The Strategic Competence of Small Businesses.
The Strategic Competence of Small Businesses Abstract The general investigative focus of our research paper is on the market. More specifically, we narrow our focus on the question as to whether there is something like a specific strategic competence of small firms. Our initial hypothesis is that small firms have a very different "strategic competence" as compared to large firms. An extensive literature review comes up with 35 potential variables for such a specific strategic competence of small businesses. After a thorough analysis, this list is narrowed down to 15 variables. These 15 variables have powerful theoretical and practical implications and their validity should be tested through more in-depth literature reviews as well as empirical research on a global scale. CONTENTS . INTRODUCTION 5 .1 The General Issue: The Market 5 .2 Narrowing The Focus: Specific Strategic Competences Of Small Businesses 6 .3 What Motivated Our Investigation 7 2. REVIEW OF THE PERTINENT LITERATURE 9 2.1 Vozikis and Mescon (2002) on the Strategic Competence of Small Businesses 10 2.2 Strategy and the Internet - Has Planning Become Obsolete? 16 2.3 The Importance of Planning and Preparation (from Sun Tzu through von Clausewitz to The Economist 2002) 21 2.4 Small Businesses and Planning 23 2.4.1 Perry (2001) On The Relationship Between Planning And Failure 23 2.4.2 Upton et al.
Lecture notes - Strategy Making
Lecture Notes 1 Student Learning Objectives Upon completion of this lecture you will be able to: . Understand the concept of strategy. 2. Familiarize yourself with strategy as both a theoretical concept and a working tool 3. Trace the history of the development and use of the strategy concept 4. Explain the need for integrating analysis and intuition in strategy process. 5. Why is strategy important to me as a manager? 6. Identify the roles and responsibilities of strategic managers at different levels within the organization. 7. What are the main components of the strategic planning process? 8. Contrast the rational view of strategy with alternate views which describe strategy as an emergent process. 9. Why formal strategic planning may not always lead to success, and identify ways of avoiding some of the common pitfalls associated with strategic planning. 0. Be able to form cohesion of Cases to theoretical concepts. Reading Assignments Text Handout 1 1. What is Strategy and it is Important (Complete) Pages read all Handout 2 2. Strategy Paper (Complete) Pages read all Handout 3 3. Everything CIOs Need to Know About Strategy (Read about all famous strategist) Comprehensive Case Study 4. Coke and Pepsi Hundred year war. Short Cases 5. Jet Blue in US Airline industry 6. Block buster Video to Netflix competitive
Reasons for Napoleon's Success (to 1807).
Reasons for Napoleon's Success(to 1807) a) Napoleon's Strength - The Military Aspect i) Napoleon's Qualities of Leadership ii) The Changing Nature of War iii) The Development of the Grand Armee iv) The Development of Winning Tactics v) Weapons Training in the Grande Armee vi) Napoleon's Strategic Planning vii) Napoleon's Generalship b) Napoleon's Strength - the Civil Aspect c) The Enemies' Weakness - Allied Disunity i) The Second Coalition 1799 ii) The Third Coalition 1805 a) Napoleon's Strength - The Military Aspect i) Napoleon's Qualities of Leadership * One of Napoleon's great strengths as leader was the devotion of his men. His soldiers adored him. * Despite his generally unprepossessing appearance, when he wished to charm he could quickly win over anyone he met, however initially hostile they might be. Within a couple of days he had completely captivated the officers and crew of Bellerophon taking him to St. Helena in 1815, much alarming the British government. * One Admiral at that time exclaimed, "If he had an obtained an interview with His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in half an hour they would have been the best friends in England!" * His contemporaries had no doubt about the charismatic quality of leadership. His great adversary Wellington said to him that the moral effect of his presence in the field and worth an additional force of 40,000
How is War changing?
