The operations of most companies are usually driven by deliberate processes and strategies. These processes and strategies allow the organizations to achieve their short term and long term goals. As they implement their strategies and develop processes, there is need for companies to understand the culture of the industry in which it operates. An understanding of culture allow a firm to align its systems and processes with the prevailing cultural practices. For instance, today, the world has adopted a culture that emphasizes the adoption of technology. This means that companies that fail to embrace technology risk being left behind. In this paper, the question of corporate strategy implementation and the role that culture plays are addressed.
Stages of corporation’s life cycle
As they develop, organizations go through different stages of the corporation life cycle. There creation of a business marks the beginning of the cycle. After this stage, the business goes into the infancy stage (Givhan, 2014). At this phase, the business is rather young and requires financial support from its founders. It is at this stage that most businesses die. The early death is usually caused by inadequate finances and poor management. Businesses that survive the challenges of the infancy stage enter the prime phase. At this phase, these businesses show signs of growth (Givhan, 2014). The sales are encouraging and most of the challenges faced during the infancy stage have been overcome. ‘Stable’ is the next phase of the cycle. Here, the business is well established and strong. Many businesses manage to remain stable. However, there are those who proceed to the last stage of the cycle: death (Givhan, 2014). Poor governance is the chief factor responsible for the deaths of corporations. There are a number of measures that firms can institute to extend their cycle. Effective management and sufficient funding are some of these measures. Effective management ensures that a business stays on the growth path. Adequate funding allows a business to finance their daily operations and to expand into new markets.
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Strategy implementation
Strategy implementation refers to the conversion of the goals and vision of an organization into material reality. For instance, an organization can move from having the vision of gender diversity to actually having equality in its workforce. Strategy implementation involves various processes and functions. These include environmental analysis, development of alternatives and organizational analysis (Subba, 2009). All these processes serve important roles in facilitating the effective implementation of the programs and plans of an organization. Before they implement their strategies, there are a number of questions that organizations should consider. One, the organization must ask itself if its existing culture is compatible with the strategy to be implemented. Two, the organization must ask if it has enough funding to finance the strategy implementation (Subba, 2009). The organization should also wonder if its employees and stakeholders are prepared for the strategy implementation. The exact questions that an organization should ask are determined by its circumstances, culture and preferred style.
Approaches for preparing workforce
It is common practice for organizations to appoint their own employees to certain positions instead of hiring outsiders. There are a number of approaches that are used to identify and prepare employees for these positions. Skills inventories are among these approaches (Gully & Phillips, 2012). Basically, this involves evaluating the competencies of individual employees. The employee whose skills match the demands of a given position are then prepared for and appointed to that position. Succession management programs and mentorship programs are other approaches that are in common use (Gully & Phillips, 2012). Through succession management, organizations are able to ensure that there are no vacuums. Mentorship programs allow employees to learn from their seniors. The learning prepares them for the challenges that they may encounter.
Strategy and culture
Culture is one of the factors that influence how organizations operate. It shapes the strategies that organizations develop and implement (Jo, Majken & Wally, 2008). It is clear that culture shapes the strategies of organizations. This is because organizations are forced to align their practices and strategies to the prevailing culture. Unless it is too huge, no company has enough influence and energy to shape culture. The example of Google makes this clear. Gender diversity is one of the elements of culture that shapes the technology industry. More and more firms in this industry are recruiting more women and promoting women to management positions. Google is among these companies. The company announced plans to increase the number of women in its workforce (Eadicicco, 2016). This strategy is clearly the result of the industry-wide culture of gender diversity.
Six sigma
The Six Sigma is one of the tools that companies are relying on to improve their systems. Basically, Six Sigma is concerned with the minimization of defects (Desai, 2010). It allows companies to focus on the demands and needs of their clients. As they do this, companies are able to ensure that their products are in line with the requirements of customers. This system involves a number of processes. They include recognizing and defining the needs of customers. Measuring and analyzing products are other processes in the Six Sigma system. Improvement and controlling processes are also components of the system (Desai, 2010). A company would want to adopt the Six Sigma system owing to the benefits that it presents. This system allows a company to make cost savings by minimizing defects. It also allows companies to earn the trust and confidence of clients. In conclusion, the implementation of strategies is a complex process that calls for sober leadership. There is need for companies to examine their environment and the prevailing culture and align their systems and processes accordingly.
References
Desai, D. K. (2010). Six Sigma. New Delhi: Himalaya Publishing House.
Eadicicco, L. (2016). Google’s Diversity Efforts have a Long Way to go. Retrieved 21 st March 2017 from http://time.com/4391031/google-diversity-statistics-2016/
Givhan, R. N. (2014). Aligning Corporate Lifecycles and Product Lifecycles. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Gully, S. M., & Phillips, J. M. (2012). Staffing Strategically: Assessing Internal Job Candidates. Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management.
Jo, M. H., Majken, S., & Wally, O. (2008). Taking Brand Initiative: How Companies can Align Strategy, Culture, and Identity through Corporate Branding. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Subba, R. P. (2009). Strategic Management. New Delhi: Himalaya Publishing House.
