Steps in strategy Implementation

Strategy implementation is the process of putting plans and strategy into actions in order to accomplish the long-term goals of the organisation. 

Strategy implementation is the process of turning your strategic plan into action. This can be anything from executing a new marketing plan to increase sales to implementing a new work management software to boost efficiency across internal teams. In other words, it is the strategic management process of activating the chosen strategy through structure, leadership, and culture.

The process of strategy implementation includes two distinctively different dimensions , viz.., Operationalising the strategy and Institutionalising the strategy which have various steps and sub-steps with several inter-connections:-

A: Operationalising the Strategy:- 1. Developing Annual Objectives 2. Developing Functional Strategies 3. Developing and Communicating Policies.

After objectives are established, corporate-level and business unit strategies are selected, several activities must take place to ensure that the strategy is successful. The first concern in the implementation of strategy is to operationalize that strategy throughout the organization. The strategist has a number of tools to accomplish this: annual objectives, functional strategies, policies, resources allocation, and action plans.

Annual objectives guide implementation by translating long-term objectives into current targets. Strategy is further defined by determining how it will work or is working on the functional areas. Next, the financial resources of the business must be allocated to make certain that each organizational unit is adequately supported.

Policies guide and constrain decision makers and should ensure that the various functional strategies are integrated and complementary. Action plans relate to an examination of what tasks must be carried out, how and when, if competitive and corporate strategies are to be implemented successfully and objectives achieved.

These tools should be utilized in a manner that is both comprehensive and consistent. Comprehensive implementation refers to the range of techniques employed. Failure to implement comprehensively is wasteful because all techniques are not used. Consistent implementation minimizes conflicting signal when several techniques are being used.

 

B: Institutionalising the Strategy:- 1. Organisational structure 2. Leadership 3. Culture.

The steps of strategy implementation do not necessarily follow the sequential order. The sequences may vary depending on the nature of the company, nature of the strategy, approach to implementation, etc. Further, sometimes several steps have to be taken simultaneously.

A key aspect of implementing strategy is the need to institutionalize that strategy so that it permeates daily decisions and actions in a manner consistent with long term strategic success. The fit between the internal organization of an enterprise and its strategy is central to strategic management. Inappropriate internal organization can prevent or impede the development and implementation of a strategy.

Three fundamental elements must be managed to "fit" the strategy if that strategy is to be effectively institutionalized: organizational structure, leadership and culture.

A detailed version of strategy implementation in general can be as given below with diagramatic representation as many of the actions are performed simultaneously:

. :

a)      Establish annual objectives

b)      Devise policies

c)      Motivate employees

d)     Allocate resources

e)      Develop strategy of supportive culture

f)       Create an effective organisation structure

g)      Channel marketing efforts

h)      Prepare budgets

i)        Develop and utilise information systems

j)        Link employee rewards to organisational performance

Execution is the result of thousands ofdecisions made every day by employees acting according to the information they have and their own self-interest. Four fundamental building blocks executives can use to influence those actions—clarifying decision rights, designing information flows, aligning motivators, and making changes to structure. (For simplicity’s sake we refer to them as decision rights, information, motivators, and structure.)

Strategy implementation process is one way by which organizational objectives, strategies, and policies are put into action through the development of programs, budgets, and procedures. The organization is bound to fail in its goals if proper and effective strategies are not formulated and implemented. When about to implement a strategic plan, one inevitably confronts problems and risks such as the possibility of wasting limited resources, or the threat to self-esteem if one fails. 

Two of the popular models for successful strategy implementation are  S Certo and J. Peter Five –stage Model  and Hambrick and Cannella approach, the details of which are given below:

 

I.  The S Certo and J. Peter Five –stage Model of Str. Implementation Process

1. Determining how much the organization will have to change in order to implement the strategy under consideration;
2. Analyzing the formal and informal structures of the organization;
3. Analyzing the "culture" of the organization;
4. Selecting an appropriate approach to implementing the strategy;
5. Implementing the strategy and evaluating the results.

II.  Effective Strategy Implementation – 5 steps by Hambrick and Cannella approach

1. Input from a wide range of sources is required in the strategy formulation stage (i.e., the mission, environment, resources, and strategic options component).
2. The obstacles to implementation, both those internal and external to the organization, should be carefully assessed.
3. Strategists should use implementation levers or management tasks to initiate this component of the strategic management process. Such levers may come from the way resources are committed, the approach used to structure the organization, the selection of managers, etc.
4. “Sell the implementation”. Selling upward entails convincing boards of directors and seniors management of the merits and viability of the strategy.
5.  The process is on-going and a continuous fine tuning, adjusting, and responding is needed as circumstance change.

All these models summaries into the following activities to be undertaken:

·         Strategy articulation - Building consensus within the team responsible for delivery of the strategy about the outcomes to be achieved

·         Strategy validation - Engaging with stakeholders and others to confirm strategic outcomes being pursued are acceptable

·         Strategy communication - Convert strategic objectives into clear short-term operating objectives that can be assigned to groups for delivery

·         Strategy monitoring - Monitor the progress of the organisation in delivering the strategic objectives

·         Strategy engagement - Managerial interventions designed to ensure organisation successfully achieves chosen strategic outcomes

Some of the popular strategic implementation tools that have integrated these steps are

•       Balanced Score Card

•    Henry Mintzberg’s 5 Ps

•      McKinsey’s 7 S framework

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