Strategic Thinking and Implementation
The Company and the Change

The Change

The Change Models

Lewin's Change management Model

McKinsey 7-S Model

The Change Models for Toyota

Barriers to Change & Methods to Overcome Them

esistance to Change

Managing Change

The Company and the Change

For this question we choose Toyota Motor Corporation as an example where there has been a major change in the company. The change occurred when the company changed its production process to remain competitive in the market and to gain competitive advantage at a time when the competitors from Germany and America were gaining in the Japan car market as well as in the market in the rest of the globe (Toyota-global.com, 2015).

Since being established in 1937, Toyota Motor Company has been one of the most popular brands in the car industry. Based in Japan, the Company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda with the sole aim of manufacturing automobiles (www.toyota.co.jp, 2015). The company has even been number…...

mla

References

Cameron, E. And Green, M. (2004). Making sense of change management. London: Kogan Page.

Floyd, P. (2002). Organizational change. Oxford [England]: Capstone Pub.

Green, M. (2007). Change management masterclass. London: Kogan Page.

Murthy, C. (2007). Change management. Mumbai [India]: Himalaya Pub. House Pvt. Ltd.

Strategic thinking is an elaborate process that involves the inclusion of several aspects within an organization in order to realize the intended long-term plan. It incorporates the inputs of different individuals within the different units within an organization so as to fully integrate the process and generate more ideas to execute the laid plans. The perception that the accountants and financial managers are 'mere bean counters' and cannot contribute to strategic thinking and that they don't posses tools to do so is misguided. The term "bean counter" is a common word which is used to negatively refer to the accountants and other individuals such as the financial managers whose job descriptions are viewed as that of counting every detail and tracing wastage in every aspect of the organization's expenditure compared to that of the kitchen inventory keepers who keep every record and would want to count all the beans in…...

mla

References

Alan Chapman and Sandra McCarthy, (2008). Balanced scorecard. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from  http://www.businessballs.com/balanced_scorecard.htm 

George S. And Liam Fahey, 1990. Putting Strategy into Shareholder Value Analysis. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from  http://hbr.org/1990/03/putting-strategy-into-shareholder-value-analysis/ar/1 

Mary Bast, (n.d). What is strategic thinking? Retrieved April 20, 2012 from  http://www.breakoutofthebox.com/StrategicThinkingAndStrategicPlanning.pdf 

Wise Geek, (2003). What is a bean counter? Retrieved April 20, 2012 from  http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-bean-counter.htm

Globally, communication technology has made it possible for businesses to expand much faster and more easily than was the case before. Cultural research is much easier by means of the Internet and electronic communication. Expansion and research into market requirements are similarly facilitated and much cheaper than the case was before. These are but a few of the ways in which the world has become a "flatter" place for both American and global businesses.
The same phenomenon can be seen worldwide: foreign and domestic businesses abound equally within the same country. The most significant elements that Friedman uses in his book to explicate his "flat world" theory include the processes that flatten the world, and the elements of convergence.

According to the author, there are ten "flatteners." These ten events, discoveries, or elements have contributed to globalization in that they allowed both industrial and emerging markets to participate in current economy,…...

mla

Sources

Friedman, Thomas L. (2007). The World is Flat: A brief history of the 21st Century. Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

Leamer, Edward E. (2006, Apr. 16). A Flat World, a Level Playing Field, a Small World After All, or None of the Above?

