Ensuring Successful Analysis, by: analysing the operating environments on a regular basis, and additionally when major changes occur; using legal and ethical means to gather information; using experienced specialists to gather and analyse the information; using an appropriate range of information gathering tools and techniques; gathering information from an appropriate range of sources; ensuring that forecasts, trends, predictions, are supported by sufficient evidence. The objective is to carry out an analysis that provides the organisation with a clear picture of the current environment in which it operates, and a forecast of impending changes. This will enable the leaders of the organisation to make changes to existing operational objectives in response to the findings on the current situation, and to longer term plans in preparation for the predicted changes. A thorough analysis should be carried out at least annually, with quarterly reviews. This will ensure that the leaders of the organisation are fully informed at all times, and are equipped with information that will enable them to respond appropriately to any changes which impact on the organisation.
Analysing The External Environment, by: identifying the components and the boundaries of the external environment in which the organisation operates; considering the current political, economic, social, technological, and environmental situation; gathering appropriate, sufficient, reliable, and valid information; identifying and evaluating trends; evaluating the impact of current influences on the organisation; forecasting the impact of potential changes on the organisation. The objective here is to gather information which highlights or predicts changes in the world in which the organisation operates. There are many thousands of local and international influences and forces which impact on the organisation. Indicative examples include demographic changes, cultural changes, and social behaviour changes, all of which can lead to changes in customer markets and buying patterns. Another example is a potential or forecast change in a technology which could end demand for certain products or services. For almost any organisation, of any size, and in any sector, gathering and analysing this type of information is critical.
Evaluating Competitor Behaviour, by: identifying current and potential competitor organisations; gathering appropriate information on current and forecast competitor activity; evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of individual current competitors; considering the potential impact of new entrants or changes in competitor behaviour. The purpose of this is straightforward. Competitors are, by default, competing for the same customers, and if they are worthy competitors, they will be carrying out the same type of analytical activity, and responding to their findings. Competitor activity can be a vital component of the information gathered, as it indicates how similar organisations are responding to current and forecast changes.
Considering The Needs Of Stakeholders, by: identifying all stakeholders, within and outside the organisation; evaluating the importance of support from each stakeholder group; consulting with stakeholders to identify and understand their needs; explaining to stakeholders the organisation's strategies and values; resolving conflicts and misunderstandings through discussion. The aim of this activity is to ensure that the needs of the stakeholders are known, and their views taken into consideration. Stakeholders can include operational staff, managers, trade unions, shareholders, suppliers, customers, clients, sponsors, funding organisations, partner organisations, local government departments, and local or national media. There can also be sector-specific stakeholders, such as relatives of patients, in the hospital sector, local residents affected by major construction projects, or parents of schoolchildren.
Evaluate The Internal Condition Of The Organisation, by: analysing the organisation's current internal condition; carrying out a review of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The aim is to build a detailed picture of the current condition of the organisation, in terms of its internal health. This should be comprehensive, looking at all internal aspects of the organisation, including for example, the physical location(s) in which it operates, condition of buildings, equipment, vehicles, plant, funding, operational performance, recruitment, retention, training and development, policies, procedures, products, services and so on.
Adjusting Current Strategies, by: considering the findings of the analysis activities, and then evaluating current strategies and direction against these; consulting with specialists and key stakeholders about the proposed changes; adjusting current strategies and strategic objectives or replacing them with new ones; implementing a management system that will monitor, control, and adjust where necessary, the new strategies. The objective here is clear. To survive, the organisation must have in place appropriate strategies. Unless strategic direction, specific strategies, and their related objectives, are regularly evaluated, maintained and adjusted, the ability to compete will deteriorate and eventually the organisation will fail.
Adjusting Systems and Structures, by: evaluating the appropriateness of the current systems and structures in meeting the demands of the new strategies; consulting with all affected stakeholders on proposed changes; planning and implementing changes to operational, quality, and cultural systems, policies, procedures, and structures; implementing procedures to monitor, control, and adjust these as necessary. The purpose of this is to put in place an appropriate infrastructure that will support the new strategic and operational objectives. Unless this infrastructure is compatible with, and supports the achievement of, these objectives, the strategies will run into difficulties and almost certainly fail.
Adjusting Current Operational Objectives, by: adjusting operational objectives and activity in response to the changes in strategic direction; implementing an appropriate quality assurance management system to maintain operational quality standards; implementing procedures to monitor, control, and adjust operational activity and objectives as necessary. Operational activity must support and help achieve the strategic objectives. It is extremely damaging, if not fatal, to allow operational activity to continue unchanged, when the strategic direction and objectives of the organisation have changed.
Adjusting Personnel Capabilities, by: comparing the current and potential performance capability of key individuals and teams against the forecast performance requirements; improving personnel capability by re-training and development where appropriate; replacing individuals and teams where necessary; implementing an individual and team appraisal and development system.The aim of this activity is to ensure that, at all levels, the best possible individuals and teams are in place to support and help achieve the organisation's goals. Without the right people the strategies will fail.
In Summary: analysing the environment in which the organisation operates is the most critically important activity that the organisation's leaders undertake. It represents the sole purpose of the leaders, that is to ensure that the organisation is taking the most appropriate strategic direction and is equipped with the optimum resources needed to be successful in achieving its objectives. High quality information is critical to the success of the organisation, and information about the changes and challenges facing the organisation in the future is the most valuable of all.
There's something else you can do besides freeze like a deer in the headlights. Something constructive. And it could turn your business round faster than you imagine. You could take an unusual lesson from the banks.
