Process of Strategy Mapping

Strategy Mapping and the Learning and Growth Perspective

Strategy mapping has recently emerged as an important component in strategic planning, especially in relation to the learning and growth perspective. In most cases, the strategic planning process involves developing a strategy map that is in line with balanced scorecard as the outline for strategy development. Generally, strategy mapping is part of the process that is geared towards exceeding customer expectations and eventually creating value for an organization's financial stakeholders. The significance of strategy mapping as a foundation towards organizational success is mainly attributed to its link to performance management and the establishment of value propositions. This article explains the process of strategy mapping and demonstrates how it relates to performance management and establishing value propositions.

Strategy Mapping and Balanced Scorecard:

The modern business world is characterized with crisis in strategy despite the ability of managers to develop good strategies. Therefore, the crisis is attributed to the lack or poor execution of good strategies that are formulated by managers. In essence, while the creation of a robust and meaningful strategy is a vital part for the success of a business process, the implementation and execution of the strategy is crucial in achieving desired outcomes (Armitage & Scholey, 2007). Business managers have continued to be effective in the development of good strategies but have considerably failed in ensuring the successful implementation of the developed strategies.

Strategy mapping has recently emerged as an approach towards enhancing the implementation and execution of strategy. The founders of this approach, who also developed the Balanced Scorecard approach, consider it as the cutting-edge framework to the process and art of strategy execution. The approach has also been used as the framework for strategy development in line with balanced scorecard when carrying out strategic planning ("Baldridge Program Strategy Map," 2014). Since it evolved from the experiences of the early adopters of Balanced Scorecard, strategy mapping is closely linked to the Balanced Scorecard. However, strategy maps are regarded more innovative than the Balanced Scorecard in various ways. For instance, the Balanced Scorecard is renowned for improving an organization's performance measurement system. In contrast, strategy maps are the tools that combine Balanced Scorecard measures directly with strategic objectives and outcomes. As a result, these maps enhance strategy implementation and execution, organizational operations, and financial results. In addition, strategy mapping precedes Balanced Scorecard, which was introduced earlier, by providing much of its content. Actually, strategy maps enable organizations to develop, describe, and communicate their strategies.

The Process of Strategy Mapping:

Even though strategy maps are not the complete answer or solution to the implementation and execution of strategy, they are promising solutions that demonstrate the need for better strategy execution. Strategy mapping is a process that is made of six guiding steps that managers can use to enhance strategy implementation and execution in their organizations. These guiding six steps are based on the example used by The Glacier Inn in development of maps. They are specifying the overriding objective, selecting the value proposition, choosing financial initiatives, choosing customer strategies, executing through interior perspective measures, and planning the learning and growth strategies.

The specification of the overriding objective involves differentiating what the organization actually understands as its overriding objective and strategies it prepares to implement. As the first component of the strategy map, the overriding objective should consist of financial target and a time aspect. Choosing the value proposition is a step that involves market segmentation in new untraditional means in order for the organization to win the market. The selection of financial strategies involves classifying these measures into revenue growth, productivity, and asset utilization and using value proposition to determine the dominant strategy. Following the determination of financial strategies, customer initiatives can be classified into maintaining and adding customers, enhancing revenue per customer, and lessening cost per customer. The internal perspective is mainly centered on selecting and implementing the right business procedures to accomplish the desired customer and financial initiatives that will enable the organization to achieve the overriding objective. The learning and growth perspective is mainly about recognizing and bridging gaps that could restrict the organization's capability to implement key processes identified in the internal perspective.

Link to Performance Management and Value Propositions:

Strategy mapping relates to performance management based on its link to the Balance Scorecard, which is a performance measurement tool. Balanced Scorecard enhances performance management through strategy mapping by linking performance measures to the strategy of an organization (Mackay, 2004). Strategy mapping enhances performance management by moving beyond performance management and acting as a measure for an organization's strategic development. Moreover, it enhances performance management by dealing with the crisis of strategy implementation and execution. Since many managers have difficulties in strategy execution though they develop good strategies, strategy mapping enables them to be effective in implementation and in turn contribute to enhanced performance. In essence, managers move beyond strategy planning or formulation phase to the execution phase based on the organizations overriding objective and the other components of strategy maps.

In relation to establishing value propositions, strategy mapping provides the basis for the development of this vital business process. The effective execution of an organization's strategy begins with a strong plan and overriding objective, which is the first step in strategy mapping. Value propositions promote seamless execution of the strategy through directing the organization in its desired path. Strategy mapping is the process through which the framework for establishing value proposition is developed. The process enables the organization to determine operation excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy when operating in today's competing markets. Moreover, strategy mapping enables an organization to segment the market in new and unique ways depending on the existing and anticipated customer perceptions of value. The establishment of value propositions in organization is based on strategy mapping, which offers direction for organizational initiatives.

According to the findings or recent studies, more than 80% of the value created in modern organizations emanates from an organization's intangible assets (Niven, n.d.). The intangible assets refer to the knowledge and talents of personnel functioning based on the organization's overall strategy. This implies that the success or failure of a business is dependent on the ability of the competent and talented personnel to operate in alignment with the overall strategy. Strategy mapping is not only the means for developing the overall strategy but also guiding the actions of the personnel.