DAM762 - Strategic and Operations Management Report - Level 7

This report provides an analysis of strategic and operations management, focusing on Zappos as a case study. It examines Zappos' adoption of Holacracy as an organizational structure, its strategic intent to increase adaptability, and the decentralization of power within the company. The report also explores the success factors of Zappos, including employee salary research and the shift in HR responsibilities. Furthermore, it delves into Porter's Generic Business-level Strategy, specifically the customer-centric approach adopted by Zappos, and discusses the implementation of generic strategies for cost leadership and transparency. Finally, the report addresses lean production techniques, the Toyota model, and the strategic implementation of lean production, referencing Virginia Mason's application of these techniques to improve hospital efficiency and reduce errors. The report concludes with references to relevant academic sources.

Strategic and Operations Management

Q1a: Holacracy As Preferred Organizational Culture
 Zappos turned out to be the largest
organization that adopted a new
organizational form known as
Holacracy
 Initially it experienced a frustrating
shoe shopping
 Zappos strategically adopted
holacracy as a preferred
organizational culture as it intends to
increase adapatability
 It helps to distribute power al
through the network.
 It has helped to upend traditional
hierarchy thus decentralizing power

Q1b: Success of Zappos
 The employees working in
Zappos started researching
their individual salaries
 The human resource
department no longer has to
take care of the salary
 If the employee wants a rise
in salary, the individual has
to do self-research to find
out the worthy salary

Q2a: Generic Business-level Strategy
 The Porter’s Generic Strategy aims
to provide a competitive advantage
over the rivals (Tanwar, 2013).
 The generic business-level strategy
that has been followed Zappos isa
customer-centric strategy
 This strategy persuaded the
company to provide respect to
their customers as well as vendors
 This did not help the company to
get advantage over its rivals
 This is because the company did
not adhere to common call centre
performance management norms

Q2b: Successfully Implementation of Business Level
Strategy
 Zappos requires to implement generic strategies that are
put forward by Porter
 It should put emphasis on those variables that will help to
accomplish a low cost position
 The company has already being trying to provide an
intense workplace to the employees
 It has been trying to remain transparent to the customers as
well as the competitors

Q3a: Lean production
 Toyota adopted this system
to eradicate errors as well as
improve patient outcome.
 The strategy behind adopting
lean production has been to
remove unnecessary steps
 This will make it easier to
carry out tasks proficiently
 It deals with eradicating
wastes as well as elements
that did not have value

Q3b: Strategic Implementation of Lean Production
Techniques
 The keys to a successful strategic
implementation of lean production
techniques include action in the
technical system
 It has been claimed by Virginia
Mason that lean production has
altered the hospital into a more
competent organization
 It also helped to reduce errors
during clinical treatment (To
build a better hospital,
Virginia Mason takes
lessons from Toyota plants,
2018)

References
 Tanwar, R. (2013). Porter’s generic competitive
strategies. Journal of business and management, 15(1),
11-17.
 To build a better hospital, Virginia Mason takes lessons
from Toyota plants. (2018). seattlepi.com. Retrieved 7
March 2019, from http://
www.seattlepi.com/local/article/To-build-a-better-hospital
Virginia-Mason-takes-1267283.php
.