Strategic Management Issues Research Articles

Strategic Performance Measurement of Employees based on Project Efficiency and Effectiveness

One of the most important issues in strategic management is enhancing employees’ motivation to contribute in the implementation of strategies; because they usually do not pay necessary attention to strategies. Accordingly, it is required to consider and calculate their roles in implementing strategies. In terms of employees’ role in the organization, they have managerial (goal setter) and/or non-managerial (non-goal setter) role. We are looking for a strategic performance measurement method to involve both roles. Since there was not a pervasive method in the literature to cover both roles properly, this research introduces a method that measures and calculates the strategic performance of employees based on two main parts: Project effectiveness (for managerial roles) and project efficiency (for non-managerial roles). This method tested on a sample of employees in Hormozgan Cement Company. Results show a significant difference between employees who participated and those who did not participate in implementation of strategies in their performance value. Achieved values are tangible and traceable; therefore, employees can have a proper sense and reaction to outputs of this method.

Deutsche Bahn AG: a former monopoly off track?

Synopsis Deutsche Bahn AG (Deutsche Bahn hereafter) was the former German railroad monopolist until deregulation in 1996. It was a well-known company that operated in worldwide markets for transport and logistics at the time of the case (late 2013). The case “Deutsche Bahn AG: a former monopoly off track?” focuses on the opportunities and challenges faced by Deutsche Bahn with regard to its position in the German individual transportation market. On the one hand, Deutsche Bahn is facing external problems. Increasing competition in short- and long-distance traffic threatens its strong business position. The competition emerged from a growing long-distance bus market and the increase in private railway companies. During the last few years before 2013, Deutsche Bahn has lost several public tenders for individual passenger travel in Germany. On the other hand, Deutsche Bahn has internal problems that endanger its image as a service company. A lack of service quality and the technical condition of its trains has led to rising numbers of customer complaints. In addition, staffing and punctuality problems have exacerbated the situation. One of the main technical issues the company faces is that ordered trains have not been delivered on time. Given the focus on Deutsche Bahn’s domestic challenges, its international business activities are tackled only briefly. While regulatory and political events have an impact on Deutsche Bahn, these are not the main subjects of the case. Research methodology This case has been written from public sources. Consequently, no company release is provided. None of the information has been disguised in any way. Relevant courses and levels The case is intended for use in a 90-minute strategic management class attended by students at the end of their undergraduate studies or in postgraduate study. Although the case relates to issues in strategic management, the special regulatory environment and some of the issues covered could make the case a useful complement in other classes as well, such as classes in supply chain management (procurement) or the management of public companies. Therefore, students should have basic knowledge in developing strategies, management, marketing, human resource management, and finance. Theoretical bases Strategic Analysis and Strategic Management, Railroad Logistics, Deregulation of a former Monopoly, Stakeholder Theory.

Catatan Studi Evolusi Manajemen Sumberdaya Manusia Strategik

This study is a short review and concise note of the article Lengnick-Hall et al. (2009) about his article entitled “Strategic human resource management: The evolution of the field.” This study examines the evolution and chronological processes of developing strategic human resource management literature. There are seven themes in strategic human resource management. The study also discusses current and future trend issues in strategic human resource management. Finally, this paper provides a strategic human resource management research note.

ACCOUNTING INFORMATION POSITIONING OF AGRARIAN BUSINESS SOCIO-ECONOMIC STRATEGY

Urgency of the research. Modern trends of dynamic increase of world food markets competition motivate a fundamental revision of the traditional concept of Ukraine`s agricultural enterprises management with a clear positioning accounting and information support parameters. Target setting. Implementation of accounting and analytical innovation to develop new information processing methodological tools of strategic nature is a current tendency of improving accounting and information support of agricultural enterprises strategic management. Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. Information support of strategic management issues are outlined in the scientific works of such scholars as: I. Bohata, M. Bromvich, V. Hovindaradzhan, H. Krokhicheva, S. Lehenchuk, A. Pylypenko, M. Pushkar, B. Raiana, K. Uord, A. Shaikan, Dzh. Shank. Uninvestigated parts of general matters defining. Published scientific papers do not reflect the specificity of the problems and the parameters of the local system of accounting and analytical support for strategic agricultural enterprises management. The research objective. Current issues are identified in the article, the range of the basic parameters of accounting and information support of Ukraine`s agricultural enterprises strategic management is specified and justified. The statement of basic materials. Agribusiness peculiarity and its impact on the accounting and information support of managerial decision-making have been substantiated. Requirements of the strategic positioning and the basic parameters of the leadership strategy have been differentiated. The dynamics of consequences of the company response to changes in the external business environment has been studied. Parameters of accounting and information support of Ukraine`s agricultural enterprises strategic management have been identified. Conclusions. Compliance with the above parameters will enable creation of the prerequisites for intellectualization and innovatization accounting and enterprise information system as a primary source of information for the needs of strategic management.

