Characteristics of Strategic Decisions at Three Levels: The three levels of strategic decision have varying characteristics due to the varying responsibility and authority at different levels of management functioning. As you can see:
Characteristics of Corporate, Business and Functional Level Strategies
| Characteristic | Corporate Level | Business Unit Level | Functional Level |
| Nature | Conceptual | Conceptual but related to business unit | Totally operational |
| Measurability | Non-measurable | Measurable twosome extent | Quantifiable |
| Frequency | Large spans5-10 years | Periodic | Annually |
| Adaptability | Poor | Average | High |
| Character | Innovative and creative | Action-oriented | Totally action oriented |
| Risk | High | Moderate | Low |
| Profit | Large | Moderate | Low |
| Flexibility | High | Moderate | Low |
| Time | Long range | Medium range | Short range |
| Costs Involved | High | Medium | Low |
| Cooperation Needed | High | Medium | Low |
The nature of decisions taken at corporate level gives a vision to the organization. The decisions taken are visionary in nature and hence are highly subjective. The vision of a company evolves after a lot of deliberations among the directors who decide that how their company would be known after a long period of time, say after ten to fifteen years. The decisions at this level are therefore vital for selecting the directions of growth of a company. Since it is very difficult to foresee what would happen to a company after a long period of time, the decision essentially should have built in flexibility as these would have far-reaching consequences on the operations of the company.
The decisions at this level also involve greater risks, costs, potential profits etc. The characteristic strategies at this level may include the following in a typical organization.
- Business scope and an expression of competitive leadership
- Identification of product market segments
- Corporate strategic thrusts and planning challenges relevant to the business unit
- Internal security at the business level that includes identification and evaluation of critical success factors and assessment of competitive position
- Environmental scan at business level and identification of product markets and industry attractiveness. Thus, Formulation of business strategy is a set of multiyear broad action programs.
At the functional level, the decisions involve action oriented operational issues. Essentially these are short-term type and hence periodically made. They reflect some or all part of the strategy at corporate level. These decisions are also comparatively of low risk and involve lower costs as the resources to be used by them are from the organization itself. The company as a whole is rarely involved in these decisions. They are more concrete, clear, simple to implement and do not disturb the ongoing processes of the company. The decisions at this level are more critically examined inspire of being less profitable.
Nothing touches the customer more than how he or she perceives your corporate image This fundamental perception not only determines whether the customer will conduct business with you, it also provides competitive advantages, increase employee morale and loyalty, and a future direction for the organization.
Developing a powerful corporate brand is a circular, continuous, five-phase process that can be applied at any stage of an organization’s development. The five phases are:
- Preliminary Audit, Research and Evaluation
- Analysis, Strategy, Planning and Development
- Creative Exploration
- Refinement and Implementation
- Monitoring, Managing and Marketing of the Corporate Image
A Qualitative Process: Part of the initial process comprises qualitative interviews with internal and external audiences. The internal interviews are conducted at all levels of the organisation, from frontline staff and backroom support personnel to senior management and the Board of Directors. The interviews with external audiences will include key customers, end users, joint venture or other business partners, shareholders or other stakeholders, suppliers, distributors, retailers, prospective customers and partners, government officials, senior media people and other outside influencers, competitors, and members of the general public. The objective is to gain an understanding of the market’s perception of the organisation by its customers, partners and competition, and to contrast these perceptions with those held by its own employee and management staff. Another aim is to identify the organization’s internal willingness and current acceptance levels for change.
The interview process answers these key questions:
- How is the corporate image being portrayed and projected today?
- How is the organization perceived by its key internal and external audiences?
- How does the image of the organization compare with those of its competitors?
- How does the image of the organization compare to the image desired by management?
- Will the current corporate image enable the organization to reach the goals and objectives set for it over the next three to five years?
By starting the corporate brand development process with a review of the existing corporate brand perceptions, the organization has a clear view and understanding of where it is today, an important criterion when trying to decide how one wants to be perceived in the foreseeable future.
From here, you can conclude it is a matter of relatively simple steps to create a well-defined corporate brand positioning platform that is supported by the core attributes of the organization and a series of strategic image marketing objectives that will help to guide future business directions and brand development.
A corporate brand image needs to be thoroughly thought out, planned, nurtured, executed, monitored and, when necessary, modified. It’s the organization’s most valuable commodity and deserves to always be treated as such.
