1

Chapter Thirteen

Strategic Leadershipand Knowledge

Management

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

2

Learning Objectives

Describe the nature of strategic leadership.

Explain how to use the SWOT model to assist in strategic planning.

Identify a number of current business strategies.

Describe how leaders contribute to the management of knowledge and the learning organization.

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

3

The Nature of Strategic Leadership

Strategic leadership is the process of providing the direction and inspiration necessary to create or sustain an organization

Strategic leadership is the process of providing the direction and inspiration necessary to create or sustain an organization

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

4

Figure 13-1 Components of Strategic Leadership

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

5

Five Components of Strategic Management

1. Thinking at a cognitively high level2. Gathering multiple inputs from

many sources3. Anticipating and creating a future;

setting the direction towards that future

4. Adopting a revolutionary or contrarian outlook

5. Ultimately, creating a VISION

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

6

SWOT Analysis

Examines the interaction between the organization or group and its external marketplace

Strategic planning often takes the form of a SWOT analysis, a method of considering Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in a particular situation

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

7

Examples of SWOT Elements

Strengths: Favorable location, talented workers, state-of-the-art equipment

Weaknesses: Unfavorable location, outdated equipment, limited capital

Opportunities: Culturally diverse customer base, changes in technology, deregulation

Threats: E-commerce, declining market, new competitors

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

8

Business Strategy Levels

Corporate-level strategy asks, “What business are we in?”

Business-level strategy asks, “How do we compete?”

Functional-level strategy asks, “How do we support the business-level strategy?”

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

9

Sample Strategies

Differentiation Cost leadership Focus or niche High quality Imitation Strategic alliances Growth through acquisition

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

10

Sample Strategies (cont’d)

High speed and first-mover strategy Product and global diversification Sticking to core competencies Brand leadership Creating demand by solving

problems Competitive advantage through

hiring talented people

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

11

Knowledge Management andthe Learning Organization

Knowledge management (KM) is a concerted effort to improve how knowledge is created, delivered, and applied

Knowledge management helps create a learning organization. A learning organization is skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge, and at modifying behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

12

Knowledge ManagementThree Components

1. Knowledge creation spurs innovation, e.g., training, seminars, professional development, degree completion

2. Knowledge dissemination allows workers access to key information and support, e.g., intranets, web portals, databases

3. Knowledge application helps workers apply learning to their jobs, e.g. mentoring, shadowing, on-the-job training, workshops

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

13

Figure 13-2 Where Corporate Knowledge

Lives

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

14

General Format of KM Programs

Sophisticated computer-based systems

Interactive technology Videoconferencing technology Sharing anecdotes through these

systems and channels

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

15

Pitfalls of KM Programs

There is a human tendency to hoard information

Workers prefer face-to-face sharing versus entering data into a computer

Data entry can undermine the intuitive spark often created through interpersonal interactions

It is difficult to decipher what information is truly useful

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

16

Initiatives to Enhance Organizational Learning

Create a strategic intent to learn Create a shared vision Empower employees to make

decisions and seek continuous improvement

Develop systems thinking Encourage personal mastery of the

job

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

17

Initiatives to Enhance Organizational Learning (cont’d)

Encourage action learning Learn from failure Encourage continuous

experimentation Develop political skills to make

connections with and influence others Encourage creative thinking

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

18

Summary

Strategic leadership deals with the major purposes of an organization or organizational unit

Five important components of strategic leadership include high-level cognitive ability, multiple inputs to strategy formulation, anticipating and creating a future, revolutionary thinking, and creation of a vision

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

19

Summary (cont’d)

Strategic planning often takes the form of a SWOT analysis

Strategic leaders use many different types of business strategies

Leaders must help their organizations adapt to the environment by taking initiatives to create a learning organization