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UPSC Exam  >  UPSC Notes  >  Management Optional Notes for UPSC  >  Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies

Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies | Management Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

The development, execution, and assessment of processes encompass various strategies. The strategic management process is grounded in the hierarchical structure of strategic intent. The establishment of this hierarchy, which includes vision, mission, business definition, and objectives, is a highly intricate process. Clear delineation of strategic intent is a prerequisite for formulating strategies, a step predominantly characterized by its philosophical nature. Its implications are far-reaching, shaping the organization's long-term trajectory.

Strategic Intent

The hierarchy of strategic intent forms the basis for strategic management.

The idea of strategic intent, introduced by Hamed and Prahalad in 1989, defines what an organization stands for.

Obsession with the Organization:

  • Strategic intent involves a strong focus on the organization.
  • This emphasis may exceed the available resources and capabilities.

Envisioning Leadership Position:

  • It envisions achieving a distinctive leadership position.
  • Establishes criteria for the organization's progress.

Components of Strategic Intent:

  • Vision: Outlines long-term goals of the organization.

  • Mission: Connects the organization to society.

  • Business Definition: Describes the organization's business in terms of customer needs, groups, and technologies.

  • Objectives: Specifies what the organization aims to achieve in a given time.

Active Management Process:

  • Strategic intent involves an active management process.
  • Focuses the organization on the essence of winning.

Stretch and Leverage Concept:

  • Stretch: Represents a misfit between resources and aspirations.

Leverage:

  • Concentrates, accumulates, and conserves resources for efficient utilization.
  • Reduces the stretch in a resource-limited scenario.

Strategic Fit:

  • Matches organizational resources with the environment.
  • Positions the firm by assessing capabilities and opportunities.

Hierarchy of Intentions:

  • Ranges from a broad vision to specific objectives.
  • Emphasizes a step-by-step approach, making it more realistic under strategic fit.

Vision

  • Vision is the highest point in the hierarchy of strategic intent, representing what a firm aims to become.
  • According to Kotter, it's a detailed description of the future position of an organization.
  • Miller and Dess define vision as broad, forward-thinking intentions.

  1. Key Aspects of Vision:

    • It's more of a dream than a specific idea, serving as an aspiration for the organization.
    • It motivates action and guides efforts towards a distant goal.

  2. Envisioning Strategic Framework:

    • Creating a vision is a complex process.
    • A well-conceived vision includes a Core Ideology and an Envisioned Future.

  3. Core Ideology:

    • Core values and purpose form the unchanging foundation of an organization.
    • Core values are essential beliefs, while core purpose defines the reason for the organization's existence.

  4. Envisioned Future: Describes long-term objectives and a clear picture of the future.

  5. Advantages of Having a Vision:

    • Encourages experimentation and risk-taking.
    • Promotes long-term thinking and competitiveness.
    • Inspires and motivates employees.
    • Demonstrates integrity and originality.

Question for Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies
Try yourself:
What is the role of vision in the hierarchy of strategic intent?
View Solution

Core Values And Core Purpose

The terms "core ideology" and "envisioned future" were initially introduced in section 3.3 and play a crucial role in the envisioning process.

Collins and Porras developed these concepts to provide a deeper philosophical perspective.

  • Components of a Well-Conceived Vision:

    • A well-conceived vision comprises core ideology and envisioned future.
    • Core ideology is built upon core values and core purpose.

  • Core Values:

    • Essential and enduring principles guiding an organization.
    • Reflect the beliefs of top management regarding employee welfare, customer interests, and shareholder wealth.
    • Can be economically or socially oriented, varying among organizations like Tata's, Birla's, or Reliance.

  • Core Purpose:

    • The reason for an organization's existence.
    • Characteristics of core purpose include:
      • Overall reason for the organization's existence.
      • Addresses internal goals.
      • Represents a broad, long-term rationale.
      • Establishes a connection between the organization and its people.

Mission


Mission statements define the purpose or reason for an organization's existence.

Harvey emphasizes that a mission provides awareness of an organization's purpose, competitive environment, fit with capabilities, and government opportunities.

  1. Nature of Mission Statements:

    • They articulate the social role of an organization in society, highlighting its fundamental reason for existence.
    • Mission statements are philosophical, visionary, and reflect top management values with a long-term perspective.
    • They legitimize an organization's societal presence and convey its corporate philosophy, identity, character, and image.

  2. Characteristics of Effective Mission Statements:

    • Realistic and achievable, motivating people without being impossible.
    • Neither too broad nor too narrow, maintaining precision in defining the organization's activities.
    • Clear and unambiguous, avoiding highly philosophical statements for clarity.
    • Distinctive, making an impact and avoiding copied statements.
    • Societal linkage, connecting the organization to society for a better long-term perspective.
    • Dynamic, adapting to the ever-changing environment.
    • Motivating for both organizational members and society.
    • Indicating the process of accomplishing objectives, guiding the way forward.

  3. Examples of Mission Statements:

    • Examples include:
      • India Today: "The complete new magazine."
      • Bajaj Auto: "Value for Money for Years."
      • HCL: "To be a world-class Competitor."
    • Some argue these are slogans, not mission statements.
    • Others, like Ranbaxy Industries and Eicher Consultancy, provide clearer examples.

  4. Formulation of Mission Statements:

    • Derived from national priorities, corporate philosophy, visionary strategists, and consultant services.

  5. Mission vs Purpose:

    • Mission is societal reasoning; purpose is the overall reason.
    • Mission relates to the external environment; purpose relates to the internal environment.
    • Mission is for outsiders; purpose is for the organization's employees.

