March 2016.
Copyright 2006 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
This chapter was originally published as chapter 2 of
Strategy,
copyright 2005 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
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This document is authorized for use only in Business Administration by Angela Montgomery, Laureate Education – Baltimore from September 2015 to March 2016.
SWOT Analysis II
Key Topics Covered in This Chapter
•
Identifying and assessing core competencies
•
Understanding your financial capacity for
undertaking a new strategy
•
Evaluating management and organizational
culture in terms of change-readiness
•
A nine-step method for evaluating strengths
and weaknesses
Looking Inside for Strengths and Weaknesses
2
This document is authorized for use only in Business Administration by Angela Montgomery, Laureate Education – Baltimore from September 2015 to March 2016.
H
aving tested the
outer world for threats and
opportunities, strategists must look inward and eval-
uate their strengths and weaknesses as an enterprise.
As with the outer world, knowledge of the inner world imparts a
practical sense about what company goals and strategies are most fea-
sible and promising.
What are a company or unit’s strengths and weaknesses? The
cost structure of its operations is one place to look for answers. An-
other is the company’s brands. Are they powerful and capable of ex-
tending the organization’s reach into the marketplace? How about its
pipeline of R&D projects, and the acumen of its employees?
There is much to be considered in an internal analysis. This
chapter addresses three of the most important areas in which a com-
pany’s strengths and weaknesses should be evaluated: core compe-
tencies and processes, financial condition, and management and
culture. It then presents a method you can use for conducting your
evaluations.
Core Competencies
A core competence is a potential foundation for any new or revised
strategy. The term
core competency
refers to a company’s expertise or
skills in key areas that directly produce superior performance. One of
Sony’s core competencies, for example, is its ability to unite micro-
electronics and innovative design in a stream of useful consumer
This document is authorized for use only in Business Administration by Angela Montgomery, Laureate Education – Baltimore from September 2015 to March 2016.