| The qualitative multicase study examined the concepts of alignment and integration for strategy execution through the documented applications of 19 Baldrige award winning organizations. The conclusions of the study included 12 core and 12 corollary best practice themes. The core themes included the formalized approaches of: (a) Leadership system model, (b) strategic planning process, (c) balanced scorecard, (d) communication mechanisms, (e) strategic education and training, (f) empowered individuals and work teams, (g) partner and supplier management, (h) change-the-business: Run-the-business dialectic, (i) process management methodology, (j) a system of reviews, (k) knowledge management mechanisms, (l) overall integrated hard/soft TQM approach. The corollary themes included use of: (a) An internal Baldrige approach, (b) an Office of Strategy Management, (c) BSC perspectives, (d) BSC deployment cascade, (e) individual development plans, (f) empowered work teams, (g) recognition and reward, (h) data selection and management, (i) interim change procedures, (j) prioritization of performance results, (k) best practice sharing mechanisms, and (l) testing strategy. The recommendations for leaders, scholars, and practitioners address three areas of significance: The applicability of the CPE and BSC models, insight into the dynamic nature of strategy and operational quality; and insight into the people-process relationship for effective strategy execution. The implications to leadership included the emergence of the leadership system transformation model (LSTM) as an over-arching best practice management infrastructure for creation of alignment and integration for high performance execution. |