Matthews, Robert (2008). Mathematics: Finding the fractal solution. http://www.geocities.com/Omegaman_UK/fractal.html

School of Wisdom (2008). Fractal Geometry: The Story of Benoit B. Mandelbrot and the Geometry of Chaos.  http://www.fractalwisdom.com/FractalWisdom/fractal.html

As one of the largest of the country's non-profit hospital systems, Banner has more than 36,000 employees and twenty-three facilities (Banner, 2012). These facilities comprise acute-care hospitals and various facilities for health care. esearch done at Banner has been recognized internationally, and the company offers physician care, hospice, hospital, and home care. Seven states are serviced by Banner: California, Arizona, Wyoming, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Nebraska (Banner, 2012). The company is based out of Phoenix, Arizona and provides high levels of benefits to the communities it serves. That is why Banner is a success when other systems sometimes fail. Charity care done by Banner each year exceeds $110 million, while indigent care (Medicaid and other public programs) exceeds $176 million (Banner, 2012). When one adds in the unpaid costs that come with Medicare, the total community benefit of Banner is $381 million per year (Banner, 2012).
Naturally, that level of…...

mla

References

Banner health at a glance. (2012). Banner Health. Retrieved from  http://www.bannerhealth.com/About+Us/Banner+at+a+Glance/_At+a+Glance.htm 

Gold, J. (2011). Accountable care organizations, explained. Kaiser Health News, NPR.

Harrison, J.P. (2010). Essentials of strategic planning in healthcare. Chapters 9, 10, & 11. Chicago: Health Administration Press.

McClellan, M., et al. (2010). A national strategy to put accountable care into practice. Health Affairs, 29(5): 982-990.

strategy that Johnson lays out for Heinz revolves around the four strategic imperatives that he has mentioned: driving profitable growth, removing the clutter, squeezing out costs and measuring and recognizing performance.
These four strategic imperatives had already been defined two years previously and Johnson uses the 2004 Fiscal Report in order to evaluate and present the actual situation to the shareholders. Additionally, Johnson finds the means to develop and present the tactical means by which these strategic imperatives can be reached. For example, one of the tactical components of the profitable growth is innovation: Heinze believes that new products and a constant improvement and enrichment of its portfolio of products will eventually bring about a profitable and sustainable growth.

Removing the clutter implies significant financial moves, specifically, for example, improvements in working capital. Additionally, the company has decided to control its costs so as to bring maximum profitability.

However, one of the…...

strategy came up in my mind: What is strategy? Why is strategy important for an organization? I strongly agree with ich Horwath in his article "The Strategic Thinking Manifesto" that strategy is all about creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Horwath, 2012). It entails knowing what to do in order to be a winner in a stiffly competitive business environment. Strategy can in fact be likened to a sailing race in an athletic competition. Winning the race is dependent on knowing not only the direction of the wind, but also your competitor's moves. It is also influenced by the degree to which members of your team are committed to make the boat remains ahead of the rest. Are they consolidating their efforts to win the race, or are they competing with one another? In essence, strategy is about creating a roadmap to reach a certain desired end, clearly…...

mla

References

Horwath, R. (2012). The strategic thinking manifesto. Retrieved 5 October 2016 from:   Manifesto.pdfhttp://www.strategyskills.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/The-Strategic-Thinking -

Porter, M. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review. November-December Issue.

Organizational Mandates

Organizational mandates refer to the authoritative basis for a company's actions. Companies today are all subject to certain laws, regulations, articles of incorporation, and so on. These mandates concern a wide variety of company operations, including the assurance of fair competition and financial honesty.

There are both formal and informal mandates. The formal mandates have been mentioned above, and concern formal rules and requirements by authorities. Informal mandates, in turn, are concerned with the norms and expectations of key stakeholders such as elected officials. There could be certain specific rules and regulations required or expected by these authorities, which a company must comply with.

Customers can also dictate mandates, such as that a product must be of a certain quality if a certain price is expected for it, and so on. Good customer service is an example of this, where company employees are expected to liaise with customers in a friendly…...

