It is necessary to avoid the confusion between what is the Operational Effectiveness agenda and the differentiating Strategic Agenda of the company, so that there is no competition between the two, avoiding this convergent competition, it is a systemic function of management and its work team, being clear about the difference between one and the other, and whose responsibility is it.
“… Learning is a process that implies the need to understand the past, train in the present, and prepare adequately to face the future. This is, without a doubt, the best strategy and the only way for organizations to remain competitive. ”
“A company that learns is one that seeks to create its future; who believes in learning as a continuous and creative process; and that adapts and transforms in response to people's needs and aspirations. The learning-oriented organization knows that it harbors great human potential, and that it must be developed. ” AMENGUAL, Lorenzo. The Learning Organization, Gestión Magazine 2, volume 1, January-February 1998, p.65
Markides in his article "The Imperative of Innovation" presents the differentiating position of the company against the competition, in the following terms: Broad generation of differentiating options. Clear choice of differentiating options. Creation of a strengthening mosaic of differentiating options. Adaptation of the mosaic of differentiating options to the company environment, preserving flexibility. Guarantee of organizational support.
Based on this context of principles and strategic innovation, the Management need to perceive:
- a) An open culture, with a clear sense of customer orientation b) Structural reorganization of companies, if you really want to respond to the customer and reduce costs c) Originality in the sales strategy in such a way that it is revolutionary and therefore hardly imitable. d) Definition of the strategic position to defend as its own, as long as there is clarity in the entity's business, there is determination in which areas it will not carry out actions, there is definition of clients that do not It will attend, that it has been defined in its Master Plan what investments it is not going to make, that it knows fully and contemplates in its Mission which competitors it will not face.
When those definitions have been resolved, then, and only then, can it be affirmed that it has been understood that:
«The strategy is, ultimately, to make choices; and a company will only be successful if it chooses a distinctive strategic position; that is to say, that differentiates it from the competitors and, at the same time, satisfies the needs of the clients »
Given these strategic imperatives, it follows that companies must focus strategically on the following specific dimensions:
- Defining who your target customers will be. Definition of what they are going to offer their target customers. Knowledge of the needs of your target customers. Definition of the products and services to be offered, in accordance with their Competitive Advantages. Definition of the technology that determines the products or services that they competitively offer to their clients.
It is necessary to avoid the confusion between what is the Operational Effectiveness agenda and the differentiating Strategic Agenda of the company, so that there is no competition between the two, avoiding this convergent competition, it is a systemic function of management and its work team, being clear about the difference between one and the other, and whose responsibility is it, according to Michael Porter, who affirms that the Operational Effectiveness agenda is a function of the Administration, while the strategic agenda corresponds to Management. It also makes clear that Effectiveness:
«Operational Effectiveness is an agenda for improvement in all parts… it includes continuous changes and greater flexibility to achieve the best work practices… The strategic agenda, for its part, is the place to define with discipline, positioning… and introduce the necessary couplings »Business Class Magazine, No. 45, March, 1997, What is strategy ?, p. 92
Strategy Concept
Michael Porter says that: "Management must differentiate Operational effectiveness from Organizational Strategy", indicating that both are of fundamental importance to the company, but that they work differently, and therefore should not be confused, and points out the gap between the two concepts, which are unequivocal as follows:
- Overcoming the competition by establishing a long-term differentiation Importance granted to customers Exclusive mix of value Competitive Innovation Greater Added Value to the products and services offered Development of different actions from the competition or similar, but in different ways Processes with the essence of exclusivity for exclusive clients Proper coupling to the Sustainable Competitive Advantage Correct vision of the Organizational Culture Competition (Abstraction, Discipline, Decision and Positioning
Operational Effectiveness Concept
According to Porter, Operating Effectiveness is:
- a) Performance of activities similar to those of the competition b) Improvement of work methods and productivity (Performance, continuous changes and operational flexibility) c) Changes of personnel d) Total Quality Management (e) Cost Reduction f) Continuous Improvement) Outsourcing (hiring) h) External Consultingi) Mergersj) Adoption of new technologies
Seen in this way the differences between Strategy and Operational Effectiveness, it is inferred that the Colombian business community needs distinctive and positioning strategies, without neglecting, as appropriate, their operational actions to improve their institutional performance, but without confusing the former with the latter.
