Leadership & strategic management

The key to succeeding in business is the application of the relevant strategic management schemes that there can ever be, based on the factual information or the real situation of where the business is and how its current state is. Strategies in business differ on the basis on factors like competition and industry (Kotler, 2008). Then, as Drucker would put it, doing something without first of all having as much as a thought about it and how to go about doing lit is the leading reason why people fail. Since this is a very critical and challenging situation, Kim ought to assess her options first before moving on.

For Kim, the first place to start is to have an analysis of the environment in which her business in so as to establish what she need to do and what she doesn’t have to do (Kotler, 2008). Such an environmental scanning will enable make informed choices which are most likely to help her come up with the required level of a certainty to face the problem head-on using a suitable strategy. Using Porter’s Five Forces model, the way to go is to seek for a way to diversify her products, given that she is faced with new competitors and close substitutes.

She has to ensure that her clothing are not just unique as far as quality is concerned but hat they are also not able to be exactly copied by her competitors (Lamb, 2008). This is because although the products are similar, they are not necessarily the same as regards aspects of quality. She can capitalize on this given that the competition is already intense, hers being a small business competing against a large store. For her, innovation is the key to her success because although the large might be exercising cost leadership and enjoying economies of scale, she can improve quality and improve service delivery for instance, she can seek to understand the special needs of her customers through doing an environmental scan and then respond by focusing on those designs that they value. For instance, though there are closely related substitutes, her customers might prefer that which is local as opposed foreign. She also needs to understand the intensity of the rivalry. In this case, although there is only one competitor, the competition is intense given the size of their enterprise compared to that of Kim. That aside, her industry is likely to attract many more competitors owing to the ease with which one can enter.

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The bargaining power of buyers is also high and she will have to consider it as well. This is because of the ease of availability of availability of clothing that is close substitutes. This is in fact another force which ought to be addressed because in her industry substitutes are not only readily available but they are a lot cheaper (Lamb, 2008). Close substitutes enhance the bargaining power of buyers are she need to seek for alternative markets. She might also consider intensifying her marketing so that she is capable of attracting different buyers.

If this can be done, then there is a likelihood that she will be able to ensure that at least some of the newer customers can be loyal to her in spite of the competition. She needs to make selling unnecessary if she really wants to enhance her marketing. The bargaining power of suppliers is not as higher given that clothing seems to be more readily available in her industry and she can easily get other suppliers. Using environmental scanning, she ought to create market segments to be able to meet needs of specific people (Lamb, 2008).

2. A noted organization theorist once said, “Organizational effectiveness can be whatever top management defines it to be. ” What would Peter Drucker say? You must be very detailed in your answer and must provide the citations that justify your answer. Assume I have not read any of the assigned readings. Organizational effectiveness would be defined by Drucker not to be what management defines it to be but rather what every player in the organization, including management, wants it to be and work to make it what they want it to be.

Drucker was a person who believed in self assertion and the innate power in every human being which could literary project that person to a level where one wanted to be (Cohen, & Drucker, 2008). In essence, he was a firm believer in the power of belief and reason rather than in dwelling on what other people had proposed or said. To him, therefore, being effective was not a thing that of the management of the organization but a matter that every member of the organization, including the perceived lowliest of employee, was willing for it to be.

Ability is not necessarily a very critical factor to consider in seeking to find out what effectiveness is because once there was a commitment. Drucker would also cite simplification of the organizational process, as well as decentralization of the operations of the organization as being critical factors to the effectiveness of the organization (Cohen, 2009). Being effective, in this case, would mean that every form of organizational bureaucracies created through a system of administration that is very hierarchical would have to be done away with and, instead open up communication channels for the free expression of the views of everyone.

He would insist that good communication sometimes entailed hearing what was not said – meaning that seeking to get I formation even from the grapevine was a good practice. As such, effectiveness in organizations would be achieved through an improvement of employee-management relations through good communication (Rosenstein, 2009). 3. Discuss the role of top management in setting organizational direction. You MUST use information from your readings. Your answer MUST be detailed and comprehensive, and you show ALL citations from your course readings.

The direction that an organization ought to take is a factor that is to be given a lot of attention. It is therefore critical that leaders in organizations are able to stand up to the occasion and show leadership (Cohen, 2009). Among other factors, leadership ought to be inclusive of setting goals which are to be followed by the organization. These goals are in essence the pointers of the direction to be followed. If a manager fails to set goals or offer leadership, then the people under him/her will get lost and confused regarding what is expected of them.

There is an intuitive urge in every person to subconsciously seek to be shown the way or else one will try to create an own way and follow it (Cohen, 2009). As Drucker would put it, mankind is made and placed on a path of continuity when he is always seeking to move. It is therefore upon the top management to put in place strategies that clearly guide the other employees the direction to move towards (Cohen, 2009). Every junior employee in an organization seeks to follow the prompts of the leader because of having an understanding that a superior definitely knows the way (Cohen, 2009).

One of the best places to start is to have a clear mission and vision for the organization ands then make every employee to identify with it. One this is done, it will be a lot easier to follow through the other goals as the main direction is set and made clear. It is therefore up to every departmental head in the organization to ensure that there is prompt communication of the direction where the organization is headed. Since goals and purposes change over time, the direction of the organization might have to be reviewed from tile to time as well to cater for the changes (Hill, 2009).

References

1. Drucker on Leadership: New Lessons from the Father of Modern Management. John Wiley and Sons Cohen, W. & Drucker, P. (2008).
2. A class with Drucker: the lost lessons of the world’s greatest management teacher. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Hill, C. (2009).
3. Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. Cengage Learning Kotler, P. (2008).
4. Principles of marketing. Prentice Hall/Financial Times Lamb, C. (2008). Essentials of Marketing. Cengage Learning Rosenstein, B. (2009).
5. Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life. Berrett-Koehler Publishers

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