M3A2, M4A2, M5A2 Capstone

100% original, rubric, word count and required readings must be included

This is 3 assignments in one. The final is all the assignments from M1A2- M5A2

The assignments are highlighted in yellow and the rubics are in red and attached for M3A2 and M5A2

Assignment 2: LASA 1—Preliminary Strategy Audit

The end result of this course is developing a strategy audit. In this module, you will outline and draft a preliminary framework for your final product. This provides you with the opportunity to get feedback before a final submission.

In Module 1, you reviewed the instructions for the capstone strategy audit assignment and grading rubric due in Module 5. By now, you have completed the following steps:

Identified the organization for your report
Interviewed at least one key mid-level or senior-level manager
Created a market position analysis
Conducted an external environmental scan in preparation of your final report and presentation

In this assignment, you will generate a preliminary strategy audit in preparation for your final course project.

Prepare a report that includes the following:

In preparation for your course project, prepare the preliminary strategy audit using the tools and framework you have focused on so far including the following:

Analysis of the company value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage

External environmental scan/five forces analysis
Identify the most important (5–7) strategic issues facing the organization or business unit.

You may modify the strategic issues in your final report based on the additional analysis you will conduct in the next module as well as the feedback you receive on this paper from your instructor.Keep in mind that it is important to look at the strategic issue(s) from more than just one perspective in the business unit or company—speak to or research the issue from more than one angle to offer a 360-degree approach that does not cause more problems or issues.Strategic issues arise from a mismatch between internal capabilities and external trends such that important opportunities are not being pursued or significant external threats are not being addressed under the current strategy.

Include a preliminary set of recommended tactics for improving your company’s strategic alignment and operating performance.

You may modify these recommendations in your final report based on the additional analysis you will conduct in the next module as well as the feedback you receive on this paper from your instructor.Keep in mind that recommendations can include, but are not limited to, tactics in marketing, branding, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, integration, product development, diversification or divestiture, and globalization. If you recommend your company to go global, you must include a supply chain analysis and an analysis of your firm’s global capabilities.

Write your report as though you are a consultant to your company and are addressing the executive officers of this company.

Write a 7–10-page report in Word format.
Make sure your writing is clear, concise, and in an organized manner; demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Use the following format for your report:

Cover page
Executive summary/abstract
Table of contents
Introduction to company (each subsection should be an assessment)

Value propositionMarket positionCompetitive advantage

External environmental scan/five forces analysisCurrent environmentAssessment of external factors applying five forces

Strategic issues (label each issue and provide a header and the reason for why it is an issue)
Summary/key findings and recommendations
References

Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2 .

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria

CO 1, 5PO 2, 3, 4ILO 1, 3, 6

Assignment Components	Proficiency		Maximum Points
Value proposition, market position, competitive advantage: Assess the organization’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage Course Objectives (CO) 2, 3Program Outcomes (PO) 1, 2, 3, 4Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO) 1, 3, 6	Assessment of the organization’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage is accurate, grounded in reason, and uses examples and scholarly research to support ideas.
External environmental scan/five forces analysis:Assess the external factors that impact the organization using five forces analysis. CO 1, 3, 5PO 1, 2, 3, 4ILO 1, 3, 6	Assessment of the external factors that impact the organization using five forces analysis is accurate, grounded in reason, and uses examples and scholarly research to support ideas.
Strategic issues: Identify the most important (5–7) strategic issues facing the organization or business unit. CO 1, 5PO 1, 2, 3, 4ILO 1, 3, 6	The most important strategic issues facing the organization or business unit are reasonably significant and are clearly and completely discussed. They represent a variety of issues that threaten the organization in some way.
Summary of key findings and preliminary recommendations:Include a preliminary set of recommended tactics for improving your company’s strategic alignment and operating performance. CO 1, 2, 4, 5PO 1, 2, 3, 4ILO 1, 3, 5, 6	(1) A brief summary of findings and (2) a preliminary set of recommended tactics for improving your company are appropriate for the company’s resources, market, and goals. How these tactics directly improve strategic alignment and operating performance is discussed, and these tactics will reasonability reach those goals.
	Write using ethical scholarship and proper grammar and mechanics.	Writing is clear, concise, and in an organized manner; demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Total:	200

Assignment 2: Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational Assessment

This section provides the opportunity to develop your course project. Conducting an internal environmental scan or organizational assessment, provides the ability to put the strategy audit together.

In this module, you will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the internal environment at your business unit or organization you are working with for this project, also known as an organizational assessment, and present your findings in a report. In your report, you should analyze the operating characteristics and assets of your business unit.

The SWOT model is one of the most common business tools used during organizational assessment. Another is developing a balanced scorecard based on a prescribed or planned set of performance objectives that will be measured and evaluated regularly. In this assignment, based on the external environmental scan you conducted in M2: Assignment 2 and the internal environmental scan in this assignment, you will develop a SWOT analysis and a balanced strategic scorecard.

Part I: Internal Environmental Scan (2–3 pages)

The internal environmental scan or organizational assessment should include the following:

Mission, vision, and values: Assess the organization’s understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these values?
Strategy clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding of the business strategy through the interview with a mid-level or senior manager. Assess his or her understanding and agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage.
Cultural assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is there a culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to solve problems for customers? On the other hand, do groups not share important information through informal mechanisms, thus slowing response times?
Value chain analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support (indirect) activities that create and deliver your product or service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify any areas where the business may be at a competitive disadvantage.
Summary of findings: Using these different analyses, identify the organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the business strategy. Organizational strengths are assets, capabilities, and resources that contribute directly to the organization’s strategic fit, differentiation, and competitive advantage relative to competing organizations. Organizational weaknesses are characteristics and capabilities (often lacking) that place the organization at a disadvantage relative to competitors.

