Process Issues


The SWAV needs to be supported by a strong process that involves cross-organizational integration. The salient process issues are listed below:

  • Senior management must support the SWAV. Senior management must agree to the method and outcome of the approach. This means that they will accept the results of the process and not try to undermine it if it does not support their pet initiative.

  • The initiative team must be accountable. A cross-functional team needs to be created for each SA. This team should consist of individuals who have deep enough knowledge about the particular organization from both analysis and execution. The entire team must be held responsible for the results of the analysis. We have seen situations where client team members would come to meetings with benefits estimates and present them without knowing the basis for the assumptions. The entire team needs to be held accountable for the integrity of the analysis.

  • Someone must be in charge. The initiative team needs to be led by an individual who has the authority to make decisions about the direction of the analysis that will be accepted by senior managers. Putting someone in charge can be perceived as diminishing the power base of others on the management team, so this issue may create some difficulties.

  • Look-backs must be important. It is critical that the results from the SAs are measured against forecasted value to determine if the assumptions made in the SWAV were valid. The process and the framework need to be refined over time to be indicative of current business conditions. A library of assumptions should be created for the numerous initiative types. This will reduce the amount of time spent assessing an SA and improves the accuracy of the analysis. The implementation of the SA should be managed by the assumptions that are made in the SWAV.

In conclusion, this book presents a framework that can continually be improved. I welcome the addition of new analytical tools and practices to improve the SWAV. Business strategies need to adapt to changing economic and business conditions. Hence, assessment techniques need to be modified to accommodate those changes.




Translating Strategy into Shareholder Value. A Company-Wide Approach to Value Creation
Translating Strategy into Shareholder Value: A Company-Wide Approach to Value Creation
ISBN: 0814405649
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 117

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