service strategy

One of the common controls in this area is the implementation of a Corporate Code of Conduct. Such codes are directive controls and do not enforce “ethical” behavior. Where they are combined with detective controls designed to identify breaches of the code and corrective controls designed to take effective action where such breaches are identified, they may serve as a means of expelling non-conforming members of a population.

Codes of Conduct should be in place for all companies (recommended in 1987 by the Treadway Commission and confirmed by King II4) and should be enforced. They assist in setting an ethical tone at the top of the organization and must apply to all levels from the top down. They open channels of communications between management and employees and assist in the prevention of, for example, fraudulent reporting.

Codes of Conduct are based upon a shared understanding of the values including but not limited to:
- Honesty. No intentional deception
- Integrity. One standard of conduct for all involved
- Morality. Acting in terms of accepted social norms
- Equity. Acting in a fair manner with equal treatment for all

The strategic management process uses qualitative and quantitative information under conditions of uncertainty in order to integrate both intuition and analysis. Management intuition is based on judgment, past experiences, and feelings and is used in conditions of great uncertainty or conditions where there is no precedent to assist management in making decisions. At all levels within the organization, management must make decisions under conditions of uncertainty on a daily basis and it is their intuition which influences that interpretation of analyses that affects the strategic decisions taken. A key attribute of the strategic management process is adaptability to change, and organizations must monitor internal and external events as an iterative process in order to ensure timely adaptation is effected.

Over the past 20 years, the magnitude of the rate of change in information technology as well as its acceleration, combined with increased access to global marketplaces and increased national and international regulation have forced change upon organizations at a rate never before seen. This increased the pressure on management to develop adaptive strategies in order to stay in competition and even to stay in existence. Strategies, overall, are the means by which longterm objectives are intended to be achieved and could include geographic diversification, product development, service differentiation, acquisition of other organizations, divestitures, retrenchments, or even liquidation.

Strategic management is an attempt to utilize existing knowledge to forecast the outcomes of events and the degree to which they can be influenced by management actions.

There can be several motivations for any business process reengineering (BPR). The motivation will affect the nature, focus, and probable success of the intervention.

Survival as a Motivation
Indications for re-engineering
- Outgrowing capacity
- Value added versus revenue
Under this motivation the major success factor may be the speed of automation and the primary focus is the core operation of the organization with the intention being "Don't Automate Obliterate"

Elimination of Competitive Disadvantage as a Motivation
Indications for re-engineering
- Losing market share
- Performance lag

Demand management is a critical aspect of service management. Poorly managed demand is a source of risk for service providers because of uncertainty in demand. Excess capacity generates cost without creating value that provides a basis for cost recovery.

The purpose of Demand Management is to understand and influence customer demand for services and the provision of capacity to meet these demands. At a strategic level this can involve analysis of patterns of business activity and user profiles.

- perspective: the distinctive vision and direction
- position: the basis on which the provider will compete
- plan: how the provider will achieve their vision
- pattern: the fundamental way of doing things – distinctive patterns in decisions and actions over time.