Introduction
My working place had some issues regarding the lack of a well-established long-term strategy to maintain a sufficient level of interactions, avoid layoff, and introduce the ability to keep the profitability on the same level. In this case, the primary goal of the action research is to avoid similar issues in the future while establishing a suitable strategy on a long-term basis and discovering the potential options, which can be successful while having a similar situation in the future. Nonetheless, it remains questionable whether the high involvement in the process will be appropriate in terms of strategic implementation. In turn, the action research is chosen to reveal whether the formulation and establishment of the long-term plan is a possibility. Lastly, the control of the motivation and interactions with the workforce are also essential aspects while introducing the altercations to the strategy.
The primary goal of the literature review is to provide different points of view regarding introducing and developing a new strategy, which will be suitable for the organization. In this instance, the significance of the application of the long-term strategies and the flow of decisions during the establishment of the suitable strategy is determined. Lastly, the essentiality of balancing the attitude of the workforce during the severe layoffs is assessed with the assistance of a high-quality academic source. In the end, the conclusions are drawn to establish the essentiality of the findings in the context of the implementation of the action research and strategy introduction in the organization.
Literature Review
Importance of Long-Term and Short-Term Strategies
Firstly, the essentiality of the establishment of the long-term strategies has to be discussed, as the establishment of the long-term strategy is the critical reason for conducting the action research. For example, the article Impact of Globalization on the Development of State’s Long-Term Strategy by Baubinaute highlights the significance of the long-term strategy and underlines the essentiality of taking the worldwide trends while introducing new leadership styles (Baubinaute, 2013). It could be said that this assumption corresponds to the necessity of discovering trends and paying attention to the competitors in SWOT analysis of the company’s current situation. In this case, high attention has to be paid to future projections and actions of the competitors while considering internationalization as an essential element of the strategic formation.
Furthermore, the article A Simple Plan: Why Solos and Small Firms Need a Long-Term Business Strategy by Ginsburg addresses the fact that the long-term strategy is successfully applied in the context of the small companies, and it eases the functioning of the company due to the limitations of the resources (Ginsburg, 2014). Nonetheless, this approach is not relevant in the context of my workplace scenario due to the extended variety of operations and requirement to distribute large volumes of resources. In this instance, the company should still focus on aiming towards the long-term strategy, but its primary orientation has to be towards keeping up with the global trends in the crude oil industry. This finding affects the problematizing and defines the flow of the issue towards the significance of globalization while developing the strategy.
Nonetheless, the article Down with Strategy: In Defense of Short-Term Thinking by Ezer and Demetris supports short-term strategy and highlights its benefits to the functioning of the firm (Ezer & Demetis, 2007). In this case, the criticism of the overrating of the long-term strategy cannot be unnoticed due to the assumption of overvaluing the significance of this innovation in the functioning of contemporary terms (Ezer & Demetis, 2007). As for the application of these findings in the context of redefining the issue, it supports the opposing view of the initial action research. It could be said that this article contributes to the essentiality of taking the short-term strategic thinking while reframing the leadership approach and strategy in my workplace case. The findings emphasize the idea of the presence of the short-term strategy in the organization while resolving future issues. It could be said that the article brings light to the new perception of strategic formation.
Lastly, the article Balancing Short, Long-Term focuses on the essentiality of finding the balance between these strategies in the organization due to their beneficial influence on the determination of the future functioning of the company (“Balancing short, long-term”, 2014). Using both of these strategies assists in discovering the issues on the dissimilar levels while understanding the differences between the different kinds of planning and projections (“Balancing short, long-term”, 2014). It could be said that this action modifies the perceptions of paying high attention to the long-term strategy only. Nonetheless, it alters the perspective of utilizing both strategies to affect the sufficient functioning of the company and eliminate the number of existing problems. In the context of my workplace case, the action research should focus on introducing the both and short-term strategies while finding the solutions and minimizing risks in the future.
In this instance, the literature review revealed the essence of long-term and short-term strategies while determining the potential flow of events in the future. It will help the company discover the issues from different perspectives and determine the right solutions and actions during the cyclic economic fluctuations. In turn, taking into account the essence of globalization is also vital due to the high influence of international trends on the functioning of the company. In this instance, these aspects have to be considered while focusing on the action research due to their ability to contribute to the formation of the right strategic thinking. In the end, the literature review alters the initial perspective of utilizing the action research, as one of the primary tools for determining the solution to similar problems in the future. Nonetheless, these findings have to be taken into account while applying suitable action research modalities.
