The benefits and weaknesses of approaches

The benefits and weaknesses of approaches This report is to assess the benefits and weaknesses of prescriptive and emergent approaches for devising strategy in modern organisations. While these two approaches are seen to be mutually exclusive ways of achieving strategic management, it is argued that strategic management, as a discipline, is often replete with fads and fashions, which create difficulties for managers in knowing how to proceed in the affairs of their organisation. To begin with, Johnson and Scholes (1999) defined strategy as the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a changing environment to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. Rollinson (2008) further stated that strategies are strongly influenced by the environment of an organisation. It is suggested that the strategies also include considerations about things internal to the organisation and involve choices about structure, technology and a host of other factors. It is recommended (Johnson and Scholes, 1999; Lynch, 2009) that the two named approaches must be examined under the increasingly dynamic, highly competitive and global business environment. External forces are driving organisations to reduce costs, enhance processes and identify new opportunities for growth. Many businesses are compelled to make dramatic improvements not only to compete and prosper but also merely to survive. This brings to the fore the importance of determining how effectively the prescriptive and emergent approaches can meet the needs of current businesses when formulating strategy. Moreover, it is always debating that whether competitive advantage stems primarily from the competitive position of the business in its industry or from business-specific core competencies (Evans et al, 2003). By these contexts, further evaluations of the two named approaches are developed in the following report. Prescriptive approach According to Lynch (2009), a prescriptive strategy is one where the objective has been defined in advance and the main elements have been developed before the strategy commences. Evans et al. (2007) considered that the prescriptive approach views the formulation and implementation of strategic management as a logical, rational and systematic process. That is to say, systematic planning makes it possible to organise complex activities and information, unite business objectives, set targets against which performance can be evaluated and generally increases the degree of control which can be exercised over the operation of the business (Evans et al., 2003). The prescriptive approach is similar to the military strategy. For instance, the early Chinese military historical writings of Sun Tzu The Art of War, which is widely studied by many organisations, parties and groups in different fields around the world. It is known (Beirne and Maynard, 2005) that The Art of War has had an influence on Eastern and even Western military thinking, business tactics, and beyond, such as Napoleon, Henry Kissinger, Lee Iacocca, basketball coach Pat Riley, and lawyer Gerry Spence, some leading persons in their knowledge fields, along with other hundreds of American businessmen, litigators, marketers, and PR professionals. Two millennium ago, Sun Tzu (G riffith, 1971) suggested that the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He considered that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations. Sun Tzu (Griffith, 1971) stated: Know the other and know yourself: Triumph without peril. Know Nature and the Situation: Triumph completely. The key strategic principles suggested by Lynch (2009) in modern days are: Prescriptive strategy begins with an analysis of the competitive environment and the competitive resources of the organisation. The purpose or objective of the strategy is then identified. The objective may be adjusted if the environment or other circumstances change. To test for prescriptive strategy, it is useful to examine whether a clearly defined, main objective has been identified. The advantages of the prescriptive process include the overview it provides; the comparison with objectives; the summary of the demands made on resources; the picture of the choices to be made; and the ability to monitor what has been agreed. The tools and techniques that apply to prescriptive approach are the Porters Five Forces and Value Chain Analysis. Porters Five Forces are for analysing industry and Value Chain Analysis highlights the existing capabilities as a solid basis for competitive advantage (Johnson and Scholes, 1999). Porters Five Forces Model is based upon his theory that the intensity of competition among firms varies widely across industries (David, 2006). As shown in Figure 1, the Five Forces Model Figure 1, Porters Five Forces Model illustrates the nature of competitiveness in a given industry as a composite of the rivalry among competing firms, the potential entry of new competitors, the potential development of substitute products, the bargaining power of suppliers and the bargaining power of customers. The Five Forces Model of competitive analysis is widely used approach for developing strategies in many industries, however, the model has been criticised for its assumption of a perfect competitive market (Aaker, 1992; Winfield, et al., 2004; Lynch, 2009). Winfield and other writers (2004) further pointed out that the analysis has ignored the human resource aspect of strategy such as the management skills and the culture aspect of corporate strategy. Besides Five Forces Model, the other prescriptive approach tool Value Chain analysis provides an Figure 2. Value Chain Analysis in-depth understanding of the way in which resources are developed to achieve competitive advantage for identifying ways to create more customer value (Winfiled et al., 2004; Saunders et al., 2008). Figure 2 illustrates the basic idea of Value Chain Analysis and it suggests that activities must be examined separately in order to identify sources of competitive advantage (Winfield, et al., 2004). By adapting this analysis, Nestlà © (2010), one of the leading nutrition and foods companies in the world, recognised each step in the value chain could have