Business Definition


  1. Explanation of Business:

    • It describes an organization's operations in terms of:
      • Customer needs
      • Customer groups
      • Alternative technologies

  2. Oerik Abell's Dimensions:

    • Abell suggests defining business across three dimensions: i) Customer groups based on customer identities ii) Customer functions related to goods/services provision iii) Alternative technologies for performing functions

  3. Example for Watch Making Business:

    • Customer groups: Individual customers, commercial organizations, sports organizations, educational institutions, etc.
    • Customer functions: Recording time, finding time, alarm service, and potentially as a gift item.
    • Alternative technologies: Manual, mechanical, and automatic.

  4. Strategic Choices:

    • A clear business definition helps identify strategic choices.
    • These choices involve various customer groups, functions, and technologies, influencing decisions like diversification, mergers, and turnaround strategies.

  5. Customer-Oriented Approach:

    • A customer-focused business approach enhances competitiveness.

  6. Product/Service Concept:

    • Offers strategic alternatives from a different perspective.
    • Business definition can occur at corporate or Strategic Business Unit (SBU) levels, focusing on customer groups, functions, and technologies.
    • Linking strategic alternatives through business definition leads to significant synergistic advantages.

Question for Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies
Try yourself:
What are core values in an organization?
View Solution

Objectives and Goals


Objectives represent the ultimate results to be achieved by a plan over a specified time.

They are influenced by the organization's vision, mission, and business definition.

  1. Characteristics of Objectives:

    • Objectives are open-ended, denoting a future state, and are stated in general terms.
    • When stated specifically, they become goals to be achieved.
    • In strategic management, goals encompass a broad range of financial and non-financial issues.

  2. Difference between Objectives and Goals:

    • Goals are broad, while objectives are specific.
    • Goals are set for a relatively longer period, influenced more by the external environment.
    • Goals are not quantified, whereas objectives are quantified.

  3. Need for Establishing Objectives:

    • Objectives provide a yardstick for measuring performance.
    • They serve as a motivating force, guiding efforts toward achievement.
    • Objectives help pursue the organization's vision and mission, translating long-term perspectives into short-term goals.
    • They define the organization's relationship with the internal and external environment.
    • Objectives provide a basis for decision-making at all levels of management.

  4. Characteristics of Corporate Objectives:

    • Form a hierarchy, starting from broad statements of vision and mission to specific goals.
    • Multiple objectives cater to diverse interests, balancing economic, social, and political aspects.
    • Include a specific time horizon to set achievable targets.
    • Objectives must be challenging yet within reach, motivating employees.
    • They should be clear, understandable, and quantified for effective monitoring.
    • Constraints, both internal and external, must be considered in objective setting.

  5. Process of Setting Objectives:

    • Influenced by environmental forces, both internal and external.
    • Realism is essential, considering existing resources and internal power structures.
    • Top management values influence objective choice, aligning with either social or economic orientation.
    • Past objectives play a role in strategic planning, preventing unnecessary deviations and resistance to change.
The document Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies | Management Optional Notes for UPSC is a part of the UPSC Course Management Optional Notes for UPSC.
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FAQs on Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies - Management Optional Notes for UPSC

1. What is strategic intent?
Strategic intent refers to the long-term direction and aspirations of an organization. It outlines the overarching goals and objectives that guide the organization's actions and decision-making processes. Strategic intent helps to provide a clear focus and direction for the organization, aligning all its activities towards a common purpose.
2. What is the difference between vision and mission?
Vision and mission are both important components of an organization's strategic planning. The main difference between the two is their focus and scope. A vision statement describes the desired future state of the organization. It is an aspirational statement that outlines what the organization wants to achieve in the long term. It provides a clear picture of the organization's purpose and the impact it aims to make. On the other hand, a mission statement focuses on the present and describes the organization's core purpose and reason for existence. It outlines the specific activities and services the organization provides to fulfill its vision. The mission statement acts as a guiding principle for the organization's day-to-day operations.
3. What are core values and core purpose?
Core values are the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide an organization's behavior and decision-making. They represent the organization's ethical standards and define its culture. Core values help to shape the organization's identity and serve as a compass for employees, ensuring consistency in actions and behaviors. Core purpose, on the other hand, refers to the organization's reason for existence beyond just making profits. It represents the higher calling or contribution that the organization aims to make to society. The core purpose provides a sense of meaning and inspiration for employees, aligning them towards a common goal.
4. What is a business definition?
A business definition is a concise statement that describes the scope and nature of an organization's operations. It outlines the industry or market in which the organization operates, the products or services it offers, and the target customers or market segments it serves. A business definition helps to clarify the organization's strategic focus and provides a framework for decision-making and resource allocation.
5. What are objectives and goals in strategic planning?
Objectives and goals are specific targets or outcomes that an organization aims to achieve in its strategic planning. Objectives are broader and more long-term in nature, representing the overall direction and purpose of the organization. Goals, on the other hand, are more specific and measurable, representing the milestones or targets that need to be accomplished to fulfill the objectives. Objectives and goals help to provide a clear roadmap for the organization's actions and initiatives. They serve as a basis for performance measurement and evaluation, allowing the organization to track its progress towards its desired outcomes.
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About this Document
Dec 22, 2024 Last updated
Document Description: Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies for UPSC 2024 is part of Management Optional Notes for UPSC preparation. The notes and questions for Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies have been prepared according to the UPSC exam syllabus. Information about Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies covers topics like Introduction, Strategic Intent, Vision, Core Values And Core Purpose, Mission, Business Definition, Objectives and Goals and Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies Example, for UPSC 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, notes, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies.
Introduction of Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies in English is available as part of our Management Optional Notes for UPSC for UPSC & Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies in Hindi for Management Optional Notes for UPSC course. Download more important topics related with notes, lectures and mock test series for UPSC Exam by signing up for free. UPSC: Strategic Intent, Vision, Objectives, and Policies | Management Optional Notes for UPSC
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