Managing In Knowledge-Based Economies: Managing for Knowledge, Absorptive Capacity and Innovation

Management processes have evolved to meet changing internal and external environments through different organisational forms, systems and processes. The emerging phenomena of the knowledge based economy challenges not only the strategic management of a firm but also the understandings and competencies of managers, both individually and collectively. This paper examines the challenge of managing in the global networked context of the knowledge economy. Using the knowledge based view of the firm and knowledge of management processes, we argue that management in the twenty-first century involves not only the familiar processes of managing tasks, managing others and managing change, but also requires a strategic approach to managing for knowledge, absorptive capacity and innovation

Strategic directions of transport and logistics to ensure the implementation of new industrialization processes

Ensuring the processes of industrialization of the modern economy requires the formation of an efficient transport and logistics infrastructure. The solution of this task is carried out using the tools of strategic management, in particular the formation of strategic goals. The article presents the strategic goals and the corresponding strategic measures in the field of ensuring the availability and quality of transport and logistics services in the field of freight traffic at the level of the needs of the development of the economy of the Sverdlovsk region. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Everyone is Different! Exploring the Issues and Problems with ERP Enabled Shared Service Initiatives

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, there is constant pressure for corporate leaders to add value to their organizations. These contemporary organizations are increasingly moving into business models that attempt to reduce duplicate supporting processes and staff by streamlining business processes that are not central to the organization’s operations and concentrating on strategies on strategic or core, business processes. This concept, known as Shared Services, attempts to bundle some of the supporting processes and non-strategic activities into a separate organization, which in turn treats those processes and activities as the core of its own business. Shared Services consolidate and support redundant functions, such as accounts payable and procurement, for disparate business units. By leveraging economies of scale from a common IT infrastructure, such a group is able to market specific services to business units. Many organizations are employing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, for example SAP, to facilitate Shared Service initiatives by aggregating backroom functionality across departments. This research-in-progress paper investigates issues and problems with ERP enabled Shared Services in 19 organizations. The results reveal five main issues that organizations face in implementing a Shared Services initiative

Strategic policy advice: group-based processes as a tool to support policymaking

This deliverable is about the group discussions (STAVE trials) that have been carried out in the partner countries of project PACHELBEL on various substantive policy issues in the field of sustainability. It focuses on the methods that have been used to interact with lay citizens in the STAVE groups, and on the feedback that has been provided to policy makers on findings from the groups. Building upon these elaborations, conclusions will be drawn as to STAVE as a policy tool. Furthermore, this deliverable provides key features of STAVE groups on a country-by-country basis

Key factor for hastening the strategic issue diagnosis process: a within organisational model

Previous research on Strategic Issue Diagnosis (SID) had focused on the complexity and novelty associated with the decision-making process in a turbulent environment. What had not been previously addressed in the extant literature is the requirement for speed inherent within the SID process, especially that is related to the gathering of information and facts through an organisation’s environmental scanning procedures. Since proactive management techniques, nimble processes, and systems that allow an organisation to be responsive and build rapid decision-making capabilities are important determinants of success in a turbulent environment, the element of speed associated with SID is an important factor. Our paper identifi es a series of propositions focusing att ention on elements of the environmental scanning processes and management hierarchies that are intended to counteract the recursiveness and redundancy inherent in SID systems and ultimately hasten the strategic decision-making process

Walmart\u27s Sustainability Journey: Andy Ruben and the Design of Organizational Structures and Systems (B)

The case “Andy Ruben and the Design of Strategic Goals and Processes” flows from the previous discussion, by moving from the development of an ambitious vision to the challenges of adopting strategic policies and processes to reach those aspirations in practice. This case puts students into the role of Andy Ruben, Walmart’s first Vice-President for Sustainability , asking them to make concrete decisions about what should be done, in what order, and by what process if they were to implement an ambitious corporate sustainability strategy. In the case, Ruben confronts specific choices about how to define the responsibilities of the new sustainability office at Walmart in his efforts to lead the organization toward achieving Lee Scott’s vision. In Case B, we review the basic decisions Ruben made while building the resultant sustainability office

IT in construction: aligning IT and business strategies

The extent to which information technology (IT) infrastructures and strategies are aligned with business processes and strategies varies widely along firms. The objective of this paper is to explain the success or failure of IT in construction firms by focusing on the alignment (or lack of it) between business strategy, IT strategy, organizational infrastructure, and IT infrastructure. It is hypothesized that the ‘fit’ among these elements, the domains of the Strategic Alignment Model, is positively related to the Business Value of IT in Construction. The IT Business Value is evaluated in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and business performance. By applying the Strategic Alignment Model to the Dutch construction industry, it is shown that the inadequate alignment between these domains is a major reason for the modest added business value from IT investments in this industry. The first lack of alignment is the technology shortfall: hence IT contributes in an inadequate way to strategic processes of construction firms. The second lack of alignment is the strategy-shortfall: hence the firm strategy impedes the implementation of IT that could generate a high business value

Processes of Strategic Renewal, Competencies, and the Management of Speed

We discuss strategic renewal from a competence perspective. We argue that the management of speed and timing in this process is viewed distinctively when perceived through a cognitive lens. Managers need more firmly grounded process-understanding. The key idea of this paper is to dynamically conceptualize key activities of strategic renewal, and possible sources of break-down as they relate to the managment of speed and timing. Based on a case from the media industry, we identify managerial trade-offs and show how these can be influenced through managing subjective perception, strategic involvement and external knowledge-sourcing.Strategic Renewal, Process, Learning, Knowledge-Sourcing

HAVE SPANISH COMPANIES BUILT GREATER ENTREPRENEURSHIP AFTER PRIVATIZATION?

This study analyses some of the strategic and organizational changes experienced in public firms following privatization in its double facet: sale of companies and deregulation. Specifically, we analyse the process of innovation in terms of products, processes and organization. We also look into the development of new businesses and strategic renewal, which in the end shape the entrepreneurial capacity of a company. A sample of Spanish firms which were privatized between 1985 and 2000 shows that after privatization, these companies have experienced a significant increase in entrepreneurship. These changes are even more appreciable when a high sector competition is added to the ownership shift. Once they join the private sector, their level of product, process and organizational innovation is higher. They also develop new businesses at national level, reinforce their international activity and embark on strategic renewal processes by shedding the lesser profitable businesses and modifying their competitive strategy so as to gain efficiency.

Examining the strategic benefits of information systems: A global case study

In the context of the emerging evaluation of Information Systems (IS) as strategic enablers, this paper critically reviews the literature relating to the strategic benefits of IS. Understanding the importance of IS benefits can be significant in the development of strategy in an organisation, although most organisations have diverse environments and, likewise, diverse benefits for decision-makers. Thus, taxonomies of the benefits of IS are produced from both the academic literature and published case studies. In this way, a classification of benefits as they relate to organisational strategic focus has been developed to provide a greater understanding of the benefits needed to obtain a specific focus. The result of this paper is a taxonomy of IS benefits in the strategic focus of IS, using Y bank as a case study. This categorisation can support the evaluation of IS processes, which will, in turn, support decision-makers throughout the planning process