V Wk 6 - Final Strategic Plan [due Mon] Assignment Content 1. Resource: Final Strategic Plan Grading Guide Create the Final Strategic Plan. The Final Strategic Plan contains the elements of
VALUES AND STRATEGY 9
Values and Strategy
Values and Strategy: Allete Inc.
The company that will be discussed in this paper is the Allete Inc. According to the company’s website, Allete Inc is a provider of competitively-priced energy in the upper Midwest, and invests in transmission infrastructure and other energy-centric businesses. Allete has been growing and expanding its operations daily and this can be accredited to their effective business strategy. This paper will identify the major components of strategic management process and how they work together to create value for Allete Inc. Moreover, the general operations of Allete Inc in respect to their mission statement, vision statement, values, and stakeholders will be evaluated.
Major components of the strategic management process
The strategic management process is the full set of commitment, decisions, and actions required for a firm to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average returns (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015). The major components of the strategic management process include goal setting, situation analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation.
In the strategic management process, goal setting involves setting clear goals, creating mission statements, values, and organizational objectives. These are created to guide the organization to achieve strategic opportunities. Goals can be created by Founders and CEO of a company and communicated downwards or by a process involving all members of an organization (Kukreja (n.d.). The second component of the strategic management process is referred to as situation analysis which involves reviewing all activities that can cause a great impact on the business operations. There is a great significance of situation analysis as it gives a company the opportunity to carry out a thorough SWOT analysis that points out all the strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities in business. Another major component of strategic management process is strategy formulation. After determining the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, it is time to formulate the strategy. Strategy formulation entails designing and developing strategies for the organization. Answering questions such as Where are you now? Where do you want to go? How do you get there? and How will you know you’ve got there? will give you a clear strategy for the organization.
Strategy implementation is also a major component of the strategic management process. Strategy implementation involves putting the strategy into action. It includes developing steps, methods, and procedures to execute the laid down strategy. Strategy implementation also involves identifying which strategies to be implemented first. The organization should start on the worst problem and after addressing it, the organization can then move onto the other problems. Lastly, strategy evaluation is also a major component of a strategic management process. There is regular reporting with regard to the plans acted upon which enables the managers and team leaders to easily measure progress. It is through strategic evaluation that the managers and businesses get to know what’s working and what requires some adjustments in order to achieve the best possible results for the company’s success.
Discuss how these components work together to create value for the organization.
The components of the strategic management process do work together to create value for Allete Inc in various ways. Firstly, goal setting gives Allete Inc its general direction and specific goals that are meant to be achieved after completion of a particular project. Situation analysis provides a clear view of the organization’s standing. This will help the company to determine how it can use its strengths to overcome its weaknesses. Strategic implementation promotes the development of policies or rather plans designed to achieve the goals of Allete Inc. Furthermore, strategic implementation ensures that Allete Inc has effectively allocated its business functions for the achievement of laid down strategies which promotes sustainable growth.
The components provide a platform to identify existing opportunities in the market during the evaluation of the success of a strategic plan. The members involved in the success of a strategic management process ought to be united and support any ongoing strong strategic planning process in order to promote its success. It is important that Allete Inc should focus on its capabilities that are worth full attention and be committed to create the best strategic plan out of it. The strategic implementation process should prioritize on the value proposition that involves Allete Inc’s ability to distinguish itself from its competitors while delivering value to potential customers. A strategic evaluation that encourages a SWOT analysis of a company enables it to identify its strengths that promote a dynamic business environment. Allete should utilize the results from SWOT analysis to guide the organization in a rapidly changing world. The management of Allete Inc should understand that the creation of value in a company discourages employees' distraction as well.
Evaluate the company's mission statement, vision statement, motivation strategy, innovation strategy, and people strategy. If the organization does not have one or more of these, how does that affect the organization and its people?
The mission and vision of an organization are integral to the company’s strategy because they are used to define future goals and operational tactics (Ahmed, 2019). The mission statement of Allete Inc is “To provide clean, safe, efficient and affordable energy products and services that meet the needs of all customers." while the vision statement is "To accelerate the rate of the transition of the world to sustainable energy." Both mission and vision statements of the company are clear and comprehensible to all targeted personnel. According to Martin (n.d.), a well written mission statement can attract customers and prospective employees to your company by communicating not only what your company does, but what you believe in. The company’s mission and vision statements are brief hence, a large population can keep them in mind and also are very specific in that they clearly show what type of business the organization is licensed for. The mission statement is reflecting on a goal that is attainable.
The motivation strategy of Allete is quite effective in meeting the needs of its. Allete Inc ensures that its employees are motivated through a multi-dimensional strategy that is both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature. It is due the effective motivation strategy of Allete that the company has been very successful. Meanwhile, the innovation strategy of Allete Inc focuses on identifying the ideas that have a high probability of achieving the set goals and objectives of the company. Allete Inc ensures that the complex innovations are reviewed by skilled personnel with the ability to understand why it would be necessary to implement the idea. Finally, the people strategy of Allete Inc prioritizes on conducting comprehensive reviews of existing contract modalities and their use. It also focuses on ensuring effective communication with its employees and stakeholders. The company’s people strategy ensures that priorities are set for the benefit of the company’s future.
Allete Inc can face various negative effects in case it lacks strategies to motivate its staff. According to McQuerrey (2018), employee motivation is directly tied to productivity and operational success. If Allete Inc won’t have strategies to motivate its employees, they will become bored which leads to low productivity, they won’t be able to overcome adversity, and they will render poor customer service. Furthermore, low employee motivation leads to poor performance among employees due to a lack of satisfaction in what they engage themselves in.
Explain the role of ethics and corporate social responsibility in strategic planning. How does this direct their strategy? How does the organization's vision and mission align with your own values and vision? If you are currently working for the organization, how does your role influence this and vice versa?
There is a role played by ethics and corporate social responsibility in strategic planning. Ethics and corporate social responsibility play a significant role during the process of making and acting upon decisions related to the operations of an organization. Incorporating ethical considerations means using society’s standards of what constitutes right or wrong behavior as the basis for your business’ plans and policies (Hill, n.d.). The ethics and corporate responsibility direct the strategy in that they help the organization to implement any plan as it respects ethics, principles, and moral values demanded by the society at large.
The vision and mission of Allete Inc align with my own values of being committed as well as respecting the aspect of communication among people. It is essential that employees are engaged and committed in promoting the vision and mission of the company. Moreover, communication is very critical as it helps each and every employee to understand his role in the organization towards achieving the set organizational goals and objectives. Lack of communication can lead to a lack of accountability among employees, customers' indifferences, missed innovation opportunities and also resentment among employees due to the feeling of being disengaged in the business of the organization.
If I was working in Allete Inc, my roles would be to support and promote the company’s strategies to achieve its long-term and short-term goals. I will work hard to perform my responsibilities to the best I can so as to help the company boost its revenues and attract more customers.
References
Ahmed, A. (2019, March 14). Importance of Mission Vision in Organizational Strategy. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-mission-vision-organizational-strategy-16000.html
Allete. (2020, February 1). Welcome | ALLETE, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.allete.com/
Hill, B. (n.d.). How are Ethical Considerations Incorporated Into Planning & Policy Making in an Organization? Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-considerations-incorporated-planning-policy-making-organization-62079.html
Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., & Hoskisson, R.E. (2015). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization (11th ed). Stamford, CT: Cengage.
Kukreja, S. (n.d.). Strategic Management Process. Retrieved from https://www.managementstudyhq.com/strategic-management-proces.html
Martin, M. (n.d.). How to Write a Mission Statement for your Business. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/write-mission-statement-business-2848.html
