The ability to implement strategies successfully is important to any organisation. Despite the importance of the implementation process within strategic management, this is an area of study often overshadowed by a focus on the strategy formulation process. This thesis concentrates on the strategy implementation process, investigating barriers to strategy implementation. A research framework called the Organisational Minefield was developed to represent the importance of the implementation process to organisations. In contrary to most studies available in strategic management, this research included participants from all levels of the organisation.To identify barriers to strategy implementation, a case study of Air New Zealand was conducted. This involved focussed interviews with 28 participants from the Network and Revenue Management Department of Air New Zealand. Other sources of data such as research articles and secondary company data sources were also used.The findings revealed that: participants from different levels of the organisation have unique perceptions of the implementation process; implementation variables could become roadblocks that undermine the implementation process; these barriers can be overcome if managers are perceptive to the organisation's current situation; and the Organisational Minefield framework presented verified the significance of the role of barriers in the implementation process. The findings add two additional barriers to implementation, namely leadership and power. It was also discovered that the participants acknowledged that these two barriers will impede or enhance the success of Air New Zealand. This was backed by the level of commitment and loyalty shown by the participants, which brought Air New Zealand one step closer to unravelling the mysteries of the implementation process.

Many companies use mergers to achieve their growth goals or target technology position. To realise synergies that justify the merger transaction, an integration of the merged companies is often necessary. Such integartion takes place across company business areas (such as finance or sales) and across the layers of management consideration, which are strategy, human resources, organisation, processes, and information technology. In merger integration techniques, there is a significant gap regarding the management of operational level issues. Yet, especially for the finance business area, an integration of processes and information technology is of high importance and often required swiftly after the merger. The author therefore presents an approach designed for managing the operational level merger in the finance business area. To close the gap in considering operational level issues, the author has developed a model for integraring finance processes and information technology of merging companies. For such model development, literature resources have been used along with merger experiences of the author, and interviews with merger experts. Validation of the developed model has been conducted by using in-depth case studies for showing the effects of applying the model. Further validation interviews have been conducted to support the generality of the approach. Accommodating the significant increase of task complexity during mergers compared to normal business operation, the presented approach focuses on managing interdependencies instead of project detail. Features of this approach comprise: An organisational proposal to settinmg up merger programme management; An interdependency model, vertically interconnecting the finance business area with strategic and organisational merger decisions, and horizontally interconnecting the finance business area with other business areas. It could be shown that the presented model improves merger integration quality by reducing complexity of merger management. The model is most applicable for larger companies, and can be used in any merger phase.

A large number of studies suggest that the content of strategy becomes more multifaceted and elaborate and characterised by progressive development over time. Recently, a growing number of researchers argue that strategy can become simple, stable and inert over time. This study investigates how changes of sociocognitive processes at individual, group and organisational levels influence organisational processes and strategic decisions. It adopts configurational approach to strategy development and its concepts (configurations, transformations, archetypes) as a framework. Thus, the purpose is to provide a characterisation of strategy development by analysing the integration of four key research dimensions (social, cognitive, organisational performance and contextual) into one coherent theoretical structure - the model of organisational archetypes. This four-dimensional model is developed from the analysis of fifty one Ukrainian organisations using quantitative and qualitative research methods (questionnaire, interview and group interview) according to the logical structure of configurational research (modelling the sociocognitive basis, modelling the "fit between research dimensions and modelling configurations and archetypes). Following on from this, the model of organisational archetypes is validated in four other organisations through the development of a test of organisational internal creative environment in order to identify their configurations (current conditions) and archetypes (strategic perspectives). The procedure of this test includes the following sequence of actions: identifying sociocognitive characteristics of organisational members and the organisational internal creative environment, identifying periods of transformation and configuration in the process of organisational development, researching characteristics of the business-environment, and identifying appropriate organisational archetypes. The model of organisational archetypes developed in this thesis allows the identification of current and prospective organisational conditions and making relevant strategic decisions that reflect and anticipate changes in organisational internal and external environments. Thus, changes in the organisational internal creative environment (sociocognitive characteristics of organisational members) reflect changes in the business-environment and organisational performance and transform the characteristics of strategic decisions from multifaceted and elaborate to simple and inert and vice versa.

