5 Conclusion The argument underpinning this unit has stressed the dangers of seeing implementation as somehow separate from the policy process, or as just one stage within it. Instead it has been emphasised that it is vital to place implementation centrally within that process – involving negotiation, learning and adaptation. Others too have come to regard this as central to the policy process. In the first edition of their book on implementation, Pressman and Wildavsky emphasise the disjunction between
4 The public policy-action relationship: activities Having read this unit you now have the opportunity to reflect on the public policy-action relationship in more detail. There are two activities and two self assessment questions (SAQs) for you to complete. 3 Governance, policy and action It was noted earlier in this unit that the models you would meet are both descriptive/explanatory and normative. In Section 2 they were used as explanatory tools to illuminate different possible causes as to why change might not happen in the ways that policy makers intended. This might be viewed as failure, or it might signify the system adapting to circumstances that were not covered by the original policy. In other words, not all implementation failure is necessarily a policy failure: poli 2 The models in action: what counts is what works? As noted at the start of Session 1, the models of change can be both explanatory and normative. As explanations, each corresponds to a different theoretical tradition. So do you just pick the one that seems most compelling? Or do different theories help explain different kinds of phenomena? The answer suggested here closely follows the work on metaphors by Gareth Morgan (1986), who sets out a number of different models of organisations (some of which map on to those outlined here). Morgan arg 1.1 Policy delivery The question of policy delivery seems to be growing in importance. So, for example, the Blair governments in the UK were, from the outset, preoccupied with ‘delivery, delivery, delivery’ as ministers and prime minister grew increasingly frustrated with what was often viewed as the intransigence of public service professionals. The constant cycle of change, in which new policies and initiatives were introduced in rapid succession, producing what critics described as ‘policy ove Next steps After completing this unit you may wish to study another OpenLearn Study Unit or find out more about this topic. Here are some suggestions: 6 Summary The aim of the first section was to introduce you to the concept of the market-led approach to marketing (also referred to as pan-company marketing or marketing orientation) and to differentiate it from ‘marketing department marketing’. I used examples and case studies to make you think about the applicability of this concept to commercial (for-profit) and non-profit organisations, and gave you activities to help you apply it in your own organisation. Five of the learning outco 5.5 Relationships in your organisation In this section I have introduced you to case studies and reading that should have helped you understand how market orientation affects an organisation's performance. I have also asked you to look at your own organisation and make judgements regarding its performance. Near the beginning of this session I asked you to consider some questions from Drucker (1992). I have added a few more questions to his list and ask you now to try to answer these questions for your organisation. You probably do 5.4 Activity 8 The M & S case study illustrates the importance of managing relationships. Having read it, try to answer the following questions. On which value discipline has the company 5.3 Wace Burgess: the importance of managing relationships The case study below illustrates the importance of managing relationships. Read the case study, then answer the questions that follow it. Wace Burgess is a member of the Wace Group, a company in the pre-press 5.2 An integrated perspective on relationship management: the six markets model Christopher et al. (1991) developed a complementary model to Piercy's. Based on the idea of stakeholders, the ‘six market model’ of relationship management works equally well in either a commercial or non-profit setting. I have combined the Piercy and Christopher et al. models in the following table to illustrate some of the critical issues in the key relationships that organisations need to address. 5.1 Managing relationships You should now understand that markets and the customers within them are the responsibility of all managers within an organisation. An organisation needs to identify what will create extra value for its customers, and design a value-driven operating system that will concentrate all its efforts on producing it. This process of going to market involves the organisation in managing the relationships between itself and its customers and competitors, and also in the co-ordination of the organisati 4.5 Is M&S market led? Allow half an hour. Read Case study 1 and then use the evidence there to answer the following questions. Do you think that M&S is market led? Whi 4.4 Marks and Spencer: a case study The following case study examines a company coming to terms with market orientation. Marks & Spencer is the latest UK retailer to turn to the web to revive its fortunes. In the week that the company announced a halving in its p 4.3.3 Customer intimacy [Customer-intimate companies] focus on delivering not what the market wants but what specific customers want. [They… ] do not pursue one-time transactions; they cultivate relationships. They specialize in satisfying unique needs, which often only they, by virtue of their close relationship with – and intimate knowledge of – their customer, recognize. The proposition to the customer is: we have the best solutio 4.3.2 Operational excellence Companies that pursue this [value discipline] are not primarily product or service innovators, nor do they cultivate a deep one-to-one relationship with their customers. Instead, operationally excellent companies provide middle-of-the-market products at the best price with the least inconvenience. Their proposition to customers is simple: low price and hassle-free service. (Treacy and Wiersema, 1996) 4.3.1 Product leadership Its practitioners concentrate on offering products that push performance boundaries. Their proposition to customers is an offer of the best product, period. Moreover, product leaders don't build their positions with just one innovation; they continue to innovate year after year, product cycle after product cycle. (Treacy and Wiersema, 1996) For product leaders, competition is not about pric 4.3 Dominating the market
Value disciplines refer to the ways in which organisations can combine value-driven operating models and propositions to dominate their markets. In their discussion of market domination, T&W identify three distinct value disciplines, each of which will deliver a different kind of customer value. They recommend that an organisation chooses one of the value disciplines on which to make its reputation but stress that these value disciplines are not mutually exclusive. The choic 3.2 Person–job fit 3.1 A two-way process
Activity 1 A focus for reading
Activity 8
Case study: Wace Burgess
Background
Activity 7
Case study 1 M&S goes online to reverse crisis
Does the recruitment and selection process fill you with dread? Discrimination and equal opportunities legislation can make this area feel like a minefield. If you are faced with appointing a new employee, then this unit will provide a straight-forward guide to the process: from writing job descriptions to finally assessing who to appoint.
Does the recruitment and selection process fill you with dread? Discrimination and equal opportunities legislation can make this area feel like a minefield. If you are faced with appointing a new employee, then this unit will provide a straight-forward guide to the process: from writing job descriptions to finally assessing who to appoint.
