Responses
Discussion 1
Mariners create new executive position to focus on data transformation
Article is mainly talking about how the Mariners new Senior Vice President trying to implement his data-driven strategic to translate vision into execution (MLB, 2022)
Following are some details from article (MLB, 2022):
In his new role as Senior Vice President of Business Strategy and Analytics for the Mariners, Kennedy (the Mariners new Senior Vice President) will be responsible for leading and overseeing the club’s strategic planning process, guiding complex business challenges and operational strategies, identifying data trends, and more.
“I’m inspired by the Mariners mission and am excited to work with such a thoughtful group of leaders,” said Kennedy. “By using data-driven strategies to translate vision into execution, this new role will allow us to seize upon existing momentum, unearth new growth opportunities and nimbly address challenges—all while centering on what matters most: our fans and the community.”
“Chris’ data-driven mindset, vast experience in the analytics world and proven track record for designing and implementing complex growth strategies make him the ideal candidate to take on this new role. We are thrilled to have him join our team and know that he will make an immediate impact on our organization,” said Catie Griggs, Seattle Mariners President of Business Operations.
According to Hambrick & Frederickson’s article. Business strategic contain five regions: Arenas (where), Vehicles (how), Differentiators, Staging and Economic logic(return), which is considered from a long-term perspective. In comparison, tactic is going to be like what would be our Menu for next week as restaurant manager as a short-term plan (Paul Boyd, 2022). According to the content from the News, whether “centering on what matters most: our fans and the community” or “By using data-driven strategies to translate vision into execution” are more relate to the category of business strategic rather than tactic.
Reference
Hambrick, D. C., & Fredrickson, J. W. (n.d.). (2001), Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?
MLB, (2022), Mariners create new executive position to focus on data transformation,
Paul Boyd, (2022), Lecture of Business Policy and Strategy.
Discussion 2
When businesses use the word strategy, often times they come out with a statement which they are selling as a strategy, though it is often just a claim or part of a strategy. In “Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?” by Hambrick and Fredrickson, the authors provide a framework for the elements that should be taken into consideration when coming up with a strategy. The elements included five questions related to arenas, vehicles, differentiators, staging, and economic logic. By asking questions about how different element are going to play out a company puts themselves in a much better position to properly carry out a strategy. The article adds, “Where others focus on the inputs to strategic thinking, we focus on the output- the composition and design of the strategy itself.” This may or may not include all elements, and according to the article, often times only include one or two of them.
On the other hand, “How To Waste Millions On Strategy: Common Business Strategy Mistakes And What To Do Instead” looks at creating a successful strategy a bit differently. According to Zuhri, a strategy must include dynamic, inclusion, engagement, alignment within an organization, and leadership. This approach looks into the elements needed within a team to create a successful strategy instead of looking at the actual elements of the strategy. Within this approach is the idea that businesses must be adaptable, actively involved in the day-to-day, and willing to involve everyone if they want to see success in the creation of a strategy. This is important when considering a strategy because there are often different projects going on within an organization, and each project team must be focused on the businesses overall goals to acheive success. Though this is different from Hambrick and Fredrickson’s take on strategy, I think the two approaches could go hand in hand in ensuring a business is properely planning a new strategy as well as its execution.
Answer Preview
