Harrison-Keyes Solution

Problem Solution: Harrison-Keyes Inc.

You should find some information for your introduction section in your text. Focus on strategic implementation and its alignment with organizational goals. Here is some help with the introduction. You can add as you wish.

INTRODUCTION

Strategic implementation consists of defining end-state goals for projects, setting short-term objectives, defining the elements of a project, establish priorities, assign responsibilities, etc. All these are ways to strategically implement a project. Aligning these functions to the organizational goals, mission and vision statement is key as it gives all employees and the management teams something to work toward. Risk assessment and mitigation is also important as it will allow the management team to foresee potential problems and find ways to mitigate them.

The goal of this paper is to help HK meet its goals of an e-publishing initiative using the process of project management and best practices in strategic implementation.

Describe the Situation

Describe the situation using the scenario. The following are the issues and opportunities

Issues

➢ Competition from low-cost retailers such as offering mega discounts and generous return policies, is leading to lower profits for Harrison-Keyes

➢ The information technology team did not create a project plan that fully factored in prototyping. They have failed to include one of the elements of a successful project: planning.

➢ Working relationship between the company and the overseas digital publishing company is strained. Time zone differences, different work culture and communication issues seem to pose a major problem for the implementation of the new strategy. HK failed to conduct risk management, which would have identified potential risks and provided ways to mitigate those risks.

➢ Some of the well-known and well-published authors are reluctant to move forward with the e-publishing initiative. These are HK's stakeholders. Their reluctance or opposition will lead to the failure of the project. HK failed to identify the implications of organizational culture on project structure.

➢ Harrison-Keyes has been unsuccessful in meeting their targets and deadlines. The elements of the project are not being implemented. Project scope is not defined, priorities not established and responsibilities not assigned. They did not set short-term objectives and the structure of the project is not strong.

➢ There is a tendency of future legal problems with the authors, a risk management problem.

➢ Software problems pose a challenge to the sales of books online. E-commerce software not functioning properly. Project constraints not identified.

➢ There is negative public outlook on the company due to Crain's Business Magazine publication. This will have a huge impact on stakeholders.

➢ There is a contradiction to the market research conducted in reference to people's willingness to adopt to the e-publishing initiative

➢ The management team is not even cohesive and in agreement with the company's new initiative. There is negative opinion amongst the team

➢ There is an internal leak to the press within the company and they are yet to figure it out.

➢ The management team failed to cover all areas prior to the implementation of this initiative. They did not plan strategically to cover all bases which have led to defaults in various areas such as issues with the publisher and possible issues with the market research. The implementation planning process was not properly analyzed (Mind Map 3).

➢ The new CEO has designated one person on her team to be fully accountable for the changes to be made and its success. This is a leadership problem as well as a problem with the project scope and responsibility.

Opportunities

➢ Forefront of the competition in the global market: Since clients are becoming more interested in e-publishing, this new business strategy might attract more customers thereby putting Harrison-Keyes at the forefront of the competition.

➢ Outsourcing their services will expose the company to the international arena. They might find leads that will enable them to conduct business in Asia in the near future. If they are able to work out the problems and differences with the Asian company, they will be able to keep their costs reduced and save money that can be used to solve other problems

➢ The competition from other companies will allow Harrison-Keyes to step up, bringing together all their strengths and using it toward the good of the company

➢ HK will have the opportunity to assess all their issues and develop short-term objectives. "Short-term objectives translate long-range aspirations into this year's targets for action. If well developed, these objectives provide clarity, a powerful motivator and facilitator of effective strategy implementation" (Pearce & Robinson, 2005). This will also help the organization develop the implementation plan.

➢ The opposition from some authors will allow Harrison-Keyes to better understand their global environment. They will conduct follow-up market research studies to make sure that their outcome is correct and representative of the people. They will also be able to allay the fears of the authors if they are able to provide tangible research results

➢ The management team has the opportunity to put aside all their differences and work together in a cohesive manner for the good of the company

➢ HK can be successful in designing and implementing a strategy that is compelling and effective. They can be effective not only in planning the strategy but in acting on it. According to Pearce and Robinson, "Once corporate and business strategies have been agreed upon and long-term objectives set, the strategic management process moves into a critical new phase--translating strategic thought into organizational action" (2005). This will be a great opportunity that HK needs to cease.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

Authors, investors, senior management team and employees are all stakeholders. There are competing values, interests and rights relating to decisions made by HK that will affect these stakeholders. The first group of stakeholders