BA 2010 Principles of Management
Week 5 Student Exercises and Management Strategy Assessment
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Student Exercises
Performance Measures
It is clear that nearly executive member of the company was rewarded based on profit and stock analysis of performance. A fundamental shift from stock and profit criterion to the balanced scorecard focusing of specific areas will lead to a more challenging ground for reward in the near future. The justification for this is that the use of more focused criteria under the balanced scorecard which considers details such as customer satisfaction, employee engagement, employee diversity, and ethical conduct to performance targets or control system will cause some sort of productivity issues that are principally related to human resource (Prieto et al., 2009). In essence, any matters that affect human resource or the employees of the company have an enormous impact on the business outcome and revenue generation by the company because of clear focus on the execution of corporate strategic goals and directions. The use of balanced scorecard rationale within the company gives the opportunity for the leadership and management to tap into a larger pool of viewpoints at workplace (Gumede, 2016). In essence, the use of reward based on profit and stock analysis of performance fails to fully appreciate the multidimensional nature of the structures which form the departments within a company. For instance, the balanced scorecard will take care of the executives who show lesser difficulties when it comes to communication of ideas or background experiences and this is important in the sense that the company can use these ideas to align the needs of the consumers. Moreover, it will also change the organization by allowing for diversity within the organization which will also indicate key benefits and the organization will achieve this by developing and implementing key plans and reports (Prieto et al., 2009). The performance of the executives will have to improve in a drastic manner in order to align the different areas under the balanced scorecard approach. On the organizational front, the adoption of the balanced scorecard method as opposed to the rewarded based on profit and stock analysis of performance will imply that crucial changes will have to be implemented on the human resource aspects of the company.
Market Controls
The use of market controls for Google, Inc. in order to make a determination on the usage of its application among the employees will rely on proper planning and implementation mechanism. In essence, marketing control connotes a series of procedures which are adopted in the act of monitoring certain key variables with a plan as proposed with the view towards including the relevant changes as designed in the original format (Mor-Barak & SAGE Publishing, 2014). The Google, Inc. will have to undertake market control measures which include measurement, Assessment and the final procedure of monitoring in order to assess the usage of the applications by the different employees of the company. The second stage after the general outline of the three phase process is the appreciation of the scarcity of resources that the company will use for the preparation of the marketing plans (Christensen, 2013). Specifically, the cost of resources will have to be taken into consideration in the context of assessment in order to set the relevant standards. The manager in- charge of the operation will undertake a comprehensive procedure of comparison of the usage of the applications by the employees against the set standards in order to determine the actual usage. After this, a corrective measure would be embraced for implementation as a closure to the monitoring phase.
Organizing for Innovation
Innovation refers to the act of introduction of a new or entirely modified market product, a process or any other element that changes the notable features from the traditional manner in which business operates in a given field (Christensen, 2013). An innovation may be considered as disruptive, radical or incremental depending on the nature of changes that such an undertaking seeks to introduce into the product or process market in an industry or within a market niche (Isaac & Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy, 2014). This analysis considers the entry of Uber into the taxi business and the extent of changes that the company introduced into the transport business. Uber entered the taxi industry as a player whose main business idea was to reduce on the average time that is consumed in the acquisition of transport through the use of an online application which is readily available to the users (Christensen, 2013). The strategy of the Uber Company in problem solving as it entered the market aimed at creation of service to the customers within a relatively lesser time as compared to the rest of the competitors within the market. This kind of innovation by the company is categorized as disruptive in the sense that the company started off as an incumbent and has attained market dominance within the taxi industry in a relatively limited period of time (Schneider, 2017). It is crucial to note that Uber has steadily gained through the industry ranks to obtain a favorable market positioning as one of the leading players within the taxi business because of its ability to adapt to external sources of knowledge. For example, the company considers the weak points of its competitors as it seeks to diversify into different parts of the globe. In conclusion, Uber shares knowledge in its ranks through the encouragement of innovation and creativity among its employees.
Technological Leadership
The desire for a company to follow rather than to lead in technological leadership is usually informed by the disruptive nature of time lessening initiatives by such a venture. Indeed, a new technology could lead to major changes in the operational ranks of a company hence losses of revenue for the firm (Mor-Barak & SAGE Publishing, 2014). In light of this, any business which seeks to assert its dominance in the market by tapping into the customer needs under which the company offers prompt services using any technological application cannot lead in technological evolution. This is an essential departure from the traditional practice as embraced by other players within the industry which encourages innovative and strategic management (Christensen, 2013). The inability to lead in technological initiative is based on the fear of experimental losses and the uncertainty that comes with an entirely new system of technology. Indeed, this is why most companies find it unnecessary to emerge as the leader in the adoption and implementation of a new technological initiative within the market (Mor-Barak & SAGE Publishing, 2014). To conclude, the numerous concerns such as the absence of stakeholder approvals, potential loss of revenue for the company are some of the reasons why most management find it hard to embrace new technology in the operational ranks of a company.
Management Strategy Assessment
Learning Cycle: Explore
Such a scenario includes where a company has realized that the sales are generally on the decline and there is an inherent need for the organization to explore the possible reasons for decline in sales (Mor-Barak & SAGE Publishing, 2014). The second stage could include having the stakeholder appraise the problem with a view to enacting a strategic focus point towards enabling a solution. Moreover, the organization could seek to obtain feedback from the customers through use of questionnaires in order to identify the root cause of the existing sales problem. Thereafter, the heads of the different departments such as production, sales and marketing could meet to discuss the possible measures that the company could adopt to address the underlying sales problem.
Learning Cycle: Discover
Under discovery, the company could use the arrangement on diversity plan to come up with a structured manner to motivate the employees within the different divisions (Christensen, 2013). This will enable the company to address the issue of employee innovation and creativeness at work. The company achieves this process through a prior discovery of the diversity related problems at work place which act as barriers toward effective attainment of innovation and creativity at workplace.
Learning Cycle: Act
Under this is the creation of a healthy working environment in which the employees from the different backgrounds and departments may have healthy discussion on the pertinent issues (Mor-Barak & SAGE Publishing, 2014). For instance, the argument and quarrelling that occurs within the departments especially on issues of activism and other perspective related discussion could be considered as highly inconsequential under the objectivity test. The actual implementation is where the company moves forward and tackles the esteem issues that affect the individual employees before the Assessment and celebration of the results occur.
References
Christensen, C. M. (2013). The innovator’s dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
Schneider, H. (2017). Creative destruction and the sharing economy: Uber as disruptive innovation. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Isaac, E., & Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy,. (2014). Disruptive Innovation: Risk-Shifting and Precarity in the Age of Uber. [Berkeley, CA]: Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy, [University of California, Berkeley].
Brown, J. (2016). Inclusion: Diversity, the new workplace & the will to change. Hartford, CT: Purpose Driven Publishing.
Prieto, Leon. C.; Phipps, Simone T. A.; Osiri, John K. (2009). Linking Workplace Diversity To Organizational Performance: A Conceptual Framework. The Journal of Diversity Management (JDM).
Gumede, M. S. (2016). The impact of cultural diversity on organizational performance and success. [Durban, South Africa]: University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Mor-Barak, M. E., & SAGE Publishing. (2014). Managing diversity: toward a globally inclusive workplace. Los Angeles [etc.: Sage.
