MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 5 Concepts
As the former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall would end every radio broadcast… we are “Rounding third and heading for home.” MBA 725 has one week left. Week five was extremely challenging in reviewing financials and other cost factors of a startup. We also discussed benchmarks and their impact on a business. Here’s the questions for review…
Why is it important to understand the factors that impact cash flow? How can the factors vary based on the waves of change?
Cash flow is critical to a business. It is its lifeblood. If a company does not have cash flow, it can’t pay the bills and won’t remain in business very long. A business leader needs to understand how cash flow is affected so that changes can be made when necessary to maintain a positive flow. In terms of the waves of change, I would imagine one big difference is in the newer era, more businesses are dealing in “paper money”. Stock creates cash flow for the business, but is wealth only on paper for the stockholder. This is much more common in the current waves than in the past. The newer wave is more technological also and will have much more detailed analysis than the earlier waves.
Does a leader’s lens perspective impact the benchmarks he or she identifies as critical for his or her organization and/or the analysis of such benchmarks? Explain.
Certainly. A leader who is more analytical, for example, will be more likely to utilize highly analytical benchmarks. A leader who is more people oriented is probably going to select benchmarks that focus on the people aspects of the business.
Many organizations that use the balanced scorecard approach require different people within different functional areas as well as different levels of the organization to complete a balanced scorecard evaluation. Why would it be important to obtain different evaluations? Would you recommend this approach? Why or why not?
Different evaluations bring different perspectives. Just as in the last example, it would be valuable to have multiple lens perspectives in the reporting. The purpose of a balanced scorecard it to bring a balanced view of multiple areas of the company. By obtaining these differing evaluations, it will add to the “balance” of the scorecard reporting. I would recommend this approach. While it may be time consuming, it will give more breadth to the data presented in the scorecard.
MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 4 Concepts
How would you go about communicating your desire for a strategic alliance to another organization? What would you have to do to persuade them to strategically align with your organization?
When looking back over my learnings so far in the MBA process, social capital comes to mind. By developing strong social capital with the planned alliance partner, it will be easier to open a dialogue to pursue the alliance. It will be important to convey the idea of a win-win situation by entering into the alliance. The potential partners will also need to agree on the stipulations for performance and create contracts to codify these stipulations.
How is technology impacting marketing channel operations? How does a leader keep well-informed of what is happening in the marketing channels that may have a direct impact on the business activities?
Technology continues to evolve at a unbelievably rapid rate. Information is literally available in the blink of an eye (or the click of a mouse). Marketing methods that worked in the past are not always as successful today. Television commercials have been overtaken by digital video recorders that allow bypassing the commercials. Companies have begun using more blatant “product placement” in movies/TV shows in order to combat this potential loss of an advertising stream. With the world of blogs (just like you are reading now!) “word-of-mouth” advertising goes a lot farther than just your neighbors. Consumers do a lot more research today before buying items, particularly big-ticket items. The internet has become a consumer tool and companies need to be highly aware of the power this tool carries.
A leader needs to stay current. Technology changes so rapidly that it is important for a leader to stay on top of what is happening. It may even pay dividends for the leader to build a team that focuses on forecasting what the next technology of advertising will be.
Integrated Marketing Communications (ICM) systems are typically designed for external audiences. As an effective leader, why would it be important for you to establish an IMC internally within your organization?
If the plan is to be integrated, your internal organization needs to be just as aware of the plan as the external organization. Developing an IMC internally will allow your team to be on the same page and have a guide to keep everything integrated. An internal IMC will pull together marketing, sales, operations, and other departments so that everyone is aware of the marketing plans for the organization.
MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 3 Concepts
Do policies limit the creative tendencies of leaders? How can an organization establish policies yet still foster creativity and innovation?
Policies can sometimes limit the creative tendencies of leaders. By defining policies with too much detail, the leader may be worked into a “box” and stifled in his ability to think creatively. Although, if a leader is extremely creative, he will come up with ways to be creative even while maintaining the policy. A good way to establish policies and still foster creativity is to build some leeway into the system. The organization should identify what policies are firm and unchangeable and make those as detailed as possible. Safety guidelines come to mind in this instance. Other policies might be a bit less defined in order to allow creative thinking. In all cases, there should be a system to allow suggestions for change. Even on a safety policy… perhaps the leader might think of an even safer way to perform a task. If a system is in place to suggest change, then it could be adjusted.
Are policies and procedures viewed in different capacities by leaders of different waves of change?
