Introduction
One of the most important success factors in the next five to ten years is strategic focus. It is pertinent to mention that not many business organizations are keen in maintaining strategic focus in their long term operations. A company that has a strategic focus is capable of facing future challenges with certainty. In the current marketing arena, most operations such as sales and marketing, production and distribution are highly dynamic (Saunders, Levent & Riordan, 2009). These factors are also vital in the overall performance and profitability of an organization. A business entity with strategic focus has a well defined vision. Besides, it is crucial to mention that not all visions adopted by organizations may capture the long term strategic focus.
Purpose statement
Factors that will be important in the performance of companies in future will only be realized if the visions of organizations are properly crafted. This paper takes an approach that vision and strategic focus are vital to stakeholders in the process of attaining future goals and objectives.
Evaluation criteria
Credibility of the sources will be used as the evaluation criteria in this essay. The various articles will be assessed in terms of the information presented in them. Only credible sources (peer reviewed articles) are used in the essay.
The factors that will be most important to organizational success in the next five to ten years
Companies that will perform well in the near future must be able to see themselves there ahead of time. The whole organization must also feel part and parcel of the growth agenda. Companies that fail within a short period usually do not involve the entire organization. Hence, a vision statement ought to be in a position to embrace the contribution of all members of an organization irrespective of their economic or social backgrounds (Leslie, Loch & Schaninger, 2006). Focusing on leaders alone when pursuing the ideals of strategic focus may not be productive. The most appropriate vision statement should paint a participatory approach rather than an individualistic perspective.
Second, strategic focus can boost the growth of an organization in the future through a vision statement that is concise. Business entities that are poised for growth do not operate using vague visions. Clarity and accuracy of the vision statement itself eventually depicts the nature of success that an organization envisages in future.
Strategic focus can also drive the performance of an organization in future because it enables a company to understand the diverse and changing needs of the customers. The main goal of any business entity is to make profit. This cannot become a reality if customers are not satisfied. Customers may also be compelled to seek for alternative goods or services elsewhere. Companies that aim to remain relevant in the near future should search for and then meet different and changing tastes and preferences of their consumers. When a vision statement is properly crafted, it compels the management of a company alongside other members of the organization to work extra hard in order to attain the set goals and objectives. Strategic focus does not merely imply putting down only general strategies (Leslie, Loch & Schaninger, 2006).
Additionally, the rivals of an organization and the organization itself should be distinguished clearly when the vision statement and strategic focus are being developed. This implies that companies that can do well in future are usually realistic when setting their objectives. In other words, the set goals must be achievable. If an organization sets objectives that are either not within the context of the organization under focus, or are almost impossible to achieve within the given timelines, it may lead to gross failure (Dackert, Jackson, Brenner & Johansson, 2003).
Companies that focus on people will more likely succeed compared to those that sideline people in their operations. People are a major success factor both at the present and future time. It is people who provide the much needed expertise in the organization. People also provide human capital that an organization cannot do without. It should be mentioned that both skilled and unskilled labor forces are needed in the organizations in order to drive processes. Business entities that ignore the input of people usually experience a downward trend in terms of market performance (Markle, 2011).
When considering the contribution of people to organizations, some management teams in these organizations are in the wrong that they can replace manpower with machineries (Janicijevic, 2010). As much as organizational systems can be computerized, the input of people to the ground cannot be ignored. Even a computerized system still requires human expertise to run (Lodorfos &. Boateng, 2006).
Moreover, the skills, knowledge and competences pertinent to human beings only are all crucial when face-lifting the standards of a business organization in five to ten years to come. Therefore, organizations that desire to boost their performance in the near future are supposed to invest in people so as to produce tangible results. For example, capacity building and training for employees should be highly encouraged bearing in mind that employees who are well trained are capable of delivering high quality services because they are already motivated (Heikens, 2009). In a period of five to ten years, business organizations will have to invest in people more than they are doing now. Employees who are well trained and motivated can drive up the competitive ability of the entire business enterprise (Streeter, 2003).
The state of technology will also be paramount for organizations in the next five to ten years. As things stand, there is a rapid development of Information Technology (IT) across all domains of development. For example, the filing systems in offices are no longer hard copies alone. There is a lot of company information that can be stored on computer hard disks instead of paper files. Better still, the emergences of the internet and World Wide Web have significantly contributed to the online growth of organizations (Joh & Kurt, 2007).
A typical example of how Information Technology has revolutionized the business environment is the online marketing. Companies are now making use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to reach for thousands of the potential target customers (Hopkins, 2009). Online advertising has taken over the place of the physical outdoor advertising. From a technological point of view, we expect the current pace of IT to continue over the next five to ten years. Business organizations that are not being found on the internet are considered to be almost obsolete.
Another seemingly growing trend in IT is the rate at which e-commerce is taking shape in the modern business arena. It means that there are myriads of companies that can sell their products or even acquire supplies through the internet. Adequate finances and facilities are also part and parcel of successful organizations. One profound issue to note is that hard economic times may compel some organizations to close down due to depressed earnings. It can be recalled that 2007/2008 global economic recession led to downfall of several giant multinational corporations that could not be able to bear the cost of operations against the profits earned (Johnson, 2002).
Why some factors were selected while others rejected
Based on critical thinking skills, I selected these factors because they are most crucial in running successful businesses. For example, no business can operate without adequate monetary resources. Furthermore, I considered that emerging business trends will obviously be instrumental in organizational success a few years to come.
Summary of the areas that the articles provide similar findings
In real sense, it may be difficult to predict the actual years when a particular country will experience economic meltdown. Finances and other non-monetary resources are required for successful running of organizations. A business enterprise that is not well funded most likely experiences economic instability on a regular basis ((Nemanich & Vera, 2009). If such a situation remains, a business organization may eventually close down owing to negative returns. This explains why business entities that are poorly funded can hardly bear the harsh economic times.
In the case of five to ten years to come, we still expect the cost of doing business to rise steadily. Some business enterprises will have to be funded once again by injecting back (reinvesting) capital. Moreover, reinvesting capital in other related ventures within an organization will be necessary to cushion businesses from unfavorable economic conditions such as inflation, poor foreign exchange rates, stiff market competition and low demand for goods and services (Ahenkora & Peasah, 2011).
Conclusion
Summing up, it can be concluded that business organizations that are keen on performing well in the market should be ready to brace themselves for challenging times within the next five to ten years. Factors such as technology, strategy focus, people in organizations and financial resources are crucial in propelling business entities to the next level of performance.
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