How structure, culture and strategy are closely linked in organisations ? What implications does this have for modern organisations?

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How structure, culture and strategy are closely linked in organisations ? What implications does this have for modern organisations?

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Successful Organizations are those who make good use of their culture and their structure and integrate them into any strategic planning. Strategy is in fact, the cornerstone to competitiveness and success. It is a direction and scope towards a long-term advantage and sustaining competitiveness, even in an uncertain environment. So defined, strategy needs a culture, to be adopted and accepted and a structure where it can be applied successfully. As spot by Guvenc and Caroll (1995), culture and strategy are known as keys to changes. Considering an Organization as a whole, 'Johnson and Scholes' (2002) shows that strategic choices and their implementations versus their formulation involve the Organization's own culture of management, and internal structure. Consequently, strategy, culture and structure seem to be linked. This study will stress on how they are bound. Therefore, in the following lines, we will respectively demonstrate the possible connection between strategy and culture, then culture and structure, the consequences of Strategy-culture-structure dichotomy on an Organizations success. How these connections constitute as a major concern in todays Organizations? At the end of this study, we will raise criticisms and suggestions implying scenarios of the above trio mould.

Strategy -Culture - Structure: The necessary 3 summits of a triangle
1. The Hard Elements
2. The Soft Elements
Consequences of the links strategy-culture-structure
Critics: Some difficulties and solutions
1. Structure and complexity
2. Organisational learning as solution to incoherencies within strategy, culture and structure
3. Scenario building, strategy planning safe-guard?

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[...] How structure, culture and strategy are closely linked in organizations? What implication does this have for modern organizations? Successful Organizations may be those who make good use of their culture and their structure and integrate them into any strategic planning. “Strategy is in fact the cornerstone to competitiveness and success. It is a direction and scope towards a long-term advantage and sustaining competitiveness, even in an uncertain environment” (Johnson and Whittington, 2005). So defined, strategy needs a Culture where to be adopted and accepted and a structure where it can be applied successfully. [...]

[...] Structure and complexity There are three factors that determine the level of complexity in an Organization: uncertainty which affects tasks and activities. The diversity of tasks and activities and the interdependence within tasks and activities (Combe, 2002). Strategy planning will in such situation suffer from the Organization's structure as far as it will need deep changes mainly in uncertain environment Senge and Stacey, 1950). A practical example is the case of Post Office in UK. The old tradition has been ahead of many difficulties. [...]

[...] (1962) Strategy & Structure: Chapters in the History of the Industrial Enterprise, Cambridge: MIT Press Combe, A.I. and Botschen G. Strategy paradigms for the management of quality: dealing with complexity, Emerald Fish, M. (1988) The post Office: strategy of a programme for change, Public Money & Management Hannabus, S. Scenario planning for libraries, Library Management, vol.22, Emerald Johnson, G. (2000) Strategy through a Cultural Lens: Learning for a Manager's Experience, Management Learning, London, Sage. Kahane, A. (2004) Solving tough problems, San-Francisco, Berret-Koehler Publishers, Inc. [...]

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