BUS608: Ethical and Strategic Management

This page discusses the strategic management process. Consider the types of resources you've learned about to determine strategy as you read.

The alignment of finances is extremely important when implementing a strategic plan. After you read the article, you should be able to determine the differences between capital expenditures and start-up costs.

There are many reasons for financial budgeting, but these become especially important when shifting resources needed to implement a strategy. As you read, see if you can identify the different types of budgets.

As you already know from previous units, setting goals and objectives is important in the strategic planning process. In This text, look for examples of marketing objectives. How can you tie these into the overall company strategy?

Marketing strategies can align with the overall organizational strategy. Read this resource to understand how good corporate-level objectives inform the marketing strategy and objectives.

Since human resources are usually the most valuable asset of an organization, they have strategic plans that need to align with the overall vision and mission of the organization. Look for the various human resource functions needed to be effective at supporting the strategic goals of an organization as you read this resource.

Read this article, which provides examples of effective selection and placement strategies for human capital. Every company has its own personality and philosophy, and companies need to hire individuals whose needs and ethics match those of the organization.

Read this resource, which discusses the elements of a pay system from an individual and a company perspective. How and at what level a manager sets pay for an employee is critical in creating incentives and communicating expectations for that employee's performance.

Read this resource, which discusses how to harness technology to improve performance. By creating workplace systems that increase the likelihood of great performance, companies can optimize and streamline many of their services. This text also provides information on creating and supporting succession plans, which are career tracks and advancement protocols that incentivize an organization's human capital.

There are many discussions surrounding the importance of the Board of Directors taking a guiding role in developing strategy. As you read this text, consider the challenges boards face in carving out a significant role in the strategy process.

Read this text about the Keystone XL pipeline. What operational considerations Keystone should the organization have taken into account regarding ethics and social responsibility in this situation? Read the critical thinking questions and consider how you might respond.

Is it ethical to dump toxic waste in countries that allow it? As you read, consider the differences between unethical and illegal. Is something legal always ethical? Then, review the critical thinking questions and consider how you might respond.

As you read this resource, consider the quote by Peter Drucker, "culture eats strategy for breakfast". What does this mean? How can you ensure there is a culture that fits with the strategy you've created?

Consider these examples of creating cultural change in organizations. What is the difference between for-profit and non-profit organizations? Are the factors of implementing culture to support strategy the same?

There are many examples of organizations with the philosophy of "thinking and acting entrepreneurially". By encouraging this type of environment, companies can be more innovative. After you read, you should be able to discuss the elements required for an entrepreneurial organization.

As you watch this video, consider the importance of individual learning and how that contributes to organizational learning. By the time you finish the video, you should understand the components required to create a learning organization.

As you watch this video, look for the steps to create and sustain a learning organization. After viewing this resource, you should be able to discuss how learning organizations can support the business strategy.

In this resource, look for the role of leadership in creating an ethical workplace. Consider how ethics support an overall business strategy as you read.

Employee communication is necessary, especially when it comes to strategy, so all employees know the organizational goals. As you read this resource, consider the various methods you can use to communicate strategy to employees.

Employee values motivate employees. Read through this resource, then consider your values and how your values affect what motivates you at work.

After you read, you should be able to identify the types of power management can use to influence others. Which is the best type of power to use when attempting to incentivize employees?

While employee motivation often comes from internal employee values and management style, you can use several other methods to reward employees when they have been successful at strategy implementation. Consider the types of rewards you have been offered at work before. Did you find them motivating or not?

As you read this resource, look for the human resource aspects of this case. What did IXL Learning do wrong? Did Adrian Duane do anything wrong? Then, review the critical thinking questions at the end of the case.

Read this article and consider the following questions: What is empowerment? Why is empowerment important to organizations and employees? How can an organization's culture encourage or discourage employee empowerment? Do you feel empowered in your work environment? Why or why not?

Read this article and consider the following questions: What are some of the benefits of empowering employees? How important is employee empowerment to improving an organization's productivity? Does the company you currently work for, or one you are familiar with, empower employees? If so, how does this philosophy benefit the organization?

This text addresses why you should put reward systems into place for employees. Once you read, you should be able to identify the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and the conditions that need to be present for pay to be a motivator to employees.

We've already discussed the different types of rewards employees can be given for successful strategy implementation. Now, we will address the types of pay systems that you can implement to reward performance. As you read this information, look for best practices in pay-for-performance design systems.

After you read, you should understand the difference between performance measures and performance referents. Are you able to have a performance measure without a performance referent? Why or why not?

When an organization uses a competitive strategy, it can use several forms of measurement. As you read this article, consider which method might be the most effective for your industry.

This video addresses additional performance measures. As you watch, look for the importance of market-driven factors of performance, such as customer satisfaction and market penetration.

Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.