Authors : Cheng Wei Hin, Abdul Manaf Bohari, Badruddin Abdul Rahman and Hanushia Palpanavan
Abstract: The interplay of the Top Management Team (TMT), Board of Directors (BOD) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in strategy-making in Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been long debated. Some experts argue the BOD should take a strong role in strategy-making while the alternative point of view is that the CEO is the key man or woman. In a qualitative study with SMEs operating in Malaysia, the TMT is found to be the key player in strategic decision-making. The findings identify how the TMT, BOD and the CEO can combine to add value to the organization in particular how these organization members can team up and interact to achieve a faster, more flexible strategy cycle. The SMEs focus needs to be on giving more emphasis to the empowerment, interaction and creativity of the BOD, CEO and TMT. The TMT should focus on questioning, criticizing, refining and enabling the strategy proposed by the professional managers. However, the study indicates these findings are subject to exception and variation in relation to factors including specialist knowledge, track record of performance, personality attributes, personal power and political and influencing skills. The major focus of attention of the TMT, BOD and CEO is the strategic-thinking related activities in strategy-making.
Cheng Wei Hin, Abdul Manaf Bohari, Badruddin Abdul Rahman and Hanushia Palpanavan, 2013. Who Makes the Strategic Decision: An Analysis of Malaysian SMEs. International Business Management, 7: 31-37.