The role of strategy and the role of operations are very different from each other. But they are complementary and serve each other.
Each of them has a specific field and function. But they are complementary to each other.
This article will explain these roles to you in simple detail. Let’s start.
💡 Helpful Statistics About Strategy: ● 67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution. (HBR) ● 48% of leaders spend less than a day on strategy each month. (HBS) ● 61% of executives feel they are not prepared for the strategic challenges. (HBR) ● 77% of successful companies translate their strategy into operational terms and evaluate it on a day-to- day basis. (Palladium) ● 98% of leaders think strategy implementation takes more time than strategy formulation. ● 42% of managers and 27% of employees get access to the strategic plan ● 95% of employees do not understand their organization's strategy ● 84% of all staff members are clear on their organization’s top priorities
Table of Contents
What is the role of strategy in the company?
The role of strategy in the company is a compass that determines the right direction and path that the company must follow to achieve its future goals. Therefore, the role of the strategy revolves around doing the right things—the right things to allow the company to reach its goals.
What is the role of operations in the company?
The role of operations is to determine the way to accomplish tasks and functions. The operations consist of a set of procedures and steps that aim to carry out a specific task.
For example, the production process is all the steps and programs related to the production of the product, and the recruitment process is the set of actions associated with hiring new employees in the company. In other words, the operation role shows how to get things done correctly.
The role of strategy compared to the role of operations.
The role of strategy role is to determine the tasks that need to be done. But the operation role explains how to accomplish these tasks in the right way.
The strategy role determines the goals first. The tasks that the organization or company must undertake to reach these goals have been determined. During the implementation process, the operations role determines the correct steps and methods to accomplish these tasks.
The main strategy role within the company
Among the most important roles that strategy plays in the company are:
- Building the company’s future vision.
- Defining the goals that enable the company to reach this vision.
- Preparing plans, programs, and policies to achieve these goals.
The strategy also coordinates between all company departments to work as a single block. One of the important roles that the strategy plays is the strategic alignment of all company’s sections. All areas are properly aligned and fused with the company’s strategy to ensure that the company works in an integrated manner towards achieving one common goal.
For more information refer to the purpose of the strategy article
The main operations role within the organization or company
Operation is a sequence of steps that show how to perform tasks. Also, operations determine the tools and facilities that are used to carry out these tasks.
The operations also clarify responsibilities and distribute the authorities to the employees to ensure that these tasks are carried out correctly and without conflict.
In short, operations ensure efficient business completion. The strategy ensures the implementation of the right actions and focuses on the goals.
The role of strategy is different from operations, but they are complementary and serve each other.
Is it possible to dispense with the role of strategy?
Many businesses operate without a strategy and have achieved some notable successes.
But often, these companies and businesses operate under wise and experienced leadership in the market or industry in which the company operates.
And businesses that operate without a strategy depend on the specific people who run the company, not on the system, plans, and strategy.
The success of these organizations is not stable; these companies are often retracted by the absence of these people from the management.
So, we note the collapse of many family companies as soon as the first generation disappeared from the company’s management and the second generation of the family took control.
Because the second generation often does not have the experience and wisdom of the first generation.
Some of the first row leaders in some family companies were able to build and train leaders of the second row to receive the company’s leadership at the right time. Therefore, the business continues to run with the same efficiency in the future.
It is noteworthy that sometimes companies and organizations are forced to operate without a strategy because it is impossible to develop a strategy for many reasons, including the instability of its external environment, which impedes building a clear strategic vision.
Is it possible to dispense with the role of operations?
The role of operations is vital and cannot be dispensed with in any teamwork. Operations roles organize tasks and responsibilities and identify tools and facilities to accomplish tasks.
Without transparent processes, there will be a lot of problems that hinder the workflow.
The absence of an operations role wastes resources, such as time, money, and raw materials. Because of the lack of organization, it isn’t easy to complete the work correctly.
Also, the absence of an operations role causes conflict in the responsibilities and authorities between individuals.
Determining the role and responsibility of each individual in the group during the implementation of the tasks reduces conflict of opinions and wastes time in sterile discussions.
The effects of the absence of operations role appear directly and quickly on the organization by depleting its resources rapidly, unlike the effects of the lack of strategy role, which take longer to become apparent.
What are the risks of not having a strategy?
The lack of a strategy results in companies failing to face significant market and business environment changes. Thus the company will waste considerable time and resources to meet these challenges when they occur.
Among the most significant changes that occur in the market and that the strategy must confront: customer expectations and preferences, regulatory requirements, competitive pressures, and economic changes; these elements are always in a state of flux.
The lack of a strategy role negatively affects the organization’s team. Employees who exist aimlessly within the organization have no sense of a direction where the company’s purpose.
Workers need a solid and motivating reason to come to work every day (in addition to the salary) to reach perfect performance.
The following section shows the risks that affect the organization in the absence of a strategy role:
- Leadership indifference.
- Confusion among employees.
- Stakeholder dissatisfaction.
- Think short-term.
- Lack of unity.
- Lose of competition race in the market.
What are the risks of not having operations?
The risks of not having organized operations in the company are enormous, here we list the most important ones for you:
- Frequent employee mistakes.
- Poor quality
- Wasted resources such as time, money, and raw materials
- Conflict in authorities between employees.
The risk of operations role lack appears quickly on the reputation and resources of the company, which leads to the loss of its customers and reputation in the market soon.
Conclusion
The role of strategy in the company is a compass that determines the right direction and path that the company must follow to achieve its future goals. Therefore, the strategy’s role revolves around doing the right things to direct the company to reach its goals.
The role of operations is to accomplish specific tasks and functions. Operations consist of a set of procedures and steps that aim to carry out a particular task. For example, the production process is all the steps and programs related to the production of the product, and a recruitment process is a group of actions associated with hiring new workers for the company.
In other words, the operations role shows how to get things done correctly.
The effects of the absence of an operations role appear directly and quickly on the organization by depleting its resources rapidly, unlike the effects of the lack of a strategy role, which take longer to become apparent.