Walmart essentially has a foul image to most consumers, and that thus creates a negative stigma regarding working there.
ecommended Corporate Strategy

Based on all the intelligence gathered on Walmart the most vital corporate strategy it needs to engage in would be one which works hard to change its image. As already established, Walmart is essentially neck and neck with its major competitors on a price-based aspect; one could argue that the element which really deters people from shopping there is knowing that it doesn't treat its employees well. Many people view Walmart as a cold, unfeeling corporation that would rather line the pockets of its executives than give the people who do the really back-breaking work, a livable wage. In this era of the Internet, when information is readily at people's fingertips, and more and more shoppers are becoming educated, Walmart cannot afford to engage in such unpalatable business practices.…...

mla

References

Banjo, S. (May, 17 2012). Can Wal-Mart Think Small? Retrieved from Online.wsj.com:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303879604577408540682212740.html 

Jalan, P. (2005). Encyclopaedia of Economic Development, Volume 3. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons.

Kavilanz, P. (2011, March 8). Low, low prices: Target beats Wal-Mart. Retrieved from Cnn.com:  http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/news/companies/walmart_target_better_price/index.htm 

RapidBI, & Morrison, M. (n.d.). Michael Porter's Five Forces. Retrieved from Rapidbi.com:  http://rapidbi.com/porterfiveforces/

Strategic Management
Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Management

as Applied to Bowne & Company

Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Management

as Applied to Bowne & Company

Bowne & Co., Inc. is a financial services company which has been in business for 235 years. During this time the company has grown to become the world financial services leader in communication services, investor/shareholder relations and communications, and capital markets communication guidance. The communications side of financial services is Bowne's specialty, as they provide "regulatory and compliance documents; personalized financial statements; enrollment kits; and sales and marketing collateral" (Bowne, 2009). The company has expanded its operations in recent years due to the wish to be involved in all aspects of their customer's financial transactions. In February of 2010, Bowne merged its services with those of .. Donnelley & Sons in an all cash deal. Bowne will remain completely autonomous except in the matter of a very…...

mla

References

Bowne. (2009). Bowne 2009 annual report.

Cesnovar, T. (2006). The impact of strategic management on business outcomes: Empirical research. Journal for East European Management Studies, 11(3). 227- 238.

Grant, J.H. (2007). Advances and challenges in strategic management. International Journal of Business, 12(1). 11-21.

O'Shannassy, T. (2003). Modern strategic management: Balancing strategic thinking and strategic planning for internal and external stakeholders. Singapore Management Review, 25(1). 53-60.

Strategic Impact on Globalization
Globalization is a process that brought in changes in all walks of human existence the world over. The liberalization has created a global community and brought in the IT revolution and new forms of services like outsourcing. The changes in the world outlook and technology changes have changed the way business and international trade is done and has thus revolutionized the strategies and corporate behavior. It has ushered in new laws and environment concerns. The global community now is a different being and individual countries have now merged -- for example the European Union and many countries have now been fragmented -- as the former USS. These have had a lot of impact in the process of globalization and some international events have been the results of globalization. Has any strategy impacted globalization? And what strategies have come to be created after the globalization and how globalization…...

mla

References

Buttle, Francis. (2008) "Customer relationship management: concepts and technologies"

Butterworth-Heinemann.

Drejer, Anders. (2002) "Strategic Management and Core Competencies: Theory and Application." Quorum Books: Westport, CT.

Frankel, Ernst G. (2006) "Challenging American leadership: impact of national quality on risk of losing leadership" Springer.

Strategic Management in Business Development
The term "strategic planning" is generally used in the narrow sense, namely the application of management tools to address areas such as, profitability, efficiency, growth and competitive advantage. Ultimately, to address concerns of stakeholders for increase shareholder value and long-term competitiveness.

Business development is at the heart of strategic thinking and needs imagination and innovation. It should be proactive and anticipatory. It involves the creation of a unique configuration of the company's key features, which will match the challenges of its environment and provides strategic advantage. There are two distinct phases:

The option generation phase, where creativity must be allowed to flourish and diverse ideas emerge.

The option selection phase, where the options are narrowed down through a systematic filtering process.

The process is often iterative with multiple cycles occurring through the two phases.

