Download MCI Communications, Inc., Mission Statement

CH 1: What is Strategy?
MCI Communications, Inc.,
Mission Statement
MCI’s mission is leadership in the global telecommunications services
industry. Profitable growth is fundamental to that mission, so that we
may serve the interests of our stockholders and our customers.
To maintain profitable growth, MCI will: provide a full range of highvalue services for customers who must communicate or move
information electronically throughout the United States and the world;
manage our business so as to be the low-cost provider of services;
make quality synonymous with MCI to our growing customer base; set
the pace in identifying and implementing cost-effective technologies
and services as we expand our state-of-the-art communications
network; continue to be an entrepreneurial company, built of people
who can make things happen in a competitive market place.
1. Hierarchical Definitions
Strategy is defined as the way that a firm
attains its objectives or fulfills its mission,
and strategic management is the process by
which a firm’s mission and objectives are
decided, how its specific strategies are
chosen, and how those strategies are
implemented through specific policies or
tactics.
2) Components
1.
Mission
2.
Objective
3.
Strategies
4.
Tactics/Policies
3) Strengths
1.
Link between strategy and performance
2.
Multiple levels of analysis
3.
Translate their mission into actions
4) Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
Underdeveloped notion of the competitive
environment’s impact
Formal, bureaucratic strategy making
processes
No guidance to managers
2. Eclectic Definitions
1.
It includes a much wider range of
organizational phenomena than would be
included in the hierarchical definition. It
concerns about multiple characteristics of
strategy.
2) Components
1.
Strategy as:
Plan
Ploy
Pattern
Position
Perspective
3) Strengths / Weaknesses
1.
2.
S: It can help managers become aware of
opportunities that a rigid commitment to
hierarchically derived strategies would
ignore.
W: Since any idea or action that might
exist in a firm can be thought of as a
strategy, the study of strategy is not
limited to any specific phenomena.
3. Matching Definitions
1.
Definition: A firm’s strategy is defined as
actions that the firm takes to respond to
threats and opportunities in its
environment while exploiting its strengths
and avoiding or fixing its weaknesses.
2) Strengths
1.
2.
3.
Recognizing a firm’s environment
Recognizing a firm’s internal strengths
and weaknesses
Emphasizing the allocation of resources to
implement strategies
3) Weaknesses
1.
2.
Emphasizing formal, intended rather than
emergent strategies
Providing little guidance
Definition
Strategy is a pattern of resource allocation
that enables firms to maintain or improve their
performance. A “good” strategy is a strategy
that neutralizes threats and exploits
opportunities while capitalizing on strengths
and avoiding or fixing weaknesses.
Is Operational Effectiveness
not Strategy or not?
Companies must be flexible to respond
rapidly to competitive and market changes.
They much achieve OE to be competitive in
the world market.
OE is necessary but not sufficient
Overall advantage or disadvantage results from all
a company’s activities, not only a few.
OE means performing similar activities better than
rivals perform them. In contrast, strategic
positioning means performing different activities
from rivals’ or performing similar activities in
different ways.
What are the Problems on the
Competition based on OE?
1. To upgrade OE companies should invest
on new equipment, research that means that
most productivity gains are being captured
by customers and equipment suppliers.
2. Competition based on OE alone is
mutually destructive.
Is a Strategic Position enough?
Choosing a unique position is not enough to
guarantee a sustainable advantage. A
valuable position will attract imitation by
incumbents, who are likely to copy it in one
of two ways. First, a competitor can
reposition itself to match the superior
performer. Second is straddling.
A Sustainable Strategic
Position requires Trade-offs
1. Inconsistencies in company’s image or
reputation
2. Different positions require different
product configuration, different equipment,
different management system
3. Limits on internal coordination and
control