Eddielogic

– Thoughts on Strategy and Management

November 22, 2007
by Oliver
1 Comment

Critical success factors for China

ChinaQuite recently I have found a very interesting study concerning success factors. A large strategy consulting company did analyze these factors for Chinese companies abroad. To compete abroad four major success factors were described:

 

  1. Productivity and quality need to be improved. It is expected that in the next couple of years the salary level in China will raise, hence the role of technology and process in productivity will become more important.
  2. R&D activities have to be increased. China competes in industries, in which R&D capability is a competitive factor. Hence China has to invest in both product technology and production processes.
  3. Strong brand recognition. For the next step in the competition in the marketplace it is crucial to have recognizable brands in place. Those brands have to be well known outside China, too. At present there are just a few brands that fulfill these attributes.
  4. Human resources and access to skills and talent. At present the shortage of skilled human capital for international business it one of the largest disadvantages for China. Senior leadership, marketing, operations and R&D are the management areas that face the gap.

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November 18, 2007
by Oliver
1 Comment

Identification of strategic topics

OliverWhen starting the process of strategic planning it is crucial to focus on the key strategic issues. Hence there is a key question: What is a key issue for my organization?

If one walks around in a company and asks several managers you will end very likely with a number of very different ideas what such a strategic issue might be. Sales department might focus on competitors and their pricing, IT will discuss issues like SOA and TCO and finance department will stress budget related issues and financial performance indicators. To a certain degree everyone is right…but it is very unlikely to get an idea of the real key strategic issues.

Hence I would like to present four different approaches that can help you to find the right issues. These recommendations are based on observations in practice. Let us imagine that you would be the CEO of your company.

Approach 1: You create a list of four to seven priorities for the coming business period. You submit the list to managers who are responsible for brand, functions and so on and so forth. This list is the fundament for your annual strategy meeting, where your management team should discuss the effects of your priorities for their business operations and units. After this meeting your strategic planning department (or the department that is responsible for that function) summarizes the outcome and develops a strategic letter (memo, note) for the entire organization. It might helpful that specific organisational objectives will be linked with the strategic discussion results.

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November 17, 2007
by Dagmar
2 Comments

Toyota Auris in Germany – Revisited

I had an Auris experience yesterday which made me revisit my old post about the Auris advertising campaign in Germany in February. My little experience is definitely not representative for what is going on on Germany’s roads, since I haven’t been using my car very much over the last couple of months. However, yesterday’s strike of locomotive drivers in Germany forced me to go to work by car. On my way back home when I was driving slowly on the crowded motorway it happened – I realised that the car in front of me was an Auris. Actually it was the first real Auris besides some promotion activities I saw on a street!

As mentioned, I don’t spend much time on the street at all, so there will be some more Auris cars than just the one I saw. Nevertheless, it took me nine months to discover the first one. Given the fact that I always was deliberately looking out for the Auris cars, this is a fairly long time. This is a good reason to have a look at the latest sales statistics (available in German language only): Continue Reading →

November 14, 2007
by Dagmar
1 Comment

Sense and Nonsense of Early Indicators

Early indicators are very popular in the business world. People normally like them because they see a lot of advantages, such as

  • Early indicators are perceived to provide some objectivity to otherwise fuzzy planning and forecasting processes.
  • They are most often based on external data, ideally from an institution with a very high reputation. That adds even more trustworthiness to the own predictions and forecasts based on the indicator.
  • The external source also serves as an excellent justification, in case something should go wrong. Your forecast was excellent, just the external input data failed.
  • Last but not least – there actually are statistically relevant correlations between sets of data which occur with a time delay. If you are able to figure out the right pair of data, the correct interpretation of the earlier events may indeed improve predictions for the later events.

Thus early indicators may have their value for management. However, I am reluctant to rely on early indicators too much. There are some problems that are not easily solved: Continue Reading →

November 10, 2007
by Oliver
Comments Off on I-something – branding in practice

I-something – branding in practice

I am quite happy. Since yesterday Germany is back. Back in the club of technology driven countries, where technological options and brands are the main drivers for progress.

What’s on? Yesterday the sale of the world famous iPhone did start in Germany. One of the leading German newspapers, the FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) addicted nearly an entire page in its Tuesday section “Technik & Motor” (technology and engine). Who should be interested in this phone? Customers who value design, handling and quality should consider this appliance very carefully. Opposite to this it might not be the very best device for people who want to write tons of e-mails on the road (FAZ).

