Learning Activity #1

The best strategies often fail not because they weren't good strategies, but because they weren't implemented properly. One of the most important aspects of implementing a good strategy is ensuring that the organization is designed in a way that will properly support the plan.

You identified a generic strategic direction for a selected organization: You narrowed down that strategic direction and identified possible alternative strategies and then narrowed those alternatives down to ONE specific strategy to implement for either Southwest Airline or Subway. Using that specific strategy, identify what type of organizational design would best support that strategy. Provide a high level overview of the organizational design - be sure to fully explain the design and why it was selected to support the strategic direction and, more importantly, the specific strategy to be implemented. Offer supporting rationale for your explanation and be sure to reference your statements using proper APA formatting.

Learning Activity #2

Vince Lombardi was quoted as saying "The best game plan in the world never blocked or tackled anybody"; strategist often believe their work is done once they've identified the right strategy to be implemented, but in reality the strategy implementation phase is often far more difficult than the strategy formulation phase.

In addition to organization design, there are several other factors that can cause a good strategy to fail: management, operations, marketing, finance, R&D and MIS issues. Review your response to Learning Activity # 1 and determine which ONE of these additional factors could cause that specific strategy to fail. Clearly identify the factor, explain why it could cause the strategy to fail. As always, please support and justify your answer using APA formatted references.