Business Studies
Discussion must be in current APA format and must include a reference list. Reference sample make sure to include DOI-Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Psychology & Marketing, 23(2), 161-180. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20105 There needs to be 2 scholarly references (2017-2022) and 1 biblical references from the King James bible in the paper Minimum of 275 words in the body Minimum of 2 sources from the literature in addition to course texts Current APA format must be used. Content must include: • Summary of the author’s Thread – no less than 150 words • What you agreed with, did not agree with and why – no less than 125 words • Support your factual assertions with citations.
Discussion to Reply to:
Effective Execution, Design / Focus, and Decision Traps
Thinking deliberately and making key decisions leads to developing strategies. Because the choices you make are influenced directly by your decision models, understanding them is essential. This discussion reviews steps for effectively executing strategy. Broadly, they include preparation, resources, policies and procedures, management programs, communication and operations, relating rewards to objectives, sustaining culture, and internal leadership. Without clarity on defining a strategic problem versus understanding what makes standard operating problems, a company cannot bring the organization closer to its strategic goals. Therefore, we explore the necessity of separating strategic decisions from managerial and operational decisions. During the discernment process there are potential decision-making traps to avoid which we review in our third section. Tying all three components together in a conclusion leads into the annotated bibliography of two articles cited herein.
Process of Effectively Executing Strategy
While strategy execution requires team effort, Gamble et al. (2021) summarized the process of effectively executing strategy in eight steps. The base preparation requires setting up an organization capable of executing the strategy effectively by using the right people, structure, and capabilities. Without a similar framework of success, efforts cannot build towards achievement. Next, providing adequate resources for activities critical to the strategy is required of the organization. Gamble et al. warned, without dedicating sufficient capital, time, and assets, strategic efforts will remain unfulfilled. Their model also required policy and procedure development to facilitate, rather than hinder, effective execution of strategies, because corporate guidelines can impede progress if there are too many barriers to acting. However, according to Gamble et al. this can be avoided by enhancing the way strategy execution activities are conducted through the adoption of process management programs. Process management provides guidance to employees and managers on how to accomplish strategies in a manner consistent with the organization’s culture. Chen (2020) linked culture, strategy, and execution for business success. Process management includes providing essential information and operating systems to company employees to keep them informed on progress and ensure the proper tools are available. Encouraging behavior that fits within the culture of the organization can be enhanced by a corporate culture promoting the execution of strategy by tying rewards directly to the achievement of performance objectives (Gamble et al., 2021). Incentives to accomplish strategic goals may be a new approach for many employees, but one they will quickly embrace. Finally, implementation needs to be continually driven by internal leadership resulting in organizational buy-in to work collaboratively and achieve the strategic vision. By encouraging adoption of steps like these, organizations create a powerful framework for strategy implementation and execution (Chen, 2020; Gamble et al., 2021). However, it is important to understand the difference between strategic and operational problem solving.
The Power of Design versus the Power of Focus
Strategic decision making addresses the power of designing a program whose execution will lead to strategic success. This contracts with striving to solve operational or management problems. Understanding the difference is key for designing an effective strategy. Intentional thinking relies on key decisions necessary for making strategy choices. Leiblein et al. (2018) proposed strategic decisions included unique characteristics that are typically interdependent of other simultaneous decisions, interdependent of the decisions by other parties in the decision-making space, and the necessity to segregate strategic management decisions from those decisions make in the support activities of finance, marketing, or human resource management. Another important consideration is that strategy often involves complex problems and therefore often requires group approaches to determine the problem and the employment of group problem-solving processes (Nickerson & Argyres, 2018, as cited in Leiblein et al., 2018). Leiblein et al. (2018) stressed arriving at an agreed upon definition of strategy was necessary before a group can develop good strategy. Also for consideration are the types of non-strategic decisions (e.g., programmatic, repetitious, or exaggerated) which are not strategic at their core but often mistaken and promoted as such. This contrasts to sometimes missing standard, hidden, and process driven decisions which do have strategic implications (Lovallo & Sibony, 2018, as cited in Leiblein et al., 2022). By identifying true strategic problems, efforts to execute the resulting strategy moves the organization closer to its strategic vision. However, when framing strategic problems and choosing solutions, it is imperative to avoid certain types of decision traps.
Decision Traps to Avoid
Hammond et al. (1998) identified several traps in decision making that impede good outcomes. They included anchoring (i.e., accepting given information as the preferred option rather than questioning perspectives), accepting a status quo rather that utilizing independent judgement, sunk cost decision making in which you effectively continue to invest resources into a decision because you don’t want to have wasted the resources applied in your original decision to use that path, confirming evidence (i.e., basing your decision on the decisions of others which fit your assumptions), and failure to frame the decision question to ensure the problem you are trying to solve is in proper context for a successful outcome. Hammond et al. continued to identify additional decision traps including overconfidence, relying on inexact forecasts or estimates, and exercising an overabundance of caution which leads to stagnation. While we are called to design and execute successful strategies, we must avoid strategic decision-making traps which would hamper the outcome or lead to inaction.
Conclusion
Three aspects of strategic planning were included in this discussion. First, we reviewed a comprehensive process to effectively execute strategy when the organization develops the structure, people, and capabilities, assigns resources, enacts policies and procedures, implements management programs, information, and operating systems, ties rewards, fostered corporate culture and impelled internal leadership to strategic objectives. Next, we evaluated how strategic decisions can be confused with operational or management decisions. The way of avoiding this is to ensure the organization evaluates the questions and problems in the light of strategic thinking. Finally, we examined decision-making traps that can divert effective strategic thinking and allow leaders to arrive at decisions that will not being them closer to their strategic visions. Organizations implementing strategic plans enhance their likelihood of success by avoiding decision traps, framing problems as strategic choices, and following a comprehensive program to effectively execute strategy.
ANSWER
Discussion Reply 2 770
Strategy is important for the success of any organization. Strategy execution requires team effort and thus, the importance of following several steps to ensure that the strategy is effectively executed. The first step to executing a strategy effectively is visualizing the strategy, this simply means understanding the strategy, how to improve the strategy, and how each step relates to the next. The next step is to measure the strategy (Thompson et al., 2021). This means the key elements should be understood and organized into a balanced scorecard so that all the members of the team can determine if progress is being made toward executing the strategy. Communication is also important in ensuring that there is a successful execution of strategy. Communicating the strategy with the team will ensure that the members of the team understand the strategy and ensure that they are also kept in the loop on the goal and what one hopes to achieve with the strategy.
I agree that there are decision traps that need to be avoided in effectively executing strategy. It is easy to accept the preferred option by the team because one does not want to make the team feel left out. However, it is important to think about perspective. It is also important to utilize independent judgments instead of the status quo. Sometimes following what the crowd says sir wing and thus as the team leader one should focus on looking at the idea that makes the most sense rather than the one that is most popular with the team members. According to the Bible in Romans 12:2, one should not conform to the word but be transformed by the renewal of their mind. Therefore, through discernment leaders should make the best judgment based on the best perspective for the strategy.
References
King James Bible
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., & Gamble, J. E. (2021). Crafting and executing strategy. McGraw-Hill US Higher Ed USE.
