Strategic Flexibility

Published in association with the Strategic Management Society, this books illustrates the best in global strategic management. In particular, the theme of "strategic flexibility"--i.e., the ability to manage effectively in a world of ever-growing change--is introduced.

Many companies refuse to face the reality that their businesses are in trouble or that their strategic positions are wrong. Whether a product line is no longer profitable, foreign competition has slowed growth, or technological changes have left them behind, many otherwise well-managed companies hang on for too long to the status quo. In this inflexible posture, managements time and talent go to waste, assets grow sterile, and technology falls behind. This book will help managers overcome the exit barriers that hamper strategic flexibility. Based on innovative studies of 192 firms within Sixteen industries, the ideas presented here are applicable to almost any industry and any type of firm. Harrigan discusses the major strategic decisions facing executives today, including guerrilla strategies of underdog competitors, entry and exit barriers, the use of joint ventures to cope with the uncertainties created by erratic growth, and the management of change. She focuses on the shortcomings of vertical integration, developing a framework for better make-or-buy decisions. The effects of exit barriers on firms' strategic flexibility are detailed, and managerial tools to cope with high barriers and declining businesses are introduced. "Strategic Flexibility" is organized to provide easy reference for managers seeking to find out what strategies have worked and why. This book offers practical, proven ways for managers to expand the flexibility and responsiveness of their companies to new competitive conditions.

Argues that Stonehenge's scientific purpose was to observe the setting midwinter sun, and that astronomical observations made by the ancient Britons were as rational and methodical as they are today.

Today's China presents a unique setting for organizations. Through an examination of current Chinese business, this book addresses its business culture and environment. In particular, it considers how firms build distinctive capabilities of organizational learning and strategic flexibility to achieve superior customer-focused performance.

Suitable for all business students studying strategy and marketing courses in the UK and in Europe, this text also looks at important issues such as the financial aspects of marketing.

This book presents strategic perspectives on quality and flexibility, as well as quantitative tools for assessing their implementation in a range of systems. It introduces readers to the global changes in the relative importance of quality strategies and flexibility strategies over the past 30 to 40 years. In addition, it presents detailed examples of how multi-purpose techniques such as design of experiments, petri nets and quality function deployment can be applied to evaluate quality and flexibility in the design, planning and operation of various systems. Uniquely, the book combines strategies and quantitative research tools in a single volume. It also includes many examples that are accessible to readers from different disciplines, and familiarizes readers with techniques that can facilitate their current and future research – making it a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners and advanced students alike.

The need for enterprise flexibility in an era of rapidly advancing technology, increasing competition, and globalization, is apparent. Flexibility can be thought of as an ability of the enterprise to quickly and efficiently respond to market changes and to bring new products and services quickly to the market place. Beyond this definition, a truly flexible enterprise should proactively change the market through its ability to create new and innovative products and services. The proposed book is intended to provide a conceptual framework of ‘Flexible Enterprise’ supported by researches/case applications in various types of flexibilities exhibited by a flexible enterprise. The selected papers from a variety of issues concerning the planning and operation of a flexible enterprise are organized into following four parts: I Enterprise and Strategic Flexibility II Organizational Flexibility III Business Process and Information Systems Flexibility IV Operations Flexibility

Though the concern regarding the confluence of continuity and change is well accepted, there is hardly any well known framework in the literature that can be used as a benchmark to deal with this paradoxical issue. Keeping in view the significance of the topic and the lack of practical frameworks in managing continuity and change this book is an endeavor to fill the gap. The main proposition of the book is that the strategic management of change could be better leveraged with clear understanding of continuity of the organization and consciously managing the vital and desirable areas of continuity along with change, rather than leaving the continuity to be managed by default. The continuity of any company provides the bedrock along which the flow of change could be channelized. It adopts flowing stream as the principal metaphor for continuity and change to be taken side by side. It can be treated as a stepping stone to inspire a lot of research in this area.