DSpace at Khazar University
DSpace at Khazar University
DSpace at Khazar University
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Even the most technically perfect str<strong>at</strong>egic plan will serve little purpose if it is<br />
not implemented. Many organiz<strong>at</strong>ions tend to spend an inordin<strong>at</strong>e amount of time,<br />
money, and effort on developing the str<strong>at</strong>egic plan, tre<strong>at</strong>ing the means and<br />
circumstances under which it will be implemented as afterthoughts! Change comes<br />
through implement<strong>at</strong>ion and evalu<strong>at</strong>ion, not through the plan. A technically imperfect<br />
plan th<strong>at</strong> is implemented well will achieve more than the perfect plan th<strong>at</strong> never gets off<br />
the paper on which it is typed.<br />
Str<strong>at</strong>egic management must not become a self-perpetu<strong>at</strong>ing bureaucr<strong>at</strong>ic<br />
mechanism. R<strong>at</strong>her, it must be a self-reflective learning process th<strong>at</strong> familiarizes<br />
managers and employees in the organiz<strong>at</strong>ion with key str<strong>at</strong>egic issues and feasible<br />
altern<strong>at</strong>ives for resolving those issues. Str<strong>at</strong>egic management must not become<br />
ritualistic, stilted, orchestr<strong>at</strong>ed, or too formal, predictable, and rigid. Words supported<br />
by numbers, r<strong>at</strong>her than numbers supported by words, should represent the medium for<br />
explaining str<strong>at</strong>egic issues and organiz<strong>at</strong>ional responses. A key role of str<strong>at</strong>egists is to<br />
facilit<strong>at</strong>e continuous organiz<strong>at</strong>ional learning and change. Robert W<strong>at</strong>erman emphasizes<br />
this, saying:<br />
Successful companies know how to keep things moving. If they share a habit<br />
p<strong>at</strong>tern, it's the habit of habit breaking. Sometimes they seem to like change for its own<br />
sake. IBM's chief executive, John Akers, says "IBM never reorganizes except for a good<br />
business reason, but if they haven't reorganized in a while, th<strong>at</strong>'s a good business<br />
reason." Successful companies are deliber<strong>at</strong>e bureaucracy-busters. They delight in<br />
smashing pettifogging encumbrances th<strong>at</strong> Harry Quadracci calls "playing office".<br />
R.T. Lenz offers some important guidelines for effective str<strong>at</strong>egic management:<br />
Keep the str<strong>at</strong>egic-management process as simple and non-routine as possible.<br />
Elimin<strong>at</strong>e jargon and arcane planning language. Remember, str<strong>at</strong>egic management is a<br />
process for fostering learning and action, not merely a formal system for control. To<br />
avoid routinized behavior, vary assignments, team membership, meeting form<strong>at</strong>s, and<br />
the planning calendar. The process should not be totally predictable, and settings must<br />
be changed to stimul<strong>at</strong>e cre<strong>at</strong>ivity. Emphasize word-oriented plans with numbers as<br />
back-up m<strong>at</strong>erial. If managers cannot express their str<strong>at</strong>egy in a paragraph or so, they<br />
either do not have one or do not understand it. Stimul<strong>at</strong>e thinking and action th<strong>at</strong><br />
challenge the assumptions underlying current corpor<strong>at</strong>e str<strong>at</strong>egy. Welcome bad news. If<br />
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