Deck 9: Assessment of Respiratory Disorders

Question 1

Why is strategic flexibility important for strategy formulation when an organization is at the growth stage?

Answer 1

A common phenomenon in growing organizations is the fast rate of change and the difficulty of predicting changes. When an organization is at the growth stage, developing innovation is the basic source of competitive advantage. A formal approach to strategy formulation based primarily on forecasting needs to be reconsidered. The adoption of strategic flexibility can combine a clear sense of direction based on vision and mission, with the adaptability to respond to and take advantage of new market opportunities. Strategic flexibility can be effectively utilized by organizations as both an offensive and defensive measure, depending on the nature of changes and their impact on the organization.

Question 2

Japanese corporations typically involve many more organizational levels and people in the development of implementation plans than do U.S. corporations. Is this appropriate? Why or why not?

Answer 2

Although the text does not discuss Japanese practices in this chapter, they have received a lot of attention from the press in terms of quality circles, participative decision making, and the like. Bill Ouchi, in his book Theory Z, points out that the Japanese "ringi" process involves circulating a formal proposal throughout an organization for approval at every level before the decision is made. In American terms, it may seem to take the Japanese forever to make a decision. This results from the Japanese managers' desire to involve those who will implement the decision in the initial formulation of strategy. Western strategy makers, by contrast, tend to make key decisions at the top (with some input from below as requested) and assume that it will be accepted without criticism and implemented appropriately. Implementation plans may thus be drafted rather generally by top management and given to lower level managers to "flesh out" the required plan of action.
Arguments for and against the Japanese-style participative approach to implementation planning tend to boil down to the question of tradeoffs. Which is most important in a particular situation: time or commitment? It also brings up another question: how much consideration should be given to implementation questions when formulating strategy? The Japanese method appears to see less of a distinction between strategy formulation and implementation. Rather, the two tend to be handled together in the planning stages. This is done because the Japanese tend to involve more corporate levels in the formulation process and thus cannot ignore implementation issues. In the United States, these issues might be ignored because top management might consider itself to be "responsible" for strategy formulation decisions.

Question 3

What are the nine means by which a company can enter a new international market?

Answer 3

A corporation can select from several strategic options regarding the most appropriate method for entering a foreign market or establishing facilities in another country. Some of the most popular options for international entry are as follows: exporting, licensing, franchising, forming a joint venture, acquisitions, greenfield development, production sharing, turnkey operations, BOT concept, and management contracts.

Question 4

How can an expat program be improved to the benefit of the organization?

Question 5

What are the stages of international development?

Question 6

What are the advantages of using a strategic alliance when operating in a new country?