Strategic Management

We consult on critical issues across the Management Science spectrum; however, we especially emphasize Strategic Management, because strategy is the "King of Enterprise Issues". Chandler (Strategy and Structure, 1962) explains strategy as follows: Strategy can be defined as the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals. Furthermore, Rumelt (2017) highlights the crucial role of strategy in addressing the most critical challenges: A good strategy is a coherent mix of policy and action designed to surmount a high-stakes challenge. Porter (2008) identifies The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy in established industries, while Kim & Mauborgne (Blue Ocean Strategy, 2005/15) explain how industries can be re-structured, using value engineering to create uncontested & enduring "blue oceans" of new market space.

 

Strategy ≠ Efficiency
Many local enterprises mistake business models, or even worse operational efficiency, for strategy. A business model details how the enterprise (system) creates economic value (value-added, system outputs); however, it does not enumerate how the enterprise copes with competition in its environment or adapts to environmental changes. (Magretta, 2002). Furthermore, Strategy is doing right things, not doing things right. (HBR, 2005). Strategy drives enterprise effectiveness; without good strategy, operational efficiency is an infinite exercise in benchmarking competitors. (Porter, 1980). Strategy is a deliberate search for a plan of action that will develop the business's competitive advantage and compound it. (Henderson, 1989) A competitive advantage is a capability that is valued by customers and that the business executes better than its competitors; therefore strategy is more about choosing what NOT to do, than what to do. (Porter, 1996). Finally, strategy must evolve with changes in the dynamic competitive environment. (Day & Reibstein, 1997) (Robertson & Caldart, 2009) 

 

Resources & Capabilities

Resources & Capabilities form the building blocks of enterprise strategy. (Barney, 1991) (Teece, et al., 1997) While Resources (e.g. capital) are important, Competitive Capabilities are far more important. Mongolia ranks 102/140 in the world for competitiveness (WEF, 2019); therefore, it is imperative that Mongolian entrepreneurs focus on enhancing their Competitive Capabilities - if Mongolia is to compete in increasingly global markets. Mongoljin is committed to helping formulate the right strategy for your enterprise - one that enhances your Resources and Capabilities, while leveraging your Competitive Advantage(s). (Henderson, 1980) (Porter, 1985) We utilize a fact-based approach to strategy formulation, which ensures that your strategy is objectively sound.

 

Systems Thinking

In Strategic Thinking: Can It Be Taught?, Liedtka (1998) identifies Systems Thinking as an essential element of Strategic Thinking. Systems Thinking is a powerful thought process that focuses on the interconnectedness of all things, at varying levels of hierarchy, integration and abstraction. Robertson & Caldart (2009) note that Many of the definitions of organization developed during the last sixty years assume, explicitly or implicitly, that organizations can be deemed as 'systems'.  For example, an enterprise is a subsystem relative to its industry environment (system operational context), while functional business departments are also sub-systems within the enterprise itself. The structure of complex systems drives their behavior (Sterman, 2000); moreover,  complex systems (e.g. enterprises) exchange energy with their environment (Kossiakoff, et al. 2011), which generates bi-lateral effects. In Industrial Dynamics, Forrester (1961) identifies failure to consider 1+n order effects as common: While most people understand first-order effects, few deal well with second- and third-order effects. Unfortunately, virtually everything interesting in business lies in fourth-order effects and beyond. Mongoljin's adherence to Systems Thinking enables us to gain critical insights into cause/effect relationships, including knock-on effects. Effective decision making and learning in a world of growing dynamic complexity requires us to become systems thinkers - to expand the boundaries of our mental models and develop tools to understand how the structure of complex systems creates their behavior. (Sterman, Business Dynamics, 2000)