Using Hustle As A Cogent Business Strategy Business Essay

Using Hustle As A Cogent Business Strategy Business Essay Amar Bhides article, Hustle as Strategy (1986) describes how in industries where competitive advantage can be quickly imitated, the importance is placed on superior execution rather than superior planning. This is demonstrated throughout the article in the financial services industry. This essay firstly explores how Hustle as Strategy fits into the strategy debate, as well as considering the underlying assumptions the author makes about organisations and the environment. It provides an analysis of the article and the emergent approach to strategy. The field of strategy, particularly the prescriptive approach was formed due to the perceived need to reduce uncertainty in organisations (Downs et al 2003:81). Prescriptive strategy is discussed as long term planning, creating clear, articulated intentions and then endeavouring to implement them (Faulkner, 2002). Porter (1979) wrote that organisations should position themselves in the market by evaluating their external environment and creating competitive advantage by differentiating from competitors. However, as the business environment becomes more competitive and unpredictable, a new emergent approach to strategy formed (Figure 1). Accepting that uncertainty is here to stay, Eisenhardt and Brown (1998, p.787) suggest that strategy becomes successfully navigating at the edge of chaos and anarchy. Bhide (1986) uses the example of the financial services industry to demonstrate the need for emergent strategy over fixed plans. The article focuses on the financial industry but includes strategic comparisons with industries such as motoring. Chaffee (1985, p.202) comments that strategies must be situational and accordingly it will vary by industry. Eisenhardt and Brown (1998:787) suggest that in many industries, change is happening too fast for static strategy to be effective. Therefore, strategy formulation has become an exercise of trial, experimentation and discussion (Downs et al, 2003:5) with the emphasis on action rather than planning. Bhide (1986:61) agrees with this by suggesting that financial services companies have to earn their wings everyday because a successful strategy today may not work tomorrow (Eisenhardt and Brown, 1998:787). The author dismisses the traditional, prescriptive school of thought for this industry by explaining that due to the infungible nature of the financial products, they can be quickly imitated. It is suggested there is no steady stream of new opportunities available and so companies should focus doing their best to minimise failure. Bhide (1986:62) suggests that strategy should be like a game of poker, not chess, where financial companies focus on tactics and execution rather than erecting massive barriers to competitors (p.59). Bhide (1986:60) quotes Warren Buffett in saying that major sustainable competitive advantages are almost non-existent in the field of financial services. Financial services companies do not have a monopoly on good product ideas; therefore they need to secure customers by executing ideas better than their competitors. However, Porter (1996) disagrees by suggesting that having operational effectiveness is not enough for organisations and that these tactics result in some companies outlasting others, but provide no real advantage in the market. Bhide (1986) recognises that financial services companies need to implement a review system in order to not be irresponsible. He writes that financial companies need to review their performance and continually assess the risks. Whittington (2001:24) supports this idea by suggesting that organisations with an emergent strategy need to have enough structure to allow patterns to emerge, but not so much that it causes inflexibility and cost. It can be said that emergent strategy is not about the absence of authority, it is about finding better ways of doing things. It is the job of management to bolt together the daily actions of the organisation to provide a direction for the organisation rather than to provide a rigid plan of expectations. Hustle as Strategy is underpinned by several assumptions about the environment and organisations. These assumptions are formed based of the authors acceptance of the world as a chaotic and uncertain place. Due to the unpredictable nature of the environment the assumption is that new opportunities open up for organisations. A key assumption of the article is that organisations are able to adapt quickly to take advantage of the new opportunities. Bhide (1986:62) assumes this by writing that in order to consistently win in the market, a company must be able to quickly vary tactics to suit conditions. This is supported by Noe et al (2003, as cited in Downs et al 2003:7) who discuss how emergent strategies rely on the ability of an organisation to learn. Mintzberg (1978) suggests that a strategy emerges by developing patterns in actions over time, this could be said to be a form of organisational learning. A learning organisation is described by Johnson et al (2005) as one that has the continual capability to regenerate from the variety of knowledge, experience and individual skills within the culture. This process is said to occur from within the organisation and therefore the strategies emerge from within. It is said that the organisation should unlock the knowledge of individuals by sharing information and allowing them to become more sensitive to changes occurring around them. This assumption is also supported by Stacey (1996:188) who discusses the view of organisations as complex adaptive systems. It is suggested that organisations learn their way into an open- ended evolutionary space that can create their futures. Stacey also suggests that individuals in the organisation are agents in the system; therefore their behaviour in the system can ultimately impact the ability of the organisation to adapt. This leads to the second assumption of the article. Bhide (1986:60) assumes that their employees will quickly be able to adjust their tactics by suggesting that a financial institutions employees are a potentially versatile resource. The author writes that employees working in operations play a pivotal role in the success of other areas of the business. Therefore, the process of recruiting hustlers is an important activity. Organisations with emergent strategy are looking for employees that can revolutionise processes and therefore must encourage a culture that embraces change. This emphasis on human capital can be likened to the resource-based theory of strategy where the focus in put on the application of the valuable resources at the firms disposal (Barney, 1991). It can be argued when companies have similar resources to hand, but differing performance, that one company is utilising its resources better than the others. In a knowledge-based economy, the knowledge and skills of the workforce are an intangible resource that is difficult to be imitated by competitors. Prahalad and Hamel (1990) argue that they help to create core competencies that in turn gain competitive advantage. As a result, if employees have to adjust their tactics and become more flexible then the assumption is that management are willing to give their employees more responsibility for decision making. The organisation needs to be de-centralised; otherwise the speed of change is hindered by levels of bureaucracy. Allowing employees more responsibility means that those closest to the customers are more likely to develop practical and realistic ideas for success. It is possible to find strengths and weaknesses of the article and the wider debate of emergent strategy. Firstly, considering Hustle as Strategy, it is a strong example of emergent strategy in a prominent industry. It provides an insight into how strategy is formulated by organisations and has useful comparisons with alternative industries in order to clearly demonstrate the support for this strategy debate. It uses examples and quotes from successful organisations; however it does not detail how organisations may approach this kind of strategy unsuccessfully. A second strength of the article is that the authors assumptions are based on already widely discussed and generally accepted ideas about organisations and the environment. There is a wealth of theory available to back up claims and assumptions made. However, a weakness of the article is that the article focuses entirely on the emergent strategy. It has been argued by strategists that in fact, organisations are not perfectly prescriptive or perfectly emergent, but usually somewhere in between (Moncrieff, 1999). A strength of emergent strategy is that it allows organisations to act in real time. Organisations realise they cannot know everything and therefore act as reality evolves before them. This type of strategy allows senior management to let go of some of the organisational control by understanding that the employees are seeing the everyday activities and are better equipped to shape strategy than a traditional top down approach (Faulkner, 2002). However, an emergent strategy will not work in every context. This is especially so in industries where a large amount of capital has to be invested up front into a business activity, with the motoring industry as an example. A farther weakness of emergent strategy is related to the assumption that management will give up decision making and responsibility to their subordinates, in order to be more adaptable. However, in practice, managers find this threatening and therefore not become as flexible and adaptable as they could be. Also, it can be argued that management would need to create a clear vision and culture for the organisation, in order to create a suitable environment for employees to feel they have purpose and objectives. In conclusion, Bhide (1986) has successfully demonstrated the need for emergent strategy in financial services organisations by logically dismissing the alternative prescriptive approach. In an industry where competitive advantage is said to be non-existent due to low barriers to entry and imitable products, financial institutions have found a way to be different, in their execution. The assumptions of the article are realistic as strategists have long concurred that the business environment is fast-paced and organisations must learn to adapt to it. Overall, Bhide (1986) argues that financial services organisations should select the best hustlers to constantly challenge the vision of the organisation by finding new and better ways of doing things. The organisation must allow this change to occur in order to learn and evolve, without this they will become static and uncompetitive.