Certainly. In the earlier waves, where a more managerial approach is used, policies and procedures are usually enforced by the manager. As we move into the current wave and waves of the future, leaders will be given more autonomy to create and have flexibility to think outside the box and not be “trapped” by a policy.
Why is cultural understanding essential in establishing knowledge management within an organization?
Without an understanding of the business culture, the method of conveying knowledge may be totally wrong. An example I used in our class discussion… if your business is full of engineers who all have advanced degrees, the method of storing, retrieving, and presenting information will be totally different than that of a company made up of high school graduates.
Historically speaking, culture has been considered a longtime process. Yet in a society that is characterized by more frequent change and greater levels of uncertainty, how do the more rapidly changing effects impact the culture of organizations? Is it necessary for the culture of an organization to keep pace with the rapid changes?
A book that I’ve referenced other times comes to mind. It’s titled It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow. In it, author Laurence Houghton discusses how the businesses that are going to survive are the ones that adapt quickly. The Titanic-size organizations of old will not fare as well unless they learn to accept change quickly. The culture that needs to be created in the future waves is a culture of change.
MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 2 Concepts
Week two is drawing to a close. This week’s focus was on understanding organizational structure and the importance of having the right people in the right positions. In launching a new business (or initiative), having the right staff will be critical in making or breaking the business. Here’s the questions for reflection this week…
Why is it necessary to look through the four lenses when developing an internal communication strategy?
I think one of the biggest learnings I have already taken from the MBA class work is that it is extremely critical to look at my business decisions through the four lenses. In the case of the communication strategy, the four lenses will help my communication be understood by all those receiving it.
How do your personal experiences, prejudices, and expectations impact your ability to objectively select the best candidates for a job or project position?
As with every aspect of life, personal experiences and prejudices will affect my ability to be objective. A good leader has to learn to be unbiased and subjective with his selection process. A learning from my own experience is that it is good to utilize multiple people when searching for the best candidate for a position. This might include having the HR department do the initial resume reviews and interviews. This will allow a more subjective approach to hiring. Personal experiences can cause a person to possibly stereotype a candidate into the wrong category.
How does the identification of outsourcing opportunities relate to core competencies and competitive advantages? Can this relationship also be connected to the organizational structure? Explain and provide an example.
In reviewing the six step process recommended by Thomas Duening for identifying outsource opportunities, one step is to identify core and non-core activities of the business. By outsourcing activities that are non-core, the business can focus it’s time and energy on it’s core competencies. By developing and improving core competencies, a competitive advantage can be realized. Take a company that is focused on building computer processors. Their core competencies lie in research and development of faster and more powerful chips. By outsourcing their logistics, they do not spend their time coordinating how their product gets to the marketplace, but what their next product will be. The logistics provider has no knowledge of how to build microprocessors, but their core competency lies in knowing the most cost effective way to deliver the products on time. This is an outsourcing that benefits both companies.
MBA 725 – Reflections on Module 1 Concepts
I survived MBA 715 and am now moving into 725. My first course was all about creating the business idea that would launch. Now, I learn about organizing that launch. This course will prove challenging for me, as my brain dominance leans more towards creative thinking and being a visionary. Organization is one of my weakest areas. I’m looking forward, albeit apprehensively, to the skills I will learn in this course. The questions for reflection follow…
Consider your own leadership traits. Do you more closely fit with the creative nature from MBA 715 or the organizational nature of MBA 725? Explain your response.
My HBDI scores very strongly reflect my creative, right-brained thinking style. My initial overview of the launch stage is very overwhelming. My weakest area is organization. As a leader, I will need to learn to utilize better organizational traits. A good leader is able to adapt when necessary. If I move into a launch project, I will also want to have solid organizational dominants on my team.
Reflecting on your personal past experiences, discuss an idea you developed, only to have it fail during the implementation. Why did the implementation fail?
I’ve had a number of software developments fail, but usually turn successful during rework. As I look back over them, probably the most common reason for failure was not understanding the requirements of the end user. When the project went live, we would find that the output of the project ended up not being exactly what the end user needed. This may have been avoided by doing more up front simulation of the final product.
Think of the products and services of your current organization. How can the products and services be reclassified to identify different markets?
Our product went through this a number of years ago. We had an industrial product line that someone had the idea to make a few modifications and introduce to the retail consumer world. It has done very well since then. As our products are highly industrial and specific, it will be a difficult process to reclassify the products. For our business line, new product development is more likely to get us into different markets.
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This blog was originally created as part of an assignment to track my MBA journey. Hope you enjoy...
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