harmful consequences if not managed properly. For example, without sustainable agricultural practices the natural resources of farms worldwide might be damaged. By embedding corporate responsibility in its business practices in this way, like launching Nestlà © Corporate Business Principles, which the company claimed that they will continue to evolve and adapt to a changing world and reflects the basic ideas of fairness, honesty, and a general concern for people (Nestlà ©, 2010), Nestlà © is able to contribute positively to societies across the globe. Saunders and other writers (2008) emphasised Value Chain Analysis for its role in understanding competitive advantage and stated out that it cannot be understood by looking at an organisation as a whole, which leads to the major problem towards this analysis. Lynch (2009) argued that Value Chain seems works only to explore existing linkages and value-added areas within the existing structure of the business. Hamel and Prahalad (1996) supported the argument and suggested that revolution in management sector is required rather than to create the future. Ansoff is one of theorists that frequently referred to by strategists, especially in the context of prescriptive approach. Ansoff (Baker, 2001) believes that it is essential to systematically anticipate future environmental challenges to an organisation in developing strategy and draw up appropriate strategic plans for responding to these challenges. The thought is the logical analytical approach allows those well-planning companies to devise predictive and pre-emptive strategies from which they can meet new opportunities head on. For instance, in 1995 EasyJet introduced low cost flights to take advantage of a more cost-conscious European Market (easyJet, 2010). What is more, prescriptive approach enables companies to organise complex activities and exercise in control over different business units in a greater degree. For example, Tesco has seceded in achieving consistent growth and profit in its UK core business, retail service, non-food and international sectors over recent years (Accountancy Age, 2006). It was reported that its breathtaking performance is as a result of its well defined long-term goals and clear boundaries for all their business activities. Ansoff (Baker, 2001) suggests that a firm needs direction and focus in its search for and creation of opportunities and the fact that it is to the advantage of the firm to seek entries with strong synergistic potential. In other words, strategy is emphasised on existing capability strengths to define itself and optimise its position, especially at a time of economic turbulence. For example, Motorola has successfully met the needs of emerging markets by using its fundamental technological strengths in electronic components to progress from supplying TVs and car radios to offering telecommunications services (Rich, 2006). However, the prescriptive approach is often criticised to be highly discrepant between planned and real strategies within the business environment which there are increasing turbulence and chaos (Evans et al., 2003). As some writers believe that rigid plans prevent the flexibility which is required in an environment volatile change (Karami, 2007). Although Tesco is running outstanding, it won the sponsorship to England football team during the World Cup 2010 as the official food supplier (The Guardian, 2010), yet the finance and strategy director of Tesco Higginson (Accountancy Age, 2006) claimed that rules-based approaches the one-size-fits-all mentality is not always appropriate. Mintzberg (2000) criticised the prescriptive approach by highlighting that the actual strategy tends to be only 10 to 30 percent of the planned strategy. He pointed out that the theories of Ansoff are mostly based upon events can be predicted, such as the introduction of new legal regulations or technologi es, and this would somehow force the original strategy off its course. Emergent approach Evans et al. (2003) believed that the emergent view of strategy adopts the position that strategy must be evolved incrementally over time, which is based in rapidly changing environments. It is demonstrated that under such circumstances, strategy will tend to evolve as a result of the interaction between stakeholder groups and between the business and its environment. Emergent approach has the advantage of increased organisational flexibility. It can form a basis in organisational learning and can provide an internal culture for managers to think and act creatively rather than have to act within the rigid framework of deliberate strategy. Goldschmidt and other writers (2003) characterised emergent approach as a learning by do process. Mintzberg (2000) defined strategy as a pattern and believes that strategies can be unplanned instead of meeting a premeditated plan in a changing reality. In some points of view (Lynch, 2009), change sometimes mean the whole process of developing the st rategy as it involves experimentation, learning and consultation for those involved during the change. Hence, the thought of formulation of strategy is running parallel to implementation and managers at multiple organisational levels have a key input into the actual strategies pursued by the organisation. An emergent approach is thought to be more creative and responsive strategy making that well suited to the hyper-competitive and unpredictable environments of today (Mintzberg, 2000; Burnes, 2004; David, 2006). Rollinson (2008) and Burnes (2004) view the continuous and dynamic change as an emergent process of experimentation and adaptation which is searching for ways that is able to cope with the exigencies of the uncertain environment. It can be said that the idea of emergent approach is there is not such routines for organisations to plan for the future. Hamel and Prahalad (1996) found that the most successful firms in the world such as Microsoft and Apple Macintosh do not always stick to their stated mission, goals and objectives or the predetermined plan. In contrast with the prescriptive approach which focuses on creating a framework between established strengths and emerging opportunities, the emergent approach focuses on five organisational