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Meyer, 2002, p. 5). Process is concerned with how strategy is, and should be, devel-
oped, formulated, implemented, and changed; the identity of the people involved;
and when relevant process activities take place. Four enabling conditions are con-
sidered necessary to carry out an effective strategy process: (a) identifying, (b) diag-
nosing, (c) conceiving, and (d) realizing (De Wit & Meyer, 2002). Each condition
forms a key feature of the strategic activities.
7.7.1 Strategic Activities
A central component of strategic alignment is the organizational ability to build
and sustain partnerships. This form of partnership arrangement takes the shape
of taskforces, multi-tiered and cross-functional teams, and collaborative plan-
ning networks. Organizational learning is a central facet of strategic alignment
in that it facilitates knowledge exchange (Henderson & Sifonis, 1988). “Active
involvement in firm-wide strategy formation processes, which enhanced knowl-
edge of the content of strategic directions, built relationships, and increased the
dialogue between different business and functional managers” (Broadbent &
Weill, 1993, p. 176) brought about higher levels of alignment efficacy. This
style of active involvement illustrates what can be described as the social and
intellectual dimensions. An implicit feature of these two dimensions is the fun-
damental tenet of linkage (Reich & Benbasat, 1996). Linkage has been shown
to require the involvement of multiple sources of knowledge and expertise to
build an integrated understanding of the internal and external organizational
complexities.
7. 7. 2 I s s u e I d e n t i i c a t i o n
Strategic issue identification refers to the activities performed by an organization
that help to provide a better understanding of what can be viewed as problematic
(De Wit & Meyer, 2002). The purpose of which is to identify the issues that con-
stitute an important opportunity or threat to the organization. If an organization
intends to maintain its core purpose then such issues must be carefully discussed
and explored in-depth by members of the organization's executive ranks. The social
dimension aims to unlock executive and ICT intellect to identify key issues. The
strategy process centers on the problems and issues that matter most (Shpilberg et
al., 2007). Such an approach recognizes a tight link between executive priorities
and ICT development aligned to improving performance outcomes. Alignment is
dependent on an awareness of the underlying issues, and these must be well known
and understood. Interaction between the various strands of strategy and the con-
nection to ICT is crucial. Public executives must have strong knowledge of the
contextual issues that will impact on future direction and the connection to ICT
development must be made clear.
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