Martial Arts Swot Analysis

Mixed Martial Arts SWOT Analysis Mixed Martial Arts is a company provides a safe, realistic martial arts training environment that will allowed the students to grow in their confidences by developing the student’s physical attributes, mental strength, and indomitable spirit. STRENGTHS -A focus on community awareness’s by teaching self defense for all ages -A focus on child development and discipline in society -A focus on continued education for adults and groups of interest -The ability to teach all ages about different types of martial arts and explore the abilities of learning them. – Limited startup risk Family friendly environment; great for the whole family – Provides counseling to individual who have been previously attacked WEAKNESSES – Competitors offer similar options – We are offering to a specific target market which could hurt us if competition is offering to larger target market. – Limited flexibility in programs – Competitors have more experienced staff. – Availability of space. If the locations are limited, then the class sizes are limited and there for we would be limited on how many per class at a time. OPPOTRUNITIES – Urban, city location or locations with large populations. Women’s and children self defense classes. – Exploring ADHD and other disabilities or handicaps that can benefit from martial arts. – Tournaments or competitions hosted by our facility. – An in facility store that sells items like martial arts gear and clothing, training equipment, and self defense items like pepper spray or tasers. – Expansion for online sales THREATS – Dwindling local population – A shortage of equipment – Too many local competitors – A poor economy – Changes in regulations can impact the business – Continual insurance costs increasing – Increase in price inputs can cause upward pricing