features during the change process, which is organisational structure, organisational culture, management behaviour, patterns of power and politics, and organisational learning (Burnes, 2004). Hence, it is more suited to instigating positive, transformational organisational change such as diversification or restructuring. It also has the added benefit of helping to reduce resistance to change as it allows time to build employee support while the strategy is taking shape. Lynch (2009) pointed out that there is no one single approach within emergent approach. Some emphasise the need for responsiveness in an increasingly turbulent world. Others concentrate on the longer-term need to change an organisational skill, style and operating culture fundamentally and over long time periods. It can be said that emergent approach to organisational change is more concerned with change readiness and change facilitation with specific pre-planned steps for particular change projects and initiatives (Pasmore, 2009). Campbell et al. (2002) argued that the danger of the emergent approach is the possible result in a lack of purpose in strategy and it can make it difficult to evaluate performance. On another negative note, when formulation and implementation of strategy occurs simultaneously there is a risk that strategy development becomes too slow and jumbled a process. Burnes (2004) considered that emergent approach sometimes can be an afterthought. This means that valuable opportunities may be missed along the way. Moreover, conflicting objectives from different departments can hinder strategy development, particularly when there are power shifts taking place during a major strategic change such as a merger (Pasmore, 2009). Without strict analysis and identifiable targets, objectives can be lack of clarity and there may be no real basis for evaluating performance. Therefore, it was pointed out by Brews and Hunt (1999) that an over-reliance on emergent strategy formation could result in underperf ormance. Conclusion Performing in the increasingly unpredictable and complex business environment, many organisations are forced to be more flexible and adaptive to change. In practice, the strategies of most companies are probably a combination of the prescriptive and the emergent (Hill and Jones, 2009). Campbell et al. (2002) stated that the prescriptive and emergent approaches are often presented as being diametrically opposed, which is by the reason of that the approaches are in many ways complementary as they present different perspectives of the same situation. Therefore, Campbell et al. (2002) suggested that strategy must be both inward- and outward-looking, planned and emergent. This supports the adoption of an emergent approach to strategy development which invokes a more intelligent capacity to respond to new opportunities. In conclusion, Quinn (1998) stated that these two approaches can reinforce each other, that is to say, a greater use of strategic planning tools for internal and external analysis would in some ways improve organisational learning and enhances strategic thinking even while following an emergent approach.

Books Were an Important Part of Life in the Late 18th Century Essay

Learning is one of important processes in human being life. It is self-evident that human development cannot stand without a proper learning. Since Learning provides unlimited Benefits, people should learn and experience it. The Reading is being reimagined over the time period. I’ll discuss about it later in this section. There are several ways that promotes Learning such as Books, electronic books, Movies, Periodicals such as Magazine, journals or Newspapers and Audio/Visual clips. Nowadays Libraries plays a critical role on keeping the Books alive due to the invention Mass media communications. I’ll talk further about this later in this section. Let’s take a closer look about Books. The book is one of the valuable sources of knowledge that provided numerous benefits, such benefits are it takes us into different worlds and cultures and it helps to learn other languages as well. So, we can tell that a book can be a truthful friend which helps to learn how to behave in practical life. Books cover different genres such as Comedy, Drama, Romance, Adventure, fiction etc. Director General of UNESCO addressed 1972 as the â€Å"International Book Year† and taking â€Å"Booking for all† as their Motto. UNESCO organizes a yearly event called â€Å"World Book day or International Day of the book† on 23th April every year worldwide to promote Reading, Publishing and Copyright. So we can understand How Important it is Reading in a life of Mankind. It was first celebrated on 23th April 1995. Writing believed to be developed between the 7th millennium BC and 4th millennium BC in china. Ancient people used to write using stones but wood was the first medium to write in the actual form of Book. From time to Time, the new technology inventions played vital part in the World. The Cambridge University Press was founded in 1534 and the first book was printed in 1583. Also the first press was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts one of the North American British colonies in the year of Year 1639. Then first North American Public library was founded in Boston in the year of 1653. Eighteenth Century Americans were mainly interested in reading books about practical arts, religious and the politics as well. American does have a long tradition on reading habits since long back. Thus they are proved to be improved in vocal, public expressions both towards and against throughout reading skills. Novels are the entertaining seldom read by Americans in the 18th century. The nation’s first novel was published in the late 18th century. The first two novels to be published were Digges’ â€Å"Adventure of Alonso† and Brown’s â€Å"The power of Sympathy†. Women were also contributed to the success of Novels, Such writers were Susuana Rowson for her novel â€Å"Charlotte: A tale of truth†. This navel was re-issued under the title of Charlotte Temple, which sold more than million and half copies. The growth of novel reading grew rapidly towards the end of the year 1750. The main reason for the growth of novel