Strategic management and promotion issues in international research cooperation

This paper examines the issues involved in establishing multilateral, sustained and balanced international research cooperation activities with particular references to transport research.First, the paper presents a review of the current practices and does this in terms of a number of “key – strategic issues” grouped under the headings of four basic functions that are later defined as the pillars of a more permanent and institutionalised international research cooperation framework. As part of the presentation of the current situation and practices, the paper also presents – as a case study in successful multilateral international cooperation – the experience from the European Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) that are taking place among European countries under the support of the European Commission. These initiatives provide a good example of a functioning framework for multilateral international cooperation that could be taken as a blueprint for such cooperation between other countries at global level.The main conclusions and recommendations of the paper are that a truly multilateral and sustained framework for international research cooperation should consist of a number of well-established and documented functions as well as a number of organisations that would ensure its proper functioning and operation. The basic functions are the following four: Strategic Management/Research performing and capacity building/Programme monitoring and funding/Implementation and market uptake of research results. The suggested organisations include the creation of an independent and “trusted” organisation, which could be called the “International Research Cooperation Council” – IRCC. This organisation should be attached to a “trusted” global institution like the UN and will perform a number of functions such as issuance of guidelines, harmonisation of procedures, monitoring and governance functions, (international) research needs assessment and formulation, funding management, etc. It is also suggested, that a number of individual, research-performing organisations, the so called International Cooperation Promotion and Networking Centres (ICPNC) should be designated and encouraged to act as “champion organisations”, in promoting international cooperative work at global level.

Relationship between competitive strategy and construction organisation performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible moderating role of organisational characteristics (organisational structure, management style and decision-making style) in the relationship between strategy and organisational performance among large construction organisations in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative research approach using a questionnaire survey to obtain data from 72 large construction organisations in South Africa. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the paper examines the relationship between the constructs discussed in the study. Findings The internal characteristics of the organisation form the vital basis for achieving optimal performance. The results obtained from the analysis revealed that decision-making style directly influences the measure of organisational effectiveness, while it could also be inferred that organisational characteristics partly moderate the relationship between competitive strategy and organisational performance. The findings indicate that internal characteristics is one of the means through which organisational strategic factors and contextual aspects are organised to achieve greater organisational performance levels. Originality/value The findings have theoretical implications for strategic management literature in construction as it extends the scope of research on strategic management from assessing a set of individual management practices to evaluating a complex mechanism that connects internal characteristics and competitive advantage. It is believed that this study will contribute positively to the role of organisational characteristics in the competitive strategy-performance relationships in large construction organisations in South Africa and to the ongoing discussion on emerging strategic management issues in construction.

Strategic management and promotion issues in international research cooperation

This paper examines the issues involved in establishing multilateral, sustained and balanced international research cooperation activities with particular references to transport research.First, the paper presents a review of the current practices and does this in terms of a number of “key—strategic issues” grouped under the headings of four basic functions that are later defined as the pillars of a more permanent and institutionalised international research cooperation framework. As part of the presentation of the current situation and practices, the paper also presents – as a case study in successful multilateral international cooperation – the experience from the European Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) that are taking place among European countries under the support of the European Commission. These initiatives provide a good example of a functioning framework for multilateral international cooperation that could be taken as a blueprint for such cooperation between other countries at global level.The main conclusions and recommendations of the paper are that a truly multilateral and sustained framework for international research cooperation should consist of a number of well-established and documented functions as well as a number of organisations that would ensure its proper functioning and operation. The basic functions are the following four: Strategic Management/Research performing and capacity building/Programme monitoring and funding/Implementation and market uptake of research results. The suggested organisations include the creation of an independent and “trusted” organization, which could be called the “International Research Cooperation Council”—IRCC. This organization should be attached to a “trusted” global institution like the UN and will perform a number of functions such as issuance of guidelines, harmonisation of procedures, monitoring and governance functions, (international) research needs assessment and formulation, funding management, etc. It is also suggested, that a number of individual, research-performing organisations, the so called International Cooperation Promotion and Networking Centres (ICPNC) should be designated and encouraged to act as “champion organisations”, in promoting international cooperative work at global level.

What Really Matters Concerning Local Government Evaluation: Community Sustainability

How to evaluate local government or what really matters concerning local government evaluation and who cares about it are questions which are on the table currently across the world. This paper carry out a survey on the wide range of indicators and evaluation models of local government used worldwide and shows that they are based mainly on performance evaluation and financial sustainability ratios. We conclude that they address only part of the problem of strategic management, financing, and sustainable development issues of local government. In particular, the governance dimension is absent. Therefore, a broader vision is proposed that integrates our usual local government evaluation into the important issues of governance and sustainability. This article focus on “measuring what matters” in local government and presents the need of a new evaluation model, a Councils’ Sustainability Index, based on the integration of council’s financial performance with communities’ sustainability and governance dimensions. Thus, it might be an important contribution for the creation of a new paradigm on local government evaluation and councils’ strategic management. The Portuguese case is used to illustrate this purpose.