Part II: SWOT Analysis (1–2 pages)

Your SWOT analysis should summarize the opportunities and threats from the external environmental scan with the strengths and weaknesses from your organizational assessment or internal environmental scan.

Your output should include a matrix depicting strengths or weaknesses on the horizontal axis and opportunities or threats on the vertical axis. This matrix will reveal a set of strategy forces that can be used to assess the current strategy and identify important potential changes to the strategic direction of the company.

In creating your SWOT analysis, look for natural pairings of internal and external factors that match internal resources and capabilities to the external environment. Internal strengths and external opportunities depicted in the upper-left quadrant on your matrix might form complementary pairs that suggest necessary strategic focus for the business unit to pursue opportunities that fit its competitive strengths. Conversely, internal weaknesses and external threats shown in the lower right quadrant of the matrix may combine to illustrate the need for a defensive strategy to avoid becoming highly susceptible to competitive threats.

Your matrix should not simply be a collection of four lists compiled together in a matrix. Your analysis should combine factors and explain why specific strengths complement specific opportunities, and selected weaknesses are amplified by external threats. In addition to your matrix, provide a brief narrative that summarizes the main findings in your analysis and the implications for the current and projected strategy.

Part III: Balanced Strategic Scorecard (1–2 pages)

Use the balanced scorecard or another similar tool to recommend indicators and measurements that will tell you if the company is successful or unsuccessful in progressing toward your vision through execution of strategy.

A balanced scorecard presents organizational performance on four primary groups of measures:

Financial
Customer (external stakeholder)
Learning and growth
Internal process

You should develop a strategy scorecard that ties the performance of your business unit in these areas to its overall business strategy. The challenge you face is selecting two-to-three measures in each of the four areas that give a measurable and reliable indication of the business unit performance in the key activities that promote strategic fit, customer value, and sustained competitive advantage.

Write an 5–7-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2 .

The paper should include a cover page, executive summary/abstract, table of contents, body of paper—proper headers (mission, vision, and values assessment; strategy clarification; cultural assessment; value chain analysis; summary of key findings; SWOT analysis; balanced strategic scorecard; and references)
.

Assignment 2 Grading CriteriaMaximum Points Mission, vision, and values: Assess the organization’s understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these values?16

Strategy Clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding of the business strategy through an interview with a mid-level or senior manager. Assess his or her understanding and agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage.

Cultural Assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is their culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to solve problems for customers? Or do groups not share important information through informal mechanisms, thus slowing response times?

Value Chain Analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support (indirect) activities that create and deliver your product and/or service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify any areas where the business may be at a competitive disadvantage.

Findings: Using these different analyses, identify the organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the business strategy.

20 Write using ethical scholarship and proper grammar and mechanics.16

Total:

Assignment 2: LASA 2—Presentation of Strategy Audit Findings

In this assignment, integrate all the pieces of work you have drafted and formally turn it into the capstone strategy audit.

In previous assignments, you performed multiple, specified analyses of your company (or any company of your choosing). Those individual analyses provide the needed research to successfully complete the following LASA.

Part I: Strategy Audit Report

Using the tools and framework learned in class and throughout the program, prepare a 15-page strategy audit of your company with a companion presentation. The strategy audit is a comprehensive analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance, and culminates in a series of recommendations for improving your company’s performance based on the findings and conclusions of your analysis.

A strategy audit involves assessing the actual direction of a business and comparing that course to the direction required to succeed in a changing environment. A company’s actual direction is the sum of what it does and does not do, how well the organization is internally aligned to support the strategy, and how viable the strategy is when compared to the external market, competitors, and financial realities. These two categories, the internal assessment and the external or environmental assessment, make up the major elements of a strategy audit.

In your strategy audit:

Provide a high-level analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance. Be sure to complete the following:Analysis of the company value proposition, market position, and competitive advantageExternal environmental scan/five forces analysisInternal environmental scan/organizational assessmentSWOT AnalysisBalanced scorecard/strategy scorecardRecommend specific tactics for improving your company’s strategic alignment and operating performance.Recommendations can include but are not limited to tactics in marketing, branding, alliances, mergers/acquisitions, integration, product development, diversification or divestiture and globalization (if you recommend your company go global, you must include a supply chain analysis and an analysis of your firm’s global capabilities).Explain how the recommendations will help the company achieve its strategy and vision.

You are to write this report as though you are a consultant to your company, and are addressing the executive officers of this company. You will collect and analyze a large amount of data in producing your report, but your final product will be condensed and focus on presenting your analysis findings and conclusions.

Your report should consist of the following sections in the given order.

