Strategy Evaluation

Strategy Evaluation

Meaning of Strategy Evaluation

Strategy evaluation is the final stage in strategic management. Managers desperately need to know when particular strategies are not working well; strategy evaluation is the primary means for obtaining this information. All strategies are subject to future modification because external and internal factors are constantly changing.

Three fundamental strategy-evaluation activities are

1. reviewing external and internal factors that are the bases for current strategies,
2. measuring performance, and
3. taking corrective actions. Strategy evaluation is needed because success today is no guarantee of success tomorrow! Success always creates new and different problems; complacent/successful organizations experience demise.

Strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation activities occur at three hierarchical levels in a large organization: corporate, divisional or strategic business unit, and functional.

Characteristics of An Effective Evaluation System

Strategy evaluation must meet several basic requirements to be effective. These are as follows-

1. Economical-

   Strategy evaluation activities must be economical; too much information can be just as bad as too little information; and too many controls can do more harm than good.

2. Useful information Strategy-

   evaluation activities should provide managers with useful information about tasks over which they have control and influence. They should also be meaningful; they should specifically relate to a firm’s objectives.

3. Timely information Strategy-

   evaluation activities should provide timely information; on occasion and in some areas, managers may daily need information. Examples-

• If a major competitor withdraws from particular markets as intelligence reports indicate, what actions should our firm take?
• If our sales objectives are not reached, what actions should our firm take to avoid profit losses?
• If demand for our new product exceeds plans, what actions should our firm take to meet the higher demand?
• If certain disasters occur-such as loss of computer capabilities; a hostile takeover attempt; loss of patent protection; or destruction of manufacturing facilities because of earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes – what actions should our firm takes?
• If a new technological advancement makes our new product obsolete sooner than expected, what actions should our firm take?

Process of Evaluating Strategies

Strategy evaluation is necessary for all sizes and kinds of organizations. Strategy evaluation should initiate managerial questioning of expectations and assumptions, should trigger review of objectives and values, and should stimulate creativity in generating alternatives and formulating criteria of evaluation. Regardless of the size of the organization, a certain amount of management by wandering around at all levels is essential to effective strategy evaluation. Strategy-evaluation activities should be performed on a continuing basis, rather than at the end of specified periods of time or just after problems occur. Waiting until the end of the year, for example, could result in a firm closing the barn door after the horses have already escaped.

The process of Strategy Evaluation consists of following steps-

1. Fixing benchmark of performance –

   While fixing the benchmark, strategists encounter questions such as what benchmarks to set, how to set them and how to express them. In order to determine the benchmark performance to be set, it is essential to discover the special requirements for performing the main task. The performance indicator that best identifies and express the special requirements might then be determined to be used for evaluation. The organization can use both quantitative and qualitative criteria for comprehensive assessment of performance. Quantitative criteria includes determination of net profit, ROI, earning per share, cost of production, rate of employee turnover etc. Among the Qualitative factors are subjective evaluation of factors such as – skills and competencies, risk taking potential, flexibility etc.

2. Measurement of performance–

   The standard performance is a bench mark with which the actual performance is to be compared. The reporting and communication system help in measuring the performance. If appropriate means are available for measuring the performance and if the standards are set in the right manner, strategy evaluation becomes easier. But various factors such as managers contribution are difficult to measure. Similarly divisional performance is sometimes difficult to measure as compared to individual performance. Thus, variable objectives must be created against which measurement of performance can be done. The measurement must be done at right time else evaluation will not meet its purpose. For measuring the performance, financial statements like – balance sheet, profit and loss account must be prepared on an annual basis.

3. Analyzing Variance –

   While measuring the actual performance and comparing it with standard performance there may be variances which must be analyzed. The strategists must mention the degree of tolerance limits between which the variance between actual and standard performance may be accepted. The positive deviation indicates a better performance but it is quite unusual exceeding the target always. The negative deviation is an issue of concern because it indicates a shortfall in performance. Thus in this case the strategists must discover the causes of deviation and must take corrective action to overcome it.

4. Taking Corrective Action –

   Once the deviation in performance is identified, it is essential to plan for a corrective action. If the performance is consistently less than the desired performance, the strategists must carry a detailed analysis of the factors responsible for such performance. If the strategists discover that the organizational potential does not match with the performance requirements, then the standards must be lowered. Another rare and drastic corrective action is reformulating the strategy which requires going back to the process of strategic management, reframing of plans according to new resource allocation trend and consequent means going to the beginning point of strategic management process.

Strategy Evaluation Framework

Strategy-evaluation activities in terms of key questions that should be addressed, alternative answers to those questions, and appropriate actions for an organization to take. Notice that corrective actions are almost always needed except when (1) external and internal factors have not significantly changed and (2) The firm is progressing satisfactorily toward achieving stated objectives.

Measuring Organizational Performance

Another important strategy-evaluation activity is measuring organizational performance. This activity includes comparing expected results to actual results, investigating deviations from plans, evaluating individual performance, and examining progress being made toward meeting stated objectives. Both long-term and annual objectives are commonly used in this process. Criteria for evaluating strategies should be measurable and easily verifiable. Criteria that predict results may be more important than those that reveal what already has happened. For example, rather than simply being informed that sales last quarter were 20 percent under what was expected, strategists need to know that sales next quarter may be 20 percent below standard unless some action is taken to counter the trend. Really effective control requires accurate forecasting.

Failure to make satisfactory progress toward accomplishing long-term or annual objectives signals a need for corrective actions. Many factors, such as unreasonable policies, unexpected turns in the economy, unreliable suppliers or distributors, or ineffective strategies, can result in unsatisfactory progress toward meeting objectives. Problems can result from ineffectiveness (not doing the right things) or inefficiency (doing the right things poorly).

Determining which objectives are most important in the evaluation of strategies can be difficult. Strategy evaluation is based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria. Selecting the exact set of criteria for evaluating strategies depends on a particular organization’s size, industry, strategies, and management philosophy. An organization pursuing a retrenchment strategy, for example, could have an entirely different set of evaluative criteria from an organization pursuing a market-development strategy.

Quantitative criteria commonly used to evaluate strategies are financial ratios, which strategists use to make three critical comparisons: (1) comparing the firm’s performance over different time periods, (2) comparing the firm’s performance to competitors’, and (3) comparing the firm’s performance to industry averages. Some key financial ratios that are particularly useful as criteria for strategy evaluation are as follows:

• Return on investment
• Debt to equity
• Profit margin
• Return on equity
• Earnings per share
• Sales growth etc.

But there are some potential problems associated with using quantitative criteria for evaluating strategies. First, most quantitative criteria are geared to annual objectives rather than long-term objectives. Also, different accounting methods can provide different results on many quantitative criteria. Second, intuitive judgments are almost always involved in deriving quantitative criteria. For these and other reasons, qualitative criteria are also important in evaluating strategies. Human factors such as high absenteeism and turnover rates, poor production quality and quantity rates, or low employee satisfaction can be underlying causes of declining performance.

Important links

• Horizontal Integration- Meaning, Advantages & Disadvantages
• Vertical Integration- Meaning, Types, Advantages & Disadvantages
• Strategic Alliances- Meaning, Types, Advantages & Disadvantages
• Factors Affecting Strategic Choice (10 Factors)
• Strategy Execution Issues- 5 Most Common Issues
• Strategy Implementation- Meaning, Process, Aspects etc.
• 5 P’s of Strategy by Henry Mintzberg
• Relationship between Strategic Formulation and Implementation

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