IBMGT Semester 1

• Adapting the organization to its business environment
• Providing direction
• Strategy formation (content) and strategy implementation (process)
• Is partially planned and unplanned
• Conducted on several levels: Overall corporate strategy and individual business strategies
• Involves conceptual and analytical thought processes
• Unstructured, non-repetitive responses

1. Planning View: Developed during a period of stability -> systematic process following a prescribed sequence of steps

2. Learning View: Emergent or adaptive process for businesses in rapidly changing sectors. Reacting to unexpected events and experimenting with new ideas on the ground.

3. Political View: Draws on the concept of bounded rationality and satisfying behavior. Not comprehensive/objective but a limited comparison of options which are restricted to being politically acceptable and possible to implement.

• TOWS Analysis
• Ansoff Matrix

• Porter:
  • Cost Leadership Strategy -> Offer low prices and minimize costs
  • Differentiation Strategy -> Offer a product that is perceived unique
  • Focus Strategy -> Target very specific segments of a market

• Internal Development (Organic growth)
• Strategic Alliances (External growth) (e.g. Joint Ventures, Networks (Star Alliance))

• Good interpersonal cooperation
• Bridging the gap between cultures
• Clear goals
• Mutual respect

• Rapid entry into new product or market areas
• Fast development of market shares
• Keeping up with a changing environment
• Avoidance of high development costs
• Getting know-how from specialized companies

• Fixed-Position Layout -> Product being procuded is massive and doesn't allow movement of material from process to process. Used for low-volume, project type operations. E.g. oil rig, football stadium
• Process Layout -> Appropriate for job shop and small batch operations systems.
• Product Layout -> Appropriate for mass production. Each component of a product is produced after one another in a line. Low unit costs but if one process fails, the whole line comes to a halt.
• Cell or Group Layout -> Appropriate for small- to medium batch operations. Modified form of the product layout.

• Financial: How does the organization act vs. the shareholders?
• Customer: How do the customers see the organization?
• Internal: What must the organization excel at?
• Innovation and learning: Can the organization continue to improve and create value?

Cyber-Physical Systems

1. Cybersecurity

2. Integration

3. Determining and managing business requirements

1. Finding a Vision/Existential Reason

2. Analyzing Environments (PESTEL, SWOT)

3. Planning & Developing Strategy (Ansoff, TOWS)

4. Implementing Strategy

5. Responding to Stakeholders (Sustainable Responsibility)

• Increasing Stakeholder Expectations
• Declining (Natural) Resources
• Radical Transparency

• Preservation of the whole
• Co-preservation
• Self-preservation

Common professional skills e.g. production, finance, marketing, IT

Advantages:

-simple and comprehensive structure

-departments are well defined and easily controllable

Disadvantages:

-many interfaces between departments create a lot of problems with coordination

-risk of department egoism

-risk of overspecialization

Grouped into products, customers groups or geography

Each division has its own production, marketing, finance etc.

Advantages:

-staff focus on product and customer needs

-dedicated facilities meet customer needs quickly (flexibility)

-divisions are highly motivated and can easily be evaluated

Disadvantages:

-divisions are isolated from wider professional and technical development of the whole company

-more line manager positions and central services necessary

-divisions can become too independent

Grouped into functional groups where subordinates have 2 bosses

Advantages:

-integrated knowledge

-flexible structure according to customer needs

-staff gain variety of work experience

Disadvantage:

-length of time to make decisions because of bargaining between the manager of different dimensions

-unclear job and task responsibilities

-unclear cost and profit responsibilities

Organizations as broker between independent units

Companies remain independent but agree to collaborate with each other (general contractors)

Advantages:

-broad access to contacts

-specialized knowledge

-cost efficiency (less staff needed)

Disadvantages:

-decentralized knowledge

-division of responsibilities

-strong leadership and coordination required

Organization as a broker between independent units

Management delegates significant responsibility and authority to an identifiable team which is then accountable for results

Advantages:

-decision making process is filtered down to each member of the team

-multiple competencies in the teams

-solving of complex issues

Disadvantages:

-value team performance over individual performance

-decentralized -> can lead to coordination and control issues

-team often of temporary nature

• No universally accepted definition
• Switzerland & EU: less than 250 employees

• import and export their products and services
• don't invest outside of home country

• managed from home country (major decision are made in home county)
• significant production and marketing operations spread in different countries
• E.g.: Toyota, General Electric

• operates in many countries
• delegates many decisions to local managers

• operates in many countries
• production/service processes are in many global locations
• E.g.: Novartis

• Mostly SMEs that seek to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and sale of outputs in multiple countries
• E.g: Google, Skype

• well-established organization which now focuses on rapid internationalization

A company reaches a competitive advantage if it is able to perform at a higher level than other in the same industry or market through its resources and capabilities (core competencies)

• export & import
• off-shoring
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• Licensing
• franchising
• joint venture