Question

Current Mission Statement - What's wrong with the world and how you intend to fix it.

Vision Statement - What the world will look like after you've finished changing it.

This Committee has been hard at work for months, planning the successor for Mr. Barney, and the rest of the executive team (largely positions occupied by the Barney family). They have assigned your group to complete the Succession Plan for five key leadership positions at Biotech. These positions will need to be filled over the next 12-24 months. There is not an immediate need for any of them currently, but vacancies will be imminent. The preference is to fill these internally, but Mr. Barney, the CEO, has stressed that if the right leader for a position does not exist already within Biotech, he would rather search for someone externally than to settle.

Your Group has already analyzed these five leadership positions and presented a report to Mr. Barney about them. Now it is time to identify any internal candidates that may be suitable for these positions.

The Committee has already interviewed five different individuals that have expressed an interest in furthering their careers at Biotech. All have leadership positions currently at different levels, and within different departments of Biotech. All have agreed to accept any leadership position assigned to them, and all are open to relocate.

• A description of how the Succession Plan for Biotech should be aligned with its mission and vision.
• A description of how the Succession Plan should be aligned with Biotech’s strategy
• A description of how strategic thinking should be used as part of the succession planning process

Answer 1

• A description of how the Succession Plan for Biotech should be aligned with its mission and vision.

Firstly, all the employees of Biotech must be aware of the organization's mission and vision statements. The succession plan for Biotech must include the five selected employees possessing the prerequisite of being oriented towards organizational mission and vision. They must be taught the importance of working towards achieving the organizational goal and objectives. Also, the selected professionals must be trained to develop the managerial and leadership skills in order to motivate their respective teams towards achieving the set mission and vision of the organization. This can be facilitated using training and mentoring methods for the five individuals.

• A description of how the Succession Plan should be aligned with Biotech’s strategy

The succession plan must facilitate achieving Biotech's organizational goal. Thus, it must include the ways and means to inculcate the motivational spirit and determination among the individuals, who are being trained for the five key leadership positions at Biotech. The professionals can be trained to use management tools and techniques to improve the efficiency of their team members and increase the overall throughput. They must be able to visualize and analyse the future, i.e. the consequences of their decisions or the probable outcomes

• A description of how strategic thinking should be used as part of the succession planning process

Strategic thinking is a process in which people think about a particular aspect or the way they analyze the situation or the manner in which they can forecast the outcome. This includes developing the professionals' mental capabilities and improving the overall effectiveness of decision-making. Suitable training can be provided to the five individuals in regard to developing the strategic thinking technique. This could include using pre-tested tools and proven methods to facilitate strategic thinking. Adequate exposure to real-life situations will help them develop better managerial skills. The candidates can be checked for skill development regularly so as to help them develop the necessary leadership qualities as desired for the respective profiles within stipulated time period.