Executive summary (1 page): A concise and insightful summary of the significant findings of your analysis and the recommendations you have for your executive team.Strategic issues and recommendations (5 pages): Identify 5–7 most important strategic issues facing your business unit. Strategic issues arise from a mismatch between internal capabilities and external trends such that important opportunities are not being pursued or significant external threats are not being addressed under the current strategy.The strategic issues list should integrate your SWOT analysis, your Five Forces analysis, and the organizational assessment and external environmental scan completed earlier during the course. These detailed analyses are the foundation for your final set of findings and recommendations presented to the executive team.In developing your recommendations for addressing each strategic issue, consider misalignments that might be apparent in different operating areas:Product portfolio: Are there changes to the target market segment, value proposition, or positioning of the product or service line needed?Structure: Are the organizational roles and responsibilities, decision-making authority, skill requirements, and work assignments properly configured and aligned to support the strategy?Organizational culture or behavior: Does the organizational culture inspire behaviors that support the strategy? Are the mission, vision, and values clearly articulated and aligned with the strategy? What new behaviors are needed?Value chain activities: Does the organization value chain fully align with the strategy? Are their activities that should be added, eliminated, or modified significantly?Performance measures: Do the organization’s performance measures focus on the key drivers of strategic success? Is there a strategy scorecard that ties the main elements of the strategy to specific operating capabilities, including goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) that give an indication of incremental or predictive progress toward reaching strategic goals?Your recommendations should fall into these general categories, but should be specific in terms of scope and expected impact.These sections have been completed earlier in the course, and should appear as appendices:SWOT analysis (2 pages—completed in Module 4): SWOT matrix illustrating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.Balanced strategy scorecard (4 pages—completed in Module 4): Develop a Balanced Scorecard for your business unit that reflects the key drivers for your business strategy.Organizational assessment (3 pages—completed in Module 3)External environmental scan and five-forces analysis (3 pages—completed inModule 2)Market position analysis (3 pages—completed in Module 1)

Part II: Companion Presentation

Finalize the companion PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the audit and recommendations in a compelling manner that persuades senior management to explore and possibly implement your recommendations. The elements of the presentation should include the following:

TitleAgendaSummary of auditRecommendationsKey measurementsRisks and benefitsCall to actionNext stepsSubmit a 20–25-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A2 .

Develop a 10-slide companion presentation in PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A2.ppt.

Use information from your previous assignments to support your conclusions and recommendations and conduct additional research when needed. Make sure you properly reference and cite so that the location of information is clear.

This assignment is worth 300 points and will be graded using the LASA rubric you can download.

100

Required Readings

· Mascarenhas, O. A., Kesavan, R., & Bernacchi, M. (2004). Customer value-chain involvement for co-creating customer delight.

The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 21(7), 486–496. (ProQuest Document ID: 220125989)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/220125989?accountid=34899

· Osarenkhoe, A. (2008). What characterises the culture of a market-oriented organisation applying a customer-intimacy philosophy? Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 15(3), 169–190. (ProQuest Document ID: 233312287)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/233312287?accountid=34899

· Porter, M. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review 74(6), 61–78. Retrieved from

http://libproxy.edmc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=9611187954&site=ehost-live

Recommended Readings

· Kahn, S. R. (2010). Capitalism at the crossroads: Next generation business strategies for a post-crisis world. Choice, 48(4), 738. (ProQuest Document ID: 818556268)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/818556268?accountid=34899

· Shore, H. (2008, March). Are you creating raving fans? Biznik. Retrieved from

http://biznik.com/articles/are-you-creating-raving-fans

Retaining Customers

Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (1993) said it best in Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service: “If you really want to ‘own’ a customer, if you want a booming business, you have to go beyond satisfied customers and create Raving Fans” (p. 13) The raving fan approach in tandem with Porter’s five forces model can help business managers and leaders develop an effective approach. This element is a reminder that you can get business and that is no inexpensive endeavor. However, keeping business and growing it is just as important. In fact, new customer acquisition is often more costly than keeping and growing a current customer.

Business Referrals

Some business experts espouse a method of gathering customer satisfaction information. Although you may ask a variety of questions to better understand what is working and what is not in terms of customer satisfaction, there is only one question that needs to be asked: “Would you refer our business to someone else?” The proposition is that if the answer is “Yes,” then it covers almost everything at a fundamental level. In addition, satisfaction with the service or product is high enough that the customer would refer your business to others. Ultimately, this is what it boils down to: satisfaction supports growth.

In this module, you will examine customer satisfaction and growth and acquire a better understanding of how supply chain management works. Walmart’s success in managing its supply chain has enabled it to dominate its competition, maintain an inventory, and meet customer demand without oversupply costs and consequences (Accounting Software Advisor [ASA] Research, n.d.). As you work through the assignments in this module, consider this and how supply chain management influences or drives business.

ASA Research. (n.d.). Supply chain. Retrieved fromhttp://www.asaresearch.com/ecommerce/supplychain.htm

Blanchard, K., & Bowles, S. (1993). Raving fans: A revolutionary approach to customer service. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company.

Using the navigation on the left, please proceed to the next page.

Unit 3: Module 3 – Course Project Task— Preliminary Strategy Audit

Course Project Task: Preliminary Strategy Audit

You will also submit your preliminary strategy audit as part of LASA 1 by the end of this module.

Those with significant business experience understand the value of this assignment—that it is an important process related to business review and assessment and potential strategic realignment. For those with less experience, one way to approach this aspect of the course and the development of this project is to equate it to building a house. The land is always graded and essential plumbing and other internal organs that come from the outside to support the house have to be in place prior to laying the foundation and framing the house. The reason builders build in phases is exactly why successful businesses do the following:

· Create a vision

· Develop strategies around their vision

· Plan for implementation or execution

· Assess

This methodical sequencing prevents problems. Review your preliminary strategy audit and make sure you have covered all the required elements for this phase of the project. You could also use a checklist, and possibly have someone review and ask them to question what you have presented or developed thus far.