Comparison and Contrast of Hispanic Culture and Anglo-American Culture Essay

There is no universal culture amongst the world society as each community embraces a unique culture that guides and defines their behavior. The differences that are exhibited within any particular group of people in a country or a cultural group are usually greater than those differences that may be in a homogeneous group. The differences are usually noted in level of education, social standing, religious beliefs, personality definition, previous experiences, and affection that prevails in the home among other many factors that have an influence on human behavioral and cultural practices. Cultural differences are persistent even in the globalized world. It is therefore important to take note of the differences in order to have good knowledge of the customs, beliefs, values and norms of the divergent cultural groups. Cross cultural studies therefore are essential as they assist in coming up with a comparison of the various cultural differences that is observed in the various ethnic groups. When conducting cross-cultural studies, comparison becomes the main essence of the study thereby ensuring that generalized assumptions are inevitable as the researchers seek to categorize the cultural groups. We need however to be cautious that generalizations may lead to serious negative impacts especially when they are made from faulty observations. This paper shall aspire to give a comparison and contrast of the Hispanics and the Anglo-American cultures Hispanics: An analysis of the Hispanic community in the United States is not an easy task as there are several Hispanic groups in the country having different backgrounds especially in relation to their point of origin. The Hispanics are therefore not a single group with similar cultural characteristics as they exhibit differences in regard to political views, customs, religious beliefs, familial and other conventions that distinguish each group from the others. The focus on the Hispanics in this paper shall focus on four categories which include the Mexicans Americans, the Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and those from the Central American region. The Mexican Americans trace their place of origin from Mexico while the Puerto Ricans are considered the citizens of the United States given that Puerto Rico is a United States’ territory. The Cuban Americans on the other hand are those who fled Cuba due to the political and economical turmoil that has been experienced in their country for quite some time. Lastly, the Hispanics from the central part of the Americas are said to have originated from various countries in the region (Kanellos, 1994). The Anglo-Americans: The Anglo-American refers to the ethnic group of individuals of European origin. The term ‘Anglo’ has come to be used to refer to the English speaking Americans with little reference to their particular origin more like the term Hispanic has been used to refer to the various groups that make the Native American population. The Anglo-Americans comprise of English speaking Americans who are in most instances Protestants with minority of them adhering to the Roman Catholicism. The term Anglo-American has been used to refer to all those individuals who originated from countries that traditionally spoke English as their main language and also those whose families have adopted the English speaking culture in the United States and Canada to perfection (Diaz-Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). Comparison and Contrast of the Hispanic and the Anglo-American Cultures: As stated earlier, there are various groups in the United States which form the larger Hispanic category. Nevertheless, the different groupings within the Hispanic block have distinct features which come out especially when compared to the Anglo-American way of doing things. The Mexican Americans for instance, are known to speak Spanish and they are taught in bi-lingual classes which involves English as their second language. The Mexican Americans have various values which are unique of the Anglo-Americans. The familial values of the Mexican Americans for instance are uniquely different from that exhibited by the Anglo-Americans. The Mexico Americans for instance emphasizes on the social structure that is rooted in the family unit (Kanellos, 1994). Though the women are greatly respected in their culture, the Mexican Americans holds that the women are inferior to their husbands in the homes. The husband is seen as the figure of authority and the chief decision maker for the family. They usually cherish large families and extended family ties are maintained. This is in contrast to the typical Anglo-American culture where both the man and woman in the house enjoy equal or almost equal right in the decision making process for the family. The family is based on democratic principles and small nuclear families are cherished. The bond for extended family ties is usually loose in the setting of the Anglo-American culture. Most Mexican Americans are also observed as Catholics and they put emphasis on the holding of religious moral values than their Anglo-American counterparts. Politically, the Mexican Americans have not been quick to stamp their authority in the political landscape within the United States save for the appointment of Alberto Gonzales as America’s Attorney General (Kanellos, 1994). This is in contrast to their Anglo-Americans who have dominated the political scene with most being identified with the Republican Party. Economically, the Mexico-Americans have remained generally sidelined as their Anglo-Americans counterparts continue to dominate the economic landscape. From the study done in 1989 it was revealed that Mexicans Americans earned 21% wages lower than the Anglo-Americans. Though these statistics can no longer be relied upon die to the passage of time, there still remains a significant gap between economic gains by these two groups (Franklin, 2010). The Puerto Ricans are well known for their general proficiency in Spanish and English languages. This concept has made life for this group of Hispanics more bearable than any of the other Hispanic groups. Contrary to the Mexican Americans, most of the households amongst the Puerto Ricans are headed by females. The Puerto Ricans submit to various religious groups which include Baptism, Catholics, Methodist and any other of the world religion more like their Anglo-Americans counterparts. Politically, the Puerto Rican have limited access to the same rights and political privileges enjoyed by any other American citizen though Puerto Rico is considered a United States’ territory from the year 1917. They are for instance not allowed to take part in presidential election. They are however exempted from paying the federal income tax. Though they have limitation on the rights associated with citizenship, the Puerto Ricans continue to enjoy exceptional unrestricted US migration (Diaz -Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). The Cuban Americans have come from a difficult background that was characterized by unstable political environment in their backyard and difficult economic conditions. They however carried with them much of the Spanish culture given that the Spanish had great influence on the Caribbean Island. Most of the Cuban Americans are Catholics though some traces of Protestantism, Jewish, Santeria, and nonreligious beliefs can be traced. It has however been noted that most Cuban Americans have been assimilated in the mainstream culture meaning that they have taken most of the Anglo-American culture leaving their own though they have kept a small portion of their original culture (Diaz -Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). The other Spanish group from the Central American region comprise of the Venezuelan Americans most of whom are Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Though most of them came to stay in America after the completion of their college studies in the US, they still maintain their familial ties which are very strong. They imbue in their children the value of family as an important aspect of the society at an early age. The familial ties are so strong that they at tomes make it hard for them to get assimilated in the American mainstream culture. Most of the Venezuelan Americans are Catholics though most do not hold religion in high esteem as the other Hispanic groups (Franklin, 2010). Other general aspects of the Hispanic groups’ culture include privacy which is only handled by the family members. They value modestly as part of their culture and that the area between the waist and the knees is considered as private. This is not common with the Anglo-Americans who are often exposes their body parts that would otherwise be considered private in Hispanic culture. The old members of the family are greatly respected given their experience with life. In regard to health practice, the Hispanics are known to be emotionally expressive and individuals are expected to be pampered when they fall ill. To most Hispanics, birth control measures are not entertained a part from the natural ones given that most are Catholics. They also view thinness as a problem and plumpness is considered ideal. This is in contrast to the Anglo-Americans who are pragmatic on heath issues and readily accept the birth control methods and also despise plumpness of the body (Culturediversity. rg, 2008). In a study conducted by Pablo G. Cardona, Bonnie C. Nicholson, and Robert A. Fox, in the year 2000 entitled ‘Parenting Among Hispanic and Anglo-American Mothers With Young Children’ it was found that Hispanic mothers had higher frequency of discipline and a lower frequency of nurturing with their young children compared to their Anglo-American counterparts though no differences were recorded in the expectations of both the Hispanic and Anglo-America n mothers (Cardona, Nicholson, and Fox, 2000). Conclusion: The cultural comparisons between the two cultural categories can go on and on without any sign of stopping any soon. The cultural differences observed between the Hispanics and the Anglo-Americans are reflected most in the familial affiliation, language, and religion. Most of the Hispanic groups in the United States have very strong family bonds, they subscribe to the Catholic faith and that they speak Spanish. This contrasts with the Anglo-Americans who speak English as their first language, have loose familial bonds and Protestantism is their main religion. Nevertheless, among the Hispanic groups are some differences especially in regard to how they have been able to get assimilated to the American lifestyle. The Puerto Ricans and the Cuban Americans are the most assimilated followed by the Venezuela Americans who are in the middle of being assimilated whereas the Mexican Americans are the least assimilated.

