Strategy: Operational Effectiveness/strategic Positioning

SECA 1A. Strategy: Operational Effectiveness/Strategic Positioning

Assess your organization’s position on the productivity frontier. You are asked to evaluate your organization’s operational effectiveness and strategic position. Address some of the following issues in an informal, relatively brief write-up:

• To what extent does your organization achieve Operational Effectiveness (OE)?

Let me start by giving a brief description of my company/industry. I work for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in New Orleans, and we’re contracted to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the External Tank program. This has been a contract Lockheed has held for 30 years, so being the sole contractor for the project we’ve essentially had zero competition in the past 30 years. Operational effectiveness is defined as performing activities better than the competition. For the next 3 years NASA will be looking for companies to contract the work for the new design of the crew and launch vehicles. As we near the end of the Space program the competition gets more intense and our company is expected to perform at a higher level than it ever has. There are a variety of factors that contribute to our operational effectiveness, and in turn will allow us to be a front runner for the next program:

1. Meeting program milestones for the balance of the program

 Budgets

 Schedules

 Delivery Dates

2. Produce products with a minimal amount of defects

3. Keep workforce motivated to manufacture quality products

As a company we’ve achieved high levels of efficiency and quality, with 1 major defect. Staying ahead of our competitors during this time is key to our company’s success. The ability to streamline our processes, make improvements to the product, and utilizing new technologies will all aid in meeting our customer’s needs.

• To what extent to does your organization achieve an effective Strategic Positioning?

As we move into the new era of the space program, our company’s positioning in the industry will be essential to procure new contracts. I’ll analyze the three forms of strategic positioning and how Lockheed Martin has measures in place to ensure we’re performing at the highest level.

1. Variety-Based Positioning – This segment is based on the type of product or service rather than the intended customer. From this aspect, our position is probably the best of anybody in the business. We know that there are certain