Strategic Thrust

Strategic Plan

The strategic plan can be broken down into two related areas: strategic thrusts and strategic objectives. The strategic thrust identifies a specific area of focus. Different industry sectors will place greater focus on partic-ular thrusts, given their importance to the industry. For example, an elec-tronics organization will place high priority on technology as a strategic thrust, given its importance to survival in their sector. The term strategic objective refers to the more specific objective that the organization wants to achieve within the area of the strategic thrust. The term strategic objec-tive relates to the choices that the organization makes in order to develop. The following are high-level strategic thrusts popular in many organiza-tions (Hayes et al., 1988): capacity, facilities, technology, vertical integra-tion, workforce, quality, planning, and organization.

CAPACITY

This thrust deals with issues of increasing, decreasing, or maintaining capacity. Capacity refers to machines, labor, and facilities. Typical choices within this thrust include demand management, outsourcing, floor space use, job enrichment, multiskilling, and work cells.

FACILITIES

This thrust deals with the facilities that are used by the organization in meeting customer requirements. Facilities include issues related to location, floor space, plant facilities, and machine facilities. Choices regarding specific strategic objectives the organization may want to achieve in this area include capping the size of plants, developing focused lines and processes, and moving to an alternative location.

TECHNOLOGY

This thrust deals with decisions about the technology used in the organization such as technological platforms used in products and services, machinery and computer networks, and telephone exchanges. Choices can include issues related to appropriate standards and platforms to adopt, networking replacement of obsolete technology, and improving the...