Question

I am struggling with the following question in regards to STR/581: Strategic Planning & Implementation

Define each type of the four Strategic Controls which include Premise Control, Strategic Surveillance, Special Alert Control and Implementation Control (aka Operational Controls).

Answer 1

Premise control:

Premise control is designed to check systematically and continuously whether the premises on which the strategy is based are still valid.

If an important premise is no longer valid, the strategy may have to be changed.

It involves the checking of environmental conditions. Premises are primarily concerned with two types of factors: – Environmental factors (for example, inflation, technology, interest rates, regulation, and demographic/social changes).

It involves the checking of environmental conditions. Premises are primarily concerned with two types of factors: – Industry factors (for example, competitors, suppliers, substitutes, and barriers to entry).

Strategic Surveillance:

Compared to premise control and implementation control, strategic surveillance is designed to be a relatively unfocused, open, and broad search activity.

" strategic surveillance is designed to monitor a broad range of events inside and outside the company that are likely to threaten the course of the firm's strategy."

The basic idea behind strategic surveillance is that some form of general monitoring of multiple information sources should be encouraged, with the specific intent being the opportunity to uncover important yet unanticipated information.

Strategic surveillance appears to be similar in some way to "environmental scanning." The rationale, however, is different. Environmental, scanning usually is seen as part of the chronological planning cycle devoted to generating information for the new plan.

By way of contrast, strategic surveillance is designed to safeguard the established strategy on a continuous basis.

Special Alert Control:

Another type of strategic control is a special alert control.

"A special alert control is the need to thoroughly, and often rapidly, reconsider the firm's basis strategy based on a sudden, unexpected event."

The analysts of recent corporate history are full of such potentially high impact surprises (i.e., natural disasters, chemical spills, plane crashes, product defects, hostile takeovers etc.).

While Pearce and Robinson suggest that special alert control be performed only during strategy implementation, Preble recommends that because special alert controls are really a subset of strategic surveillance that they be conducted throughout the entire strategic management process.

Implementation control :

Implementation control is aimed at assessing whether the plans, programmes and policies are actually guiding the organization towards its predetermined objectives or not.

If the resources that are committed to a project at any point of time would not benefit an organization as envisaged, corrective steps should be undertaken immediately.

The two basis types of implementation control are: – Monitoring strategic thrusts - to agree early in the planning process on which thrusts are critical factors in the success of the strategy or of that thrust.

The two basis types of implementation control are: – Milestone Reviews. Milestones are significant points in the development of a programme, such as points where large commitments of resources must be made.

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