Controlling the Risk of Value Chain Outage
An entity’s value chain will collapse if all electronic apparatus and systems are lost with no certain time of resolving the issue. This development is informed by the fact that a majority of an organization’s key processes incorporate the use of electronic devices and systems. Electronic gadgets and systems, especially communication systems, provide the main platform for communication between individuals within a team and across departments. According to Presutti and Mawhinney (2013, pg. 74), the value chain is highly interconnected and the absence of appropriate cooperation and integration, undesirable activities, and technology damage a firm’s value chain. This assertion implies that the lack of electronic equipment and systems will lead to a failure in an enterprise’s value chain.
A firm can prepare for and manage the risk linked with possible outages by investing in value chain enablers, such as culture, knowledge, skills and beliefs, trust, and change. Culture is particularly important because it helps in creating an integrative and collaborative business environment. Culture creates an open and trusting environment that allows corporate associates to interact, work, and increase value (Presutti & Mawhinney, 2013, pg. 66). For this reason, a business that develops a strong culture is adequately prepared to deal with value chain outages because its corporate associates have a conducive environment to exchange ideas and concepts. In addition, a company develops its culture by hiring individuals with styles and values that are in line with the organization’s desired direction.
Similarly, a company can prepare for value chain outages by recruiting individuals with appropriate knowledge, skills, and beliefs. Characters to consider entail excellent collaboration skills, proper training on models of working together, and beliefs concerning working in teams (Presutti & Mawhinney, 2013, pg. 69). Cooperation is an art and a firm has to ensure that its employees have the right skills to communicate and work together. Moreover, a company should hire persons who believe in establishing trust with colleagues to forge strong working relations.
Trust is an essential aspect in the value chain and its development requires a value chain head to establish a culture founded on trust and to cultivate persons who flourish in it. A company with a high degree of trust among its workforce is more productive than an organization with a low level of trust (Presutti & Mawhinney, 2013, pg. 71). The development of trust entails recruiting individuals who not only have the required knowledge and skills but also the trait of trust. Moreover, the best approach that leaders can use to establish trust in an organization’s culture is by being a good example.
Furthermore, a value chain cannot be sustained in the absence of supporting electronics and technology. A value chain entails interconnected economic processes that enable the creation of a good, such as product development and customer care (Houseman & Mandel, 2015, pg. 13). In today’s competitive business environment, firms use electronics and technology to conduct research, design products, produce commodities, market products, generate sales, and provide customer care. Therefore, the absence of technology and electronics will hamper a company from engaging in automated production processes. In addition, the lack of technology and electronics will hinder the flow of communication between different departments, thus, leading to the collapse of business operations.
References
Houseman, S. N., & Mandel, M. (2015). Measuring globalization: Better trade statistics for better policy, volume 1. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute.
Presutti, W. D., & Mawhinney, J. R. (2013). Understanding the dynamics of the value chain. New York: Business Expert Press.