In the assignments for this module, you will also explore the supply chain. The supply chain is the links in the logistics process.

Using the navigation on the left, please proceed to the next page.

In Module 1, you had the opportunity to review the capstone course project. To stay on track to deliver your strategy audit in Module 5, you should start framing your project including the following aspects:

· Title

· Agenda

· Summary of audit

· Recommendations

· Key measurements

· Risks and benefits

· Call to action

· Next steps

Be sure to let your instructor know if you have any questions or have met any major obstacles.

Revisit the Overview of LASAs section in Module 1 for reviewing information about the LASA.

Required Readings

· Becher, J

D. (2005). Operational alignment: Bridging the gap between strategy and execution.Business Performance Management Magazine, 3(1), 11. (ProQuest Document ID: 218383095)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/218383095?accountid=34899

· Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2007). Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system.

Harvard Business Review, 85(7/8), 150–161. (ProQuest Document ID: 227841808)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/227841808?accountid=34899

· Roh, J. J., Hong, P., & Park, Y. (2008). Organizational culture and supply chain strategy: A framework for effective information flows. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 21(4), 361–376. (ProQuest Document ID: 220044319)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/220044319?accountid=34899

· Smith, B. D. (2007). Strategy-making: What works is what fits. European Business Forum, 28,32–37. (ProQuest Document ID: 224670404)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/224670404?accountid=34899

· Zagotta, R., & Robinson, D. (2002). Keys to successful strategy execution. The Journal of Business Strategy, 23(1), 30–34. (ProQuest Document ID: 202724421)

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/202724421?accountid=34899

· Zuckerman, A. (2002). Strong corporate cultures and firm performance: Are there tradeoffs?Academy of Management Executive, 16(4), 158–160. (EBSCO AN: 17534385)

http://libproxy.edmc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=17534385&site=ehost-live

Unit 4: Module 4 – Module 4 Overview

Module 4 Overview

This module is designed to explore beyond hard scientific tactics and formulae to examine the human component and its influence on strategy. It will also help you triangulate both the qualitative and quantitative elements of developing and implementing an audit that can serve as the foundation for a strategic plan.

Economic factors, product and service demand, and application of proven models can provide a solid foundation for any strategy; however, understanding the human component of business and leadership is a critical aspect of organizational success. You will draw from prior MBA coursework on leadership concepts and synthesize with materials provided in this module to gain a better understanding of this aspect of strategy.

As we further explore developing and executing strategy, a story comes to mind about making sure you are doing the right work, at the right time and staying aligned with executing the strategy.

After a big snowstorm, a man went out to the street to dig out his car. He spent a good thirty minutes shoveling and started an initial scraping of snow and ice from the windows when a woman came outside and gave him a big smile. She walked up to the car saying, “I am not sure why you did this but I sincerely thank you and appreciate your hard work.” He looked at her puzzled and said, “I am not sure what you mean.” She clicked the keys in her hand and the car he had been shoveling out beeped. She said, “You just shoveled my car out; thank you.” The look on his face was priceless.

How often do we jump into work before we ask questions or make sure we fully understand the desired end result? The answer likely is, too often. In the anecdotal story, the man was doing “fake work.” He did not verify he was doing the right work; he just dove in and started. This happens not just in our personal lives but all too often in our professional and work lives.

Business, at its heart, is all about people—individuals and groups or personal taste and groupthink. There are proven tools to help assess and evaluate values, culture, and leadership in organizations. Those tools will be examined in this module.

· Analyze the complexity of ethical situations and corporate social responsibility and their impact on decision making in business.

Unit 4: Module 4 – Considering Cultural Norms

Considering Cultural Norms

In addition to reeling in individuals so they do not go down the wrong path or focus on items that may not be the priorities, consideration has to be given to the organization’s cultural norms. You need to ask the following questions:

· Is there a “hurry-up” culture with an over-zealous sense of urgency that is more about getting it done fast then getting it done well?

· Is there a culture of “review and refine, review and refine” before moving forward and making change happen?

· Is the approach methodical and deliberate with an appropriate sense of urgency?

This question is hard to answer because it requires talking to people who live and work within the organization as well as observing the environment over time. That said, most managers, leaders, and staff-level team members can give you their perspective, and it is usually an accurate representation. Though the perspective typically has a slight personal twist to it, that is to be expected.

“Fake Work”

When one of the authors of Fake Work and strategy and execution expert Brent Peterson was asked about issues with organizations implementing strategies, he offered the following:

My experience leads me to believe that developing a great strategy is not the big problem. The big problem is aligning each employee in the organization to understand the strategy and make it part of their daily work. If this does not occur, the strategy does not work and the organization does not effectively execute. (Peterson, 2012)

Consider the following steps to complete a current status review:

· Review all the strategy documents in the organization.

· Interview the entire executive team.

· Randomly have many employees throughout the organization complete the organizational strategy audit. All work being done in an organization that is not strategically related is considered “fake work” (Peterson, 2012).

Peterson, B. (2012, April). Driving business results through well planned strategy and execution. Presented at a workshop for the Argosy University College of Business Speaker Series, Argosy University, Washington, DC.

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Unit 4: Module 4 – Implementing the Strategy

Implementing the Strategy

After the current strategy and performance review is complete, you must proceed through the following steps outlined in this course to help you develop the strategic plan:

· Environmental scanning/SWOT

· Five forces analysis

· Value chain analysis

· Performance analysis/benchmarking

· Strategic issues

A critical part of the process before finalizing and implementing any strategy is to ensure alignment within the organization with management and staff. Ultimately, it is the combination of the two that executes and delivers the desired results. Without understanding and aligning with the strategy, the ability to achieve success is reduced.

