Business Mission Research Articles

Understanding the link between knowledge management and firm performance: articulating and codifying critical knowledge areas

The concept of dynamic capabilities is quantified in the context of strategic decision-making. Specifically, it is how business mission and value proposition formulation process, along with Knowledge Management (KM) infrastructure, help managers to create and develop dynamic capabilities by articulating and codifying relevant or critical knowledge configurations to the organisation's domain. Five constructs are proposed in a sequential way in order to capture the effectiveness of the key enabling processes that drive reconfiguration (sensing the environment, learning, coordinating, and integrating resources, respectively). A model that links reconfigurability in knowledge resource combinations and firm performance is developed, which is mediated by functional competencies (capability and value creation differentials). The model is tested in the information technology industry in Spain with 107 managers. The paper draws implications for understanding the nature and valuable role of dynamic capabilities, and how these may provide a missing link to the strategic role of knowledge.

Risk Analysis and Risk Management

Risk management is the process that allows business managers to balance operational and economic costs of protective measures and achieve gains in mission capability by protecting business processes that support the business objectives or mission of the enterprise. Senior management must ensure that the enterprise has the capabilities needed to accomplish its mission. Most organizations have tight budgets for security. To get the best bang for the security buck, management needs a process to determine spending.

Risk Analysis and Risk Management

Risk management is the process that allows business managers to balance operational and economic costs of protective measures and achieve gains in mission capability by protecting business processes that support the business objectives or mission of the enterprise. Senior management must ensure that the enterprise has the capabilities needed to accomplish its mission. Most organizations have tight budgets for security. To get the best bang for the security buck, management needs a process to determine spending.

Manoeuvre theory: Business mission analysis process for high intensity conflict

The third paper in the manoeuvre warfare series, describes a prescriptive approach for the organization's operationalisation of its strategic intent. It discusses the practical planning stages adapted from the military appreciation process. Termed the mission analysis process (MAP) this framework guides planners through the initial mission analysis, the development of a course of action (CoA), followed by a landscape analysis, execution, review, reorientation, and further action if deemed necessary. This paper argues from a military paradigm using both military and business as examples. This paper emphasises the need for porous, flexible and rapid planning processes, devolved decision‐making, and high levels of organizational capability, initiative, trust, and employee competence. Argues that the MAP framework facilitates organizational learning, a heightened sense of organizational participation and commitment, as well as improving business development between management levels and across the organization.

Viacom Inc.

The article is a case study analysis of Viacom Inc., a leading transnational media corporation (TNMC) in the production, sale and distribution of electronic media entertainment. The study examines the history and development of Viacom, building on theoretical work that argues that business strategies and corporate culture of a company are often a direct reflection of the person (or persons) responsible for developing the organization and its business mission. Viacom’s longstanding CEO, Sumner Redstone, has shown himself to be an aggressive leader who is deeply involved in all aspects of the company’s operations. The article also examines the business strategy of Viacom, a unique media business entity that has been built through the steady acquisition of existing media companies. A critical challenge facing Viacom is the company’s inability to find a successor to Redstone in preparation for his future retirement. Viacom’s apparent lack of a succession plan is in large measure due to Redstone’s unwillingness to share power at the top and failure to appoint a CEO successor.

Value constellation management and its implications for technology management education

Based on historical perspective and recent development trends, an emerging business mission for production enterprises is formulated. A value constellation, comprising supply, capital and societal segments, is defined to establish the boundaries of business domain for the emerging business mission. Implications of value constellation management for practitioners, researchers and educators are argued. A series of courses in technology management is proposed in the context of business mission and value constellation management.

The sony corporation: A case study in transnational media management

The following paper is a case study analysis of the Sony Corporation; a leading transnational media corporation in the production and sale of consumer electronics, music and film entertainment and videogame technology. There are two main parts to this study. Part I, examines the history and development of the Sony Corporation. This paper argues that the business strategies and corporate culture of a company are often a direct reflection of the person (or persons) who were responsible for developing the organization and its business mission. Part II. examines the Sony Corporation from the standpoint of business strategy. Special attention is given to the subject of organizational culture and strategic decision‐making. A second argument of this paper is that while Sony is a transnational media corporation, the organization is decidedly Japanese in its business values. The significance of this research lies in its revelations concerning the complex changes facing a company that was once historically Japanese in its origins but is tecoming increasingly transnational ïn scope and operations.

