Novice in objave
Managing Social, Environmental and Financial Performance Simultaneously
Marc J. Epstein, Adriana Rejc Buhovac, Kristi Yuthas, Long Range Planning, 48 (2015) 35-45
Eden od najtežjih izzivov na področju trajnostne naravnanosti poslovanja je hkratno doseganje okoljskih, družbenih oziroma ekonomskih ciljev na eni, ter poslovne uspešnosti na drugi strani. V članku preučujemo, kako to uspeva velikim, svetovno uspešnim korporacijam, ki so znale trajnostne izzive spretno vključiti v operativne odločitve. Na podlagi večletne študije podjetij Nike, Procter & Gamble, The Home Depot in Nissan North America, v katerih smo izvedli skoraj 50 intervjujev, smo ugotovili, na kakšen način so v tako velikih sistemih managerji na vseh ravneh odločanja trajnostno miselnost uravnotežili s poslovnimi interesi. Medtem ko neformalni managerski sistemi v teh podjetjih (organizacijska kultura, vodenje, komuniciranje itd.) močno podpirajo trajnostno naravnanost, se formalni sistemi na prvi pogled osredotočajo na finančno uspešnost poslovanja. Toda managerji, ki delujejo v okolju, rekli bi, paradoksalnih sistemov, ne vidijo nobenih neskladnosti. Zanje je poslovna uspešnost le posledica spretno vodenih odzivov deležnikov na družbeno, okoljsko in ekonomsko uspešnost. Na ta način minimizirajo zaznavo kratkoročno poslovnega negativnega izida, če je odločitev v izrazito trajnostno korist na račun višjih stroškov poslovanja, oziroma, če so trajnostni učinki že kratkoročno poslovno koristni, okrepijo zaznavo obojestranskih koristi.
Why Nike Kicks Butt in Sustainability
Marc J. Epstein, Adriana Rejc Buhovac, Kristi Yuthas
Nike je razvil edinstveno kombinacijo osrednjih sposobnosti, na osnovih katerih je podjetje postalo eno vodilnih trajnostnih podjetij na svetu. Nike svoj vodilni položaj dokazuje na več lestvicah trajnostne naravnanosti. Vodstvo podjetja čvrsto verjame, da smo kot družba na začetku prehoda iz storitvene v trajnostno gospodarstvo, saj so resursi vedno bolj omejeni in redki. To bo pomembno vplivalo na strateške in operativne odločitve. Managerji v Nike že sedaj spretno pripravljajo podjetje na to prihodnost in podpirajo razvoj metod, s katerimi bodo določene procese izvajali, denimo, brez vode. Nike je v ta namen razvil posebno organiziranost, način vodenja in organizacijsko kulturo.
A New Day for Sustainability - Is Your Company Ready to Take on Increased Responsibility for Its Activities throughout the Globe?
Marc J. Epstein and Adriana Rejc Buhovac
Poslovni svet se dinamično transformira v prostor, kjer so zahteve po obvladovanju eksternalij in ustvarjanju pozitivnih okoljskih, družbenih in okoljskih učinkov, vedno bolj izrazite. Računovodje morajo biti na to pripravljeni. Odgovornost podjetij sega veliko dlje, kot bi si mislili--vezana ni, denimo, le na nadzor delovnih pogojev za zaposlene, temveč tudi na varnost stavb, v katerih delajo podizvajalci). Družbeni standardi so se zaostrili, družbena pričakovanja so zelo visoka. Kupci hočejo vedeti, zakaj svetovne trgovske verige dovoljujejo podizvajalcem proizvajati v zgradbah, kot je bila Rana Plaza. Multinacionalke, ki ne obvladujejo okoljskih, družbenih in drugih tveganj, doživljajo negativne odzive potrošnikov, padec ugleda, nižanje vrednosti blagovnih znamk, pa tudi visoke odškodninske zahtevke za škode, ki so jih posredno povzročile. Katastrofa v Dhaki, zrušitev zgradbe Rana Plaza leta 2013, je podjetja prisilila k drugačnemu razumevanju svojih odgovornosti.
FELU MBA Trainers Interview
Adriana Rejc Buhovac
Professor of Strategic Management
Your classes are full of useful tools for strategizing and developing businesses. What is the most important lesson you want to give to MBA students?
Formulating strategy is one thing, executing it throughout the entire organization, however, is the hard part. Unfortunately, most managers know far more about developing strategies than about making them happen. Most business schools around the world teach their students and executives about schools of thought that have very little to do with making strategies work. Implementing strategy is about overcoming the various organizational and ‘political’ obstacles, starting with preventing internal resistance to change, coping with existing power structures, adequately sharing information between individuals and business units responsible for strategy execution, ensuring feelings of ‘ownership’ of execution plans, etc. My first lesson to the MBA students is to think about implementing the strategy in the early phases of developing strategies—it all starts with who should participate in the strategy development process.
How would you describe your work with companies? How and where do you help them?
In my professional career, I have worked with some of the greatest minds in the strategy development process. Learning from Marc J. Epstein (Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, Rice University) and Gavin Lawrie (2GC Active Management), I have acquired know-how on developing strategies effectively, cascading them throughout the organization, and implementing strategic and operational control. The Balanced Scorecard 3rd Generation methodology that I most commonly use when working on strategy development is efficient, logical and leads to effective execution. My role is to facilitate innovative thinking and consensus building within a carefully selected, large enough group of strategists—instead of consulting what companies should do, I enable participants to develop their own strategies. I help them properly identify key strategic issues (competitive position, relative strengths and weaknesses, key opportunities and threats), articulate a clear vision of success (Destination Statement) and develop a logical strategy to achieve it (Strategy Map). The structured and systematic process encompasses development of performance measures and targets, too, and most important, cascading strategies to lower hierarchical levels.
What is the biggest mistake companies do when they are developing their strategies?
There is so much knowledge in companies—one of the biggest mistakes is to rely on consulting services without strongly integrating internal knowledge and experiences: managers, experts, innovators, opinion leaders. Nobody understands problems and key development issues better than employees themselves do. Think carefully about who should take part in the strategy development process—the goal is to make strategy work rather than produce a document nobody will use.
How would you describe a “strategic mindset”?
Strategy is about ‘how’: how a company is going to compete, how it is going to create value and get to keep some of it, how it will achieve high levels of performance, or how it will create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. A strategic mindset is exactly that: understanding and being able to articulate a logical strategic path from A to B.
What is your message to the future MBA candidates?
The focus of my FELU MBA Strategic Management course is to train you, not to teach you. To use hands-on approach to developing strategies, not to discuss theory. To challenge you with implementation issues, not with strategy development basics. You will be part of a unique experience that no other business school provides.