In the first phase the strategic management team works with the company's management team, engaging in the…...

mla

Works Cited

Aguilar, F. (1967). Scanning the business environment. New York: Macmillan.

Brown, A., & Weiner, E. (1985). Super managing: How to harness change for personal and organizational success. New York: Mentor.

Brown, L.R., Slavin, C., & Postel, S. (1991). Saving the planet: How to shape an environmentally sustainable global economy. New York W.W. Norton and Co.

Coates, J.F., Inc. (1985, July). Issues identification and management: The state of the art of methods and techniques. Research project 2345-28. Palo Alto, CA: Electric Power Research Group.

Strategic Management of Amazon and Yahoo.com
The recent advancements in technology, computing, and Internet technologies have seen a rapid rise in the number of online businesses. Cases in point are the Amazon.com and Yahoo.com that took the globe by storm at the end of the 20th the century. Broadly speaking, e-commerce has become one of the most lucrative platforms to conduct businesses (Nabi, & Luthria, 2002). In this paper, two relating Amazon and Yahoo are reviewed. First, I seek to find out the source of Amazons success as a leading online retailer in 2011. The study will also establish whether Yahoo's business model functionally geared for success during the same year. In addition, the distinct business strategies of each of these entities and the way the strategies resulted in comparative advantages are also analyzed.

Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer, is an American company that was established in 1995 by Jeff Bezos.…...

mla

References

Canzer, B. (2006). E-Business: Strategic Thinking and Practice: Strategic Thinking and Practice. Cengage Learning

Hill, C.W.L., & Jones, G.R. (2012). Strategic Management. Cengage Learning.

Hitt, M.A., Hoskisson, R.E., & Ireland, R.D. (2013). Strategic management: Competitiveness & globalization: cases. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.

Kasabov, E. & Warlow A. (2012). The Compliance Business and Its Customers: Gaining Competitive Advantage by Controlling Your Customers. Palgrave Macmillan

administered, strategic planning can help guide organizations of all sizes and types even during periods of challenging operations. Strategic planning can also help organizations reduce their unplanned turnover, an outcome that is especially important for nurse managers who are already faced with a widespread nursing shortage of epidemic proportions. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the relevant literature to develop background information concerning strategic planning, the nurse manager's role in strategic planning, the significant problems and issues involved in strategic planning, and a discussion concerning these issues based on an appreciative inquiry conceptual framework. Based on the findings that emerged from this study, a series of recommendations are presented in the conclusion.
Nursing Leadership ole in Strategic Planning

Introduction

Today, nursing leadership involves a broad range of activities that require nurse managers to remain flexible and vigilant in order to be responsive to the dynamic environment in…...

mla

References

Blatstein, I. M. (2012, Summer). Strategic planning: Predicting or shaping the future? Organization Development Journal, 30(2), 31-33.

Brewington, J. G. (2014, July-August). Lead: Opening doors to leadership success. Nursing Education Perspectives, 35(4), 270.

Cleary, B. & Edd, R. R. (2009). Nursing workforce development: Strategic state initiatives. New York: Springer.

Hu, Q. & Kapucu, N. (2014, January 1). Strategic planning for community-based small nonprofit organizations: Implementation, benefits, and challenges. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 19(1), 83-85.

Strategic Development
Supporting Strategic Development

One of the biggest development issues any company ahs is if they are at a stage where growth into new markets is possible. At some point the market place is going to get so crowded that a company has to decide whether it is going to try and survive in the present market or forge into new ones. Or, the company can simply create a new market through a niche product. Whatever the solution, the company first has to tak a close look at itself to determine if it is a good idea for them or not. The process by which companies do this is by determining a strategic plan whereby it is possible. To implement this strategic plan a company will have use different approaches that take into account how the company is doing at all levels of the process. Considering that a certain company is…...

mla

References

Buzzell, R.D., & Gale, B.T., (1987). The PIMS (profit impact of market strategy) principles: Linking strategy to performance. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Dias, L.M.C. (2001). A definition of robustness analysis in decision aiding. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from http://www4.fe.uc.pt/lmcdias/english/defroba.htm

Manktelow, J., & Carson, A. (2010). Risk analysis: Evaluating and managing the risks that you face. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_07.htm 

Osborn, A.F. (1963). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures for creative problem solving. New York: Scribner & Sons.

