Identifying Themes and Concerns to support Strategic Direction: a paper for the attention of the Board of Directors: Lectures Three, Four, and Five
Outline:
The lectures considered for the preparation of this report assisted in the recognition of the specific themes about the strategic direction of an enterprise. The necessity of recognizing the contributions of leadership competencies in contingency situations is profoundly observed in the first lecture. The theme is indicative of the urgent requirement faced by organizations to recruit leaders who are capable of addressing dynamic changes in the business and industry requirements (Stepanova, Sotnikova & Nazarov, 2015).
Organizations look up to their leaders for guidance which can be addressed by them through prominent capabilities for adaptability, communication, and flexibility to facilitate competitive advantage to the organization. The leadership competencies that are required for addressing strategic direction concerns of business enterprises in the present business environment should be assumed as prolific inclusions in the concerns for employment of potential graduates in the present labor market (Cummins, 2014). The theme also reflects on the aspects of dynamism required in leadership approaches to address modern business issues.
The theme of strategic navigation is noticed in the second lecture and is considered a superior performing concept to strategic planning. The theme illustrates the necessity for emphasizing the exploration of ideas to direct the resources and competencies toward the accomplishment of strategic objectives. The significance of the balance between truth and belief as well as facts and intuition is illustrated as a prominent influence on the strategic direction presented by leaders (Gallagher, O’Connor & Gilmore, 2016).
It can also be observed that searching for questions with an entrepreneurial mindset could enable leaders to recognize the available opportunities in the existing business environment and extend the strategic direction toward accomplishing prospects for long-term growth.
The establishment of plausible frameworks for reflecting on ideas and innovations is a notable theme identified in the third lecture. The rigidity of organizational management frameworks alongside the theoretical paradigms associated with strategic management could be considered a major setback for the strategic orientation of firms in the contemporary and dynamic business environment. Leadership and organizational management can be associated with the responsibilities of providing and sustaining facilities that foster creativity (Liu, Eng & Ko, 2013).
The following report reviews the three distinct themes from a critical perspective along with the presentation of suitable prospects for the board to consider modifications in the organization’s strategic orientation.
Reviewing the leadership competencies:
One of the prominent requirements for organizations to cope with strategic business objectives in the contemporary business environment is to apprehend the leadership competencies for long-term orientation. As per Needles Jr, et al, Leaders should be capable of addressing organizational objectives by apprehending the specific competencies required for addressing strategic objectives in the present market environment.
The lecture emphasized the specific competencies of graduates such as understanding a purpose for education and leadership, communication abilities in a second language i.e. English apart from the native language and the skills for communicating an inspiring story to the involved members of the organization (Needles Jr, et al., 2014).
The board should consider the argument for improvising the internal and external recruitment strategies to recruit managerial personnel by ascertaining the individual’s traits and their experience of addressing unconventional scenarios. The abilities of communication are profoundly required in an employee to interact flexibly with employees and present their attitude and beliefs in a tangible form of confident expression of ideas.
The competencies of potential leaders should include the urge to scout varying scenarios in which the prolific outcomes for stage-wise resolution of the problems could be realized. The different aspects of problem resolution refer to the illustration of the problem situation, the estimated tasks associated with the problem resolution approach, proposed strategic action, and the conclusive outcomes of the initiative.
Furthermore, According to Quinn, leaders are required to have a knack for storytelling which would enable them to communicate their level of association with the enterprise to employees thereby leading to increased employee engagement (Quinn, 2015). The reforms in the recruitment and selection approach for the organization should be considered by the board concerning the formulation of training and development programs that can address the competence requirements of potential leaders.
Technical competencies should not be undermined by the board since leaders should be capable of implementing information and communication technology skills. Utilization of the technological competencies would enable the leaders to access information resources about the organization thereby increasing the sophistication of outcomes in business processes. The different common entities that could be associated with the job description for a leader include proficiency in multiple languages, communication, and flexible behavioral traits.
The adversity stories related to leaders could serve as notable sources for the motivation of employees thereby leading to flexible improvement of the strategic outcomes. The potential leaders should be able to address organizational objectives or specific business issues through the use of relevant resources required to accomplish the objectives. The theme declares the significance of competencies in the present labor market for leaders alongside its superiority as compared to the other mandatory requirements (Rutešić, et al., 2015). The board should analyze this theme critically to obtain reasonable insights that could evaluate leadership competencies and their impact on an organization’s strategic alignment.
The role of strategic navigation in contemporary business:
The prominent improvements in the global business environment have to be addressed by including insights obtained from case studies and observation of extensive literature about strategic direction and issue resolution in modern business. Strategic planning has been assumed as a profound requirement by business organizations to address immediate business requirements.
Strategic planning is largely dependent on the collection of available information which provides a guided framework for strategic decision making. The effectiveness of strategic planning is realized in the event of flexible access to resources and information alongside having a formidable impression of the organization’s situational factors. On the other hand, strategic navigation allows opportunities for reflecting on existing events and trends in the domain of business to predict potential challenges and explore new horizons in strategic business management thereby attaining competitive advantage (Walker, 2014).
