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236 PART 3 • STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

6. What leaders pay attention to, measure, and control
7. Leader reactions to critical incidents and organizational crises
8. How the organization is designed and structured
9. Organizational systems and procedures
10. Criteria used for recruitment, selection, promotion, leveling off, retirement, and
“excommunication” of people 16
In the personal and religious side of life, the impact of loss and change is easy to see. 17
Memories of loss and change often haunt individuals and organizations for years. Ibsen
wrote, “Rob the average man of his life illusion and you rob him of his happiness at the
same stroke.” 18 When attachments to a culture are severed in an organization’s attempt to
change direction, employees and managers often experience deep feelings of grief. This
phenomenon commonly occurs when external conditions dictate the need for a new strat-
egy. Managers and employees often struggle to find meaning in a situation that changed
many years before. Some people find comfort in memories; others find solace in the
present. Weak linkages between strategic management and organizational culture can
jeopardize performance and success. Deal and Kennedy emphasized that making strategic
changes in an organization always threatens a culture:

People form strong attachments to heroes, legends, the rituals of daily life, the
hoopla of extravaganza and ceremonies, and all the symbols of the workplace.
Change strips relationships and leaves employees confused, insecure, and often
angry. Unless something can be done to provide support for transitions from old
to new, the force of a culture can neutralize and emasculate strategy changes. 19

Production/Operations Concerns
When Implementing Strategies

Production/operations capabilities, limitations, and policies can significantly enhance or
inhibit the attainment of objectives. Production processes typically constitute more than 70
percent of a firm’s total assets. A major part of the strategy-implementation process takes
place at the production site. Production-related decisions on plant size, plant location,
product design, choice of equipment, kind of tooling, size of inventory, inventory control,
quality control, cost control, use of standards, job specialization, employee training, equip-
ment and resource utilization, shipping and packaging, and technological innovation can
have a dramatic impact on the success or failure of strategy-implementation efforts.
Examples of adjustments in production systems that could be required to implement
various strategies are provided in Table 7-11 for both for-profit and nonprofit organiza-
tions. For instance, note that when a bank formulates and selects a strategy to add 10 new
branches, a production-related implementation concern is site location. The largest bicycle
company in the United States, Huffy, recently ended its own production of bikes and now
contracts out those services to Asian and Mexican manufacturers. Huffy focuses instead on

TABLE 7-11 Production Management and Strategy Implementation
Type of Organization Strategy Being Implemented Production System Adjustments
Hospital Adding a cancer center (Product Development) Purchase specialized equipment and add
specialized people.
Bank Adding 10 new branches (Market Development) Perform site location analysis.
Beer brewery Purchasing a barley farm operation (Backward Revise the inventory control system.
Integration)
Steel manufacturer Acquiring a fast-food chain (Unrelated Improve the quality control system.
Diversification)
Computer company Purchasing a retail distribution chain (Forward Alter the shipping, packaging, and
Integration) transportation systems.