My Master Thesis on
'Framework for Assessment of Identified Opportunities Involving a Radical
Change in Established Firm' can be accessed at the link given below:-
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwOOneTw-vSdR3d5U1dGN2Job3c
The abstract
and a brief background to the thesis are given below. If you like my thesis, I
would be pleased if you share it on your website or blog. Please do not put my
thesis on your own server or provide a direct PDF download.
ABSTRACT
Established firms
evaluate the available opportunities while planning for expansion involving
radical change. To facilitate management practitioners in carrying out
competency based analysis for assessment of opportunity for such corporate
entrepreneurial initiative, the paper develops a workable framework.
To accomplish the
assessment, the paper suggests listing the competencies of current business
with their respective characteristic features by following a process involving
a series of analysis. Thereafter, in a similar way, it is suggested to list the
competencies required for the proposed business by going through another
similar process involving analysis from different perspectives. With the
details of characteristics features of existing competencies and required
competencies available in hand, an assessment of efforts required to develop
required competencies is done. For each of the required competency, the
possible efforts are expressed in two dimensional attributes of Criticality and
Risk. It is advised to select an opportunity having most of Critical
competencies falling in low Risk domain.
In the end, the paper
tests the framework for following two opportunities identified by Icon Computer
Solutions (a web site development company located in Raipur, India) for
business expansion:-
(a) Software Product
Development
(b) Computer
Networking Services
The assessment
indicates that with existing competencies, the firm is in a position to make
the transformation for second (Computer Network Services) expansion opportunity
with lesser risk.
BACKGROUND
In the ever evolving
world of business, every firm needs consistent transformation to keep in pace
with the on-going changes in environment. Most often such transformations are
incremental in nature and are engineered with the intent to fine tune the
business to re-align with minor changes in the industrial environment.
However, at times
firms take strategic initiative to transform the business by bringing a radical
change to the existing business. Reason for such an initiative could be a
response to phenomenal changes making in-roads into the environment (of the
existing business), an ambitious move for expansion of the existing business or
a motive to grab a lucrative opportunity looming within the reach.
Selection of a
suitable opportunity for such a corporate entrepreneurial initiative has been a
matter of debate in the area of management studies. One of the popular views
(Hamel and Prahalad, 1994) on this topic insists that a firm should try to
build a new business around its core competencies. But, there have been many
examples of firms successfully extending in a business un-related to their main
line of business.
In any case,
selecting an appropriate opportunity where the existing strength of a firm
(derived from its core competencies) can be utilized holds the key for success
of any major transformation. The selection involves a decision making. This
paper attempts to find a way to assist decision making for selection of a
suitable opportunity (from identified opportunities) to yield intended
benefits.
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