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Mergulhando então no artigo "The New Functional Agenda How Corporate Functions Can Add Value in a New Strategic Era", temos:
"Companies are becoming more focused. (Moi ici: Recordar o que se tem escrito por aqui nos últimos tempos. E não esquecer que o futuro é subir na escala de valor, ou seja, serviços cada vez mais específicos)...the advantage held by companies that do only a few things in the market but do them exceptionally well. They are bringing all their products and services in line with their market strategy and core capabilities. This means fewer priorities, more longterm investments, and an emphasis on making the most of their operational, HR, IT, marketing and sales, and other resources.Functional leaders are now expected to play a stronger role at the heart of strategic decision making; they are not just operators of a service bureau, but critical enablers of the capabilities that set a particular company apart from its competitors.(Moi ici: A ligação de pesoas ou funções e estratégia ou vantagens competitivas)...Instead of balancing services among all business units equally, or striving to be “best in class” in every detail, you can focus on helping your functional organization become coherent and “fit for purpose.” (Moi ici: A excelência não é uma boa política, a excelência tudo é um desperdício. As empresas têm é de ser excelentes no que está alinhado para a a execução da estratégia)...The first step is to articulate your functional agenda—the priorities, roles, and activities needed to support your company’s overall strategic mission....In every successful company, the value proposition is closely linked to the company’s most critical capabilities: the things it has learned, over time, to do particularly well....Differentiating capabilities provide a company with the distinctive competitive advantage needed to outperform. (Moi ici: Aquelas que dão margens interessantes, aquelas que põem a empresa longe do granel da molhada do preço, associadas a processos nucleares)...Competitive necessities are the “table stakes” that enable a company to compete in its industry. (Moi ici: Aquelas que funcionam como o bilhete para aceder à arena competitiva, associadas a processos contexto)Talvez continue...
...They are essential to survival and success, but they can often be managed for cost and efficiency, rather than to perform at a worldclass level, or even at the same level as competitors. (Moi ici: Como sempre defendemos por aqui e para escândalo dos partidários da excelência em todo o lado)
.Basic business capabilities are those needed to keep the company running. These services—everything from payroll to employee benefits to basic computing needs— remain the responsibility of the functions. They are critical but non-differentiating. They should be tightly controlled for efficiency, and often automated, outsourced, or relegated to low-cost shared services, thus freeing up resources that functional leaders can redirect to differentiating capabilities. (Moi ici: Como referi no relato desta descoberta)Different companies deploy the same capabilities in different ways, depending on the strategic value proposition....As a functional leader, you must learn to balance resources among these three types of capabilities.Business capabilities are very costly to build and maintain, and (Moi ici: Segue-se o sumo do sumo) many functions have gotten used to spending more on competitive necessities and basic business capabilities than they need to. Differentiating capabilities get shortchanged as a result, and the company loses ground.Being best in class in every process or activity within a given function simply isn’t possible, no matter how professionally satisfying; no function has the funds or organizational stamina to be excellent at everything.Instead, you need a clear sense of which category each activity falls into. There must be some activities where being merely adequate is appropriate, where “good enough” is actually good enough."