1

Information Systems Strategic

Management

1. Introduction to Strategic Management

2

Definitions of Strategy Strategy refers to the formulation of basic

organisational missions, purposes and objectives, policies and program strategies to achieve them; and the methods needed to ensure that strategies are implemented to achieve organisational ends. [Steiner and Miner (1977) Management Policy and Strategy]

Strategy formulation involves the interpretation of the environment and the development of consistent patterns in streams of organisational decisions. [Mintzberg (1979) The Structuring of Organisations]

Strategy is a broad based formula for how business is going to compete, what its goals should be, and what policies will be needed to carry out those goals. The essence of formulating competitive strategy is relating a company to its environment. [Porter (1980) Competitive Strategy]

3

Observations by Quinn and Mintzberg (1991) The Strategy

Process: There is no single, universally accepted definition of

strategy. There is no one best way to create strategy, nor is there

one best form of organisation. The world is full of contradictions and the effective strategist is one who can live with contradictions, learn to appreciate their causes and effects and reconcile them sufficiently for effective action.

No single model or theory can incorporate all the factors that influence major business decisions or all the possible combinations of these factors that could be faced. Nor can any anticipate the bizarre changes that occur in real world environments, or, even more important, the impacts of your own or others‘ creative innovations.

4

Strategic decisions are concerned with:

The scope of an organization's activities The matching of an organization's activities to its

environment The matching of an organization's activities to its

resource capability The allocation and reallocation of major resources in

an organization The values, expectations and goals of those

influencing strategy The direction in which an organization will move in

the long term Implications for change throughout the organization.

 Johnson and Scholes (1993) Exploring Corporate Strategy.

5

Definitions of Strategic Mgnt … a systematic approach to a major and increasingly

important responsibility of general management to position and relate the firm to its environment in a way which will assure its continued success and make it secure from surprises. [Ansoff (1990) Implanting Strategic Management]

…the decision process that aligns the organisation's internal capability with the opportunities and threats it faces in its environment. [Rowe et al. (1994) Strategic Management]

… is concerned with deciding on strategy and planning how that strategy is to be put into effect via: Strategic analysis Strategic choice Strategic implementation.

[Johnson and Scholes (1993) Exploring Corporate Strategy]

6

SM involves consistency of strategy across corporate

(corporate strategy), SBU (business strategy) and functional unit (functional strategy) levels

Major elements of strategic management: Strategic analysis (environment; expectations,

objectives, power and culture; and resources) Strategic choice (generation of options, evaluation of

options and selection of strategy) Strategy implementation (resource planning, organization

structure, people & systems) Factors that determine nature of strategic problems:

Nature of industry (products, markets, technologies) Nature of the organization (size, ownership, maturity,

etc.) Current circumstances (e.g. state of economy) Organization’s environment e.g. HR, culture, etc.

7

Short History of SP & Mgnt After WW2 (Western world), most businesses were small

and strategies issues were handled by the owner-manager or senior manager

1950s/60s - Expansion of org. size & business opportunities, necessitated systematic or formal ways of looking at the future, leading to long-term planning using formal-rational methods e.g. forecasting (the analytical school): Assumptions - organizations are purposeful, formal and

exist in an objective environment; strategists can be trained to respond to the future and complexity in a controlled manner; strategic planning involves following a set of sequential procedures & using formal models; there are no biases in SP process; etc.

1970s - realized that formal planning often lacked relevance, its resultant plans were often “buried” and strategic decisions were often taken outside the formal SP process

8

The pattern or process school Empirical studies showed formal/explicit strategies rarely

exist at the outset – strategic decisions are are rarely the result of planned moves

Recognizes that strategy emerges, on a trial-and-error basis, from a complex process. Successful actions are pursued while unsuccessful ones are discarded.

Outcome of the process of trial and reaction (i.e. strategy) = a set of resource commitments that reflects the competitive force acting on the organization & the needs and aspirations of those within it who have the power to commit resources

Early writers influencing this school were Quinn’s logical incrementalism – cautious step-by-step evolutionary process where executives muddle through with a purpose and Mintzberg who defined strategy as “a pattern in a stream of decisions” which enabled him to identify 3 types of strategies: deliberate, emergent and unrealized (after implementation)

School has evolved to have sophisticated perspectives of the process of strategic planning and its relationship to the context in which it takes place (outside the scope of this course)

9

The Strategic management Process

Pre-planning Activities Strategic planning Deployment Implementation Measurement and Evaluation

10

11

The Strategic Management Process: Another View

Environmental Scan

or SWOT

Emergent Strategies

Strategic Learning and

Strategic Thinking

OngoingStrategic Programming

Strategic GoalsAction Plans

Tactics

Deliberate/intended Strategies

Benchmarking

Gap Analysis

Strategic Issues

Mission/VisionOrganizations Philosophy

12

(a) Pre- Planning Activities

Preparing Senior Management for strategic Planning

Gathering data about the organization and assessing the current state of the organization