Generally, about 60% of the organizations I work with have a good strategy but only about 20% of all organizations are performing their best and achieving their strategic goals. (Peterson, 2012)

Why does this occur? Generally, it is a lack of understanding and alignment, which creates a focus on “fake work” and inhibits success.

http://internationalbusinesstips.net/how-to-audit-your-business-strategy/

Unit 4: Module 4 – Internal Assessment of Strategy

Internal Assessment of Strategy

The focus in this module is on internal assessment and how employee behaviors align with the mission, vision, and values as well as executing the strategy that drives the achievement of goals. It is important to research how an organization’s culture governs strategy and conduct an internal environmental scan and organizational assessment for the strategy audit. Access to an organization’s leadership is important in order to be able to complete the strategy audit. This is particularly true as it relates to interviewing leadership and observing behaviors in the organization that can help you better understand how the culture impacts the company (both positively and negatively).

Using the navigation on the left, please proceed to the next page.

AVP Strategy Audit—External Resources

Unit 4: Module 4 – Strategic Goals and Measures

Strategic Goals and Measures

Critical to the strategy audit process is understanding what to measure and how to measure it based on the mission and goals of the organization.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are one such measure that refer to identified items in the business that are considered essential to the overall success of the business. KPIs can include new customer acquisition, customer retention, and new product development.

Another measure is benchmarking best practices, which you examined in Module 2. The purpose of benchmarking is to establish a reflective point to compare against. This is one tool often used to help organizations to concretely measure the results of initiatives.

The balanced scorecard is another way to look at KPIs. The balanced scorecard is based on a prescribed or planned set of performance objectives that will be measured and evaluated regularly. The scorecard outlines specific indicators and measurements that will indicate whether the company is successful or unsuccessful in progressing toward the prescribed vision through execution of strategy.

A balanced scorecard presents organizational performance on four primary groups of measures:

1. Financial

2. Customer (external stakeholder)

3. Learning and growth

4. Internal processl

Business Metrics and Performance

There are pros and cons to using KPIs and the balanced scorecard approach. In addition, the right metrics and management adoption or acceptance is critical. At the ABC eLearning Company, they had the right combination of metrics and management acceptance. In addition, they offered quarterly incentives for performance scores of nine or better.

Keep the example of ABC eLearning in mind when you explore the company you are auditing. It will be important to understand what business metrics are being used to assess performance and how management and leadership describe and focus on these in daily business. The key question you will need to ask is: Do the metrics tie directly back to the organization’s goals and specific strategies?

In the assignments for this module, you will discuss key performance measures and the business culture. Then, you will conduct a SWOT analysis and develop a balanced scorecard for your selected business unit.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-simon/technology-business-trends_b_1153832.html

Page 1 of 4
Capstone Experience in Integration & Strategy

Interview: Brent Peterson

Initial Steps

Interviewer: I’d like to welcome, Brent Peterson, co-founder and owner of The Work Itself Group and co-
author of the book Fake Work. Thank you for accepting our invitation for this interview Brent.

B. Peterson: Well, thank you for inviting me, I really enjoy talking about strategy and particularly how
people in organizations relate to the strategy.

Interviewer: Great, well we appreciate your professional perspective, specifically regarding the preparing
for and undertaking of a strategic audit to improve a company’s performance. One of the first
questions that come to mind is:

When an organization is preparing to undertake a strategic audit to enhance the company’s
performance, what do you recommend as the initial steps?

B. Peterson: I usually recommend that they do a review of current status of strategy and
performance. That is, what is the organization currently trying to achieve? Most
organizations I work with have a strategic plan in place before I ever meet with them. In the
plan, they attempt to state how to achieve enhanced performance. To begin without
understanding where the organization is, is a mistake many consultants make. It is crucial to
understand current strategy with its associated strategic goals.

What I generally find is one of the following:

 The organization has an acceptable strategy and is performing very well.

 The organization has an acceptable strategy but is not performing well in spite of the
strategy.

 The organization does not have an acceptable strategy and is performing well
anyway.

 The organization does not have an acceptable strategy and is not performing well.

Understanding how the organization is performing in relation to its strategy is where I begin.
All four of these general findings lead to a need for higher performance levels. Even the
organization that is performing well with a super strategy can always get better.

Generally, about sixty percent of the organizations I work with have a good strategy but only
about twenty percent of all organizations are performing their best and achieving their
strategic goals.

This leads to a big problem.

My experience leads me to believe that developing a great strategy is not the big problem.
The big problem is aligning each employee in the organization to understand the strategy and
make it part of their daily work. If this does not occur, the strategy does not work and the
organization does not effectively execute.

I use the following steps to complete the current status review:

 Review all the strategy documents in the organization.

 Interview the entire executive team.

Page 2 of 4
Capstone Experience in Integration & Strategy

2 Interview: Brent Peterson

 And I randomly have many employees throughout the organization complete my
organizational strategy audit (which is called the fake work audit). All work being done
in an organization that is not strategically related, we call “fake work.”

After the current strategy and performance review is complete, I generally go through the
steps outlined in your course to help develop the strategic plan.

Approach

Interviewer: And how have you approached this in your current or prior organizations?

B. Peterson: Following are two examples of how I approach this:

The first example is a large international high tech company based in Texas.

