Opportunities to develop a strategic competitive advantage in the electric utility industry

Competitive forces are gaining more steam within an industry that has been characterized as a regulated monopoly. Electric Utilities must develop a strategic competitive advantage in order to survive and succeed in this new environment. This project articulates the more significant competitive issues impacting the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power. Issues are organized and focused, communicating the important connection between the macroenvironment and successful strategy development. The project explores several parameters which could provide an indication of the relative strengths or weaknesses of market participants. Specific utilities are evaluated to reveal the opportunities and challenges facing executive management. The project concludes that there are several accessible indicators of a utility\u27s need to develop and implement competitive strategies. A number of activities are proposed to identify and validate important parameters; define the real needs of investor-owned utilities; construct effective issue identification programs; and develop strategies which enhance the corporation\u27s ability to succeed in an increasingly competitive market

Designing Organizations for Exploration and Exploitation

all organizations face the core challenge of deciding on investments in two very different types of activities: exploration and exploitation. exploration activities are future-oriented, such as developing new capabilities, experimenting with new technologies, and pursuing new customers and markets. exploitation activities, in contrast, focus on the refinement of existing competencies, processes, and products. Because an organization’s design should reflect its goals, it is difficult to accommodate exploration and exploitation activities within a single organization. this article discusses four major approaches used to tackle this problem, and notes the strengths and limitations of each approach

Apple and Grape IPM Extension Focus Groups

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportExtension educators are involved in delivering IPM information to grape and apple growers and met to explore issues, challenges and priorities for apple and grape IPM in Geneva, NY on January 25-26, 2017. A free flowing agenda generated discussion and we were able to document opportunities and barriers to IPM adoption and establish ways to work together to promote IPM in apple and grape production. Our desired outcome of developing an interconnected group working to promote IPM adoption on apple and grape farms was successful as project participants overwhelmingly voted they would like to continue meeting once or twice a year whether in person, or electronically, to discuss IPM programming

Is There a Dark Side of Big Data? - point, counterpoint

Haakonsson and Carroll see two sides to Big Data. In his executive experience, Haakansson finds big data slows the decision making process and the implementation of decisions as well. Executives tend to wait for more data just because it is there. Is there a solution? Haakonsson argues that leadership based upon experience and courage is needed. Carroll sees a different world where we have continually improved tools which can automate the analyses of big data and give us answers quickly. That is, big data is not a problem, but a solution for executives. But there is also a problem; what are the right questions to ask? Without hypotheses, the questions are endless. Leaders must utilize their experience, intuition and insights to ask the right questions – not all the possible questions which big data can address. Is there a synthesis? Big data by itself is not necessarily a good thing; but it can be if leaders have the courage to move on in a timely manner where they ask the right questions – not all the questions possible that big data can address

Is There a Dark Side of Big Data? - point, counterpoint

Haakonsson and Carroll see two sides to Big Data. In his executive experience, Haakansson finds big data slows the decision making process and the implementation of decisions as well. Executives tend to wait for more data just because it is there. Is there a solution? Haakonsson argues that leadership based upon experience and courage is needed. Carroll sees a different world where we have continually improved tools which can automate the analyses of big data and give us answers quickly. That is, big data is not a problem, but a solution for executives. But there is also a problem; what are the right questions to ask? Without hypotheses, the questions are endless. Leaders must utilize their experience, intuition and insights to ask the right questions – not all the possible questions which big data can address. Is there a synthesis? Big data by itself is not necessarily a good thing; but it can be if leaders have the courage to move on in a timely manner where they ask the right questions – not all the questions possible that big data can address

Is There a Dark Side of Big Data? - point, counterpoint

Haakonsson and Carroll see two sides to Big Data. In his executive experience, Haakansson finds big data slows the decision making process and the implementation of decisions as well. Executives tend to wait for more data just because it is there. Is there a solution? Haakonsson argues that leadership based upon experience and courage is needed. Carroll sees a different world where we have continually improved tools which can automate the analyses of big data and give us answers quickly. That is, big data is not a problem, but a solution for executives. But there is also a problem; what are the right questions to ask? Without hypotheses, the questions are endless. Leaders must utilize their experience, intuition and insights to ask the right questions – not all the possible questions which big data can address. Is there a synthesis? Big data by itself is not necessarily a good thing; but it can be if leaders have the courage to move on in a timely manner where they ask the right questions – not all the questions possible that big data can address

Is There a Dark Side of Big Data? - point, counterpoint

Haakonsson and Carroll see two sides to Big Data. In his executive experience, Haakansson finds big data slows the decision making process and the implementation of decisions as well. Executives tend to wait for more data just because it is there. Is there a solution? Haakonsson argues that leadership based upon experience and courage is needed. Carroll sees a different world where we have continually improved tools which can automate the analyses of big data and give us answers quickly. That is, big data is not a problem, but a solution for executives. But there is also a problem; what are the right questions to ask? Without hypotheses, the questions are endless. Leaders must utilize their experience, intuition and insights to ask the right questions – not all the possible questions which big data can address. Is there a synthesis? Big data by itself is not necessarily a good thing; but it can be if leaders have the courage to move on in a timely manner where they ask the right questions – not all the questions possible that big data can address

Delaying Change: Examining How Industry and Managerial Turbulence Impact Structural Realignment

This paper examines when firms pursue structural realignment through business unit reconfiguration, specifically by recombining business units. Our results refine and extend contingency theory and studies of organization design by drawing on theories of decision avoidance and delay to describe environmental conditions when firms pursue or postpone structural realignment. Our empirical analysis of 46 firms from 1978 to 1997, operating within the U.S. medical device and pharmaceutical sectors, demonstrates that while decision makers initiate structural recombination during periods of industry growth (i.e., munificence), they reduce their recombination efforts during periods of industry turbulence (i.e., dynamism), and managerial turbulence (i.e., growth in top management team size). We also find evidence that firms delay realignment and bide their time for better environmental conditions of declining turbulence and industry growth before pursuing more structural realignment. Together, these findings suggest that decision makers often delay initiating structural recombination until they can effectively process information and assess how structural changes will help them realign the organization to the environment

Review: Delivering mental health support within schools and colleges – a thematic synthesis of barriers and facilitators to implementation of indicated psychological interventions for adolescents

Background: Increasing the role of schools and colleges in the provision of mental health services for young people has the potential to improve early intervention and access to treatment. We aimed to understand what factors influence the successful implementation of indicated psychological interventions within schools and colleges to help guide increased provision of mental health support within education settings. Methods: Systematic search for studies that have reported barriers or facilitators to the implementation of indicated interventions for adolescent emotional disorders delivered within schools and further education/sixth form colleges (CRD42018102830). Databases searched were EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, British Nursing Index, ASSIA, ERIC and British Education Index. A thematic synthesis of factors reported to impact implementation was conducted. Results: Two thousand five hundred and sixty-nine records and 177 full texts were screened. Fifty studies were identified for inclusion, all of which were of school-based interventions. Eleven analytic themes were developed encompassing intervention characteristics, organisational capacity, training and technical assistance, provider characteristics and community-level factors. Findings indicate the need to select appropriate interventions, consider logistical challenges of the school context and provide training and supervision to enable staff to deliver interventions with fidelity. However, structural and environmental support is required for these facilitators to have the greatest impact on successful implementation. Conclusions: Implementing indicated school-based mental health interventions is challenging. Those involved in planning school-based mental health initiatives must be alert to the impact of factors on multiple interacting levels. There is a lack of research on implementing mental health support within further education and sixth form colleges