Introduction
Nowadays, most chief executives of large organizations do not consider the current business environment stable and think of ways to find a thriving second core. Allen and Zook in the article “When Your Business Needs a Second Growth Engine. Here is How to Build One” examine new business cores called engine twos. The authors describe how companies can find a new way of growth in the current economy and market environment.
Discussion
There is a certain complexity in this topic since the process of developing engine twos is relatively new to other old-school methods of expanding the company. To better understand the process, the authors identified over 1000 companies with the features of engine twos and built a database of the 100 most successful ones (Allen & Zook, 2022). The article states the most common archetypes of successful engine twos. Each paragraph of the article has examples of such companies from different times and countries. Authors write recommendations for organizational management on achieving success using the opportunities given to them by the market.
However, creating engine twos is not enough for a company to succeed. The authors discovered four essential elements of strategic management, which play a crucial role in a company’s success. An organization should target a market with significant profit potential for its engine two. Companies should choose only markets with considerable potential and profit pools. It is key to the company’s success to pursue its second engine in the market where it has competitive advantages over other organizations. Authors found that 87% of the companies set up stand-alone units for their engine twos to promote entrepreneurship, and 66% achieved success (Allen & Zook, 2022). This strategy helps to overcome the bureaucracy of the large company and allows new fresh minds to be in charge. Besides, large companies do not have to start from scratch when developing their engine twos. Investing significant funds in the second business core is a big advantage. Authors believe that combining all four elements makes it possible for a company to succeed.
The article provides an in-depth look at how companies are supposed to be managed nowadays. They need to be flexible, and the management needs to be able to make crucial decisions, such as developing the engine twos. The authors state that now are the perfect conditions to create the engine two business. This statement has much reasoning under it and makes sense. The turbulence of today’s market creates many opportunities. However, it is essential to point out that it is easy to make a mistake, financially ruining the company. The authors made this point in the conclusion but never discussed it enough. Recommendations given in the article can be helpful only for large organizations with significant funds; hence small businesses and entrepreneurs should not take this information as advice. Besides, the authors provide only one point of view on the described issue, so the reader should consider checking other research to form a critical opinion. Nevertheless, the article gives a clear outlook on the ongoing development of strategic management.
Conclusion
Overall, the high-quality research and the precise structure of the article make it practical for the companies’ management and for an average individual to understand the current state of business better. Changing a company’s business model or creating a new business core to expand or survive in the current economic situation is a beneficial topic. The article provided a clear view of the new ways of companies’ growth.
Reference
Allen, J., & Zook, C. (2022). When Your Business Needs a Second Growth Engine. Harvard Business Review. Web.