If the concept of Strategy is accepted as the generation of multiple ideas and facilitators of the opportune elaboration for the success in the decision making, and as a differentiating factor of the company against the competition, the reader will find that what was presented by the common of people as a strategy, it is not such. This observation is supported by the principles that Constantinos Markides has defined as fundamental for a successful strategy, knowing that the strategy is only intended to be innovative and differentiating from the competition, in the following terms:
- to. Choosing a strategic position that differentiates the company b. The strategic position must produce all possible selection options c. Have strategic clarity in the selection of options d. Combination of the chosen options creating mosaic, so vigorous, that it guarantees the strength of the strategy. The flexibility of the company must be guaranteed by adapting the mosaic to the internal environment. Need for appropriate organizational support.
"The essence of the strategy is, therefore, to choose the position that each company will defend as its own."
For the strategy to contain the annotated fundamental principles and be a reality, according to Markides, it is necessary to:
- An open and customer-oriented culture Reorganization of the structure, Allowing a better customer response Being so revolutionary that it makes it difficult for competitors to imitate Having a position to defend Define the business:
- What is the potential clientele. Define the products and services for that who. Define how to do it effectively, efficiently and effectively.
Those are the three imperative dimensions that Markides recognizes in the innovative strategy for making firm decisions. In this regard, he states:
«The strategy is, ultimately, to make choices; and a company will only be successful if it chooses a distinctive strategic position; that is to say, that differentiates it from the competitors and, at the same time, satisfies the needs of the clients »_
Table 1. Compendium of the difference between Strategy and Operational Effectiveness (Mission of the company)
|
Strategy |
Operational effectiveness |
| 1. Overcoming competition by establishing long-term differentiation | a) Performance of activities similar to those of the competition |
| 2. Importance accorded to clients | b) Improvement of work methods and productivity (performance, continuous changes and operational flexibility) |
| 3. Exclusive blend of value | c) Personnel changes |
| 4. Competitive Innovation | d) Total Quality Management |
| 5. Greater Added Value to the products and services offered | e) Cost Reduction |
| 6. Development of actions different from the competition or similar, but in a different way | f) Continuous improvement |
| 7. Processes with the essence of exclusivity for exclusive clients | g) Outsourcing (Outsourcing) |
| 8. Adequate coupling to the Sustainable Competitive Advantage | h) External Consulting |
| 9. Correct view of the Competition | i) The Mergers |
| 10. Organizational Culture (Abstraction, Discipline, Decision and Positioning) | j) Adoption of new technologies |
Table 2. Compendium of strategic principles and the requirements to make it a reality
|
Fundamental principles for a strategy |
Requirements for the strategy to become reality |
| to. Choosing a strategic position that differentiates the company | * An open and customer-oriented culture |
| b. The strategic position must produce all possible selection options | * Reorganization of the structure |
| c. Have strategic clarity in the selection of options | * Allow better customer response |
| d. Combination of the chosen options creating mosaic, so vigorous, that it guarantees the strength of the strategy | * To be so revolutionary that it imitates the imitation by the competition |
| and. The flexibility of the company must be guaranteed by adapting the mosaic to the internal environment | * Have a position to defend |
| F. Need for appropriate organizational support | * Define the business:.a) What is the potential clientele? B) Define the products and services for that who? C) Define how to do it effectively, efficiently and effectively |
Source: "The Imperative of Innovation" Gestión Magazine, Volume 2, No. 6, December 1999 January 2000, pages 102 - 111