Entrepreneurs have reformed the conventional approaches to strategic business management and the significance of strategic navigation as a plausible resource to realize social benefits alongside garnering financial profits for the organization. Entrepreneurs are generally characterized by the traits of intellect that enable them to search for promising opportunities through consideration of reason and belief.
The consistent adherence of an organization to contemporary values and strategic approaches would result in a proliferation of insufficiencies in professional competencies required to address contemporary business issues. Consideration of strategy as a stepping stone for accomplishing relevant objectives in the context of business implications has been observed in several literature sources comprehensively (Trivellas & Reklitis, 2014).
Organizations have to implement strategies that are directed toward addressing particular business issues or addressing specific objectives needed by the organization. Therefore, managers face the consistent pressure of formulating strategies and engaging in subsequent planning routines for the fabrication of new approaches to deal with emerging situations. The short-term objectives noticed in an organization can be considered mandatory aspects for fulfilling the primary purpose and vision of the organization.
However, the need for long-term orientation to acquire viable prospects for sustainability could not be undermined in the context of the strategic direction of enterprises in the present business environment. The theme identified in the lecture referred prominently to strategic navigation and the significance of perceived truth by managers in decision making which are prominent entities in the strategic direction of an enterprise (Farver, Smalling & Stoller, 2016).
The board should also emphasize the responsibility of reviewing truth and imagination about specific business decisions as an argument for the theme identified in the lecture. The board should also consider the influence of reflective equilibrium in determining feasible strategic approaches for the organization. Some of the factors that affect the decision-making of leaders include experiential truth, reason-based truth, imagination, and intuition need to be reviewed by leaders and include apt proportions of each element in decision-making.
The decisions that are formulated in the context of contemporary business issues are subject to efficiency concerns that can be addressed by considering the balance required between beliefs and facts alongside evidence and intuition. Therefore the board can apprehend notable variations of competencies and leadership styles through the variations of truth such as innate, infused, and acquired truth (Herd, Alagaraja & Cumberland, 2016).
The distinct classifications of truth are responsible for judging the specific truths to be considered for strategic direction applications. The innate truth is developed in an individual through the inherent psychology of the individual and is generally associated with characteristics hardwired in the person. Infused truth is developed through the interaction of an individual in varying environments, especially the society which established precedents for truth that are assumed affirmative throughout the life of a person.
Acquired truth is proliferated from the involvement of a person in a particular environment for prolonged periods. The distinct perceptions of truth can be associated profoundly with the operational context of an organization. Leaders can ensure the efficient realization of strategic direction only if they can accomplish the integration of truth with vision, beliefs, purpose, and story to develop reasonable solutions for identified issues (Müller & Turner, 2010). The board must understand the fact that strategic navigation is accountable for the benefits of observing distinct patterns in the business environment for interpreting the challenges that could influence the performance of leaders in long-term applications.
Creativity’s impact on leadership outcomes:
The strategic direction of an organization could be addressed effectively through ample opportunities for space and a platform for allowing members of an organization to involve themselves in the decision-making processes. The conventional business management frameworks refer to the statement of precedents for dealing with business issues as well as the particular plans of action that could not prove to be effective in unprecedented scenarios.
The theoretical paradigms and institutional frameworks for addressing the strategic direction requirements of an enterprise are not subject to any dynamic changes in the contemporary business environment (Herd, Alagaraja & Cumberland, 2016).
Therefore the board must consider moving beyond the theoretical precedents assumed for strategic management and include employees in strategic decision-making processes thereby capitalizing on their competencies to accomplish organizational objectives flexibly. Creativity is accountable for prolific advantages such as precise recognition of problems and capabilities for addressing varying external environmental factors in the business environment.
Employees also have the opportunity to present credible contributions to the organization’s vision alongside restricting the proliferation of communication gaps and increasing the variability of options that can be implemented for resolving a specific problem. Some of the plausible recommendations that can be laid on the board in the context of this theme refer to operational management, supervision of organizational changes, and resource allocation (Farver, Smalling & Stoller, 2016).
Critical reflection:
My critical perspective relating to the video lecture capture refers to the presentation of critical pitfalls in the themes of strategic direction. My observation of the lecture captures was indicative of the proliferation of three distinct themes that assist in formulating the strategic direction of an enterprise. Among the three identified themes, I was able to identify that the second lecture reflecting on the theme of strategic navigation could provide functional outcomes in the context of the strategic direction of an enterprise.
This critical reflection would help substantiate my arguments for the selected theme and validate its application for the board. I was able to observe that the development of recruitment and selection approaches by the competence requisites can provide a sustainable advantage to the organizations.
However, the impact of this recommendation would have to include formidable investments alongside relying on the uncertainty that dictates the approach in which employees acquire skills. The setbacks that could be observed in the context of addressing the recruitment and selection approach involve the lack of substantial funding.
I also state that the other recommendation for creating platforms for employee engagement and drawing creative outputs could be discouraged on the grounds of dependence on behavioral traits and excessive workload which limits the prospects for developing creativity.
Therefore, I would conclude that organizations could rely on the theme of strategic navigation to realize feasible outcomes from the distinct strategic direction of an enterprise. In my view, the board should consider the significance of an innovative mindset of business managers and leaders in accomplishing competitive advantages and aligning the strategic direction of the enterprise with situational factors.
References
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