General Discussion
In the past, many business leaders led by blunt authority, relying heavily on the power of their positions to motivate their employees. This authoritarian leadership style rarely produces top results in today's business climate. Instead, modern business leaders seek to inspire loyalty and hard work in their employees by modeling these behaviors themselves.
This week, you will continue to explore concepts related to "organic growth" strategies, focusing on effective leadership as a key element of successful implementation of strategy in general.
Review the Learning Outcomes for this week, and based on those objectives and your analysis of the readings and video segment, respond to either "a" or "b" below, making direct references to several of the week's required or optional readings:
a. Identify the major internal elements that shape business strategy options and performance for a selected business with which you are familiar.
b. Outline general issues of culture and leadership, as they affect strategy formation and implementation. Use the example of a selected business with which you are familiar.
Reading materials:
Hess, E. D. (2007). The road to organic growth: How great companies consistently grow marketshare from within. (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Chapter 6, "Measure Everything"
- Chapter 7, "Build a People Pipeline"
- Chapter 8, "Leaders: Humble, Passionate, Focused Operators"
- Chapter 9, "Be an Execution and Technology Champion"
- Epilogue
In these chapters, Hess lays out the basic elements of organic growth. Examples of high-performing companies such as American Eagle, Tiffany, and Best Buy are used to illustrate the points.
- Collins, J. (2005). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve. Harvard Business Review,83(7-8). Retrieved from Business Source Premier database
- Harvard Business School Press. (2006). SWOT analysis II: Looking inside for strengths and weaknesses. Boston: Author. Access this article fromhttp://bcc.ime.usp.br/principal/tccs/2012/felipe+geraldo/Site/pcs2590/HBR_Swot_Analysis_II_Strengths_and_Weaknesses.pdf
This reading describes the process of analyzing internal and external business conditions, which is known by the acronym SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The text addresses three of the most important areas in which a company's internal strengths and weaknesses should be evaluated and presents a nine-step method for conducting evaluations.