Management outlook and procedures have been revolutionized by more and more innovations over the recent years. It is no longer possible to follow traditional approaches to develop your organization's direction, its management as well its effectiveness. Senior managers need to be good decision-makers. In this section, we introduce concepts for strategy, strategic planning, strategic leadership, their exact meaning and associated terms, and how to use them.
Leaders need to motivate and influence their employees with their thought leadership, but many lack knowledge of the concepts, tools, and frameworks that are most helpful in thinking strategically. This section will give you a practical but rigorous foundation of frameworks and tools to help you be a more effective participant in strategic decision making.
You have undoubtedly heard the word strategy and perhaps know a bit about the concept of strategic planning. These have become important parts of management vocabulary and thinking. The word strategy is derived from the Greek word “strategtia” meaning "generalship" which was used first around 400 B.C. The army general organizes and uses his troops for military action. It is this deployment of troops and soldiers that is the basic meaning of the word.
The dictionary meaning of strategy is, “the art of so moving or disposing of the instrument of warfare as to impose upon the enemy, the place time and conditions for fighting by oneself.”
This connotes the art and science of directing military forces. In business parlance, there is no definite meaning assigned to strategy. However, in an organizational context strategy relates to the science or the art of identifying and applying your human and physical resources and carefully preparing for attaining the future goals you have set for your organization.
The strategy is to create a unified, comprehensive, and integrated plan to ensure the achievement of basic objectives through the proper implementation process. The strategy is in fact a plan or course of action or a set of decision rules which are based on policies, objectives, and goals and targeted at moving an organization from its current position to a desired future state. Challenges of the current environment are evaluated to find strategic advantage out of them and strategy also defined the requisite resources that are needed to implement a plan.
A good strategy is one that helps in the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives. The top management of an organization is concerned with the selection of a course of action from among different alternatives to meet the organizational objectives. The process by which objectives are formulated and achieved is known as strategic management and strategy act as the means to achieve the objective. A few aspects regarding the nature of strategy in the organization context is as follows:
Stress is an essential part of our life. No one can live without stress. Stress can be beneficial as well as harmful. Stress as a positive influence adds excitement and hope while as a negative influence it can result in destructive feelings, anger, and depression. Although the general orientation to stress is to consider unfavorable outcomes, yet one must have observed that stress experiences may also facilitate the development of effective and varied coping behavior, increased personal resources, and lead to a sense of competence in development. Stress at a moderate level is not only inevitable but may be useful for physical and mental well-being.
How often do you have a plan for how you are going to spend your day but you aren't able to complete the tasks on your plan because of unimportant tasks, interruptions, or your own procrastination? Wouldn't it be great to be able to manage your schedule and your time while avoiding, or at least controlling, these time stealers? Learn the strategies to manage your schedule while still handling interruptions and demands on your time.
Authentic leadership is an approach to leadership that emphasizes building the leader's legitimacy through honest relationships with followers which value their input and are built on an ethical foundation. The authentic leader acts upon his or her values and beliefs, and inspires others to do the same, is committed to know and develop oneself. Are you committed to developing yourself; know your motivations and the purpose of your leadership? Read this article to know more about authentic leadership style and discovering your authentic self.
Building Your Domain Knowledge
Domain knowledge from a career management perspective encompasses the understanding of industry dynamics and business processes of the target operational area. Domain expert exhibits clear knowledge in the respective industry and understands the industry concepts in general. It is always recommended to best highlight your exposure of domain in your resume or cover letter. TechnoFunc provides you with the best tutorials to gain domain knowledge in a large number of industries and business areas.
Functional skills are the core competencies that can be transferred to different work areas like understanding of finance is independent and a finance expert can comfortably adapt to a manufacturing or service industry. Functional skills are obtained by understanding the various processes and the principles applicable to a business function. Functional experts are in great demand as they are specialists and required to manage the business processes like human resources, operations, or finance.
At different points in your professional career, it is helpful to identify your core values. Values are the qualities considered to be the most important guiding principles that determine the priorities in your life and greatly influence your career choices. Your career brings happiness when it is in agreement with the beliefs you have about what is important and meaningful to you. Awareness of your values will help you develop a clearer sense of what's most important to you in life.
Stress is a product of the busyness of modern life. It has assumed grave dimensions ever since the emergence of industrialism. In fact, stress is a natural, ongoing, dynamic, and interactive process that takes place as people adjust to their environment. Stress can be brought about by positive or negative life events. Distress can cause disease and eustress or positive stress can promote wellbeing and increased productivity. Learn to recognize and be responsible for your stress, and learn the ways to manage stress.
Improving Skills & Competencies
Whenever you are looking for a job or having your yearend discussion with your manager, two terms generally referred to be “Skills” and “competencies”. Today success in a career is an outcome of having essential competencies and building required skills. Skills could be a major distinguishing factor for you to move up on the career ladder and jump from one role to another. Leadership skills when combined with relevant domain and functional expertise can transform your entire career growth and help you have a fulfilling career.
Navigating your career journey will hopefully include a series of experiences that challenge your skills and abilities in ways that are satisfying and rewarding. Only you can manage your career. That means you must determine what things you are passionate about, what your goals are, both professionally and personally, and how much energy you are willing to invest along the way. Learn how to build an effective career path framework for yourself.
In our present Hitech scenario, society is changing very fast. What are the skills that are most relevant for leaders in relation to the changing economic environment? Leaders need to develop skills to drive innovation and change in order to play a more central role in their organizations’ activities. How do managers accept the change and meet business expectations by becoming a key figure in driving change and innovation?
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