A Multicriteria Decision Model for Collaborative Partnerships in Supplier Strategic Management

Maintaining relationships with suppliers has become a critical strategic management issue to business. As a consequence, the tasks of evaluating and selecting suppliers are essential, given that companies delegate part of their business to partners. The main purpose of these tasks is to identify suppliers with the highest potential for meeting a buyer’s needs consistently and at an acceptable overall performance. However these tasks are complex since they involve a variety of conflicting criteria, which makes the problem one that can be tackled by an multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) approach. Moreover, companies have suppliers whose features and performance are different and buyers need to decide at each level how they may best collaborate with each type of supplier. Many papers in the literature have addressed this situation involving supplier selection; nevertheless, most of them present methods to solve ranking and choice problems. The objective of this paper is to propose a model for the strategic management of suppliers which uses the ELECTRE TRI method to sort suppliers into classes of collaboration. Therefore, by using this model it is possible for companies to do so in order to define the most appropriate strategies to adopt for each category.

Strategy and innovation in emerging economies after the end of the commodity boom—Insights from Latin America

This paper explores the economic trends of Latin America, highlighting their influences on the strategies and behaviors of different types of businesses. It introduces a Special Issue featuring a selection of the best papers presented at the Sixth International Conference on Strategic Management in Latin America, held at INCAE Business School in 2015. The theme for this Conference was: “Strategies for Growth, Regional Expansion and Global Competition”. The Conference provided a big opportunity to exchange theoretical insights, empirical research results and applications of current Latin American strategic management issues.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN THE COMPLEXITY PARADIGM

In this paper, the dimensions of the new paradigm, the paradigm of complexity and its impact on strategic management are examined. The results of this study show that, since the fundamental issue of strategic management in turbulent environments is to achieve creativity which can adapt with a turbulent environment as well as maintaining stability, strategic management in complexity paradigm will not be a rational formulation of the strategic plan which is then implemented and controlled. In this paradigm, however, the creation of strategy should be an emergent and self-organized process that arises from spontaneous group discussion between directors and managers on strategic issues. Implementation of strategies should also be flexible and at the same time, orderly. Decision-making should be decentralized, and provide and facilitate learning and experiencing. Also; the personnel should be encouraged to change. The control should be done locally and through the personnel. Managers must provide members with the information needed for this approach and exert control through the members or their teams.

Controle estratégico em uma empresa do setor coureiro-calçadista

Management control is the set of processes and tools for the exercise of authority over an organizational phenomenon, which is used in order to achieve organizational goals. We used Simons’ Levers of Control model (1995) to evaluate the use of these devices in an organization of the leather-footwear industry. Evaluation was based on four subsystems: beliefs, limits, diagnostic control and interactive control, which are presented and discussed in this paper. This model allows to balance the use of inspiring elements and restrictive elements, thereby seeking to balance the tension between creativity and discipline. Subsequently, a strategic diagnosis is presented by means of a case study of the abovementioned company, which identifies the characteristics of elements from levers of control. Strategic management issues are then found, and alternatives for improvement are proposed. The main results include evidence that the belief system and the interactive control system are balanced, whilst the limit system and the diagnostic control system are deficient, thus exposing management to unnecessary risk due to lack of control. From a practical viewpoint, this study provides alternatives for improvement at the organization studied; from a theoretical stance, this study also contributes to understanding organizational reality in terms of strategic control.

Controle estratégico em uma empresa do setor coureiro-calçadista

Significativa parcela de sucesso da implementação de estratégias passa por sistemas de controles de gestão adequados e dirigidos para o alcance dos objetivos organizacionais. Esses sistemas, voltados à melhoria do desempenho estratégico organizacional, são conhecidos como controles estratégicos. Entre estes, destaca-se o modelo das Alavancas de Controle, de Simons (1995), baseado em quatro subsistemas: crenças, limites, controle diagnóstico e controle interativo, apresentados e discutidos neste artigo. Esse modelo permite balancear o uso de elementos inspiradores e elementos restritivos, que buscam equilibrar a tensão entre criatividade e disciplina. Logo, por meio de um estudo de caso, é apresentado um diagnóstico estratégico de uma empresa da área coureiro-calçadista que tem por base as Alavancas de Controle. São, então, identificados problemas de gestão estratégica e propostas alternativas de melhoria. Entre os principais resultados, evidencia-se que o sistema de crenças e o sistema de controle interativo encontram-se equilibrados, enquanto o sistema de limites e o sistema de controle diagnóstico encontram-se deficientes, e expõem a gestão a riscos desnecessários por falta de controle.

