Wiley Series in Contemporary Strategic Concerns – serie

The implementation of appropriate strategies remains one of the most difficult areas of management. Considerable thought, energy and resources is given over to devising a strategic plan; and it is to the fine detail of the plan that attention turns when things go wrong. The plan, rather than the implementation comes in for scrutiny, because it is less problematic to analyse. Perhaps this is because, whereas the plan can be devised under pollution-free, almost laboratory conditions, the working out of the plan takes place in the real world infected with real world variables. But the whole point of a strategy is that it will be implemented and implemented successfully. Much has been written on change management and transformational leadership all very relevant to strategy implementation but there are comparatively few books which look at the implementation process as a whole. The Implementation Challenge aims to link the numerous concepts and approaches to the subject but recognizes the impact on implementation of the organization as it lives and breathes. From the work of leading thinkers in the field of strategic management, David Hussey has selected contributions specifically focusing on the theme of implementation. Some of the work is to be found in Strategic Change; this, together with new material and four major case studies, makes The Implementation Challenge thoroughly up to date and coherent. It is intended to be thought provoking, and to give practical aid to those involved with achieving successful implementation of their organization s strategic plans and thinking.

Creativity and innovation are not the same thing. In most organizations there are many good creative ideas that never move into the action phase, and, therefore, do not become innovations. Both creativity and innovation are very relevant to strategic management. It is the ability to innovate that determines much of what an organization is able to do. Innovative capability provides the organization with bricks from which a strategy can be formed and which can eventually evolve into a bastion of strong competitive advantage. Innovation, therefore, remains one of the challenges facing strategic management today. The Innovation Challenge recognizes the fundamental importance of innovation to strategic management. It is built on the central thesis that long-term success is, to a large degree, dependent on the implementation of new products, methods and processes. The Innovation Challenge is the second volume in the Wiley Series in Contemporary Strategic Concerns. Also available in the series is The Implementation Challenge (0-471-96589-8).