The War Of The Vietnam War - 1111 Words

The Vietnam War, deploying 2.5 million troops and lasting 10 years made it one of the largest wars in United States history. Allegedly, the war started after two navy ships were fired at off of the banks of Vietnam. The questionable attack would foreshadow a very misunderstood and questioned war to come. The United State’s army would be tested in just how strong they were, some 58,000 men were killed and almost double that were severely disabled. This was humiliating to the United States, a great world power at the time, and tensions grew as the war went on. Robert F. Kennedy mentioned the severity of the war in one of his speeches, â€Å"For years we have been told that the measure of our success and progress in Vietnam was†¦show more content†¦One of the first major events in the escalation of the war was the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, which gave president Lyndon B. Johnson the control and decisive powers once held by the congress. â€Å"Congress approves a nd supports the determination of the president†¦to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack†¦to prevent further aggression†, US Congress, Gulf of Tonkin resolution. This heightened tensions because the incident with the Gulf of Tonkin was already questioned and this was a major shift of power. This shift of power goes directly against the check and balance system our government created. Shortly after, in 1970 congress would repeal it, realizing that they had given over all of their foreign policy powers. Then in 1973 congress would pass the War Powers Act, which further limited the â€Å"unilateral power the president has to commit American troops abroad† (Doc. 8) In January of 1968, a shocking event occurred that forced Johnson to change his position on the war, the destruction of the village Ben Tre would expose the cost of moving the Vietcong out. This would become known as the Tet offensive, and its impact on public opinion was negative. The Tet offensive proved to Americans that this war could not be won, further decreasing the public favor towards the war. As antiwar protests increased, political tensions did as well.