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CRAFTING AND EXECUTIVE STRATEGY

CHAPTERS 10 AND 11

ZACK ROGERS

Nov. 15, 2020

Introduction

I found that the article “Elon Musk is recruiting for Tesla , by Catherine Cliffiord, shows

the quirkiness and thinking of the Tesla culture. Tesla is innovative and it’s CEO is

looking for talent eveywhere. This article gives everyone who has a great idea hope

that they will be heard and can be given the opportunity to engage in this organization.

Chapter 10 Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution

LO1 What managers must do to execute strategy successfully

1. Tesla is a leader in hiring and retaining the most innovative team that can be created.

His strategy is forward thinking and keeps a supportive team around him. He is not

afraid to take risks and hires people that can execute those wishes. The company looks

for people who have faced difficult challenges and not only overcame it but learned from

it. Tesla looks for evidence of ability and looks to see if the manager has faced difficult

problems and overcame them. Surrounding the company with top executives who know

how to handle problems and solve them makes executing strategy successful.

2. Elon Musk has the money to do what he wants to do with the company. He is not

afraid to take a small profit or even a loss to get a product off the ground. In the first

years he sunk all the profits back into the company and that why Tesla is the leader in

electric vehicles. Now he puts his money into a strong management team. Tesla pays

from $100,000 to $150,000 for its engineers. Managers salaries have been reported

ranging up to $180,000 plus perks. Tesla have structured itself so the top people can

successfully make his business strategy work and create a conducive corporate culture.

3.As a leader, Elon Musk has taken daring risks and is not afraid to upset other in his

thinking. He has been quotes as saying that there is no need for a college degree. He

points out that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did not graduate from college (Clifford). Elon

Musk has been known to be intimidating during interviews. He is not necessarily

looking for degrees, although those experiences are important, but life experience is

important as well. Right now, he is looking for people with a deep understanding of

artificial intelligence. He does not care if you even graduated high school if you can

pass his coding test.

LO2 Why hiring, training, and retaining the right people constitute a key component of the strategy execution process.

1.Hiring a talented management team is one of Tesla’s priorities. Tesla lures the

brightest people to its management team. Elon Musk has said that he does not mind if

a candidate has a degree or not. He is looking for talented people and sometimes that

talent does not come from a book. They must have strong problem-solving abilities and

wants employees who have shown they have found solutions to challenges in their past

employments. Most CEOs want people in management positions who can carry out the

strategies and policies of the company without question and can make things happen.

2.The workplace of Tesla is a stimulating atmosphere. Tesla is focusing on providing a

sustainable and futuristic mean of transportation. That can be exciting for the

employees to work for this goal to make a better future for the planet. Tesla is looking

to change the way people commute and change the world. Everyone in his

management team and the employees have that goal in mind. This mission draws the

brightest minds and that is stimulating. There are new challenges every day and that is

a draw to obtain top employees. This atmosphere keeps the employees engaged and

loyal to the company.

3.Retaining Tesla employees is a must. Tesla employees receive an excellent

compensation package and have opportunities for advancement. Elon Musk strives to

make the work culture stimulating and forward thinking. He encourages innovation and

offering ideas on how to save money and make processes efficient. Tesla is always

looking for upgrades and ways to further its capabilities. The employees feel valued but

must not float in their positions. The employees at this company are all looking to

achieve a goal and that goal is producing vehicles that are sustainable and that will

change and help heal the environment. This gives the employees a sense that they are

making a difference in the future of the world.

Chapter 11 Managing Internal Operations

LO1 Why resource allocation should always be based on strategic priorities.

1.Managing the resources to support new ideas and strategy is paramount to the

success of these outcomes. Too little funding can mean failure in an operation.

Providing the resources, whether it be funding or employees, can determine if a

strategy has an outcome that benefits the company. At Tesla, lithium is needed and

essential to produce its batteries. To obtain Lithium, Tesla has made a deal with Pure

Energy Minerals to purchase Lithium from a project they are conducting in the state of

New Mexico. This project and the needed source of Lithium is three hours from the

Tesla Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada. Elon Mush must obtain this commodity to support

Tesla’s electric vehicle car making and support the strategy of the company.

2.Tesla entered the electric vehicle production business and that was a compelling

challenge. Then they started making the batteries for the cars. These are two huge

endeavors, but Tesla felt that it was a strategic investment to produce its own

batteries. This was risky but a risk the CEO felt must be taken. Gigafactory’s were

established in key areas and most recently in Berlin, Germany. Tesla wanted to provide

everything for its consumer, not only the innovative vehicle but the supporting materials

as well. This main component is the battery. Tesla has taken a major risk with this

3.multi-product strategy, but it is paying off for the company. Resource allocation is

funds as well as people. Tesla has a CEO with a major amount of money to back its

ventures. Tesla supports research and development as a number one priority. Tesla

has always put its profit back into the company to achieve the top spot in electric

vehicles. Even so, in April the California Air Resources Board gave Tesla a grant of

$561,000 to develop a UL approved 16 kw charging station as reported on the Tesla

website. It would be a public station. With the grant, Tesla would develop the

technology and then the technology would be used to power up E Vehicles in the state

of California.

LO4 The role of information and operating systems in enabling company personnel to carry out their strategic roles proficiently

1.Tesla uses a system in their factory known as MOS. Tesla uses this software to track

materials, and vehicle and battery production. This system tracks vehicles progression

thru the assembly process. Factory employees can log details into this system to track

the details of assembly and where the vehicle stands in the process. This system

tracks whether each car has passed safety inspections and quality tests be for it leaves

the factory. This is critical to the company strategy to assess the production costs and

look for avenues of improvement. The energy division has created an advanced

ecosystem of software to support its hardware products.

2.Tesla Energy has developed its own system of optimizing software to support its

products and employees. It is specifically made for energy products and has improved

the performance management of its sites. Tesla’s largest storage product is known as

Megapack. Tesla has virtual power plants that incorporate thousands of power walls.

Just recently it installed the largest Lithium-ion powered battery in South Australia.

Tesla software supports charging its vehicles, solar and the Tesla product ecosystem

and factories. One of Tesla’s software solutions named Autonomous Control composes

machine learning, forecasting and the algorithms maximize economic value. This

enables personnel to carry out their job duties to the maximum. It forecasts where

materials are needed and directs employees for maximum benefit.

3.Sabotage recently took place in the Tesla Manufacturing Operating System. Due to

the security risks Tesla now will implement new security checks and balances and

change some coding to prevent further breaches. Tesla must prepare for hackers and

sometimes sabotage from within the company who are trying to steal their ideas and

factory roles. This results in monitoring closely the system and building an army of

robots to protect the system. The employees will investigate any changes needed and

enhance system security. This way the employees can work proficiently and lets Tesla

maintain their strategy of producing the best electric vehicle (Field).

My conclusion is that Tesla is a world leader in sustainable energy. They value their

employees and the company has enough backing and the wealth of Elon Musk to make

their innovative dreams come true.

Works cited

Clifford, Catherine, Elon Musk is Recruiting for Tesla, I Don’t care if you Even Graduated High School, 2/3/20, www. CNBC.com, accessed 11/11/2020

Field, Kyle, Elon Musk claims Tesla’s Manufacturing Operating System Has Been Sabotaged By Employee, 19 June, 2018, www.cleantechnica.com. Accessed 11/01/20