Page 113 - MS Year in Review 2020

integrated effectively, the organization will be weakened and be subject to risk of

failure.

This set of six “key strategic building blocks” (markets, products, resources,

operational systems, management systems, and culture) is typically shown as a
Pyramid shape, with each of these building blocks comprising a level of the

Pyramid. However, it must be noted here that the “formatting”
of Linkedin unfortunately does not permit a Pyramid shape to be shown correctly;
rather, it typically distorts that shape. The actual Pyramid representation of the

model can be seen in Flamholtz, 1995 and Flamholtz and Randle
2016. 100 Accordingly, the reader is asked to visualize or imagine that the six key

“strategic building blocks” or variables shown below are in a hierarchical Pyramid
shape, with “Markets” at the base and “Culture” at the top.

It should also be noted that the Pyramid shape is not intended not imply that the
key tasks are carried out independently. All six tasks are vital for the health of the
firm, and must be built simultaneously. However, the relative emphasis on each

task or level of the Pyramid will vary according to the organization’s stage
of growth. 101

It should also be noted that the top four levels of the Pyramid (resources,

operational systems, management systems, and culture) form the “infrastructure”
of the firm. Generally, however, although competition between firms takes place at
all levels, long-term sustainable advantage is primarily found at the top three

levels, because there are the least susceptible to are less susceptible to imitation
and, accordingly, provide the basis for long term sustainable competitive
advantage. 102

100 See Eric G. Flamholtz (1995). Managing Organizational Transitions: Implications for Corporate
and Human Resource Management. European Management Journal, 13 (1), 39-51.and Eric G.
Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle, Growing Pains: Building Sustainably Successful organizations, Fifth
Edition, Wiley, 2016
101 See Eric G. Flamholtz (1995). Managing Organizational Transitions: Implications for Corporate
and Human Resource Management. European Management Journal, 13 (1), 39-51
102 See Eric G. Flamholtz (1995). Managing Organizational Transitions: Implications for Corporate
and Human Resource Management. European Management Journal, 13 (1), 39-51

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