Strategy Deployment

Strategy Deployment
…involves developing specific action plans to
achieve strategic objectives, ensuring that
adequate financial and other resources are
available to accomplish the action plans,
developing contingencies should
circumstances require a shift in plans and
rapid execution of new plans, aligning work
unit, supplier, or partner activities as
necessary, and identifying performance
measures for tracking progress.
Strategy Deployment
Strategic objectives and goals
(planners: “doing the right thing”)

deployment of action plans to

accomplish objectives and goals
(doers: “doing things right”)
Reasons for Poor Deployment
Lack of alignment across the organization.
 Good deployment aligns resources and policies.
Misallocation of resources.
 Good strategic planning dedicates resources to making
improvements or changes in those areas that are
critical to an organization’s strategic advantage.
Insufficient operational measures.
 Organizations need appropriate measurement systems
at the operational level to track progress and know if
action plans are really accomplishing their objectives.
Strategic Bottleneck
Scenario: an international bottle
manufacturer produces glass containers for
customers (condiment producers, breweries,
and wineries)
Strategic goals: lower costs, improve
customer performance
Forming department performance measures:
pack-to-melt ratio (weight of bottles
shipped/weight of raw material) – focus on
throughput
Selecting department performance measures:
customer satisfaction, compensation based on
Alignment of Goals
Develop performance measures for the
forming department that focus improvement
efforts on quality yields. Form self-managed
work teams and train members on process
improvement and measurement
methodologies.
Focus improvement efforts in the selection
department on increasing the sensitivity of
devices that detect product variability, send
earlier warnings to the forming department
that bottles are soon to be produced out of the
range of specification.
Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment)
Literal Japanese translation of hoshin kanri is
“pointing direction.”
The idea is to point, or align, the entire
organization in a common direction.
In the U.S., often called policy deployment or
management by planning.
Emphasizes organization-wide planning and
setting of priorities, provides resources to
meet objectives, and measures performance
as a basis for improving performance.
Hoshin Kanri Characteristics
Control and breakthrough
“Daily management system” – improvement
projects are selected to achieve a few top-
priority goals and overlaid on the routine
management of the organization
Connections are made from the long-term
vision and business objectives to day-to-day
activities of supervisors and front-line
employees
System is a PDCA cycle (sequence changed to
CAPD)
Most items in the plan are related to process
Hoshin Kanri Characteristics (cont)
Planning/deployment process is subject to
review
Corporate goals are set by discussions at all
levels within the organization – “catchball”
Elements of the plan are documented in
considerable detail through standardized
formats
Two types of goals are deployed: quantified
targets, actions required
Help is provided when a unit does not meet
targets
Hoshin Kanri Process
Top Management sets the
overall vision and the
annual high-level policies
and targets
Each level passes
on targets to the
next level.

Each level under top

At each level down,
managers and
employees participate
in the definition, from
the overall vision and
their annual targets,
of the strategy and
detailed action plan
management is, in turn,
involved with the level above
it to make sure that its
proposed strategy
corresponds to requirements.
Regular reviews take place to
identify progress and
problems, and to initiate
corrective action.
Hoshin Planning: Tiers of Sub-Objectives

www.isixsigma.c
om
Hoshin
Planning:
templates

www.isixsigma.c
Linking HR Plans and Business Strategy
Changes in strategy impact people
Communication is key
Strategic Human Resource Plans
Examples
Redesign of the work organization to increase
empowerment and decision-making or team-
based participation;
Initiatives for promoting greater
labor/management cooperation, such as union
partnerships;
Initiatives to foster knowledge sharing and
organizational learning; and
Partnerships with educational institutions to
help ensure the future supply of well-prepared
employees.