13

(b) Deployment Plan Completion

With assistance of other staffers to complete the objectives, strategies and action plans based on the strategic foundation

Plan Communication Publishing and distributing the plan

throughout the organization

14

(c) Implementation Resourcing the plan

Provision of the necessary resources (finance, staff, materials, equipment, info) for the implementation of the plan

Putting it into action Implementing the action plans Using the tactics

Managing the actions Implementing the controls Checking the performance indicators (PIs)

15

(d) Monitoring & Evaluation Monitoring the planned activities and status of

implementation and evaluating the achievement of targets is critical

Involves: collecting data (monitoring) analyzing and evaluating against targets communicating results making changes to the plan, if necessary

16

A View of Organizational Change

= D x V x P

Where:

D is Dissatisfaction with the status quoV is Vision for futureP is Practical next steps

17

Strategic Planning

18

Why do Strategic Planning? Creates a consensus of where an org. is going Basis of communicating to others in order to inform,

motivate & involve Ensures effective use of resources by focusing

resources on the key priorities Serves as a framework for decisions or for securing

support Enables monitoring of results & be accountable to… Assists in benchmarking, performance M&E Stimulates change & become building block for next

plan Without a plan, the only way you get where you are

going is by accident

Strategic Planning & Organizational Change

A process of developing and maintaining consistency or fit between an organization’s objectives and its resources and its changing ext. environ

The first step in initiating organizational change; An element of business process reengineering

Determining where an organization is going in future, how it will get there and how it will know if it got there

Part of strategic management process

20

Summary of Strategic PlanningStage Outputs

Where are we? External environmental analysis Internal environmental analysis

Where do we want to go?

New vision, mission & core values Strategic objectives

HOW do we get there?

Strategies Results and operational plans Required resources

What practical next steps must be made to get there?

Short-term budgets Short-term organizational,

managerial, HR, etc. decisions and

actions (“Quick Wins”)

How do we monitor & evaluate the plan?

M&E plan

21

What is a Vision? Possible definitions:

a. Answers the question: What will success look like in future?

b. A mental perception of the kind of environment is to be created within a broad time horizon

c. A shared image of what an org. wants to become – resonates with all & helps them feel proud, excited & part of something bigger…

Notes: Vision is more emotional than analytical – a

dream… It is the pursuit of the dream, share image of

success or shared perception of the future environment that really motivates people to work together

22

Characteristics of an effective vision: Imaginable: Conveys a picture of what the

future will look like Desirable: Appeals to the long-term interests

of employees, customers and stakeholders Feasible: Comprises realistic, attainable goals Focused: Is clear enough to provide guidance

in decision making Flexible: Is general enough to allow individual

initiative and alternative responses in light of changing conditions

Communicable: Is easy to communicate; can be successfully explained within five mins.

23

Examples of Visions: “Become the company most known for changing

the worldwide image of Japanese products as being of poor quality.” (Sony 1950s)

“An Apple on every desk” (CEO, Apple Computers)

“A word-class University committed to academic excellence and to transforming the lives of Kenyans and serving society with distinction” (University of Nairobi, Kenya)

“Georgia Southern University will be recognized as one of the best public comprehensive universities in the country within the next ten years (Georgia Southern University, USA)

24

What is a Mission?a. An elaboration of the vision statement

b. Defines the basic reasons for the existence and helps legitimize existence in society

c. Common intent to which everyone in the organization can point - captures the broad purpose and functions of the organization

Contents of a mission statement: Purpose statement – Why do we exist?

What is the ultimate result of our work?

Business statement – What activities do we do to accomplish the purpose?

25

Examples of Mission statements:

“A leading centre of learning, scholarship and professional development; extending the frontiers of knowledge through research and creative works; fostering an intellectual culture that bridges theory with practice; and producing holistic graduates prepared for a life of purpose, service and leadership” (University of Nairobi)

“To drive the integration of ICT in research and learning through quality, cost effective and efficient provision of ICT services and to be a key partner in the evolving information society” (Kenya Education and Research Network)

26

What are Guiding Values? Other names: core values, corporate

philosophy or guiding principles Definitions:

a. the corporate values which are the guiding principles for corporate actions and ethical behaviour, define the character of relations with stakeholders, and set management style and corporate culture

b. the organization’s essential and enduring tenets - a small set of timeless guiding principles that require no external justification

c. reflection of the deeply held values and tend to be independent of the external environment

27

CVs describe what organizational members: really care about hold dear makes them stick

One way to determine whether a value is a CV is to ask: “would this value continue to be supported if

circumstances changed?”

