The Process Of Empowerment

Empowerment is defined as, “the process that provides greater autonomy to employees through the sharing of relevant information in the provision of control over factors affecting job performance.” Empowerment helps remove the conditions that cause powerlessness while enhancing employee feelings of self efficacy. It also authorizes employees to cope with situations and enables them to … Continue reading The Process Of Empowerment

How To Gain And Keep The Initiative

The advantages of seizing the intiative are well documented throughout military history, as well as in countless buisness success stories. But how can you ensure that your organization gains, and keeps, the initiaitive? These are five effective steps to do this: Analyze the situation carefully Seek hidden opportunities and new solutions Act Now Act boldly … Continue reading How To Gain And Keep The Initiative

10 Ways To Link Culture And Strategy

Oftentimes, changing business strategy around a fixed corporate culture is one of the hardest things a strategist has to do. The following is a list of ten elements that are most useful in linking culture to strategy: Formal statements of organizational philosophy, charters, creeds, mission and vision statements Designing physical spaces, facades, and buildings to … Continue reading 10 Ways To Link Culture And Strategy

Porter’s Five Forces Are Dead

Web 2.0 has brought about interesting changes in business strategy.  Initially, the generally accepted framework for business strategy, Porter’s Five Rules, applied across the board, no matter the sector or industry.  Today, Porter’s rules are under fire. WinMarket has a great post (although it is an ‘alpha’ version) about the differences between traditional business framework … Continue reading Porter’s Five Forces Are Dead

Why Starbucks is not present in Italy?

When Howard Schultz became the President and CEO of the Starbucks Corporation in 1987 the company was selling basically whole-bean coffees, and it counted dozens of stores across the United States. Less than 20 years later Starbucks is one of the most popular brands in America. It has more than 12,000 stores around the world, … Continue reading Why Starbucks is not present in Italy?

Users, Purchasers and Influencers

Most organizations identify their customers as one single entity. If a certain company is producing miniatures of racing cars its customer is going to be boys aged between 3 and 12 years right? Well, it is right, but only to a certain extent. Those young boys are certainly the “users” of the product, but they are not the only people involved in the buying process. Apart from the “users” you will also have the “purchasers”, who in this case will probably be the parents and the “influencers” who could be the close friends or family.