This company had paid millions of dollars to develop an excellent strategic plan. However,
their performance was very mediocre based on their strategic goals. They had a great
strategy that was not working. We helped them understand that their strategy was great, but
they needed to get their worldwide workforce aligned with the strategy. Over ninety percent of
the employees who completed our audit could not list a single strategic goal of the
organization. The goals were simply not translated to the employees as something important
for them to worry about. If you don’t know the strategic goals how could you perform them?
We spent most of our time with this company teaching the leaders how to get alignment and
execution. We spent much our time teaching communication skills and team alignment
processes to help get alignment and then execution. This organization made about a fifteen
percent improvement in their strategic goals by simply helping employees understand the
goals and then align their daily work to the strategic goals.

The gigantic problem here was aligning workers with the strategy.

Another example is an international division of a music television organization.

This organization had absolutely no strategic plan. They could not figure out why their
programming was so poor in the Far East. People were not watching their programs. Their
programs were US-based with people acting immorally based on the Far East culture. Body
piercings and tattoos were not acceptable in this culture. There was no strategy regarding
what the programming should be in the Far East. Not one employee knew what to do
regarding programming. Without strategy, all programming seemed to offend viewers. We
helped the company develop a strategic plan and then helped them implement their plan and
got all employees aligned with the strategy. With new, strategically based programming,
viewership increased by about fifty percent.

After the strategy was set, aligning the employees with the strategy was crucial.

Challenges

Interviewer: What do you find are the biggest challenges? And how have you overcome these?

B. Peterson: Helping organizational leadership understand that creating strategy is simple compared to
getting employees aligned and executing the strategy.

Leaders in organizations don’t know how to implement their strategic plan. They print the
organization’s strategic goals on the back of name badges, they place the strategic goals in
large atriums in the entrance to the workplace, and they e-mail all employees the strategic
goals. They even instruct all managers that they should review the strategic goals with their
work teams. However, for a variety of reasons, employees claim they have never seen the
strategic goals and they do not know what is really expected of them. They don’t know what

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Capstone Experience in Integration & Strategy

3 Interview: Brent Peterson

to do.

We overcome this challenge using a team process called The Work Itself. This process helps
each team member know the strategic goals, understand what they can do to execute the
goals, and how they can continually follow-up to keep themselves and their coworkers
focused on the strategic goals.

Work Itself

Interviewer: Brent, how do you guide the process to achieve the best possible results?

B. Peterson: We use a team process called The Work Itself. This process helps get all workers involved
with executing the strategic plan. We have discovered that managers can’t align employees
for execution. Managers must use a process that allows individuals working with their work
teams to align themselves with the work.

The Work Itself provides a straightforward and practical approach for accomplishing the most
ambitions strategic goals. This proven process has helped thousands of people align their
teams to execute organizational strategy. The Work Itself helps:

 All workers, all members of an organizational team, significantly increase the value of
their contribution by increasing real work and reducing fake work.

 The Work Itself helps by working with teams and aligning each team member with a
unified strategic focus. It helps each employee discover new ways to add value to the
organization and to be proud of and satisfied with what they do.

Advice

Interviewer: What advice would you have for companies when undertaking a strategic audit?

B. Peterson: Don’t give up on your organization’s strategy. Most audits will point out you are having
difficulty. Determine how best to get your workers aligned with and executing the current
strategy before trying to develop a completely new strategy.

Remember how the SAE model works: Strategy then alignment then execution.

To Create Strategic Focus or Strategy:

Strategy is the art of defining tactics the organization is going to use to complete,
differentiate, create values, and drive growth. Strategy is the foundation for which business
value is built.

Align: Align teams to drive strategy

Alignment starts with leadership, but must be owned by individuals at the work level. People
must align their individual tasks through the lens of their team. Alignment is the challenging
task of identifying the ways which hundreds of employees will come together through projects
and tasks to execute strategies.

And finally, Execute: Execute work that links to strategy

Execution is the culmination of strategy being translated to the expected business outcomes.
This is the ultimate goal for strategy in the first place. Simply it means carrying out desired
and critical work.

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Capstone Experience in Integration & Strategy

4 Interview: Brent Peterson

4E Model

Interviewer: How have you ensured that the strategic audit leads to a plan that is executable and will
achieve the results?

B. Peterson: Our research indicates that the only way to make certain strategy is executed is to continually
follow-up with employees. From our research, we have developed a model called the 4E
learning and change model.

This model illustrates how organizational change is the result of understanding how people
learn. Think of it in four stages:

 The Excite Stage which contributes twenty-five percent to the total learning
impact

 The Experience Stage which also contributes twenty-five percent to the total
learning impact

 The Execute Stage which contributes fifty percent to the total learning impact

 And The Evaluation Stage which contributes in all of the other stages.

This model illustrates that the first two Es, excite and experience, help teach the strategy and
its goals. However, of equal importance is the third E, execute. The E of execute is about
follow-up. Don’t expect to get execution on any strategy without a strong follow-up strategy.

Interviewer: These are all excellent points about strategic audits, Brent. Thank you again for your time
today.

B. Peterson: Well, thank you for inviting me, I enjoy doing these types of interviews and I enjoyed being
with you.

Interviewer: Thank you!

Required Readings

· Porter, M. (1996). What is strategy?

