Context Approach

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN PUBLICI ADMINISTRATION

Reporter: LESLIE ANNE E. HUBAHIB

Submitter to: DR. PAZ QUILINGIN
  To speak to, write to, or visit someone
in order to do something such as make
a request or business agreement.

 Speak to (someone) for the first time

What is about something, typically with a proposal
APPROACH? or request.

 A way of dealing with something.

 1) It is the circumstances that form the
setting for an event, statement, or idea, and
in terms of which it can be fully understood
and assessed.

2) It is the background, environment, setting,

framework, or surroundings of events or
What is occurrences. Simply, context means
CONTEXT ? circumstances forming a background of an
event, idea or statement, in such a way as to
enable readers to understand
the narrative or a literary piece. It is
necessary in writing to provide information,
new concepts, and words to develop
thoughts.
3) The ‘Context’ aspect focuses on the pressures from within the
environment. This includes pressures from both the internal and
external environment. It identifies the motivation of organizations
behind the investments in information security, business drivers,
and stakeholders.
 A plan of action or policy designed to
achieve a major or overall aim
A practical definition of strategy might
be “a plan to achieve an objective.”
What is
STRATEGY?
 The relevance of specific performance objectives
and priorities should become apparent when they
are presented within the context of the entity’s
operating environment, purpose, and strategic
aims. The strategic context helps explain, at a
high level, the reason for the entity’s existence,
what it exists to achieve, and the powers and
Context as functions it may exercise to help achieve its
Strategy goals.

A useful discussion about context will include

information on the purpose of the entity, its role,
and the nature and scope of its functions and
operations.
If a strategy is a plan to get from “A” to “B,” it is surprising how little attention
is often given to the true characteristics of Point A. You would not get very far
using a map with this approach, and in business, the understanding of Point A
requires considerably more than pinpointing your current physical location.
 B

A
A Structured
Approach to
Strategy
Development
1) CONTEXT
In business, context is vital. The long-term history of acquisitions,
disposals, major initiatives, people movements and financial
performance often contains valuable insights about the current state
of the business and the reasons for change. Motivation and the
proposed speed and direction of travel have a lot to do with history.
Relating the performance of your and competitors’ businesses to the
correct market segmentation and share can reveal a great deal about
Point A that really matters in a strategic context. We generally find
that the work involved with correctly characterizing this starting
position can absorb up to 70% of the effort required to formulate
strategy.
2) OBJECTIVES

The definition of Point B can be relatively straightforward. The shareholders,

board, CEO and senior management will generally have discussed the
ambitions and expectations for development over at least the next five years.
Simple objectives can be powerful: Doubling the size of the business, achieving
a market-leading position, and raising margins to levels attained by competitors
or by the business itself in the recent past are all valid goals. The more difficult
task is to ensure that these objectives have taken into account both the context
(as above) and the means available
3) MILESTONES

In contrast, the definition of Point B can be relatively straightforward. The

shareholders, board, CEO and senior management will generally have
discussed the ambitions and expectations for development over at least the next
five years. Simple objectives can be powerful: Doubling the size of the business,
achieving a market-leading position, and raising margins to levels attained by
competitors or by the business itself in the recent past are all valid goals. The
more difficult task is to ensure that these objectives have taken into account
both the context and the means available.
4) MEANS

The means available to pursue a strategy often receive too little attention. What
strategic assets do you possess? The only steel plant in the country? Oil or gas
fields with the lowest cost of production? A set of prime retail locations in every
major conurbation in the country? The majority of valuable slots at a congested
hub airport? Strategic assets open up valuable opportunities not available to
competitors, and thus they alter the range of options that can be pursued. They
may also require investment to maintain or protect, which might limit alternative
development paths.
5) STRATEGIC CHOICES

Strategy is all about choices — coherent choices that fit into an overarching plan
to reach an objective.
Your strategic choices need to be coherent; they must optimize the business
model you adopt for the assets at your disposal and the strength of your
management team, and make full use of your predictions for the external
environment. A balanced focus on all these elements is vital.
It should be possible from the preceding four steps to define your strategy as the
high-level plan to move from a clear starting position to a measurable endpoint,
taking into account the means that you have available and the awareness of
context and history that will influence successful delivery.
 Five (5) Elements of
Context that Most
Impact Senior Leader
Success
1) BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

External market conditions, including the speed

of change and the degree of complexity that
exists in the business environment, provide
important context for leaders. This is especially
true for the CEO, who is the person in the
organization most responsible for scanning
developments outside the company and
interpreting what they might mean for the
organization. The question to consider here is:
What issues or situations in the external
environment make direction-setting and
execution challenging and/or a leadership
priority?
2) STRATEGY

An organization’s strategy is also a critical

component of the overall context for a senior
leader. For example, a strategy centered around
differentiated products and services requires a
different set of leadership capabilities and
expertise from one that is focused on operational
excellence and efficiency.

Similarly, the capabilities of leaders of a successful

domestic company may need to evolve when the
company adopts a global strategy. Getting the
strategic fit right was particularly important for a
fast-growing consumer healthcare device company
hiring a new CEO.
3) CULTURE
Another important context consideration is
the organizational culture, and the degree to
which a leader needs to align with the culture
or serve as a force for change. Certain
situations — such as the need to raise the
bar on talent or when there are people
retention issues, low employee engagement,
a lack of trust or collaboration among the
senior leadership team or a misaligned or
toxic culture — call for a greater attention to
the cultural context when making leadership
decisions.
4) ORGANIZATIONAL COMPLEXITY

The launch of a new business or operating model,

new technology, new leadership, culture change or
new organizational structure adds complexity to an
organization and to individual leadership roles.
Underestimating the degree of change and its
impact on the organization is one reason new
leaders fail, whether they were promoted from within
or hired externally. In organizations undergoing
transformational change, leaders need a higher
quotient of interpersonal and social awareness so
they are better able to bring people along with the
change.
5) STAKEHOLDER NEEDS AND
EXPECTATIONS

An evaluation of the context also should

consider stakeholder expectations, including
those of employees, investors and
customers. Failing to explicitly articulate
these expectations as part of the context can
lead to problems later on, even when the
executive’s experience aligns with the
strategic imperatives for the role.
THANK YOU