Strategic Planning
The business that I want to start is a small barbeque and soul food restaurant. This business will have one location to begin with. The business will be defined by the quality of the food and the fun, comfortable atmosphere of the restaurant. This paper will first explain the benefits of strategic planning, and then outline some of the strategic plan for my new restaurant.

Strategic planning is "an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working towards common goals and ensure that the organization is setting its direction in relation to the external environment (BSI, 2013). Thus, strategic planning begins with a mission and vision for the company and what it wants to accomplish. These things underpin the actions and directions that the company wants to take.

There are several different elements of the strategic…...

mla

References

BSI. (2013). What is strategic planning? Balanced Scorecard Institute. Retrieved December 4, 2013 from https://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/StrategicPlanningBasics/tabid/459/Default.aspx

Ashkenas, R. (2013). Four tips for better strategic planning. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved December 4, 2013 from  http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/10/four-tips-for-better-strategic-planning/ 

Conerly, B. (2013). 3 strategic planning pitfalls. Forbes. Retrieved December 4, 2013 from  http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2013/08/15/3-strategic-planning-pitfalls/ 

Norman, L. (2013). What are the four basic functions that make up the management process? Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 4, 2013 from  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-basic-functions-make-up-management-process-23852.html

## Refining a Thesis Statement on the Making of a Leader

### Original Thesis Statement:

> The journey of becoming a leader is a complex and multifaceted process, shaped by innate traits, environmental factors, and deliberate actions.

### Refined Thesis Statement:

> The emergence of exceptional leaders results from a dynamic interplay of inherent qualities, nurturing environments, and conscious efforts to develop and harness leadership skills.

Improvements:

More specific: Focuses on the "making" of exceptional leaders rather than the general concept of leadership.
Differentiates between inherent and developed traits: Recognizes that leadership qualities can be both innate and acquired through experience and training.
Emphasizes the....

Exceptional Leadership Qualities

Exceptional leaders possess a unique blend of qualities that empower them to inspire, motivate, and guide their teams to achieve extraordinary results. These qualities encompass a combination of personal attributes, communication skills, and strategic vision:

1. Visionary Mindset:

Exceptional leaders possess a clear and compelling vision for the future. They articulate their goals and aspirations with passion and enthusiasm, inspiring their followers to share their dreams and work towards a common purpose.

2. Integrity and Authenticity:

Trust is the cornerstone of effective leadership. Exceptional leaders demonstrate honesty, integrity, and consistency in their actions and words. They lead by example, setting high ethical....

1. The Cyclops Polyphemus: Odysseus cleverly blinded Polyphemus by giving him wine (which Polyphemus had never tasted before) and claiming his name was "Nobody." When Polyphemus cried out in pain, the other Cyclopes thought he was mad and did not come to his aid.

2. Circe: Odysseus outsmarted the sorceress Circe by having Hermes give him an herb called moly that made him immune to her magic. He then threatened her with his sword and demanded she restore his men to their human form.

3. Sirens: Odysseus had his men block their ears with beeswax so they would not hear the Sirens'....

Odysseus' cleverness played a crucial role in helping him overcome the many obstacles he faced on his journey home. For example, when he encounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus devises a plan to blind the giant by getting him drunk on wine and then driving a wooden stake into his eye while he sleeps. This cunning strategy allows Odysseus and his men to escape from the Cyclops' cave.

Additionally, Odysseus uses his cleverness to outwit the Sirens, who try to lure sailors to their deaths with their enchanting songs. He has his men tie him to the mast of his ship so....