Harvard Business Review 74(6), 61–78. Retrieved from

http://libproxy.edmc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=9611187954&site=ehost-live

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-simon/technology-business-trends_b_1153832.html

Unit 5: Module 5 – Module 5 Overview

Module 5 Overview

This module is designed to help you explore strategic literacy. You will explore and analyze the criticality of alignment around the plan, the people or employees, demand from the marketplace, and economic indicators. Operating alignment and organizational structure and fit are key components of strategic planning. They determine which types of business model(s) and tactics are used operationally.

Key Concepts in this Module

· Strategic alignment involves ensuring the company has the right resources, market, and goals to achieve its vision through operational performance. It includes, but is not limited to, marketing, branding, alliances, mergers or acquisitions, integration, product development, diversification or divestiture, and globalization.

· Organization structure is often dictated by the size, roles, etc. Most often, the structure is a hierarchy that arranges authority outlining or determining responsibilities, duties, and rights based on position. Structure also influences how information is shared, processes are managed, and decisions are made. Structure heavily influences how an organization operates and delivers its services and goods.

· A responsibility, authority, expertise, and work (RAEW) analysis is the process that helps identify structural misalignments that may impede strategy execution. These include not moving fast enough with decisions, bad processes, and having the responsibility for something but not the right skill set to execute (lack of expertise). The most common issues include the following:

· Authority with no responsibility

· Responsibility with no authority

· Responsibility with no expertise

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· Analyze the complexity of ethical situations and corporate social responsibility and their impact on decision making in business.

· Analyze and apply practical strategic business principles, models, and theories to diverse and complex organizational situations.

Unit 5: Module 5 – Strategic Literacy and Performance

Strategic Literacy and Performance

Strategic literacy refers to the ability of the people or employees within an organization to understand and execute to the company’s business goals (Tailwind Consulting, 2011). It is critical that everyone, no matter at what level in the organization, is literate about the company goals and how their job relates to impacting the goals and the overall performance of the organization.

As you have learned throughout this course, an understanding of internal and external factors and alignment around a right-fit strategy is critical. All too often, companies are aligned around the mission and values, but not necessarily around the long-term strategy. Problems arise when companies are not aligned with the critical strategic imperatives needed to achieve the vision. Often, executives and managers might agree on the “what” but not on the “how.”

The vision for any business needs to be translated into a workable framework that everyone can understand and ultimately execute. Senior leaders often struggle with getting everyone on the same page so they are engaged and fully aligned. Enabling your team to collaborate around a single strategy involves a lot of moving parts.

Strategic Performance

Strategic performance is what occurs between your intent—what you want to do—and its execution by your people. The translation process is essential and constantly has to be managed to ensure total organizational alignment. Without a managed process that gets regular attention, there are too many opportunities for misinterpretation. This results in misalignment and fake work where employees do work not related to the goals and strategic direction of the company.

Tailwind Consulting. (2011). Introducing strategic literacy. Retrieved fromhttp://www.slideshare.net/TailwindConsulting/strategic-literacy

Using the navigation on the left, please proceed to the next page.

Unit 5: Module 5 – Your Strategy Audit

Your Strategy Audit

In this module, you will deliver your strategy audit as LASA 2. This audit is considered as some of the most important work in your MBA program. The ability to conduct a strategy audit further positions you, as the learner, as not just being able to understand but to take the knowledge and execute into action. This is where theory and concept make meaning as they are translated into actionable results. In the marketplace, knowledge and understanding are critical, but even more so is the ability to apply and “do” something that enables the organization to assess, realign, and take action to thrive and grow.

Strategic Audit and Strategy Maps

The strategy audit is a comprehensive analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance. It culminates in a series of recommendations for improving a company’s performance based on the findings and conclusions of a thorough analysis. Whether you are an experienced or developing business professional, by completing this important project, you have added to your portfolio of critical business skills.

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Unit 5: Module 5 – The Role of Ethics

The Role of Ethics

Whether formally or informally stated in a business, ethics play an important part in overall long-term success. The lack of ethical behavior and policy can drive employee behavior and organizational results to dangerous places that can result in illegal activities, such as fraud and harassment. Having a defined ethics and code-of-conduct policy that is clear to all levels and is enforced can help an organization prevent such issues. In addition, it can establish a culture of expectation around the right and wrong behavior for a specific organization as well as its industry.

Employee Behavior

Behavior is typically looked at in several forms in an organization: productive producer, stagnant, and disruptive. The goal is to create productive producers; however, it is often the case where behavior has to be managed and dealt with to correct performance that is stagnant or disruptive. Stagnant and disruptive behaviors do not align with the strategy or help deliver the results. Promoting positive behavior by clearly sharing the strategy and helping employees align and play a role in executing to deliver the results is critical. The lack of any of the three noted areas can create issues in employee behavior.

Evaluating the Role of Ethics

Miriam Schulman, communications director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics advises that as we evaluate the role of ethics in business, it is important to understand that an organization can prescribe a specific set of standards by which individuals in the organization are to operate. However, the reality is that the behavior of all leaders in the organization must mirror the standards and must be a pervasive part of the culture, business strategy, purpose, and values in order to be an organizational reality and have impact. In essence, the role of ethics has to be built into the strategic plan.

Keep these thoughts in mind as you prepare your final assignment in the course and as you continue in your business career.

Schulman, M. (2006). Incorporating ethics into the organization’s strategic plan. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Retrieved fromhttp://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/strategic-plan.html

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LASA 2—Capstone Strategy Audit Rubric

Response exhibits substantial gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.
Response provides a minimal explanation of the specific issue within the context of the topic area.
Response fails to provide supporting details or examples.