readers was the rapid growth of the source of book materials such as book seller, public library and lending library. An average person was able to obtain their reading materials from booksellers, public libraries as well through lending libraries which were a cheaper option since they were able to rent the books for a small fee. Due to the vast number of readers between the year 1773 and 1798 the number of book trading companies as well as the number of public libraries grew rapidly at faster rate than the increasing population. While the population doubled in the period of 1790’s, the numbers of the circulating libraries were tripled. So in the late 18th century, the circulation libraries played a huge influence placing reading interest among the American public. Social libraries were able to expand their firms by joining the book selling companies and they were able to purchase and loan the books for a lower rate. By the year of 1790, books were the main source of entertainment, information and literature for an average person. According to the catalogues of the sellers, the percentage of fiction readers increased by nine percent between 1754 to 1765 and increased to thirteen percent between 1791 to 1800. Circulating Library catalogues contained fifty-eight percent fiction by the year of 1800 which was higher compared (twenty-eight percent) to the early 18th century. Though the books were little expensive at that period, the people were able to join in the circulating libraries for lower rate which is another proof that people were encouraged to read during this century. During the late 18th century, the book sellers showed interest requesting novels from their suppliers. As an example Robert Ben Winans (1975) states that â€Å"In 1801, a bookseller in North Carolina wrote to his supplier requesting that â€Å"Mr. Carey will be so obliging as to send as many of the Novels as he procure; it will be mutually our interest to keep a good collection, as the good folks her love light reading†. This letter accompanied an order called a -typical order of the period about 1800, which listed sixty-three books every one of them a novel†. (â€Å"The Growth of a Novel-Reading Public in Late-Eighteenth-Century America. Early American Literature. Vol. 9. No. 3 (Winter, 1975): 267-275. Print). This is a proof that tells the novels were read by rapidly growing people in the late 18th century. This period is described as Novel reading age. I strongly believe that books today have been replaced by other forms of mass communication such as Media, newspape r and magazine, Web. Though there were so many significant political, economic developments redesigned the new world, the dramatic and unprecedented centralization of the countries and their expansion, regulations and professionalization of the state forces are still appreciable. Every time a new invention strikes in mass communications, obviously the books had to compete with that invention. The first American newspaper called â€Å"Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick† published in early 18th century. During the early 18th century, the weekly Newspapers acted as the means of carrying of intercolonial news and also the newspapers carried war news at that period . So people were interested in reading newspapers than Books at that period. Then the industrial era started from the nineteenth century initially with the telegraph applications. The first African-American newspaper was published in 1827 called the Freedom’s Journal. Also this has been followed by the inventions such as magazines, telegraph, printers, phonograph, postal discounted rates, photographic films and radio were in particular. So the century that belongs to the industrial revolution start for the mass media that affected the books and readers. Since the radio, television and movie inventions in the early 1900s, the information had started passing through voice than text form. People started feeling that listening to audio is more comfortable than reading. In 1980, first online newspaper was published on web . From time moves on, the physical form of book transformed in intangible form of text due the new inventions in this world. During the late 1980s, Information has transformed to digitalized manner and the revolution of Computer started striking the world. People believed that physically storing information was not safe, so they started storing information in digital code. In 1985, Voyagar Company stored books in CD-ROM which was the first step to the era of eBook. From then onwards, the learning has come to digital manner. Then the biggest bang to the book sales was the invention of the World Wide Web in the year of 1991. Then the first online blog was published in the year of 1997. Due to high volume of readers, authors showed an interest in writing online blogs. Convergence of Media (Video and Audio) introduced in the later 1990s. For example:-We can see presidential debates live on YouTube. So the information can be stored as Video or audio forms as well than the text form. Google has announced the Google Library Project which is digitalization of books in 2005. Nowadays libraries are playing an important role in preserving the books for the next generation. It is self-evident that physically books can’t long last because of the material and size. It is good in a way that if we store information in digital code it can long last than physically storing in a book. This generation people show interest in reading/learning, just the sales of the eBooks readers, pdf readers are the proofs. If we look into Amazon. com, we can see tons of EBooks and they also sell books as well. If we want, we can download the eBook instantly or else we have to wait till they ship it. Though the form of text (book) has changed due to new inventions, but the rate of readers has increased in the world. Earlier we had only text form but now we do have text, audio and video form as well. Nowadays people look for a better ways. I would say storing an eBook is far more convenient than carrying a book (physical book). Though the new innovation impacted the sales of the books (physical form), it’s good for the next generation to preserve the valuable information.

