... the past several years, there has been a trend in the business world - a shift of focus away from strategy and toward operational effectiveness. Companies believe that competitive advantage is created by a greater level of operational effectiveness than competitors, or what Porter describes as "performing similar activities better than rivals perform them." The competitive advantage created by greater ... efficiency and operational effectiveness is not sustainable, however, and is actually detrimental in the long-run. This is because steps taken to increase operational effectiveness are...

• Word Count: 292
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Graduate

... are first approved by top management. Bartol et al describe this form of strategy as "concentrating on how best to compete within a particular industry while supporting corporate-level strategies". The functional-level strategy is the final level that focuses on developing strategies for managing the various departments in order to support the business-level strategies. Thus effective strategic implementation requires integration from all levels within the ... organisation. Furthermore, whatever the strategy, it is important for an organisation to develop them in conjunction ... ...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... the associated modifications to strategic control system elements: culture, reward and incentives, and boundaries. Prior to management initiatives to pursue Organization for Growth (OFG) strategy, Kraft had a functional structure where major functions of the organization are grouped internally. This structure facilitated integration and tight control of major departments maximizing efficiencies by ... example, were kept centralized. For most other regions, though, decision making was decentralized by lowering to the BU level. BU managers became responsible and accountable to achieve stra...

• Word Count: 736
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Graduate