Management Control in German Television: Delivering Numbers for Management Decision

This article explores an important trend in German TV stations: the introduction and steady advancement of management control (MC) systems. Most publications aim at transferring MC theory to TV without explicit definition of the TV production function, thus this article describes the TV core processes (production, programming, sale, and promotion) to which MC is applied. The results from a full census among controllers of German TV stations about participation, instruments, and problems of MC in their companies are presented and interpreted. The results suggest that the level of MC is high only among top-rated commercial stations. Controllers in German TV stations mainly manage the planning and budgeting systems, but also act increasingly as internal consultants for program management. The dominant problems appear to be the establishment and acceptance of MC as well as methodical difficulties of TV accounting. The MC systems of public and commercial stations reflect the different business missions and systems.

The accounting practices of a sixteenth-century pastel merchant from the French region of Toulouse

Until the end of the sixteenth century the French region of Toulouse was an important centre for the export of pastel, the plant used at that time to produce blue dye. What does the ledger belonging to the factor of a Toulouse pastel producer (pastelier) teach us about the role played by accounting in the relationship between the factor and the commissioning merchant? Under what accounting methods did the agent carry out his business mission? Was the accounting technique used double entry or that which we could call the factors' accounting system?

Articulating Values to Inform Decision Making: Lessons from Family Firms Around the World

Both the popular and the academic press stress that management grounded in values is fundamental to decision-making. High performance companies know that clarity about values is key to getting the job done. However, many family-owned firms do not adequately articulate their core values into a workable orientation for the business. As a result, they are in danger of seriously impairing their decision-making. The authors analyzed family business mission statements from around the world to identify the core values expressed therein. The authors also analyzed how efficiently these values were articulated. They propose that family businesses can make their decision making more effective by identifying and including their core values in the business's mission statement.

Compensating the Entrepreneurial Board-A Holistic Approach

Compensation programs that encourage the best performance possible from boards of directors include several key characteristics: aligning the programs with the business philosophy and mission of the company, making the programs competitive and appealing to the directors, rewarding for performance, and applying variable factors to account for different levels of responsibilities and profitability. Incorporating these characteristics into board compensation can sharpen the board's focus on the factors that contribute most to company success.

Postacute neurorehabilitation: Roles and responsibilities within a national information system

The definition of a “postacute neurorehabilitation provider” has broadened considerably in the last 10 years. The postacute domain, once the purview of community re-entry (aka transitional) programs now includes hospital-based day and outpatient services, home health agencies, assisted living programs, subacute programs, and employment agencies to name but a few. Consequently, a range of outcome variables are considered, in large part as related to the clinical and/or business missions of the providers. This article reviews the postacute neurorehabilitation outcome literature with an eye toward establishing a concensus as to what outcomes are germane to these providers, with the patients and payers as the preferred primary consumers of the outcome-related information.

Statewide Transportation Policy Planning: Pennsylvania’s Collaborative Approach

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) determined that a collaborative approach would be most effective for compliance with Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) requirements for the development and implementation of its Statewide Transportation Policy Plan. The process for developing and adopting the plan, along with its companion document, the Performance Report, included cooperative efforts among PennDOT and its transportation partners. Both documents were developed within the contexts of current and future planning initiatives and tailored to fit PennDOT’s overall business strategy, mission statement, and vision for the 21st century. Plan development activities included data collection, cooperative and coordinated planning efforts with metropolitan planning organizations and local development districts, consideration of ISTEA’s 23 planning factors, coordination with private and public transportation interests, and extensive outreach and consensus-building programs. The performance report was conceived as part of the policy plan to measure the status of the transportation system and answer the question, “What difference did it make to have the policy plan?” The report adopted an economic approach to performance, measuring supply, usage, and condition. The report was used to articulate a “maintenance first” philosophy, highlighting PennDOT’s continuing struggle to fund transportation programs and dispelling public myths and misconceptions about transportation in the commonwealth. Lessons learned during development, data collection, and outreach activities are applicable to other states still developing or refining their plans. Discussions of these activities, future endeavors, and the path forward are critical, especially in light of ISTEA reauthorization and the trend toward a more fiscally and, perhaps, politically constrained national transportation context.