Top Miller s Tale Essay Topics Guide!

Top Miller 's Tale Essay Topics Guide! A Secret Weapon for the Miller's Tale Essay Topics As stated by the second principle, the ranks of fairy tales made by ordinary people today are addressed. Hansel takes the protective part in the start of the story. Fairy tales are a favourite way to devote time for children. Each looks just another easy, obscene tale intended to amuse and entertain the typical individuals. Nicholas devises a plan which can allow him and Alisoun to devote a whole night together. Offred and Moira are extremely different folks. According to Nicholas, they needed to pray the entire night in order to receive spared. Within this novel, Chaucer is attempting to demonstrate how various facets of life like love and marriage are portrayed in the unique social classes of a satire. The huge kind of humour all works on distinct levels to be able to appeal to great diversity in the audience, thus there is humour for everybody within this tale. A lady shouldn't ever act in such a fashion. The sanctity of a woman is not simply worth fighting for, it's worth dying for. Everyone one is on precisely the same journey, and they're staying in the exact places, however some were thought of as superior than others and by putting all of them into the exact same circumstance. A survival program should develop into a must-have for every single family in the event of natural disasters. This play appears to find the conventional tragic ending from the way first, with its ending concluding in a comparatively joyous state. Offred feels she's doing something wrong and feels guilt each time. What Everybody Dislikes About the Miller's Tale Essay Topics and Why The principle to consider is that if you attempt to do too much, you wind up doing less or nothing in any respect. Thinking can damage your chances, and I mean to last. Leontes' dialogue is pretty short and blatant in contrast. Everyone is apparently seeking revenge inside this novel. Chaucer is showing the contrast between the domain of knights and that of the typical individuals. There is likewise the sort of humour which arrives from mocking and laughing at the characters. The author would like to demonstrate that revenge can also cause infidelity. The plot of the fairytale doesn't have a joyful conclusion. Our free hints will help you to receive through all types of essays. So without further ado, below are some effective writing tips to generate your common app essay stick out! Ask yourself whether you can realistically cover this issue in the quantity of pages you're tasked with writing. There are several intriguing topics that could be become a persuasive essay if you take the opportunity to consider about doing it. Educated people ought to be asked to volunteer as literacy tutors. Traditionalism and conservative views formed the mainstream of politics around the world, not just in the usa. To write an excellent argumentative essay the students first must investigate several sides of the argument, which enables them to make an educated stance. Conclusion as a result, the religious motifs are extremely strong in the Atwood's novel. It more frequently appears at or close to the conclusion of the very first paragraph. The thesis statement usually appears close to the start of a paper. It should remain flexible until the paper is actually finished. Bear these in mind while you read the book. No warrant ought to be needed for search and seizures. Therefore there are various views on what is meant, in the identical way there are distinct interpretations of what the Miller states. Child molesters ought to be put to death.

The Importance Of A Classroom Teacher When Addressing...

One of the most important responsibilities of a classroom teacher when addressing depression and/ or suicide is to be educated. Teachers must know the warning signs of depression and suicide in order to know when to intervene. Teachers need to know that depression causes a chemical imbalance in the student’s brain and it is not something to just snap out of. Teachers need to have good connections with their students so that can notice the warning signs and possibly be an outlook for the student. It is important for teachers to be available to students if they need to talk. Then if a student seems to have depression or possible suicidal thoughts it is important to get in touch with the school counselor for more resources. As a teacher it†¦show more content†¦2. Discuss alternative educational settings such as wilderness programs discussed in class. What are the benefits of a program, such as the Eckerd Wilderness Program discussed in class? What are potential drawbacks? (6 points) In class we discussed a various of wilderness settings that could be used instead of a normal classroom setting. We watched a video on Mount Carmel which is a camp for troubled teens. This was a cool video because it has a truly symbiotic relationship between the head of the camp and the campers. The rancher needed help around the ranch and recruited some young men to help out. This resulted in troubled teens who needed to get out of their toxic environment helping out this ranch for extended periods of time and learning to be responsible and make good choices. The benefits of this program is both the rancher and the boys were benefiting from the situation. The boys were learning how to be helpful and how to make good choices at this camp. The potential drawbacks of this situation is what happens when the boys go back to their city life. Those boys are going to be tempted with all the toxic activities as before and it is quite easy to fall back into those bad habits if that’s what all their friends are doing. It needs to be cemented into the students’ brains that they can do better and have such a bright future even if they were put back into their negative surroundings.