5/6/2007Fayyaz Ali Abbasi How is War changing? Introduction: Since the end of Cold War, the bipolar structure of the world has changed. The ideological super power rivalry that would maintain the balance of power in different regions is non existent. This has posed a new challenge to the international peace and security system as low-intensity conflicts - the 'new wars', as they are frequently labelled, have proliferated and established themselves as the most common form of organised violence. Though no region is an exception to it but Europe and Africa remain to be extreme examples of these in the decades of 1980s &1990s. In the new wars, the 'Clausewitzean' notion of war - that prevailed upon the war history and conduct since the emergence of 'modern state system' after the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) - as an affair of state is no longer valid, and the lines between 'formal' and 'informal' leaders, 'combatants' and 'non-combatants', 'civilian' and 'military personnel, are blurred1. Civilians are frequently targeted through massive human rights abuses, ethnic cleansing and even genocide. As such, the nature of the wars as opposed to the old 'Westphalian' or 'Clausewitzean' has changed. The new wars, often termed in literature as 'fault line wars,'2 owing to their distinct features, are not fought within specific boundaries and are 'open-ended' in terms of 'culmination'
Threat of Nuclear Terrorism and its implication for Western Security
Running Head: THREAT OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR Threat of Nuclear Terrorism and its implication for Western Security [Author's Name] [Institution's Name] Threat of Nuclear Terrorism and its implication for Western Security Introduction Terrorism and the possible possession by terrorists of WMD, especially nuclear weapons, are part of the "asymmetric" dynamics that have thrust the international community into a new and uncertain situation. These dynamics have been witnessed in the 9/11 (2001) al Qaeda terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the 3/11 (2004) terrorist attacks against Madrid, and the 7/11 (2005) terrorist attacks against London. 1Terrorist acquisition and use of WMD, especially nuclear weapons, is an extremely serious problem that must not be dismissed as the subject of works of fiction. Indeed, the U.S. casualties and losses on 9/11 would be seen as relatively minor as compared to a possible terrorist strike using even crude nuclear weapons. Both candidates in the United States 2004 presidential elections agreed that this is the most serious threat the country faces. 2 The threat of terrorist strikes, particularly those involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD) represents one of the most serious threats to the United States and other nations that are potential targets of subnational, national, and transnational terrorist groups
How, When and Why do Western Democracies Use Coercive Military Power?
How, When and Why do Western Democracies Use Coercive Military Power? Trying to present a total or even a mere account of the global conflicts through the history of humanity would be almost an endless process. What is essential to present is that the way and "for what reasons" those wars were conducted has changed dramatically throughout late history. In order to present a more in-depth overview of the advances that formed the art of war in contemporary history, the following will be examined at brief. The pre-westphalian world, the post Westphalian system, the world wars and the cold war, summarising the most important changes that formed the way military force is been used today, focusing in the west regions, were later the western liberal democracies were formed. Before the westphalian system, religious authority was ruling in Europe. The Roman Empire had a centralised authority since the fifth century, and then a decentralisation followed in the middle ages. The majority of the western Europe regions, reverted to feudal principalities then, authority was placed on private hands and as a consequence, power were allocated in different overlapping levels1. The predominant institution was once again the church with the pope and the central authority in Rome. Wars then were fighting for territorial expansion and religious unification under the name of Christianity. Later
Do the Writings of Clausewitz have contemporary relevance?
Do the Writings of Clausewitz have contemporary relevance? Carl Von Clausewitz has long been considered one of the most important writers in the field of military strategy and tactics. Born in 1780 he first saw action in 1793 when he was a Lance Corporal in the Prussian Army.1 He was to serve throughout the Napoleonic wars working for both the Prussians and the Russians. However: "throughout his military career he never held a command and was probably unsuited for such. He was essentially a student of war..."2 However, despite this lack of command, Clausewitz had certainly gained enough experience during the Napoleonic wars to have a fairly comprehensive idea about what war was: "Before he was forty, he had taken part in some of the greatest battles in the history of warfare and had seen the armies of Napoleon storm their way across Europe to Moscow... Alls this had been the result of military operations, but it was clear to Clausewitz as a young man that the explanation for the success or failure of these operations was not to be sought on the battlefield alone".3 As a result of this, during his career he came up with many ideas of views on the nature and conduct of war, writing literally thousands of pages of manuscripts on a wide range of areas ranging from politics to tactics.4 After the wars end, he set about trying to write a comprehensive eight part 'guide' on
Wars of counter-insurgency cannot be won - discuss.
