Question

What criteria should be used during the process of selecting amongst strategic alternatives? WHY?

What criteria should be taken into account when debating strategic alternatives. You should list possible strategic options and the criteria to consider when debating these choices.

The analytical reasoning and rationale is crucial. Answering WHY after explaining WHAT is very important.

Answer 1

Answer 1 & 2:

Criteria used for selecting the strategic alternatives are:

1. Ease of implementation

2.Cost

3.Ease of modification/scalability/flexibility

4.Employee morale

5.Risk levels

6.Cost savings

7.Increase in sales or market share

8.Return on investment

9.Similarity to existing organization products

10.Increase in customer satisfaction

When in a group decision-making situation, it is often helpful to have the group brainstorm the decision criteria. This helps ensure buy in of the decision itself because the criteria is measurable and not just a “well I feel like we should buy this product because I like it.” You might also weigh the criteria. For example, cost savings might have a higher weight than ease of use.

Following a structured decision making process will not only enable faster decision-making, it also improves the probability that you will get a consensus on the decision. Consensus is determined to exist when the entire group agrees to support the decision, even if they do not totally agree with it. When getting a group to make a decision, an open discussion with logical presentation of the decision criteria will drive the group toward consensus.

Answer 3:

Criteria for debating the strategic alternatives:

1.       Efficiency

2.       Careful development and analysis of alternatives

3.       Fairness

4.       Acceptability

5.       Consultation

6.       Reasonableness

7.       Implementation

8.       Realism

9.       Member satisfaction and morale

10.   Leadership effectiveness

11.   Growth over time

These indicators are developed from a group process point of view, and need to be translated into another set of indicators before they can be used as criteria for evaluating the methodologies that facilitate a group’s excelling on those quality indicators.