Technology and handling is one side of the business. More interesting it is a very good example how important marketing techniques (and of course design) have become in fully satisfied markets. Do you have a mobile phone? The probable answer is yes. It is the first multi media mobile phone in the market place? The correct answer is no.

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October 31, 2007
by Oliver
2 Comments

Overcoming barriers for strategic planning

Traditionally, strategic planning has been recognized as very important activity to the effective management of the firm. However, according to some recent surveys (from 2006 and 2007), which are related to the organizational practice of strategic planning, “some” survey participants were not satisfied fully with the process or outcome.

Hence I would like to discuss some typical barriers and problems, which exist within strategic planning. Of course, I will make some suggestions on how to overcome them. These barriers are

  • analysis barriers,
  • agenda setting related barriers and
  • barriers for strategy finding

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October 28, 2007
by Oliver
3 Comments

Brand presentation 2.1 – Floaded

How can brand presentations employ a web 2.0 approach? I have found a very interesting approach called FLOADED.
FLOADED is a new platform for professionally made short movies that have been sponsored by commercial partners. One can find this platform under www.floaded.com.
FLOADED stands for Loaded Film entertainment and consists of short movies; brands and specific products are an integrative part of the film stories. Of course this concept represents advertising; but is employs features like interactivity, additional information access within an interesting environment (in this case the story line). Within the movie itself – on certain points – the viewer has the option to gain additional information about both the brand and the featured product.

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October 22, 2007
by Dagmar
Comments Off on European Smart Cities

European Smart Cities

I just came across an interesting new project, called “European Smart Cities”. It is a ranking of European Cities with populations under 500,000, developed by Scientists from the Technical University (TU) of Vienna in cooperation with the University of Ljubljana and the TU of Delft.

Well, yes, this is one more city ranking and there already are plenty of them. However, I like the idea of a pan-European analysis with the focus solely on medium sized cities. Most cross-boarder city rankings only include the big metropolises and some more large cities. Smaller cities are mostly covered by national rankings. Thus, they are more difficult to compare for investors with an international investment focus.

As it says in the projects’s press release:

“Middle-sized cities are a fascinating focus group”, says smart cities project manager Univ.Prof. Dr. Rudolf Giffinger from the TU of Vienna. “120 million people, i.e. not quite 40 percent of all of Europe’s city dwellers live in about 600 cities of that size. They have an enormous potential but are often in the shade of the big metropolises. It is difficult for them to position themselves, sometimes they have to fight image problems, and they are overlooked by investors. But they have a major advantage: Due to their size they are flexible and can pick up points with smartness”. Continue Reading →

October 18, 2007
by Oliver
2 Comments

External growth strategy

A couple of days ago I received a question concerning an external growth strategy. The core of that question had three different parts. When might this strategy route be appropriate?  What are the conditions for an organization to consider this route and what forms of strategies are applicable once the organization settles to take this direction?

Before I start I would like to mention that there is no general answer to those questions. A growth strategy – not matter whether internal or external growth – should help your organization to protect (and to sustain) its existing advantages or to develop new advantages (competencies, resources in its widest sense etc.). However there are some interesting indicators and attributes that should be taken into account when entering an external growth strategy. I would like to explain only two of them; furthermore I will discuss some issues in brief that you and your organization have to have in mind.

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October 11, 2007
by Dagmar
Comments Off on After the strategic planning meeting

After the strategic planning meeting

Last week I had written about some of my experiences with strategic planning meetings – the pro’s and con’s, what can go wrong and how to avoid some of the problems. However, the process is not over the moment the meeting ends and everybody leaves the room. Even if the meeting was considered a great success, without equally good follow-up it won’t deliver the best results.

To nobodies surprise – meeting minutes are important. The question is, however, which form and which extent they should take. Again, there is no one right answer. I think it depends on the complexity of the meeting, on top management’s preferences and even on the culture of the company. The minutes can be everything from a one-page summary of the key findings and decisions up to a fairly detailed report which covers all major points of discussion. I personally prefer the more detailed version. You can still reduce it to some sort of management summary afterwards and there are some advantages of extensive notes: Continue Reading →