WEEK-2 organisation & strategy

Organization And Strategy

Organization:

Organizations are social entities that are goal directed , designed as deliberately structured and co-ordinated activity systems which are linked to external environment by (Richard L.Daft1997). Organization only exist when it is interacting with customers, suppliers, competitors, and shares information &technology to their mutual advantage. Do u think organizations are important?

Some reasons why organizations are important to u and the society is

1)they bring resources to achieve desired goals and out comes
2)produce goods and services efficiently
3)facilitate innovation
4)use modern manufacturing and computer-based technology
5)adapt to and influence a changing environment
6)create value for owners, customers, employees
7)accommodate ongoing challenges of diversity, ethics, career patterns, and the motivation and co-ordination of employees

So understanding of organization theory enables managers to design organizations to function more effectively(Michael A.Hitt ,1995). There is a distinction in organization as open and closed system. Closed system org in real cannot be seen but for example scientific management ,internal designate,. The organizations that we see in our day to day life are open systems. They interact with the environment to survive. To understand lets view organization as a system. A system is a set of interacting elements that acquires input from the environment, transforms them ,and discharges outputs to the environment. Input to an organization system include employees, raw materials and other physical resources, information, and financial resources. Transformation process changes these inputs into something of value like products and services for customers and clients through output.

Do u think organizations should have structure? Yes, they include small things like
1) Environment
2) Goals and strategy
3) Size
4) Culture
5) Structure
6) Technology

Hierarchy of authority is another word to discuss a lot ,it describes who report to whom . In an organization to be effective, the authority to make decisions should be centralised that to at the top level. The organisation should consist of experienced and innovative people to run efficiently.

Strategy:

Fundamental concepts in the area of strategy are generally accepted and hardly questioned. This means that strategy cannot be summarised into broadly agreed on definitions, rules, matrices and flow diagrams that one must absorb and learn to use(Bob Dewit and Meyer,1999).

If the only tool u have is a hammer, you treat everything like a nail(Abraham Maslow1908-1970 an American psychologist). To avoid hammering strategy issues with only one theory, a variety of ways of viewing strategic questions will be presented.This point can be made clear by extending Maslow’s hammer and nail analogy. To become a good carpenter ,who wisely use a variety of tools depending on what is crafted, an apprentice carpenter will need to learn about these different instruments. One way is for apprentice to study the characteristics and functioning of all tools individually, and only then apply when appropriate.

Understanding the broad spectrum of theories is not an end in itself, but a means for more effective strategizing.There are three dimensions of strategy that can be recognized in every real-life strategic problem situation(Pettigrew,A 1977).

1) Strategy process :It is concerned with how is ,and should ,strategy be made ,analysed, dreamt-up, formulated ,implemented ,changed and controlled ;who is involved ;and when do necessary activities take place ?Here strategies identify the opportunities , threats and create the future.
2) Strategy content :The product of strategy process is referred to as the strategy content.Hierarchy of organizational levels like business ,corporate and network levels comes under this .A strategy may also be for a group of firms.
3) Strategy context :The set of circumstances under which both the strategy process and strategy content are determined is referred to as strategy context .

My critical analysis on organization &strategy is just seen in the following example. Suppose we get an opportunity to perform OLYMPICS ,then what should the organization primarily have is
1) billions of fund
2) thousands of staff members for various specialisations
3) volunteers
4) security
5) sanitation services
6) venues for various activities
7) computer technology
8) broadcasting services and many other resources .

All these are directed towards a common goal of performing OLYMPICS in a extraordinary manner to get fame for the country .So organization in my words is a team driven by people for discovering ,work collectively to produce results and motivated & driven by a leader to share information between them . I like to give an example of how strategy is implemented is When Honda entered the US motorcycle market in 1959, their strategy appeared planned and deliberate. But in reality, good luck, experimentation and instinct played the biggest role in strategy implementation .My opinion is Organizations exist to fulfil a purpose and strategies are employed to ensure that organizational purpose is realised.


References :

1)Bob,D&Ron,M,(1999) International Thomson business press,Netherlands.
2)Richard L.Draft(1997) Intrnational Thomson publication,united states of america.
3) Michael A.Hit, R.Duane Ireland,and Robert E.Hoskisson, Strategic Manegement: Competetiveness and Globalization (St. Payl, Minn.: West,1995),238.
4) Pettigrew, A.(1977) ‘Strategy Formulation as a Political Process’, International Studies of Management and Organization,International Thomson business press Vol. 7 , Summer, pp. 47-72.