The effective co-ordination of a company's global strategy in the petro-chemical industry

M.Comm.After discussions with various people about the research problem of coordinating a global strategy at Sasol it is clear that there is a need to determine the effectiveness of the strategy co-ordination at Sasol in a global context in the petro-chemical industry. The management decision problem is to establish how effective strategy is being implemented globally at Sasol in the petro-chemical industry. This will entail obtaining feedback on the implementation of previous strategies at Sasol, the coordination of the present strategy and the recommendation of possible solutions to the outcomes. As indicated above, the future is uncertain and the environment is constantly changing generating threats and opportunities. To be competitive in this environment Sasol needs to adjust and align its strategy and its structure to the changes. Uncertainty is also present in the corporate environment with blurry objectives, incorrect performance measures, unclear decision processes, dynamic individual or group competition or any type of change (Kreitner & Kinicki, 1992). The external and internal uncertainty contributes to the formation of a barrier to co-ordination. Effective management in uncertain times is thus imperative for successful co-ordinated achievements. Furthermore, Fawcett et al., (1996:1) indicate that: "... by obfuscating management's focus, poor measurement systems degrade the firm's ability to manage day-to-day operations in a high value-added manner. The result is that firms have difficulty developing strong and d istinct capabilities even w hen they are able to align their strategic objectives to the needs of key customers." Co-ordination could also b e obtained by implementing the balanced scorecard correctly so that total alignment by Business Units, Shared Services units, company teams and other employees is attained against global goals. The balanced scorecard has so far been successfully applied at Sasol Synfuels and other SBU's has shown an interest to adopt the balanced scorecard in the future Up to date Scenario planning is the method whereby the company's strategy can be tested when confronted by uncertainty and complexity. Scenario planning ensures innovative and strategic thinking in volatile environments and enable the company to develop and align core competencies at corporate, divisional or business unit level. In 1997 Sasol started applying Scenario planning in their decision-making at Head Office and at the different SBU's and, at present, Scenario planning is still being used. To successfully implement a company's strategy a sustaining culture is required. Sasol adopted a new set of values at the beginning of 2002 to summarize the essence of Sasol's success over the past 50 years and its challenge to maintain growth in the next 50 years. The traditional financial systems namely financial accounting and management accounting is at present being applied at Sasol. This study is undertaken to establish if the traditional financial system should be supplemented with strategic management accounting to enable top management to better follow the implementation of strategy