|
Goetjaer, Netherlands
|
Standardization: Tactic or Strategy?
Question, is standardization a strategy or a tactic and why?
X
Sign up for free
Welcome to the Strategy and Innovation forum of 12manage.
Here we exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of Strategy and Innovation.
❗Sign up now to gain access to 12manage. Completely free.
X
Continue for free
Please sign up and login to continue reading.
Here we exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of Strategy and Innovation.
❗Sign up now to gain access to 12manage. Completely free.
| |
|
|
| |
|
R.D. van Rees
Project Manager, Netherlands
|
|
Standardization is a Tool Within Strategy Dear Goetjaer,
I can keep it real simple. A strategy is a tool you use to achieve a goal or multiple goals. Standardization is a tool within a strategy. Standardization is used to make monitoring of a process more easy and is often used by multinational enterprises because of their size.
|
| |
|
zarkaoui Rachid
ICT Consultant, France
|
|
Standardization: Tactic and Strategy Standardization should be defined as consolidation of the best practices in a field. There is no standardization without capitalization of know-how. At the operational level, employees enrich the experience of the company or what we call the learning system.
- Standardization is a tactic: the organization learns when doing the business. It means errors are committed during its life. An error should not be repeated twice. Every mistake is a cost for the organization. In other words, it is a mean to reduce costs.
- Standardization is a strategy: standardization responds to a strategy of independency from employees. In this case, employees are the important resource of the company. A key employee can put pressure on the company when he has a rare skill. To be independent, the organization orders its employees to share the knowledge and even to feed the know-how system.
|
| |
|
Harp Minhas, United Kingdom
|
|
When to Avoid Standardisation Standardisation within a business is surely to be avoided where it is not essential as it inhibits creativity and free thinking and encourges people to think in the "we have always done it this way" mentality rather than the "can we do it better and more efficiently" mentality?
|
| |
|
Max Pindo
Manager, France
|
|
Standardisation can be Dangerous Standardisation is also a danger for managers who may wrongly believe (by extrapolation) that the company is ready to manage any possible event brought by real life.
Forcing people to use a not appropriate (but standard) process to a brand new issue is definitely easier but also a major methodological mistake that will lead to a disaster.
|
| |
|
Harp Minhas, United Kingdom
|
|
Standardisation Impedes Innovation True and in these days of constant changes in the workplace, applying existing standards and procedures to new ideas and concepts inhibits the possibilities.
Managers also need to fully assess the potential of new ideas, products and concepts that are presented to them, but how do we do this within the existing frameworks and structures we all work in?
|
| |
|
Max Pindo
Manager, France
|
|
Deciding what is Really New The point in "reactive mode" is: deciding what looks like a new reality: how can we tell if something is really new and if it needs an innovative approach to cope with?
I think this requires managers to be open-minded and use quite a lot of lateral thinking.
In "proactive mode" we can probably tell if what we propose (to the market for instance) is really new and if it can be standardized.
|
| |
|
Srikumar Varma
India
|
|
Standardization is a Recurring Strategy Standardization is consolidation of the best practices in a field. The process of standardization is carried out after the least variable best process is selected. It should be used as a situational tool for a limited period of time, otherwise it would impede innovation, especially in the fast changing economical and business scenerio.
This means that standardization of a process should be allowed to change with the changes brought forth by the external factors on the business. Either the change should be allowed to implement the 'best fit' standardization process or should be taken to the next level through innovation and creativity.
|
| |
|
Zimin Andrew Alexander, Russian Federation
|
|
Standardization is Suicidal Standardization = suicide, so it can't be strategy...
|
| |
|
Ibrahima Diallo, United States
|
|
Innnovation based on Standardization Standardization should not be viewed as the antonym of innovation, or else you lose sight of its value and significance in the reduction of variability in our processes... The true cause of waste and inefficiency.
Of course we must innovate, but let's innovate from a standard that is acceptable to be the best practice and not from an unstandard, unacceptable, variable practice.
How do we know which practice is best, effective, and efficient, if we do not standardize?
So let's standardize first and innovate continuously from that point, a reference point, or a standard.
|
| |
|
Pashupati Nath verma
Professor, India
|
|
Is Standardization Tactical or Strategic? It depends on the objective of the standardization, long term or short term, strategic or tactical.
|
| |
|
Mahmoud Khashab
CEO, Libya
|
|
Standardization in Developing Countries Standardization in developing countries is a strategy, because they are not real industrial nations yet. If these countries are looking forward to play global, part of their strategies would be standardization.
This is different in an industrial situation where standardization is a tool in a strategy.
|
| |
|
John Henry
Project Manager, United States
|
|
Standardization is a Strategic Tactic Using old answers for new problems may not resolve the issues at hand (in the best way). But standardization has more uses. Establishing a standard toolset of solutions and established processes for established practices is a key strategic milestone. I would say key because then the innovation can be used to identify new situations and develop new processes to meet the new needs. Instead of killing innovation, we can focus innovation in the areas where it is most desperately needed, the new unknowns.
Experience is valuable, standardization of business process, and business toolsets becomes strategic because it relies on experience. Knowing that things may need to change, but also realizing that it is possible to reuse instead of reinvent, having a standard toolset of business processes allows many of the day to day operations to be managed efficiently.
Use creativity and innovation for new situations, markets and products, and let standards have a place so we innovate innovatively.
|
| |
|
Chaonamwene
Student (MBA), Malawi
|
|
Standardisation is a Tactic and Strategy @Zarkaoui Rachid : I agree.
Standardisation is a process and standards are conceived as a body of codified information that enables the effective dissemination of technology through the economy. They are a form of embodied technical knowledge accessible to all types of business that enables more effective product and process development. They are regarded as a source of wisdom to the business and to the nation as a whole. Therefore I support it's a tactic and strategy.
|
| |
|
Ade
Supply chain Analyst, United Kingdom
|
|
Standardization Can Encourage Control of Processes Standardisation can be used at different levels of strategic development to achieve organisational goals.
As some have commented, an organisation that has no control over its processes runs the risk of inconsistency with its employees.
On the other hand, a firm that is too rigid runs the risk of losing innovative employees.
A balance must be reached depending on the maturity stage and goals of the organisation. This also transcends to developing countries and developed countries.
|
| |
|
NANG Theophile, Cameroon
|
|
Innovation and Standardization Priority Issues Hi @Ibrahima Diallo, Standardization as starting point of innovative procedures is good in mind, but not always easy when it comes to implement. There are many cases were people are blocking innovatio...
|
| |
|
Belay Gezahegn
Director, Ethiopia
|
|
Standardisation in Services Industries Standardisation confines employees to think in a certain way and prohibits to think differently. This might be true in manufacturing industries.
However, in banking industry or other service industri...
|
|
|
|
|
More on Strategy and Innovation
|
|
|
Log in
Comments by date▼