The Flow of Decisions during the Strategic Formation
Nonetheless, the primary goal of this section is to determine whether the involvement of the employees has a positive influence on the formation of the long-term strategy by evaluating bottom-up and up-bottom strategies. Firstly, the article Top-Down Strategy for Renewable Energy Investment: Conceptual Framework and Implementation by Lee & Zhong discusses the importance of the top-down strategy in the context of the decision-making about the investment (Lee & Zhong, 2014). In this case, this article helps understand that the implementation of this strategy is essential while making valuable decisions for the company’s future and position in the market. Nonetheless, it could be said that this approach is not suitable in the context of the organization due to the conflicting interests of the management and subordinates, as the layoff occurred due to the discovery of it as the most suitable solution to the issue with profitability.
The article Driving Change from the Bottom-Up by Danford depicts that the interactions and employees play an essential role in the decision-making (Danford, 2014). In this case, the employees have a vehement influence on the functioning of the company, and these relationships should be maintained on the trusting level. It could be said that this finding is applicable in the context of the action research at my workplace case, as the employees do not stay motivated and encouraged due to the layoff. It remains apparent that this article supports the idea, which is chosen in the action research. Nonetheless, the potential risks have to be assessed due to the presence of the various issues related to the cultivation of this approach within the organization, as some misconceptions have a tendency to exist.
In turn, the article Biases in the Selection Stage of Bottom-Up Strategy Formulation by Reitzig and Olav tends to introduce the potential difficulties, which have a tendency to exist while developing the bottom-up strategy (Reitzig & Olav, 2013). In this instance, it depicts the presence of the difficulties while implementing this strategy in the context of my workplace organization. In this instance, it questions whether considering the bottom-up approach is the most suitable approach while finding the solution to the issue, as, the company should not increase the number of difficulties in the introduction of new modifications. It could be said that new problematizing is critical, and should be focused on selecting the strategy, which will not worsen the relationship with the subordinates due to the misunderstandings. In this case, the application of this strategy might take place, but a sufficient approach for the risk evaluation has to be introduced.
The article Top-Down, Bottom-Up, or Both? Toward an Integrative Perspective on Operations Strategy Formation by Kim, Sting, and Loch tends to focus on the necessity of the combination of various approaches while establishing the most suitable strategy for the organization. In this instance, the integrative approach might be one of the potential and suitable approaches for utilization in the context of the workplace scenario due to the ability to combine the viewpoints of the different groups of the subordination. In this case, the problem can be changed to finding the right connection points between the management and the employees in the company.
In the end, the literature review of this section assisted in understanding the necessity of the problem reframing towards aiming at the development of touchpoints between the employees and management. It could be said that this finding changes the conceptualization of the action research due to the necessity to establish the new methods and introduce different modalities to find information. As for the sources, it remains evident that they portrayed the strategies from dissimilar perspectives while discussing different perceptions towards the solution of a similar issue. Lastly, another essential aspect was revealed, and it is connected to the establishment of a sufficient risk-assessment analysis.
Balancing the Attitude of the Workforce
In turn, the primary goal of this section is to discover the potential ways of finding the balance between motivation and commitment during the large layoffs in the organization. The article Layoffs, Coping, and Commitment: Impact of Layoffs on Employees and Strategies Used in Coping with Layoffs by Ramlall, Al-Sabaan, and Maqbool emphasizes that the layoffs tend to occur due to the desire of the employees to reduce the organizational costs rapidly (Ramlall, Al-Sabaan, & Magbool, 2014). Despite providing the vehement criticism of these actions, the authors tend to pay attention to the application of the control-control-oriented coping strategy while determining the balance between motivation and commitment (Ramlall, Al-Sabaan, & Magbool, 2014). In this case, this finding underlines the essentiality of considering the employee’s perspectives while balancing them with managerial control. Lastly, this finding actively supports the idea of the utilization of the integrative approach while discovering the potential case scenarios.
Furthermore, the article Managing Emotions after Layoff by Brady emphasizes that people have a tendency to experience an emotional downturn during the layoff due to the inability to consider this phenomenon as one of the case scenarios (Brady, 2012). Nonetheless, the management can contribute to finding the relevant solution to the issue, as they can consider the potential outcomes by referring to the important social aspects (Brady, 2012). In terms of the influence on the action research at my workplace, discovering the issue from the social and employees’ perspective will help determine the right strategic possibilities in the future. In turn, it underlines the significance of finding the balance between the attitudes of employees and management.