Today's financial chaos is no joke. The global credit crunch and recent financial scandals have rocked many of the world's biggest banks. Several chief executives have quit. Many others are hanging on - for now.
Unless you work in the financial sector, you might think this chaos doesn't have a lot to do with you. But some banks are trying to tackle the financial crisis in an unusual way and we can learn from them.
They're not just tightening up their checks and balances, making sure they have tighter control on spending and risk-taking. They're also taking a long, hard look at their company culture.
The culture of your company, or "how we do things round here", is something that affects each and every one of us as leaders. It affects each and every company. When your latest attempt to introduce a change fails, there's a good chance it's because your staff believe "that's NOT the way we do things round here".
Now, you probably appreciate that your leadership style can profoundly influence your company's culture. If you're the sort of boss who holds people to account for every mistake, who insists on knowing all the details, who is afraid to delegate, then your staff are going to be reluctant to risk making a mistake. They're going to be afraid to innovate.
Doesn't this sound like the company culture in a bank? But in the wake of the recent scandals and financial losses we've seen, things are changing. And we can learn a tremendous amount from what some of the big banks are trying to do.
They're trying to change their company culture. They are trying to overturn years of doing things the same old way. The jury's out on whether the changes will have an impact. Changing company culture is notoriously difficult. So it will be interesting to see whether they succeed in the long term. But we can still gain some inspiration from what they've started doing right now.
Let's look at a couple of examples. A rogue trader blew a large hole in the finances of the French bank, Societe Generale (or SocGen), when he lost them more than $7bn. An internal report into the scandal says that, within SocGen, managers were not alert enough to the risk of fraud. "It'll never happen here," they thought. Managers were also used to working on their own and sorting their problems out themselves. There was a strong culture of independence and entrepreneurialism. And this made it a place where management just left people to get on with things.
Straight away the bank clamped down on almost everything to prevent further fraud. But it also recognized the need for bigger changes. While it wanted to prevent further fraud, it didn't want to lose the entrepreneurial spirit that made it successful in the first place.
So the success of the bank's transformation programme relies on the bank's ability to spread among all employees what it calls "a culture of responsibility, discipline and mutual respect". And here are some of the strategies it's using to spread the word.
1) The bank is preparing practical handbooks, tailored to each business, that specify each participant's roles and responsibilities.
2) It's introducing formal trader mandates, documents that spell out what a trader can and can't do.
3) It's also developing a training programme on how to prevent fraud.
4) Next, it's overhauling the appraisal process so that it deals with people and behaviour as well as numbers and profits.
5) It's also implementing a communication and awareness programme on how to make its principles of professional ethics real and do-able.
6) And finally it's developing a hiring programme and reviewing pay scales to help identify the different kinds of senior manager and support staff the bank needs in future.
Now I'm not sure creating more paperwork will help. It probably won't be read, to be honest. But bringing new people in from outside will definitely help, as long as they're supported by senior managers at the beginning.
What I really hope the bank will achieve with all this activity is not just add layers of bureaucracy. I hope it'll succeed in changing some of the stories that are told round the institution.
My main concern is that the rogue trader will be regarded as a maverick by most employees, as a legend. And the myths of what he did will be passed from person to person, like stories about Robin Hood or any other folk hero.
These stories can't be stopped, but they can be crowded out by new stories about new "mavericks" and new leaders. But this won't happen through the official grapevine, such as the company newsletter or the intranet. These stories have to be spread through the unofficial grapevine: round the water cooler, in the coffee bars, in the corridors. And that will take a lot of sustained effort by the senior managers in the company. That's where the guidelines and courses will be useful, for spreading stories about the new mavericks and the new ways of working.
Now, anyone who has tried to change a company culture knows what a struggle this is going to be. Trying to get something intangible spread, like new stories, is going to be tough. It's difficult enough trying to use a pen with your 'other' hand, or to fold your arms 'the other way'. But to change the way a large group of people thinks and works? This is a big challenge.
In the USA, another sprawling bank, Citigroup, is also tackling its corporate culture. But with perhaps a more pragmatic programme.
Citibank lost $40bn in credit-related losses and - as a result - lost its CEO, Chuck Prince. The new man at the top, Vikram Pandit, aims to foster a more co-operative environment.
Now, the lesson here is that he is doing this partly by overhauling the bonus system for top managers. Yes, in future, Citibank employees will be tangibly, financially rewarded for co-operating with each other and behaving like true partners. (Not just partners in name only.)
Pandit's plan is to minimize infighting among the many different parts of the business. Previously, your bonus at Citibank largely depended on the performance of your own division.
Business analysts fear that some managers are going to resist these changes. Some bosses won't want their pay linked to businesses outside their control, they think.
But co-operative behaviour is not something that comes easily, especially if a business previously had a culture of competitiveness. Collaboration is a skill and a set of practices that needs to be learned and applied.
The journey from one culture to another is fraught with anxiety. It's difficult to control or guide such a complex beast. But if you put in place intangible mechanisms, like creating new stories, with tangible mechanisms, like rewarding collaboration, you're likely to be far more successful than the average leader.
Both Cj Williams & Jacqueline Moore are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Cj Williams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Careers and Job Hunting, Education and The Internet. CJ Williams is a tutor and management consultant currently working with Brighton School of Business and Management in the UK, specialising in Business and Management courses taught via distance learning. The writer, CJ Williams, can be contacted via. Cj Williams's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Jacqueline Moore has sinced written about articles on various topics from Leadership. If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from business jo. Jacqueline Moore's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.