Knowing where you stand

Overview

Even where competition feels like the wrong word, understanding the forces that shape your room for manoeuvre is essential. This module builds on Michael Porter's work: strategy as choosing what not to do, the difference between operational effectiveness and positioning, and the Five Forces translated into public service. The Netflix and Blockbuster case shows how an organisation can compete hard in the wrong contest, and the module closes on Porter's limits. This module moves from reading context to deciding what to do, using three models. Kim and Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy, with the eliminate, reduce, raise and create grid and the Cirque du Soleil case, shows how to redraw an offer. Richard Rumelt's strategy kernel and warning signs of bad strategy help you tell strategy from a wish list, and the McKinsey Seven S model checks whether the organisation can support it.

What you'll develop

In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:

1. 1Distinguish operational effectiveness from strategic positioning and apply that distinction to your own improvement programme.
2. 2Use Porter's Five Forces, translated into the public realm, to identify which force holds most power over your organisation.
3. 3Explain three limits of the Five Forces framework and describe how a public body should adapt its response to them.
4. 4Apply the eliminate, reduce, raise and create moves to a service you lead, explaining how the first two fund the second two.
5. 5Use Rumelt's kernel and his four warning signs of bad strategy to assess whether a strategy document contains a diagnosis, a guiding policy and coherent action.