Moreover, the article Relationship of Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Layoff Survivor’s Productivity by Malik, Ahmad, Saif, and Safwan imply the existence of interdependence of commitment and motivation while facing the troubles and negative consequences of the layoff (Malik, Ahmad, Said, & Safman, 2010). It could be said that these findings contribute to the essentiality of maintaining the relationship with the employees on a sufficient level due to their vital impact on the functioning of the organization. In this instance, it supports the initial intentions of the action research questions while focusing on the essentiality of the employees’ contribution to the organizational performance. Nonetheless, it remains apparent that the managerial functions cannot be underestimated while selecting the primary intention of the strategy (Malik et al., 2010). It could be said that this approach will have a vital impact while applying the action research modalities to the determination of the right assumptions of findings.
Lastly, the analysis of the sources revealed that different methods and strategies for the maintenance of motivation and commitment have a tendency to exist. This part of the literature review revealed that the interactions with employees during the layoffs are vital, as the employees experience the emotional downturn. Nonetheless, it remains evident that these aspects are essential for the introduction of sufficient action research and the establishment of the appropriate strategy due to the application of the integrative approach. It is apparent that this section of the literature review underlines the importance of the findings, which were highly emphasized in the other parts. The combination of the short-term and long-term strategies and aiming towards the integrative approach will contribute to finding the approach to maintaining the balance between motivation and commitment of the employees during the economic downturn. In the end, the findings will have a strong contribution to the formation of sufficient questions for the implementation of the action research modalities.
Conclusion
In the end, the findings, which were revealed in the literature review, are essentialities for the sufficient establishment of the strategy in my organization. It could be said that the topic of my workplace-based case is rather common, but it fills in the gap by providing focusing on the combination of factors and considering the employees as the vital participants of the strategic formation. In turn, it could be said that my research interests fall within the scientific framework of defining the importance of the strategy. However, it highly supports the idea of revealing the potential strategy, which will contribute to the elimination of the risks of the appearance of these actions in the future. It could be said that the chosen problems are related to the discussed literature by referring to each of them in the action research plan. Lastly, the primary was defined as the ability to establish a suitable long-term strategy. In this instance, the problem can be redefined to the ability to predict the fluctuations of the market and introduce the adjustable approach to avoid the negative consequences, which affect the profitability and the corporate culture within the organization.
Workplace-Based Problem
Despite being a leader in oil and gas production, my company faced some difficulties due to the recent downward trend of the crude oil price. In turn, the organization cut down the operation spending on the new products to minimize the risks and eliminate the impact of the negative consequences. Nonetheless, the primary issue lays in the implementation of the short-term strategy while applying a significant layoff to acquire the monetary compensation. In this case, despite the cyclical fluctuations in the economic process, the company lacks the ability and understanding of introducing the long-term strategy while minimizing the adverse consequences such as the decrease in profitability and significant reduction of personnel.
A literature review is one of the efficient research modalities, which helps determine the nature of the issues while applying the findings in the context of the problem (Rowley & Slack, 2004). In this instance, collecting high-quality materials is essential due to the ability to propose a sufficient practical and theoretical framework for the solution of the issues (Levy & Ellis, 2006). It remains evident that this aspect will contribute to reframing the problem due to the ability to re-establishing the right strategy while focusing on the particular details related to the implementation of industrial and practical approaches.
In turn, other action modalities include action learning, action science, developmental action inquiry, and cooperative inquiry (Raelin, 2009). Action learning is the approach, which can vehemently facilitate the modifications in the organization, which are related to the establishment of a new strategy (Oliver, 2006). In turn, it assists in selecting and designing a sustainable approach for future functioning (Oliver, 2008). In terms of reframing the initial issue, this modality will help discover the new problem while focusing on the cultivation of the learning culture within the organization from a long-term perspective.
Another research modality is action science, and it implies the creation of knowledge, which can be utilized in action research (Seidman, 2012). In turn, this aspect will reveal the complexity of the organizational dynamics (Stacey, 2011). Additionally, it will help reveal whether using the bottom-up or up-bottom strategy will be relevant in the settings of my organization (Kim, Sting, & Loch, 2014). It remains evident that these strategies tend to be vehemently biased (Reitzig & Olav, 2013). In this case, this modality will help differentiate the strategies and select the most suitable one while evaluating the situation on the market and inside the organization.
Developmental action inquiry and cooperative action inquiry are also the modalities, which will contribute towards the reframing of the present issue. In this instance, the collaborative inquiry can be utilized while establishing the relationship with the other participants of the action research (Cousins, Whitmore, & Shulha, 2013). In turn, both of these modalities will help determine the interdependence between transformative learning and adaptive leadership (Nicolaides & McCallum, 2013). It could be said that these modalities of the action research will contribute to choosing the right leadership style and strategy while determining the modifications, which are required in the organization. These modalities will help define the most suitable leadership style, which will enhance the organizational performance in the long-term perspective. Lastly, the inquiry will assist in defining a new way in the cultivation of the learning environment inside the organization.
References
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