Corporate Image
Every organization has a corporate image, whether it wants one or not. When properly designed and managed, the corporate image will accurately reflect the organization’s commitment to quality, excellence and its relationships with its various constituents: such as current and potential customers, employees and future staff, competitors, partners, governing bodies, and the general public. As a result, the corporate image is a critical concern for every organization, one deserving the same attention and commitment by senior management as any other vital issue.
Managing The Corporate Image: The fallout from the Enron collapse continues to impact the global business community The sad fact is that it appears that it wasn’t the business concept that Enron got wrong; it was the corporate culture that was wrong. The impact now affects Andersen, the accounting firm that audited and appears to have approved the methodologies used by senior Enron executives to “cook” the books and to pad the financial reports given to shareholders, the investment community, and employees. It also affects numerous other companies as the investment community is acutely attuned to not getting caught out by the “next Enron.” Even stalwarts such as General Electric have seen their stock prices dragged down by worries, concerns, and questions about how “aggressive” the company has been in interpreting financial reporting regulations.
Not surprisingly, the issues of ethics, business ethics, and corporate ethics, have suddenly become key topics of conversations and the subject of numerous articles in the business press. Unfortunately, the suggested solutions often mentioned – more rules and regulations, more oversight entities (both internal and external), and clearer reporting of financial transactions – will merely treat the symptoms of this current managerial crises but will do little to remedy the underlying condition.
The true way to fix this problem is to understand how to create the right corporate culture through the corporate image management process.
The sure-fire way is to develop a corporate culture that not only emphasizes ethical behavior, but a so punishes and ostracizes those who do not live up to the desired standards. Very rarely can a single employee engage in unethical behavior without other employees being “in the know,” or at least suspicious.
A corporate culture, communicated and spread throughout the organization, that exhibits zero tolerance for unethical behavior and that is intricately tied to the corporate image is management’s best form of assurance against this deadly disease.
This works a whole lot better than having internal policy police and a bundle of quarterly forms submitted, analyzed, and then stacked in some compliance officer’s cupboard.
Companies that win the marketing battle are those who have the internal strength from knowing who and what they are, and where they are headed — three of the most critical elements for managing the corporate image.
The underlining principle of my marketing philosophy is “if it touches the customer, it’s a marketing issue”
Nothing touches the customer more than how he or she perceives your corporate image. This fundamental perception will be the major factor that determines whether the customer will decide to conduct business with you and, more importantly, enter into a long-term and mutually rewarding relationship with your organization. There may be no greater marketing issue than corporate image management in today’s increasingly competitive markets.
Likewise, there may be no greater methodology for heading off potential business ethics and corporate ethics problems in your own organization than through re-evaluating your corporate image management process. And it’s not just in the area of financial manipulation that business ethics in recent years has gone astray.
How many people justify such so-called guerilla marketing tactics as releasing highly skewed market share data? Or the buying of market share and then claiming that market share actually grew, as if such growth had been organic. Or how about the stealing of someone else’s idea? Or making a product announcement of a future product when the product is little more than a concept on the drawing board? The latter even resulted in new terminology in the IT industry – vaporware.
What can you do to ensure that your company, department, or work group abides by the highest business ethics? If you’re the CEO, Managing Director, or other senior leader, you need to create and manage the right corporate culture.
If you take your spouse or significant other out to dinner and put it on your corporate expenses, what message does this convey?
If you lift materials out of someone else’s presentation, or download data off the Internet without crediting the source, what other actions does this suggest as allowable?
Today’s Most Important Managerial Issue: We live in a world of change. As a matter of fact, the rate of change today is faster, and affects a larger portion of the earth’s population, than at any other time in history.
Yet, despite all this change, there is still one constant. And this is that marketing excellence and a strong corporate image are firmly linked. You cannot have one without the other. At least not for very long because, at the end of the day, your competitors can mimic and better your product offer They can create stronger distribution systems than yours. They can outspend you in advertising and promotions. And, of course, they can always beat you up on price. But the one thing a competitor cannot mimic or copy is a well- defined corporate personality.
As I always advise my clients, “if it touches the customer, it’s a marketing issue.” And nothing, nothing touches your customers more than how he or she perceives your corporate image.
This makes the management of your corporate image one of the most potent marketing and management tools available for senior executives to use in ensuring the viable execution of your corporate vision.
