The Process of Strategic Implementation

By Kyra Sheahan, eHow Contributor

Strategic implementation takes tactical concepts and puts them into practice so that business
people can see their ideas become a reality. According to My Strategic Plan, strategic
implementation is the vehicle towards achieving organizational objectives.
1. Responsibility
o Strategic implementation requires an implementation team. Employees,
consultants, specialists or other business people work on a project and
assemble to discuss the implementation strategy. Brainstorming sessions
determine the most appropriate course of action for the implementation team
to take.
Function
o Strategic implementation divides the main objective into phases, then into
actionable tasks. The tasks move the implementation process from Point A to
Point B. Work breakdown structures, according to Net MBA, allow
implementation teams to illustrate the sequential order for tasks and phases to
occur.
o
Features
o Implementation projects require schedules. Project scheduling establishes the
timeline for the completion of the implementation process. Teams use project
schedules to stay on track with deadlines, measure progress and calculate the
amount of work remaining until the strategy is fully implemented.
Importance of Organizational Structures to
Strategic Implementation
By Casey Reader,
Strategies do not take place against a characterless background but must take account of the
features of the organization in which they will be implemented. Organizational structures
determine what actions are feasible and most optimal. The importance of organizational
structures in the implementation of a strategy is hard to overemphasize. Good strategy
involves taking account of where a company finds itself in terms of the external market and
its internal organizational structure. Strategy and implementation must cohere.

1. Centralization
o Some organizations have a more centralized structure already in place before a
strategy has been implemented. When this is the case, it makes implementing
certain strategies more feasible. Change is always difficult to implement as a
part of strategy; the fewer people involved in decision-making, the easier it is
to gain consensus. More dramatic strategies are aided by a centralized
organizational structure. Dramatic strategies can mean changing the basic
ways an organization does business.
Innate Advantages
o The best strategies often seek to take advantage of the innate advantages that
an organization already possesses. Most organizations have certain
departments that are particularly effective and certain tasks that it is already
adept at doing. Strategies of this sort seek to rearrange organizational
structures so as to better benefit from innate advantages. These strategies
involve taking steps such as expanding parts of the organization that are
successful and shrinking those that are not.
Consensus
o Organizational structures are often important in gaining consensus for a
strategy. If all the parts of an organization aren't onboard with a given strategy,
it will stand less of a chance of succeeding. The structure of an organization
will have much to do with gaining consensus because it will determine who
has to be appeased in management and how power is aligned. Different
personal interests will often conflict and need to be addressed.
Overcoming Disadvantages
o An organization that has been failing to compete effectively will often need to
go through an organizational restructuring to change its focus. It will need to
change its organizational structures to move away from tasks that it is not
suited for. This sort of structural shift can be traumatic for an organization and
requires great resources of will. Often an organization must have reached a
crisis before this type of strategy can occur.

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How to Implement Strategies in the
Strategic Management Process
By Paul Merchant, eHow Contributor
Strategy implementation refers to the translation of specific strategies into organizational
actions to gain competitive advantage and improve the performance of an organization.
Strategy implementation aims at aligning the long-term goals of the organization to its vision,
mission and goals. Successful implementation entails focusing on the key success factors of
your organization, such as marketing or efficient service delivery, and concentrating your
resources on these factors. Despite being excellently formulated, strategies in the strategic
management process fail if they're not properly implemented.
Instructions
1.
o 1
Select a strategy implementation team comprising key functional managers in
your organization. This ensures the team has all the necessary expertise and
experience required for implementing various strategies. It also encourages
commitment of the managers to the implementation process, as they're solely
responsible for strategy implementation. Train the team on skills required for
successful implementation of the strategies. Provide sufficient resources to the
team for successful execution of the implementation process.
o 2
Communicate to employees about the new strategies being implemented in the
organization. Communication to employees on impending implementation of a
strategic plan makes them feel like they're "a part" of the plan. They're thus
committed to the success of the plan and to the successful implementation of
the strategies within that plan.
o 3
Link your strategic plan with your organization's operational plan. Assign each
strategy to a specific manager who's held responsible for its successful
implementation. Request that the managers take the strategies to their
departments and, with the help of the departmental employees, develop action
steps to be followed in implementing the strategy effectively. The managers
should then assign responsibility for each of the action steps to specific
employees and set time lines for their completion.
o 4
Formulate a monitoring system with which to measure the progress and
success of the strategies being implemented. Note the name of each manager
charged with implementation of a specific strategy and the due date for
completion. Apart from aiding in monitoring the implementation, this also
enables managers to own each strategy, because they're primarily responsible
for its successful implementation.
o 5
Review the implementation process of each strategy by carrying out a SWOT analysis.
SWOT analysis is a tool that assists in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats of the implementation process. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. For
example, a strength could be your specialist marketing expertise, while a weakness could be
an overwhelmed workforce. Opportunities and threats are external factors. For example, an
opportunity could be an emerging market for your products, while a threat could be a new
competitor in the market. The analysis enables you to fine-tune the implementation process
for your strategies, as well as identify opportuniities and threats that may have been missed in
the implementation process. The results also serve as a reference point for strategies to be
implemented in the future.
Strategic Implementation Steps
By Alan Valdez, eHow Contributor
There are countless books and papers on the subject of strategic planning. The best strategy in
the world, however, becomes pointless if it is not implemented properly. Although every
organization and every plan is different, there are some common factors that must be
accounted for and steps that must be followed by management in order to align the
organizational system with the strategic mission.
1. Defining Tasks and Activities
o Before actual implementation can begin, key implementation tasks and
activities must be defined in detail. An improperly formulated strategic
decision can fail even if the strategy itself is good and even if no effort is
o spared in its implementation. There is a fine balance that must be achieved on
the level of detail, as a plan that is too vague will not provide useful guidance,
while a plan that is too detailed may lack flexibility.
Securing the Required Resources
o Once key tasks have been identified, the resources required for their execution
must be identified and secured. Money is an important resource, but by no
means the only one. The implementation of projects may also fail because of a
lack of manpower or technical expertise. If appropriate resources cannot be
secured and developed -- for example, by providing training in the required
skills -- the plan must be redefined or its scope limited.
Seeking Participation and Commitment
o The success of any plan is likely to be limited if the involved personnel is not
committed to the project. Managers and employees should be involved from
the start in the strategy formulation process, not only in order to develop a
sense of ownership but also for the importance of their insights. Plans
formulated by top management are almost always guaranteed to have major
flaws if employees and affected groups do not provide a reality check based
on their knowledge of the organization's day-to-day operations.
Creating Communication Structures
o Closely related but not equal to commitment-building, the creation of two-way
communication channels must form part of the implementation strategy from
the beginning. In the early stages of the project it will allow the affected
employees to provide their input about the formulated strategy and its
potential issues. In later stages of the implementation those channels will
ensure that unforeseen problems are communicated to top management in time
to act and adapt the plans.
Assigning Roles and Responsibilities
o Most successful implementations are propelled forward by a formally
appointed champion who will provide both leadership and accountability.
Roles and responsibilities are often assigned in a framework of projects and
programs, with long-term, open-ended programs providing a bridge between
strategy and concrete projects. For strategies where disruptive change is
required, strategic teams are often formed outside of the existing structures
and hierarchies, as management and personnel used to the current way of
doing business may have some reticence to alter the status quo.

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