Strategic Management
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), where I am employed, is engaged and exploration, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum product across the country. In downstream product marketing BPCL, has bouquet of products on offer, ranging from Petrol, Diesel, to Aviation Fuel, to Cooking Gas to Auto Lubricants. It is a global major and ranked 225th in the Fortune Global 500 rankings of the world's biggest corporations for the year 2012.
The Change
Opening up of the Indian economy in the nineties brought with it more competition and challenges to BPCL, kindled by the phased dismantling of the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) on petroleum products and emergence of additional capacities in the region in refining and marketing.
Increasing globalisation, new products and services, and innovative marketing resulted in a very market savvy consumer. The production-based success philosophy of marketers was replaced by a customer-oriented philosophy. Bharat Petroleum took cognisance of this situation well in time and took radical steps to keep itself attuned to the changing times, realising that the future belongs to those who listen and adapt to their customers.
Application of 7-S Framwork
To assess the effectiveness of the implementation approach in BPCL in late 90s, I have applied below the 7-S Framework, which is based around seven key elements of any organisation, with the view that in order for it to operate successfully, all the elements in this model must align synergistically together.
The factors are split into two groups: hard or soft. The hard elements are those that can physically be seen when in place, whereas the soft are more intangible and cannot readily be seen.
Hard Elements | Soft Elements | Strategy | Shared Values | Structure | Skills | Systems | Staff | | Style |
Shared Values
Shared values are the pinnacle of the model and therefore in any