Intended Strategy Emergence in Internationalizing Firms

A central issue in strategic management and international strategy is the phenomenon of strategy emergence. Process research teaches us that intended strategy exists and realized strategy has emerg...

Managerial capabilities of housing developers: building the competitive advantage of a firm

This paper investigates the internal factors, specifically the managerial capabilities, of Malaysian housing developers. Issues of strategic management in housing development have received limited attention from real estate industry commentators. In this qualitative study, 10 semi-structured snowball interviews were performed for the purposes of data collection. Categories of housing developer capabilities include business planning and strategy, marketing, project management, financial management, and networking. These interviews shed light on the capabilities of real estate practitioners. Given the small number of interviewees, the results of this study must be treated with caution, but should provide ample basis for future in-depth studies in this area. This study expands upon the current real estate literature, arguing that the intangible resources of a firm must be used in concert to sustain superior performance, and elucidates the effects of housing developers' managerial capabilities on the success of their business.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad

This case study deals with strategic management issues. Based on documentary sources, the case examines the dilemma confronting the CEO of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) as he explores options to revive the flagging fortunes of the company. The case ends with Dato’ Sri Che Khalib contemplating going nuclear to meet the burgeoning power needs of the country. Given its monopoly position, TNB cannot raise its tariffs without government approval and the government had always been conservative in approving such increases in tariffs. TNB has to contend with purchasing power from the independent power producers (IPPs) at high prices. It also had to contend with fluctuating supplies of gas, albeit at subsidized prices, to fire its power plants. The case study highlights factors from which strategies could be formulated to ensure the sustainability of TNB’s operations. It also highlights the issues pertaining to industry regulations and how TNB seeks to overcome such policy constraints to ensure its sustainability.

Strategic Performance Management with Focus on the Customer

This paper presents a view on issues of strategic performance management in the Czech business environment with focus on the customer by means of comparing results and partial conclusions from research carried out in selected companies. The results of the analysis are evaluated in the context of the theoretical background and the findings of similar studies. Based on these findings, a set of recommendations will be provided for Czech companies dealing with strategic performance management oriented towards the customer. The paper was prepared based on research of Czech and foreign literature, interviews with management and analyses of internal materials from selected companies.

Toward an integrated theory of the firm: The interplay between internal organization and vertical integration

Research summary: Two central issues in strategic management are the determination of a firm's internal delegation and its vertical boundaries. Despite the importance of these issues, there is scant analysis concerning their interaction. Using a comprehensive database of the construction industry, we show that vertical integration positively influences the centralization decision and that the main mechanism driving this relationship is an improvement in the hierarchically coordinated adaptation of firm activities when complexity and uncertainty are high. We also observe that centralization is negatively related to the extent of relational contracts between principals and agents, and positively related to an exogenous increase in the cost of employee layoffs. Our results suggest that managers cannot consider firm boundaries and internal organization to be independent decisions. Managerial summary: We ask whether a firm's decision about vertically integrating or outsourcing its activities affects the choice of centralizing or delegating its internal decision-making process. Our statistical analysis shows that firms with more vertical integration tend to centralize the decision-making process and that firms that outsource more tend to decentralize more. Why? Vertical integration enables the use of centralized authority to coordinate activities that interact intensively. Accordingly, we found that the positive influence of vertical integration on centralization is especially significant in more complex and uncertain environments, when the need for coordination is higher. Thus, our results suggest that managers should choose vertical integration considering its effect on internal decision-making processes, particularly when coordination is important. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contemporary strategic supply chain management (SCM) and logistics issues in Asia

Contemporary strategic supply chain management (SCM) and logistics issues in Asia

Perception of Strategical Management in Textile Sector

The aim of this research includes what the perception of textile firms operating in Denizli province about strategic management issues are, at what organizational level the strategic management decisions are taken and what the strategic goals are. Moreover, this study is important in terms of creating awareness by reminding the importance of strategic management in textile sector. The textile sector which has an important place within Denizli's economy. The textile production and sales have always been placed on the top for the economic structure in Denizli and it will continue to be an economic necessity for Denizli in the near future. Within the scope of this study, 320, 45%, of about 700 all size textile firms operating in Denizli were applied with a questionnaire about their perception of strategic management. It was concluded as a result of the study that most of the firms are family-owned, their strategic plans are set by senior managers and business owners, strategic plans are generally created during the operation and the opinion “if the competitors are changing, one should change too” is common. And it was also seen that most of the managers participated in the study exhibited a positive participation about the statements on strategic management process.