Before starting this activity, review the Week 8 LEARN (e-Activity) (there are several) and read Chapter 10 in the course text book. Doing this will give you the (why) to include in your response to the following:

Review the CIBC Mellon: Managing a Cross-Border Joint Venture Case Study found on page 219 in your textbook and respond to the following:

1.    Compare and contrast strategic controls and financial controls.

o  Provide specific examples of how each may be used to best serve a corporation.

2.    As a strategic leader, determine if you would feel ethically responsible for developing your firms human capital and state why. Discuss whether or not you believe your position is consistent with the majority or minority of todays strategic leaders.

Respond to classmate:

Strategic control refers to the methodology to manage the implementations of plans that support present and future goals of the company. It is used to set rules. Guidelines, standard procedures for everything the company does was directing employee activities and departmental goals.

Financial controls are the processes used to manage a company’s finances usually by accounting or finance departments who monitor a firm’s revenue, expenses and ensure that funds are being tracked and used appropriately.

I think strategic leaders are responsible for developing their organization’s human resources to maximize their available KSA’s to help the organization to develop core competencies to succeed in the market place. Having talented, well trained and motivated employees are essentially to a company looking to differentiate itself from competition.

Looking across the current landscape, it seems many other strategic leaders would agree with me like Google, Apple, Verizon and many other companies that invest heavily in their employee development.

Respond to classmate:

In my experience, Strategic controls allow a corporation the ability to compete in their marketplace while financial controls keep them in check. A good example of this is the implementation of a new process to stay competitive. A strategic control system allows for the new implementation while a financial control system stops the implementation from becoming too costly. Another example of this would be lower prices to stay competitive. The need to lower price was discovered through a strategic control system. A financial control system will help determine the point where a lower price becomes most profitable. this can be accomplished through a system of financial metrics and an approval system that keeps managers in check. In many cases a strategy-based thinker needs the financial thinker to balance out an operation.