Question

Strategic business management:

describe the criteria that Boards of Directors have successfully used to manage the executive succession process.

Answer 1

Succession planning is the process of identifying the succession talent for the key positions of the company. This helps in maintaining the occupancy of the strategic positions in the company. A strategic succession planning will facilitate the development of the talented employees in the company and they can make out the future strategic positions of the business.

The importance of succession planning for business are:

• Continuity of the strategic business is maintained
• Talented employees of the company are retained with the company
• Employees remain motivated and give their best for the development of the company
• Exit strategy of the aging leaders can be planned strategically
• Future possibilities and opportunities of business can be explored holistically

The best example of successful strategy for succession planning is that of IBM. IBM portrayed a strategic succession plan when they announced that Virginia Rometty will be crowned as the next CEO of the company. This announcement was also memorable as Virginia was to be the first female CEO of the company. The transition of the role of SVP to the role of the CEO was strategically planned and quite a smooth process.