Strategic choice is influenced by various subjective factors such as decision styles, attitude to risk, and internal power play between the strategists. The strategy implementation process is also influenced by the behavior and attitude of the strategist along with organizational factors such as corporate culture, corporate values, ethics, and the organization’s sense of social responsibility.
Behavioral implementation is concerned with those aspects of strategy implementation which have an influence on the behavior of the people in the organization. Since the organization is basically a deliberate creation of human beings for certain specified objectives, the activities and behavior of its members need to be directed in a certain way. Some of the issues which are relevant for the behavioral implementation of strategy in an organization are discussed as under:
(i) Leadership
Leaders are the vital aspect of an organization that helps to cope with the change by ensuring that plans and policy formulation are implemented as planned. Leadership is basically the ability to persuade others to achieve the defined objectives willingly and enthusiastically. Strategic leadership involves the process of transforming an organization with the help of its people so as to put it in a unique position. Thus, strategic leadership transforms the organization which involves changing all faces that is size, management practices, culture, and values, etc. Further, it emphasizes people because they are the source for transforming various physical and financial resources of the organization into outputs that are relevant to society. Thus, the elements of strategic leadership may be summarized as under:
(i) It deals with vision keeping the mission insight and with effectiveness and results.
(ii) It emphasizes transformational aspects that lead to the emergence of leaders in the organization.
(iii) It inspires and motivates people to work together with a common vision and purpose.
(iv) Strategic leadership has an external focus rather than an internal focus which helps the organization to relate it with its environment.
A leader initiates the actions for putting a strategy into operation. The strategist’s leadership role in strategy implementation is as important as his role as architect of strategy. A leader should adopt the following initiative for implementing the leadership strategy:
(a) Developing new qualities to perform effectively
(b) Be a visionary, willing to take a task, and highly adaptable to change
(c) Exemplifying the values, culture, and goals of the organization
(d) Paying attention to strategic thinking and intellectual activities
(e) Adopting a collective view of leadership in which the leaders’ role is highlighted at all levels of the organization
(f) Empowering others and emphasizing statesmanship
(g) Adopting a perspective to build subordinate skills and confidence to make them change agents
(h) Delegating authority and emphasizing innovation.
(ii) Organizational Culture
Organizational culture affects strategy implementation as it provides a framework within which the behavior of the members takes place. It is defined as a set of assumptions, beliefs, values, and norms which are shared by people and groups in the organization and control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholder outside the organization. There are two types of elements that define the culture of an organization i.e. (i) abstract elements and (ii) material elements. Abstract elements are internally oriented and include values, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. Material elements are extremely focused and include building, personnel dresses, products, etc.
(iv) Values and Ethics
Values are convictions and a framework of the philosophy of an individual on the basis of which he judges what is good or bad. Business ethics generate from: (a) value forming institutions; (b) organizational values and goals; (c) colleagues; and (d) professional code of conduct.
Strategy implementation is, thus, mostly affected by the instrumental values of people in the organization. From a strategic management point of view, people in the organization are divided into–Board of Directors, Chief Executives, managers, and corporate planning staff. Of these groups, the Chief Executive and managers under him are mostly responsible for strategy implementation. However, values are held by individuals which are part of their personality. Therefore, it is quite likely that the values of different individuals do not match each other. Thus, in actual practice, the relationship between organizational values and personal values exists in the organization.
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