CHARTING A COMPANY’S

DIRECTION
• Course: Strategic Management (MGT 480)
• Instructor: Tanzin Khan
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Understand strategic vision, mission, and values
• Learn the five stages of strategy development
• Apply concepts through real-world examples
• Engage in interactive activities for deeper learning
 OVERVIEW OF THE FIVE
STAGES
1. Developing Vision, Mission, Core Values
2. Setting Objectives
3. Crafting Strategy
4. Executing Strategy
5. Monitoring & Adjusting
 FIGURE 2.1 THE
STRATEGY-MAKING,
STRATEGY-EXECUTING PROCESS
 TABLE 2.1 FACTORS SHAPING
DECISIONS IN THE
STRATEGY-MAKING,
STRATEGY-EXECUTION PROCESS
•External Considerations:

•Stay or shift for growth potential?

•Competitive forces shaping profitability?
•Drivers of industry change and impact?
•Rival positions and likely moves?
•Key success factors and profit outlook?
 Discussion

“If you were launching a food delivery

app today, would you stay in this
industry or shift — and why?”
 •Internal Considerations:
•Strong and appealing value
proposition?
•Key resources enabling advantage?
•Enough strength to seize opportunities?
• Are costs competitive with main rivals?
•Stronger or weaker than competitors?
 STAGE 1 - VISION, MISSION,
VALUES
• Definitions
❖ Vision: Future aspiration
❖ Mission: What the firm does
❖ Values: Guiding beliefs

• Example: Tesla
❑ Vision: "To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century..."
❑ Mission: “To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
❑ Values: Innovation, sustainability, boldness.
 EXAMPLES OF STRATEGIC
VISIONS—HOW WELL DO THEY
Vision Statement
MEASURE UP?
Effective Shortcomin
Elements gs
Whole Foods Market • Forward-lo • Long.
Whole Foods Market is a dynamic leader in the quality food
business. We are a mission-driven company that aims to set the
oking.
• Not
standards of excellence for food retailers. We are building a
business in which high standards permeate all aspects of our
• Graphic. memorable
company. Quality is a state of mind at Whole Foods Market.
• Focused.
Our motto—Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole
Planet—emphasizes that our vision reaches far beyond just being • Makes
a food retailer. Our success in fulfilling our vision is measured by
good
customer satisfaction, team member happiness and excellence,
return on capital investment, improvement in the state of the business
environment and local and larger community support. sense.
Our ability to instill a clear sense of interdependence among our
various stakeholders (the people who are interested and benefit
from the success of our company) is contingent upon our efforts to
communicate more often, more openly, and more
compassionately. Better communication equals better
understanding and more trust.
Vision Statement Effective Elements Shortcomings

Keurig Dr. Pepper •Easy to •Not distinctive.

A leading producer and communicate. •Not
distributor of hot and cold •Focused. forward-looking
beverages to satisfy every
consumer need, anytime and
anywhere.

Nike •Forward-looking. •Vague and

NIKE, Inc. fosters a culture of •Flexible. lacks detail.
invention. We create •Not focused.
products, services and
experiences for today’s
athlete* while solving
problems for the next
generation.
*If you have a body, you are
an athlete.
 COMMUNICATING THE
STRATEGIC VISION

•Why communicate the vision?

• Fosters employee commitment to the firm’s
chosen strategic direction.
• Ensures understanding of its importance.
• Motivates, informs, and inspires internal and
external stakeholders.
• Demonstrates top management support for the
firm’s future strategic direction and competitive
efforts.
 AN “IDEAL” MISSION
STATEMENT
• Identifies the company’s product or services.
• Specifies the buyer needs it seeks to satisfy.
• Identifies the customer groups or markets it is
endeavoring to serve.
• Gives the company its own identity that sets the
company firm apart from its rivals.
• Clarifies the firm’s purpose and business makeup
to stakeholders.
 “TO ORGANIZE THE WORLD’S
INFORMATION AND MAKE IT
UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE AND
USEFUL.”
• Why it's considered ideal:
• Clear Purpose: Focuses on what the company
does — organize information.
• Scope: Global ("the world’s information").
• Impact-Oriented: Emphasizes accessibility
and usefulness, showing commitment to users.
• Timeless: Broad and adaptable to new
technologies or services.
TOMS SHOES: A MISSION WITH
A COMPANY
• TOMS’s mission statement:
• With every product you purchase, TOMS will help a person in
need, One for One®.

• TOM’s core values:

• Our mission is ingrained in our one-to-one business model.
• Lead with the story: our mission and purpose are the same.
• Communicate to ensure that customers know they are doing more
than just buying a product.
• Extend and adapt the one–for-one model to other product
categories to support other causes.
• Protect the success of the model when acquiring stakeholders.
STAGE 2 - SETTING OBJECTIVES

• The purposes of setting objectives:

• To convert the vision and mission into specific,
measurable, challenging yet achievable,
deadline performance targets.
• To focus efforts and align actions throughout
the organization.
• To serve as yardsticks for tracking a firm’s
performance and progress.
• To provide motivation and inspire employees
to greater levels of effort.
CONVERTING THE VISION AND
MISSION INTO SPECIFIC
PERFORMANCE TARGETS

Specific

Quantifiable
(measurable)

Challenging
(Motivating)

Deadline for
Characterist Acheivement
ics of
Well-Stated
Objectives:
 WHAT KINDS OF OBJECTIVES
TO SET
Financial Objectives: Strategic Objectives:

Communicate top Are the firm's goals

management’s goals related to market
for financial standing and
performance. competitive position.
Are focused internally Are focused externally
on the firm’s on competition vis-
operations and à-vis the firm’s rivals.
activities.
 EXAMPLES OF COMMON
FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES
• An x percent increase in annual revenues.
• Annual increases in after-tax profits of x percent.
• Annual increases in earnings per share of x percent.
• Annual dividend increases of x percent.
• Profit margins of x percent.
• An x percent return on capital employed (ROCE) or return on
shareholders’ equity investment (ROE).
• Increased shareholder value—in the form of an upward-trending
stock price.
• Bond and credit ratings of x.
• Internal cash flows of x dollars to fund capital investment.
 EXAMPLES OF COMMON
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• Winning an x percent market share.
• Achieving lower overall costs than rivals.
• Overtaking key competitors on product performance or quality or customer service.
• Deriving x percent of revenues from the sale of new products introduced within the
past five years.
• Having broader or deeper technological capabilities than rivals.
• Having a wider product line than rivals.
• Having a better-known or more powerful brand name than rivals.
• Having stronger national or global sales and distribution capabilities than rivals.
• Getting new or improved products to market ahead of rivals.
 SETTING OBJECTIVES FOR
EVERY ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

• Breaks down overall performance targets into targets

for each of the organization’s separate units.

• Fosters setting lower-level performance targets or

outcomes that support achievement of firm-wide
strategic and financial objectives.

• Extends the top-down objective-setting process to all

organizational levels.
 Example of Good Objectives:
Microsoft
“Achieve carbon-negative status by 2030 by cutting
emissions 50% from 2024 levels and offsetting 120% of the
remainder through verified carbon removal projects.”
•
•S-Specific: The goal clearly defines what is to be achieved:
•→ Carbon-negative status
M – Measurable: Progress can be quantified: Emissions will be
reduced by 50% from a known baseline year (2024).

A – Achievable: While ambitious, the goal is realistic if supported

by a clear emissions-reduction and offsetting strategy

R – Relevant: The objective aligns with: Organizational

sustainability goals
T-Timebound: By the year 2030
STAGE 3 - CRAFTING STRATEGY

• Key Question: "How will we compete?"

• Types: Cost leadership, Differentiation,
Focus
• Example: Uniqlo
• Poll: Uniqlo = Cost leadership or
Differentiation?
 STAGE 4 - EXECUTING
STRATEGY
• Components: Leadership, Culture, Resources
• Example: Apple - integration across design,
R&D, marketing
• Group Discussion: Why do good strategies
fail?
 Leadership
What it means: The guidance, vision, and commitment provided
by top and mid-level managers during strategy execution.
Why it matters:
● Leaders set the tone and prioritize actions aligned with
strategic goals.
● They mobilize teams, communicate the vision, and overcome
resistance to change.
● Poor or passive leadership can stall even the best-designed
strategies.
Example: A CEO driving digital transformation must lead from the
front—allocating budgets, communicating goals, and modeling
new behaviors.
 Organizational Culture
What it means: The shared values, beliefs, and norms that influence
how people behave in an organization.
Why it matters:
● Culture shapes how people respond to strategic
change—whether they embrace or resist it.
● A strong culture that supports innovation, accountability, and
collaboration can accelerate execution.
● A misaligned culture (e.g., risk-averse or hierarchical) can block
change, even if the strategy is sound.
Example: If a company wants to adopt agile strategy execution but
has a rigid, top-down culture, execution will likely fail unless culture is
addressed.
 Resources
What it means: The financial, human, technological, and physical
assets needed to support strategy.
Why it matters:
● Strategy execution requires investments—in systems, people,
tools, training, and time.
● Without adequate or properly allocated resources, plans stay on
paper.
● It’s not just about quantity, but also alignment of resources with
strategic priorities.
Example: Launching a new market expansion strategy requires
dedicated teams, local expertise, and marketing budgets. Without
them, the strategy stalls.
 STAGE 5 - MONITORING &
ADJUSTING

•Tools: KPIs, benchmarking, feedback

loops
•Example: Airbnb pivot during
COVID-19
•Reflection: If you were Airbnb CEO,
what would you do?
 KPI: Key Performance Indicators
What it is:
KPIs are quantifiable measures used to evaluate the success of an organization
in achieving specific objectives.

How it helps in strategy:

● Tracking progress: KPIs allow organizations to measure whether

strategic initiatives are delivering expected results (e.g., market share,
customer retention, ROI).
● Early warning system: Poor KPI performance can signal problems in
execution, prompting a review or realignment of strategy.
● Prioritization: Helps focus attention and resources on the most
impactful areas.
Example:
Strategic drift
 Benchmarking
What it is:
Benchmarking is the process of comparing your performance with
industry standards or best practices from other organizations.
How it helps in strategy:
● Identifies gaps: Reveals areas where the company is
underperforming relative to competitors or best-in-class firms.
● Sets realistic goals: Provides a basis for setting strategic
targets that are ambitious but achievable.
● Drives innovation: Inspires new ways to improve operations,
products, or services based on what others are doing well.
Example:
If a competitor achieves higher efficiency with fewer resources,
benchmarking can highlight where your processes need
streamlining.
 Feedback Loops
What it is:
Feedback loops involve collecting data about performance and
outcomes, analyzing it, and using insights to inform future decisions.
How it helps in strategy:
● Continuous improvement: Encourages ongoing evaluation and
refinement of strategy based on real-world outcomes.
● Adaptability: Makes the organization more responsive to changes
in the external environment (e.g., market shifts, customer
preferences).
● Employee engagement: When internal feedback is included (e.g.,
from frontline staff), it can improve buy-in and implementation.
Example:
Customer feedback on a new product informs product development
teams, leading to updates that better align with strategic goals.
THANK YOU / Q&A