Examples of CVs: integrity fairness and justice excellent and friendly customer service team work innovation professionalism, etc

28

Integrating Vision, Mission, Guiding Values

Today

Future

VisionMissio

n

Guiding Values

29

Vision, Mission, Guiding Values Mission

Arrow connects Today and Future Means Mission statement must “work” not only

today but for the intended life of strategic plan Vision

Arrow does not begin at Today but at some point in the future

Means Vision statement is not true in the present, but only in the future

Guiding Values Both Vision and Mission statements “reside in a

sea of guiding values” – GVs influence everything

30

What is SWOT? S&W are realistic and objective appraisal of the

resources or capabilities that help (S) or deficiencies that hinder (W) an organization to accomplish its mission

O&T are ext. factors or situations that affect an org. in a favourable (O) or negative way (T)

SWOT usefulness: clarifies the conditions within which an

organization operates provides good indication of strategies – build

on S, take advantage of O & minimize the effects of W&T

N.B. If not addressed, W&T become S&O for others

31

Critical Questions after SWOT

O T

S How can X use its strengths to take advantage of the available opportunities?

How can X use its strengths to overcome the threats identified?

W What does X need to do to overcome the identified weaknesses in order to take advantage of the opportunities?

How will X minimize its weaknesses to overcome the identified threats?

32

What are Strategic Issues? A strategic issue (SI) is a fundamental challenge

affecting an organization’s mandate, mission, product, service delivery or clients

Identifying SIs or Overarching Issues enables an organization to focus on the key challenges or policy choices

SIs should be/are derived from SWOT analysis and consistent with the mission and vision

SIs are few Objectives, strategies and activities are

developed around strategic issues Vital for strategic issues to be dealt with

expeditiously & effectively for survival and prosperity

33

Importance of identifying SIs: Focuses attention on what is really important Emphasizes issues rather than answers Can create “useful tension” necessary for true

change Helps in identifying solutions

34

UON Strategic Issues

Teaching and learning Innovation, Research & Development and

Consultancy Governance, Leadership & Management Human resources Infrastructure, ICT and Library Services Partnerships and Linkages Finances Student welfare Image and social responsibility

35

What are Strategic Objectives? Definitions:

a. Broad statements about where the org. wants to be at some point in the future

b. Goals to be achieved within a period of x years in order to address the SIs and meet the vision and mission in the context of core values

c. The end state to be achieved – “sum total” of objectives = mission, vision

Note: Each strategic issue has preferably one or two

strategic objectives

36

What are Strategies? Strategies are statements

that set how the organization will achieve its objectives

They are the many ways to achieve objectives

Strategies define the alternatives selected by the organization

37

Strategic Issues - Objectives – Strategies: UON

Teaching and learning To offer innovative academic programmes with in-built quality

assurance. Review academic programmes to ensure relevance and applicability. Implement policies and practices designed to enhance the quality of

teaching and learning Review the examination procedures to create a more efficient evaluation

and certification system Strengthen and streamline postgraduate training and supervision

To nurture academic programmes to world class status. Competitively benchmark all academic programmes and prescribe world

class standards to be met by each academic programme. Provide budgetary support to programmes to meet the set standards

To actively promote diversified modes of delivery Encourage the use of technology in teaching. Promote and popularize open and distance education in all programmes.

38

Strategic Issues - Objectives – Strategies: UON

Innovation, Research & Development and Consultancy To create an enabling environment and policy

framework that promotes research, development and other value adding services

Develop and implement a Research Policy Expand opportunities for local, regional and international

exposure and participation in learned forums Mainstream consultancy into the core business of the University Establish links with both public and private sectors for purposes of

consultancy contracts New products deriving from Research

39

Strategic Issues - Objectives – Strategies: UON

Infrastructure, ICT and Library Services To provide and maintain adequate state of the art infrastructure that supports the

core functions of the university Strengthen University organs responsible for physical planning and development Prepare a mid term and long term master plan to guide future infrastructure development Formulate an appropriate infrastructure management and maintenance policy Provide modern and adequate equipment for teaching, learning, research and administration Develop library staff Develop and consolidate resource sharing through collaborative initiatives with other libraries Develop and implement a policy on security of people and facilities

To maximize student and staff productivity and service delivery, enhance teaching and learning and improve quality of research through ICT

Formulate and implementation an evolutionary ICT policy and strategy that is sensitive to emerging technologies and responds to changing needs and practices

Enhance skills to develop, implement, support and exploit ICT resources more effectively and efficiently

Provide quality network infrastructure and improve student and staff access to ICT resources in line with University priorities

Provide efficient and effective service delivery and support systems

40

Thank you