Wars of counter-insurgency cannot be won - discuss. The Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan defeated after many years of fighting the Taliban. The United States is currently fighting the same Taliban after invading them for the deadly attacks of Sept 1 2001. After a tremendously successful and devastating attack on the mullahs who ran Afghanistan with bunker busting bombs, the Americans and their European allies are struck in this quagmire where total victory has become illusive. The same tale is being repeated in Iraq, where the terrorist group Al Qaeda practices its hit-and-run strategy to devastating effect. By the same token there have been counter-insurgency movements that have been text-book successes. The Malayan counter-insurgency of the 1950s mounted by the British against the Malayan communist has been hailed as a fine example of the containment and defeat of counter insurgency forces. The defeat of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka is another example. It is my thesis that history is chock-full of lessons of counter-insurgency and it is only through studying these lessons and principles and adapting them, that wars of counter- insurgency can be won. For as long as mankind has existed, war has been a long integrated element of life. History, time and again has proven it to be inescapable by-product of human nature. It can be argued that
What is Strategy
What is Strategy ? Is Strategy a ............................................. Mintzberg, Henry (1987). "Five Ps for Strategy," California Management Review, Plan: a consciously intend course of action to deal with a situation. Ploy: a maneuver to outwit an opponent. Pattern: a pattern of actions that emerge, unintended over time. Position: the way a firm relates to its competitive environment Perspective: the way that managers in a firm see themselves and the world around them. Hierarchical definitions: Steiner and Miner, 1977; Andrews, 1971; Quinn, 1980 Mission: Top management's view of what the organization seeks to do and become over the long term â Objectives: Specific performance targets in each of the areas covered by a firm's mission â Strategies: Means through which firms accomplish mission and objectives â Tactics/Policies: Actions that firms undertake to implement their strategies Matching definitions: (SWOT - Andrews, 1971, Hofer and Schendel, 1978) . Selection of corporate mission and goals. 2. Identification of Strengths and Weaknesses in internal environment. 3. Identification of Opportunities and Threats in external environment. 4. Selection of strategies that build on strengths and correct weaknesses to take advantage of external opportunities or counter external threats. 5. Implementation of strategy. * Strategy - more views:
Conflicts are far more likely to be caused by greed than by grievance. Discuss (Collier, 2000)
Conflicts are far more likely to be caused by greed than by grievance. Discuss (Collier, 2000) Introduction In his forward of the World Heath organisations 2002 Word Report on Violence and Health Nelson Mandela stated that forever, 'the twentieth century will be remembered as a century marked by violence...' with a '...legacy of mass destruction inflicted on a scale never seen and never possible before in human history' (World health organisation; 2002). Mandela's words mark the reality that in every year of the 20th Century there had been at least one episode of sustained violent conflict either in the form of civil or inter-state wars. However the post World War Two era marked a fundamental turning point in the ontological essence of armed conflict. The end of the second World War birthed a new and far more polarized world order that promoted self-determination and identity politics within newly independent countries yet paradoxically greater integration as supranational bodies and dialoge began to take a greater role within the political arena. These seeds of globalisation changed not only the context of armed conflict but also the way that conflict is understood. In the post World War 2 era 16.2 million people have died in civil wars; 5 times the 3.3 million people killed in inter-state wars (Anheier & Isar; 2007). This overwhelming statistic highlights the shift in