Inside IBM: Strategic management in a federation of businesses

In common with the rest of the corporation, IBM United Kingdom needed to take radical action between 1991 and 1993 to restore profitability. The actions taken included restructuring into a federation of businesses, changing the management system and substantially increasing the focus on customer responsiveness and quality. This article describes the strategic management approach that was developed by IBM in the United Kingdom to complement the other changes. The approach contains many features designed to stimulate innovation and customer awareness and it contributes to the cultural changes that needed to accompany restructuring. Novel aspects include the method for defining business missions, the integration of business and holding company strategies and the combined focus on customers, financial performance and quality.

Strategic organizational applications of videotex among varying network configurations

This article explores organizational applications of videotex under different network configurations using a case study methodology were selected on the basis of (a) their successful implementation of organizational videotex, (b) the specific network configuration in use, and (c) their business mission. Three objectives of the research were to: (a) identify the range of organizational applications of videotex, specifically those appropriate for videotex networks that are internal, interorganizational, or national (including the home consumer) in scope; (b) highlight the organizational, technological, and social factors that appeared to influence the success of system implementation; and (c) explore the effects of videotex use on the selected organizations.

Corporate strategy: Implementation and control

It is easier to make corporate plans than it is to carry them out. Bert Piëst and Henk Ritsema support the idea that strategy formulation is a ‘topdown’ activity, which, for its successful implementation, requires managers to use the right instruments. These involve use of the business mission statement, strategic control and the evaluation of finance, marketing, R & D, production and personnel, future-orientated control, competitive bench marking, identifying critical success factors, and including ‘what if?’ analyses.

Bridging the gap between green accounting and black ink

The essence of green accounting is accounting for the air we breathe, the water we drink. One way to do this is to create a natural asset account for essential natural resources — such as fertile land — on which an enterprise is economically dependent. As these assets are degraded, a natural resource expense would be recorded in an enterprise's financial statements. This would disclose pollution levels in excess of levels sustainable by an ecosystem. This accounting would reflect a new social contract between business and the stakeholders to whom they are accountable. It would also reflect a business mission that recognizes that some things are beyond accounting.

Funding college unions in the year 2000

AbstractBy understanding and managing external and internal factors that affect the college union, a business mission can be implemented that will provide a secure financial base for a successful service mission.

Commentary

The business mission restricts the nature of the alternatives available for consideration, when measured in terms of customer needs. Thus, with rare exceptions, an organisation will not move into areas in which it has little or no expertise, although there are those exceptions where conglomerates have developed covering a wide range of seemingly unrelated activities. However, assuming that a “mission” has been defined, a number of strategic alternative courses of action will present themselves. The choice of which course(s) to follow will now depend essentially on comparing (and minimising) the risks involved, an exercise which will involve two principal and interrelated tasks assessing one's capabilities in the chosen broad areas of the business and comparing them with those of potential competitors. The tasks are very much interrelated, as consideration of one's capabilities in isolation is essentially adopting an internal approach, something which is anathema to the prevailing competitive market conditions. Porter postulates that there are five basic sets of forces governing competition in an industry.

Ferro Strives To Develop Research-Business Partnership

the final analysis, well-managed technology can be a powerful tool for corporate growth, while the price of ignoring technological strategy can result in corporate oblivion. This philosophy, at the conclusion of a recent speech given by Adolph Posnick, president and chief executive officer of Cleveland-based Ferro Corp., is a guiding principle for the specialty materials company and its employees. In increasing the apparent importance of R&D at the company, Ferro researchers have developed a corporate research mission statement, which is foster and develop the technologies required to support fully the stated business missions of the corporation worldwide. One of the objectives of the mission statement is to develop an attitude of mutual respect and cooperation between the corporate and divisional laboratories. Thus, Ferro hopes to develop a partnership between research and business. By taking this approach, Ferro has set up what might be called a centralized-decentralized type of R&D management...