Summary:
According to the latest research from CarringtonCrisp, the UK-based business school consultancy service, the financial crisis has not deterred prospective MBA students from taking up the degree.
One surprising finding of the survey was in the area relating to curriculum. While content such as strategic management and leadership placed as a high value with respondents, there were four areas that languished at the bottom of the popularity lists: taxation, logistics, outsourcing and……. ethics.?!
The survey was conducted online with prospective students through a range of sources such as Facebook and LinkedIn. A total of 91 countries participated, with the largest group coming from India, followed by Australia and the UK.
Article Quote:
“According to the report – Crisis? What crisis? – only 7 per cent of the 723 prospective students surveyed reported that their attitude towards the MBA had become more negative as a result of the financial crisis.”
Link:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/30cab94c-1644-11df-8d0f-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=02e16f4a-46f9-11da-b8e5-00000e2511c8.html?nclick_check=1
While is is appropriate for strategic management and leadership to have a high value in curriculum content, it is surprising that ethics ranked so low on students’ list of importance.
If we are to improve investor confidence, ethics needs to be valued by the new group of business leaders entering the job market. If ethics is not valued, we are likely to see a repeat of the financial lending institution scandal which put the global market into a recession, or scandals such as those of the 90’s.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/
Summary:
Gerald Nanninga uses the analogy of running a race and compares it to running a business. In the race, one runner is superbly equipped for several conditions (and must carry all of the equipment) versus a runner that packed light with only essentials. Of course the runner that packed only essentials will win the race. Companies that strive to be well equipped in all areas often find themselves burdened down, whereas a company that focuses on elements that help achieve the strategic plan are in a far better position to win.
For example, Toyota built their strategic position and their key focus of their efforts around improving the dependability in the way they designed and manufactured cars. For years, this strategy has paid off for Toyota.
Consumers’ belief in Toyota’s dependability meant Toyota could charge a premium price. Yet, somewhere along the way Toyota tried to do too much by building cars as well as trucks -and they wand to do it for every consumer segment, even segments that may not be able to afford reliability. As a result, dependability as a core focus didn’t get the attention it needed and corners were cut. Thus resulting in mass recalls.
Article Quote:
“A winning strategy points out your company’s point of focus (where it will win) and then makes trade-offs on where to place your energy so that you can win the race at that point of focus.”
Link: http://planninga-from-nanninga.blogspot.com/2010/02/strategic-planning-analogy-306-focus.html
Keeping the focused on core aspects most critical to your company’s strategic position and downplaying or outsourcing other factors allows your company to succeed without peripheral distractions. If a goal or an objective doesn’t add subsistence to the focus of the company, then it should not be pursued.
For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/