How does the identification of outsourcing opportunities relate to core competencies and competitive advantages? Can this relationship also be connected to the organizational structure? Explain and provide an example.
Identifying outsourcing opportunities allows a company to disperse non-core and distracting activities. This allows the company to focus more resources on core competencies and competitive advantages. Without outsourcing, the company would have to hire new talent in and train these new hires. Also using valuable resources for non-core and distracting activities lead to companies missing strategic opportunities or missing the prime time for acting on opportunities. This can result in a competitor seizing the opportunity before you or you not being able to capitalize on the full potential.
These outsourcing opportunities can be used strategically, so they form external competitive advantages. Outsourcing can be a portion of activities and not the entire department or role within the company. The role within the company is kept as a core competency and further exploited to strengthen the competitive advantage. The outsourced activities are what the supplier does best and can result in more of a strategic alliance than pure outsourcing.
The best example I can think of is Wal-Mart and their supply chain management. They outsource many activities and turn that into an incredible competitive advantage. They develop these suppliers into efficient productive companies through Wal-Mart's mandates. Wal-Mart uses these relationship as an extension of themselves and push their agendas through their suppliers. Recently Wal-Mart is pushing waste reduction through packaging of goods that they purchase. Suppliers are to reduce "throw away" packaging by a percentage and also ensure that the more of the packaging can be recycled.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
LJ 2-5b
How do your personal experiences, prejudices, and expectations impact your ability to objectively select the best candidates for a job or project position?
These three aspects can positively or negatively impact your decision. The main point here to be aware of your prejudices and expectations that have been molded through your varies experiences. Having a prejudice toward certain behaviors or ethics is not bad, but you need to be aware of them. Having prejudices based on race, dress, ethnic culture, body type, etc are part of reality, but can not get in the way of objectivity. Prejudices can be your danger alerts or gut feelings. Again must be aware that you have them and understand why you have these prejudices. This is the same for expectations. It is great to have high expectations, but must be relative to the job or position and not what your personnel expectations are for that job - a realistic outlook on what is expected of an individual. Setting too high expectations leads to failure and low morale/drive of that person. Too low of an expectation leads to complacency and boredom, resulting in poor use of a person's potential. Must be aware why you have an expectation and why you have it.
The reason why it is necessary to be aware of these aspects and how they interact is so you will be objective. You can not and will not be objective (will be subjective) if you allow these aspects to act as instinctual judgement calls and not as questions for you to internally rationalize logically. Choosing the correct person needs to based on how they align to the company's values, beliefs, culture, and ethical behavior. Just because you like someone personally and all of your prejudices, etc are validated does not mean they will be great employees and successful. The flip side also applies - not liking someone because of your prejudices, etc does not mean that the individual will not become a solid performer.
So these three aspects can cause you to ignore a diamond in the rough and choose the wrong person.
These three aspects can positively or negatively impact your decision. The main point here to be aware of your prejudices and expectations that have been molded through your varies experiences. Having a prejudice toward certain behaviors or ethics is not bad, but you need to be aware of them. Having prejudices based on race, dress, ethnic culture, body type, etc are part of reality, but can not get in the way of objectivity. Prejudices can be your danger alerts or gut feelings. Again must be aware that you have them and understand why you have these prejudices. This is the same for expectations. It is great to have high expectations, but must be relative to the job or position and not what your personnel expectations are for that job - a realistic outlook on what is expected of an individual. Setting too high expectations leads to failure and low morale/drive of that person. Too low of an expectation leads to complacency and boredom, resulting in poor use of a person's potential. Must be aware why you have an expectation and why you have it.
The reason why it is necessary to be aware of these aspects and how they interact is so you will be objective. You can not and will not be objective (will be subjective) if you allow these aspects to act as instinctual judgement calls and not as questions for you to internally rationalize logically. Choosing the correct person needs to based on how they align to the company's values, beliefs, culture, and ethical behavior. Just because you like someone personally and all of your prejudices, etc are validated does not mean they will be great employees and successful. The flip side also applies - not liking someone because of your prejudices, etc does not mean that the individual will not become a solid performer.
So these three aspects can cause you to ignore a diamond in the rough and choose the wrong person.
LJ 2-5a
Why is it necessary to look through the four lenses when developing an internal communication strategy?
The four lenses allows you to make sure that all groups have been identified and content/context is geared toward each different group. It also ensures that the correct amount of emotional intelligence is being employed in the strategy. Each group and individuals within a group will require different ways of communicating the main message. Top management will want to understand the benefits and strategic objectives for the message. They may also wish to have thorough explanations of the details, more to the quadrant D. Middle managers and supervisors will want to understand what? why? and how? They will be worried about effects on their departments, their staff, and themselves. This is mainly quadrant B and some A. The general workforce will want to understand "Whats in it for them" and may need reassurance. The benefits will come from the quadrant A perspective and the empathy/understanding will come from the quadrant C perspective. If the communication strategy does not use the four lenses, then the possibility of failure is greatly increased or even inevitable.
The four lenses allows you to make sure that all groups have been identified and content/context is geared toward each different group. It also ensures that the correct amount of emotional intelligence is being employed in the strategy. Each group and individuals within a group will require different ways of communicating the main message. Top management will want to understand the benefits and strategic objectives for the message. They may also wish to have thorough explanations of the details, more to the quadrant D. Middle managers and supervisors will want to understand what? why? and how? They will be worried about effects on their departments, their staff, and themselves. This is mainly quadrant B and some A. The general workforce will want to understand "Whats in it for them" and may need reassurance. The benefits will come from the quadrant A perspective and the empathy/understanding will come from the quadrant C perspective. If the communication strategy does not use the four lenses, then the possibility of failure is greatly increased or even inevitable.
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