O mercado de baixa renda tem se tornado cada vez mais relevantes para todos os setores empresariais. Estima-se que em 2010 as classes C e D serão responsáveis por mais da metade do consumo do mercado interno brasileiro. Empresas de transporte aéreo brasileiras de passageiros, que historicamente se caracterizaram por prestar serviço voltado para as classes de maior renda, passaram a desenvolver estratégias para atrair o público de baixa renda para viajar de avião, partindo de estratégias concebidas em outras indústrias e adaptando às particularidades do setor aéreo. O presente trabalho identificou as estratégias de empresas aéreas brasileiras para atender o mercado de baixa renda. Devido ao fato do mercado de baixa renda para o transporte aéreo ser ainda embrionário, as estratégias se concentra ainda no composto mercadológico, como produto, preço, canal de distribuição, comunicação e serviço. Práticas adotadas pelo varejo para atrair e reter o consumidor de baixa renda, como a loja de vizinhança, porta a porta, meios de financiamento alternativos ao cartão de crédito tem sido testadas e adotadas pelas empresas aéreas analisadas, complementando as práticas usuais do mercado. Essa pesquisa avaliou ainda os principais fatores indutores e restritivos à inserção da baixa renda no setor de transporte aéreo. A maior preocupação das empresas aéreas analisadas nesse estudo é com a infra-estrutura aeroportuária, que pode se tornar limitador da expansão do setor aéreo no Brasil. Já as operadoras de turismo são percebidas pelas empresas aéreas como agente indutor à inserção da população de baixa renda, em especial pela venda de pacotes de turismo. Finalmente, essa pesquisa avaliou, ainda que de maneira sucinta as estratégias de negócio adotadas pelas empresas aéreas, e identificou um modelo de baixo custo brasileira. Trata-se de um modelo híbrido entre as estratégias de diferenciação e baixo custo. As empresas analisadas procuram simultaneamente oferecer serviços para clientes corporativos e estimular novos mercados, sobretudo o mercado de baixa renda. De acordo com Porter (1985), esse tipo de estratégia poderia ser classificado como meio-termo, visto que a empresa não adota nenhuma das estratégias genéricas. Porém, o histórico dessas empresas permite avaliar que essas empresas iniciaram sua operação com modelo mais próximo à estratégia de baixo custo, e tiveram que evoluir ou reformular completamente esse modelo de acordo com as características do mercado brasileiro. / The Bottom of Pyramid has become increasingly relevant market to all business sectors. It is estimated that in 2010 social classes C and D will account for over half the consumption of the Brazilian domestic market. Brazilian airlines, who have historically been characterized by providing service for the high income classes, began to develop strategies to attract lowincome public to travel by plane, using strategies developed in other industries and adapting to the particularities of the airline industry. This research has identified strategies for Brazilian airlines to reach the Bottom of Pyramid market. As this segment is still limit, strategies still focus on the marketing mix, such as product, price, distribution channel, communication and service. Practices adopted by retailers to attract and retain low-income consumers, as the neighborhood store, door to door, alternative financing to credit card have been tested and adopted by the airlines studied, complementing the usual practices of the market. This research also evaluated the main factors that affect the introduction of Bottom of Pyramid in the airline industry. The major concern of airlines examined in this study is with the airport infrastructure, which can limit the expansion of the airline industry in Brazil. Tour operators are already perceived by the airlines as a promoter for this process. Finally, this research evaluated the business strategies adopted by airlines, and identified a Brazilian low-cost model. The model is a hybrid between the strategies of differentiation and low cost. The analyzed airlines are seeking to offer services to both corporate customers and stimulate new markets, particularly the Bottom of Pyramid. According to Porter (1985), this strategy could be classified as stuck in the middle, because the company does not adopt any of the generic strategies. However, the history of these companies can assess that these companies started their operation with model closer to the strategy of low cost, and they had to evolve or completely redesign this model according to the characteristics of the Brazilian market

Novell International was a leading network operating system provider in the 1980’s and 1990’s. In the mid 1990’s Novell lost market share in the network operating system market. To counter this loss, Novell made a strategic decision to go open i.e. to make use of open standards and open source business strategies. Since then Novell has managed to successfully change from being a proprietary network operating system provider to being a leader in Linux and open source solutions. Its primary business model makes use of a subscription strategy, selling subscriptions to its Linux desktop operating system called SuSE. This has been instrumental in turning their business around. For example, comparing the financial results of Novell’s fourth quarters of 2004 and 2005 shows an increase of 418% in Linux revenue to $61m. Novell has proven that this open source business strategy is feasible and profitable. / Dissertation (M-IT)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Informatics / unrestricted

Evaluation of business strategy of the company New Yorker. Analysis of the theoretical aspects of the business strategy and comparison with the real situation. Recommendations for actual business strategy improvement.

Diploma thesis deals with strategic management of company development. The main purpose is suggestion of a strategic way to develop a small company. The aim of a theoretical part is to define an idea related to certain problematics, which helps in analytical and suggestional part of thesis. Analytical part has to define company potential and options of a work suggestions. The last part of diploma thesis is about formulation strategic measures which leads up to company development.

The lack of successful knowledge management (KM) practices significantly hinders competitive advantage in small businesses. This case study was designed to explore what effective KM strategies convenience foods franchise industry business owners or managers use to increase competitive advantage. The study population consisted of 7 fast food franchise owners or managers in or near the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. The cognitive model of KM was the conceptual framework that grounded the study. Face-to-face interviews were used for the data collection process. Data were organized into nodes and coded for thematic analysis. The 3 major themes that emerged from the data were training as a KM strategy for competitive advantage, people-focused KM strategy for competitive advantage, and a collaborative team environment for KM implementation. The implications for positive social change include assisting in extending the life and dominance of U.S. based franchised businesses through improved competitive advantage strategies. The sustainment of local franchise businesses could also benefit local communities in the form of job opportunities and economic stimuli.

Maintenance has traditionally been viewed as an unavoidable part of the manufacturing function. It is often identified as an opportunity to wantonly reduce costs, whenever the need to reduce manufacturing cost arises. Its potential to contribute to an organisation’s competitive advantage and business sustainability, has not received significant attention, and consequently formulation and execution of maintenance strategies have been poor, inconsistent or unfocused. Alignment of business strategy and maintenance strategy should help an organization to achieve or improve upon its business performance. Likewise, maintenance performance measures should be linked to an organization’s strategy, in order to provide useful information for making effective decisions. This fit or alignment, can only be achieved when maintenance is viewed as a critical business function, integrated with other business functions in support of business strategy. The impact of alignment between maintenance strategy and business strategy - on business strategy - is studied empirically in this thesis. The results confirm that alignment between maintenance and business strategy is strongly positively correlated with business performance. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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