Strategy Implementation: ORGANISATION’S RESPONSE, INNOVATION AND POLITICS

 The strategic manager has as its
responsibility the formulation and Strategy Implementation. However, the
success of the strategy depends, to a large extent, on the working environment.
A flexible, responsive and innovative internal environment is crucial to the
job of the strategy manager. This goes along with the quality of the leadership in
the organisation. The leadership of the organisation should take cognisance of
the internal company politics. The manager should be able to identify key
individuals and a coalition of groups in the company so as to be also to diffuse
tensions before the leadership is challenged.

Response
and Innovation in Strategy Implementation

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Formulation and implementation of
strategy are very much the responsibilities of the strategy manager. The task
of generating fresh ideas, identifying new opportunities can, certainly, not be
accomplished by a single individual. One of the most difficult tasks of strategic leadership is generating dependable and workable fresh ideas from the
rank and file, managers and employees alike, and also promoting an
entrepreneurial, opportunistic spirit that permits consistent adaptation to the changing conditions.

Certainly, a flexible, responsive and
innovative internal environment is tactical in fast-moving high technology
industries, in businesses where products have short life cycles and growth depends
on new product innovation, in managing widely diversified business portfolios,
in industries where successful product differentiation is a key success factor,
and in the business where the strategy for being low-cost producer hinges on
productivity improvement and continuous cost reduction.

A useful leadership technique is to
make extra efforts and pay special attention to nourishing and support people who
are willing to champion new ideas, innovations, better services, new products
and who are eager for a chance to try to turn their ideas into new divisions,
new businesses and even new industries.   The
presence of a zealous, volunteer champion is essential to any growing business. This is
closely followed by market potential and project economy in that order. 

Usually, the rule is that the idea of something new or something better either
finds a champion or it dies. The champion however, is usually persistent,
competitive, tenacious, committed and even more than a bit fanatic about the
idea and seeing it through to success, for an organisation to maintain a
history of successes, an individual or group has to be encouraged to put
forward ideas. People’s imaginations need to be encouraged to “fly in all
directions”. Freedom to experiment and informal brainstorming sessions need to
be a welcome behaviour.

It is pertinent to note that people with creative
ideas and innovations must not be looked upon as disruptive, troublesome or
mischief makers. A good manager should be able to promote trials and be willing
to tolerate mistakes and failures. Most ideas may not work well, but a good try
results in learning even if the idea fails. A strategic manager should
demonstrate willingness to use all forms of ad-hoc organisational forms
such as task forces and venture teams to support ideas.

It is also essential that the strategic manager
ensures that rewards for a successful champion are large and visible. Also,
people who champion an unsuccessful idea should be encouraged to try again
rather than being punished or side-lined.

Company Politics

In
formulating and implementing strategies for any organisation, politics of the
company must be considered. In fact, it would naive of any strategy manager to
presume that he can effectively formulate and implement strategies without being
perceptive about the organisation’s politics and being adept at the political manoeuvrings In the organisation.

Normally, in an organisation, key individuals and
groups form coalitions around the direction the organisation should go on a
particular issue or issues. Each group may be pressing for the benefits and
potentials of its own ideas and vested interests. So issues such as the
political objectives that will take precedence and the lines of business
portfolio that will be given priority in resources allocation are usually
political. However, internal politics should be seen as a factor in building a
consensus for the alternative business strategy to employ and also in settling
the role and contribution of each functional area in supporting the business
strategy.

In strategy implementation, politics plays a vital
role. Internal political considerations come in when critical decisions are
made and certainly affects the organisational structure, For instance,
political considerations set in when decisions are taken on issues such as the
areas of responsibility to be reorganised, who heads what unit, who reports to
who and who is in control of what resources. Politics are also involved when
considering the choice of individuals to fill key positions in the
organisation, and which unit of the organisation should be allocated the
biggest sources. In many instances, politics considerations lead to the
formation of alliances in the organisation.

Alliances are integral part of building an
organization-wide support for the strategic plan and in gaining consensus on the
various mechanics and dynamics of strategy implementation. Essentially, the
manager should have astute political skills which are an asset that can help in
orchestrating the strategic process.

An essential ingredient of the company politics is for
the strategic manager to be able to understand how the organisation’s power
structure works. The manager should be able to identify those who wield
enormous power and influence within the organisation and the executive ranks.
He should know the groups that are “activists” or “unionists” and the ones that
are defenders of the “status quo” and who can help when there is confrontation
or a “show down” on key decisions affecting the organisation. He should constantly
monitor the direction in which the political winds are blowing on any
particular issue. When major decisions are to be made, strategy managers have
to be sensitive to the politics of managing coalitions and reaching some
consensus on the appropriate way to go.

Sir
Alastair Pilkington, chairman of Pilkington Brothers Limited captures this
situation very well when he asserted that:

I have never taken a major decision without consulting
my colleagues. It would be unimaginable. First, they help me make a better
decision in most cases; secondly, if they know about it and agree with it, they
will back it, otherwise, they challenge it not openly, but subconsciously.

The strategic politics mainly concerns stimulation of options, nurturing of support for good proposals and killing of the weak ones, then guiding the formation of coalitions on particular issues and trying to achieve consensus and commitment. Thompson Strickland (1997) studied the political tactics that were adopted in nine organisations and came up with the following:

a.    
Weakly-supported
ideas and proposal are allowed to die through

inaction.

b.               
Additional
hurdles or tests are established for strongly supported ideas which the manager
considers unacceptable but which are best not supported openly.

c.     
Keeping
a low           political profile on
unacceptable proposals by

getting subordinate managers to say
no.

d.                
Allowing
most negative decisions come from a group consensus that the manager merely
confirms thereby reserving ones own

personal vetoes for big issues and
crucial moments.

e.               
Leading
the strategy but not dictating it, i.e. giving few orders, announcing few
decisions, seeking to probe and clarify until a consensus emerges.

f.                 
Staying
alert to the impact of one”s actions and statements, lest a

false signal stimulates proposals and
movements in unsalted directions.

g.               
Ensuring
that all major power bases in the organisation have representation in or access
to top management.

h.                
Injecting
new faces and new views into consideration of major

changes, to preclude those who are
primarily involved from coming to see the world the same way and then acting as

i.                  
systematic
screens against other views.

Minimising one”s own political exposure on issues which are highly controversial and in circumstances where opposition from the major centre can trigger a “shootout”.

The politics of strategy implementation is very crucial when an attempt is made to introduce a new strategy against the support enjoyed by the old strategy except in a crisis situation when it is shown that the old strategy is out-of-date.

It is a bad politics to push the new strategy via attacks on the old strategy which can be misconstrued as an attack on those who

formulated it. Besides, the old strategy might have suited the organisation as at that time and some of the people who made the judgment can still be in a position where the support for the new strategy is required and crucial.

To bring the full forces of an organisation behind a strategic plan calls for dealing with the most important centres of potential support and opposition to the new strategic thrusts. The supports of the key people are required while serious oppositions are neutralised where and when necessary.