[...]... in theory at least, to relate individually to every single customer The classic pioneers of this approach are the online bookseller or travel agent: with the mass appeal of a major retailer, they can also offer a personalised service This new 6 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 7 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL FORCES era of mass customisation has therefore overcome many contradictory difficulties... were paid not 9 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 10 BUSINESS STRATEGY according to hierarchy or status, but according to the real value, meaning the scarcity, of what they did This may seem like a socialist Utopia, but it actually gave Semco’s employees great individual responsibility, which they accepted Individuals were given a much greater say in how their business fared and much greater... from 38 to 60, and the fines for non-compliance, even if unintentional, can be severe 11 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 12 BUSINESS STRATEGY Worldwide, as many as 10 m temporary workers are placed each day These are not just the traditional receptionists and secretaries, but virtually every type of office worker Between 19 91 and 2000, the number of sexual harassment cases filed annually in... 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 4 This page intentionally left blank 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 5 1 Social, cultural and commercial forces T he world changes faster, yet more subtly and stealthily, than most people imagine As with any ageing process, it is only when looking back that the pace and scope of the change are recognised, and even then the view is rarely complete... Page 14 BUSINESS STRATEGY Developing intellectual capital: Leif Edvinsson and Skandia9 One of the first people to quantify and value intellectual capital was Leif Edvinsson Appointed in 19 91 as the world’s first director of intellectual capital at Skandia, Sweden’s largest financial services corporation, Edvinsson views intellectual capital as being of three types: human capital, that which is in the heads... on: 14 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 15 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL FORCES the reconfiguration of existing systems (including the organisational culture) to support knowledge workers; the creation of a learning organisation that is constantly sensing, valuing and sharing information and using it in a flexible way to improve efficiency, generate profitable new ideas and, overall, add value... and valuable are now able to exert a massive amount of power and influence Previously that scarcity was competed for only within a 17 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 18 BUSINESS STRATEGY local or national market; now the potential demand is much bigger So either the price rises or the volumes increase: whatever happens the business benefits Microsoft is a prime example A business established... paradox can be used to powerful effect All change – as things do Three important and closely related developments affecting the way 7 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 8 BUSINESS STRATEGY that people are employed have gathered pace over the past decade First, organisations increasingly outsource activities relating to managing people Second, organisations rely more on people that are neither... are adopting different views of developing countries During the latter half of the 20th century, the prevailing business logic was that, as their economies expanded, countries such as India, China, Brazil, Bulgaria and others in 8 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 9 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL FORCES Asia, Latin America and central Europe were ready sources of cheap labour and potentially... forever 5 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 6 BUSINESS STRATEGY Identifying what these changes are, what is driving them and what their effects will be is critical for the strategist Paradoxically significant The modern world involves an increasing number of apparent contradictions In business, it has become more and more important for organisations to be both local (or regional) and global, to be . more effective strategic decisions. 2 BUSINESS STRATEGY 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 2 1 THE FORCES AT WORK 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page 3 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05. Figures 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page ii BUSINESS STRATEGY A Guide to Effective Decision- Making Jeremy Kourdi 01 Business Strategy 11 /3/05 12 :15 PM Page iii THE ECONOMIST IN ASSOCIATION. Competitive strategy 12 8 9 Customer focus 13 9 10 Knowledge and information 15 3 11 Managing finance and risk 16 5 12 Sales, marketing and brand management decisions 18 6 13 Leadership 214 Notes and references