Response demonstrates an exemplary understanding of the disciplinary content.
Response provides an in-depth discussion of the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and numerous examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and provides insightful recommendations related to real-world contexts.
Response is supported by current and relevant literature based on sound theories and best practices leading to effective conclusions.

Unsatisfactory: <30 Emerging: 31–34 Proficient: 35–38 Exemplary: 39–40 ______ / 40 pts. Comments

Response exhibits some gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.
Response discusses the specific issue superficially within the context of the topic area using a few details.
Response relates the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline
Response is supported by current literature, but not consistently.

Unsatisfactory: <30 Emerging: 31–34 Proficient: 35–38 Exemplary: 39–40 ______ / 40 pts. Comments

Assignment Component

Unsatisfactory

Emerging

Proficient

Exemplary

Score

Content Knowledge: Understanding 1

Communicates the ability to summarize the significant findings of your analyses. A concise and insightful summary of the significant findings of your analysis findings and the recommendations you have for your executive team.

Response exhibits substantial gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.

Response provides a minimal explanation of the specific issue within the context of the topic area.

Response fails to provide supporting details or examples.

Response exhibits some gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.

Response discusses the specific issue superficially within the context of the topic area using a few details.

Response relates the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline.

Response is supported by current literature, but not consistently.

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.

Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.

Response demonstrates an exemplary understanding of the disciplinary content.

Response provides an in-depth discussion of the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and numerous examples.

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and provides insightful recommendations related to real-world contexts.

Response is supported by current and relevant literature based on sound theories and best practices leading to effective conclusions.

Unsatisfactory: <65

Emerging: 66–71

Proficient: 72–77

Exemplary: 78–80

______ / 80 pts.

Comments

Content Knowledge: Application Component 1

Communicates the ability to identify the most important strategic issues facing your business unit.

Response exhibits some gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.
Response discusses the specific issue superficially within the context of the topic area using a few details.

Response relates the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline

Response is supported by current literature, but not consistently.

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.
Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.
Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.

Unsatisfactory: <30

Emerging: 31–34

Proficient: 35–38

Exemplary: 39–40

______ / 40 pts.

Comments

Content Knowledge: Application Component 2

Communicates the ability to represent all misalignments found in the following categories:

· Product portfolio

· Structure

· Organizational culture/
behavior

· Value chain actions

· Performance measures

Response exhibits some gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.

Response discusses the specific issue superficially within the context of the topic area using a few details.
Response relates the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline
Response is supported by current literature, but not consistently.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature

Content Knowledge: Application Component 3

Communicates the ability to provide recommendations for a strategic issue and explain how it will resolve the issue.

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge

Response examines the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and their relevance to real-world contexts.

Response is adequately supported by current and relevant literature.

Response demonstrates an exemplary understanding of the disciplinary content

Response provides an in-depth discussion of the specific issue within the context of the topic area using relevant details and numerous examples

Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline and provides insightful recommendations related to real-world contexts.
Response is supported by current and relevant literature based on sound theories and best practices leading to effective conclusions.

Content Knowledge: Application Component 4

Communicates the ability to provide an executive summary, recommendation, synthesis, and presentation.

Response exhibits some gaps in the knowledge of the disciplinary content.
Response discusses the specific issue superficially within the context of the topic area using a few details.
Response relates the specific aspect of the issue to applicable areas within the discipline.
Response is supported by current literature, but not consistently.

Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary content knowledge.

Unsatisfactory: <45

Emerging: 46–51

Proficient: 52–57

Exemplary: 58–60

______ / 60 pts.

Comments

Written Communication/
Personal Effectiveness

Conveys through written word understanding and application of an executive summary, strategic issues recommendations, SWOT analysis, balanced scorecard, organizational assessment, external environment scan, and market position analysis.

Writing is disorganized and lacks appropriate APA style and format.

Writing is unclear and includes major grammatical and usage errors.

Writing shows some gaps with respect to organization and rhetoric and has some errors with respect to APA style and format.

Writing is somewhat clear and includes some major grammatical or usage errors.

Writing is concise and clear in content, language use, grammar, organization, and sentence structure.

Writing is free of major grammatical and usage errors.

Writing is professional and scholarly, reflecting mastery of content, language use, grammar, organization, and sentence structure.

Writing is cohesive, convincing, and well composed.

Unsatisfactory: <14

Emerging: 15–16

Proficient: 17–18

Exemplary: 19–20

______ / 20 pts.

Comments

Oral Communication/
Personal Effectiveness

Conveys through oral communication understanding and application of 10-slide PowerPoint Presentation.

Presentation is disorganized or lacks coherent flow.

Content is unclear and lacks proper articulation of key points.

Presentation shows some gaps with respect to organization and rhetoric of presentation.

Content lacks clarity and includes fragmented but emerging articulation of key points.

Presentation is concise with a logical flow of thought.

Content includes clearly articulated key points that are free of major errors.

Presentation is visually appealing and addresses audience considerations adequately.

Presentation is persuasive, and well presented with a good blend of content and graphics.

Content includes well-made key points that represent a clear understanding.

Selection of slide design is appropriate for the topic, follows key elements of visual aesthetics, and is well tailored to meet audience needs.

Unsatisfactory: <26

Unsatisfactory: <14 Emerging: 15–16 Proficient: 17–18 Exemplary: 19–20 ______ / 20 pts. Comments

Total:

/ 300 pts.

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Capstone Experience in Integration & Strategy
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