Discuss the difference between a roadmap and a straight course of action. What are the pros and cons of each?
A roadmap is a strategic document that defines a goal or desired outcome. The document specifies how the organization will adapt to support the business strategy and achieve its future priorities. It is a bridge that links strategy and execution. In the roadmap , the required major steps or milestones are included to help in reaching the plan. The steps visualize key outcomes that must be delivered at a specified time to achieve the organization’s strategic vision (Vishnevskiy, Karasev , and Meissner, 2016). A straight course of action is a general policy that outlines the assigned policies and management efforts planned to accomplish incident purposes. The straight course of action expresses the manager’s intent, and it is aligned with the given direction in the delegation of power.
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The two strategies are essential to the organization in different ways. The roadmap serves as a communication tool in the organization. It is useful in articulating strategic thinking by linking both the goal and the plan for realizing all strategic initiatives. It incorporates an explicit time. Roadmap also reveals in products and technical strategies by indicating sectors where policies are required to fulfil l the purposes (Vishnevskiy, Karasev , and Meissner, 2016). The document helps organizations to prioritize investments based on drivers. It also helps firms to set competitive and realistic targets. Finally, it provides a strategic and structured manner for governing changes to the projects as business needs arise. It ensures that all necessary voices are presented when decisions are made.
On the other hand, a straight course of action helps an organization increase an extensive appreciation of the company's missions. It works as a map towards organization prosperity and encourages workers to work and take the straightest path probable towards achieving the objective. It also catalyzes the process of education and help s the business to know the competition in the field. Moreover, it helps managers know what needs to be done to complete a task, project, initiative , or strategy. Lastly, a straight course of action is an important part of strategic planning that prepares the organization for confronting obstacles that may happen in the future.
Explain the importance of communicating the plan to all employees within the organization
Communicating the plan to all employees is vital to an organization. It increases employee productivity, useful lateral, and workgroup communication, leads to total growth in firm achievement. Communicating the plan also increases employee job satisfaction (Choren, 2015). This is because workers become empowered since managers can listen and respond to them. Plan communication reduces turnover rates. This happens because employees feel secure as they are receiving updated information from superiors.
Moreover, engaging employees is highly motivating. When the plan is communicated, consistency will be maintained. This is because all employees will understand what the organization is trying to achieve and their role. Two-way feedback communication is also promoted because of engagement in discussions. Finally, communicating plan ensures a common understanding of strategy and goals (Choren, 2015). Employees can understand how their work fits into the bigger picture. Therefore, managers should emphasize communicating the organization’s plans to reduce friction, frustrations, and confusion.
Examine the implementation dip and why it is critical for organizations to understand their impacts on their strategy .
Implementation dip is the temporary slump in practice as employees struggle to adopt new practices and let go of the old ways. The dip occurs because old ways no longer suffice for implementation to happen. Organizations must be able to understand the consequences of the dip to their strategy. Implementation dip presents the greatest danger in the organization where workers have a chance of slowing down and productivity issues (Burnside, 2018). Being aware of the dip is a good step in ensuring that the change does not suffer much.
Managers can use different strategies to minimize the negative consequences of the implementation dip. First, managers should have empathy and understanding of employees. Fear within employees can be a significant driving force behind a negative reaction. Therefore, if leaders can show empathy by supporting workers through education, the dip duration will reduce. Second, leaders should provide a consistent path of small wins. Managers should not change everything at once (Burnside, 2018). Small wins enable employees to see benefits introduced by each change made. Third, training and upskilling of workers should be conducted. The initiative will provide workers with the skills and knowledge to execute and find answers to their problems. Also, training helps in assuaging fear in the team members.
Understanding the impacts of implementation dip is vital to the organization. When managers are aware of its consequences, they will put the right people on board. Leaders should make everyone know why they are moving forward, and people are trying to sink; it should be dropped to achieve the planned strategy. Understanding its effects also enables the organization to put proper resources to back up the change. This means that Leaders should not initiate changes before purchasing proper resources. The organization should research what the best resources are and reach out to all stakeholders for opinion.
Importantly, understanding consequences enables organization s to plan appropriately for the inevitable productivity gap. Managers can factor in the time required to re-learn and re-establish processes to accomplish the planned strategy. Workers should be aware that the dip is a temporary stage. Organization s should not let the dip prevent it from moving forward, thus employees should be encouraged to keep trying until the full target is achieved (Burnside, 2018). Nonetheless, implementation dip is inevitable in the organization, therefore, employing a formal change management technique that engages all stakeholders throughout the implementation project will help in mitigating adverse effects.
References
Burnside, O. (2018 ). Success in Action Series: Surviving the Implementation Dip . NASPA. https://www.naspa.org/blog/success-in-action-series-surviving-the-implementation-dip
Choren, A. (2015). The importance of communication in the workplace. IEEE Potentials , 34(3), 10-11. https://doi.org/10.1109/MPOT.2014.2331793
Vishnevskiy, K., Karasev, O., &Meissner, D. (2016). Integrated roadmaps for strategic management and planning . Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 110, 153-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.10.020
