...The Strategy Concept I: Five Ps for Strategy* Human nature insists on a definition for every concept. The field of strategic management cannot afford to rely on a single definition of strategy, indeed the word has long been used implicitly in different ways even if it has traditionally been defined formally in only one. Explicit recognition of multiple definitions can help practitioners and researchers alike to maneuver through this difficult field. Accordingly, this article presents five definitions of strategy-as plan, ploy, pattern, position, and perspective-and considers some of their interrelationships. To almost anyone you care to ask, strategy is a plan-some sort of consciously intended course of action, a guideline (or set of guidelines) to deal with a situation. A kid has a "strategy" to get over a fence, a corporation has one to capture a market. By this definition, strategies have two essential characteristics: they are made in advance of the actions to which they apply, and they are developed consciously and purposefully. (They may, in addition, be stated explicitly, sometimes in formal documents known as "plans," although it need not be taken here as a necessary condition for "strategy as plan.") To Drucker, strategy is "purposeful action"', to Moore "design for action," in essence, "conception preceding actionn2 A host of definitions in a variety of fields reinforce this view. For example: in the military: Strategy is concerned with "draft[ing] the plan of war...
Words: 9436 - Pages: 38
...11 General Strategic Thedrv The Strategy Concept I: Five Ps For Strategy Henry Mintzberg H uman nature insists on a definition for every concept. The field of strategic management cannot afford to rely on a single definition of strategy, indeed the word has long been used implicitly in different ways even if it has traditionally been defined formally in only one. Explicit recognition of multiple definitions can help practitioners and researchers alike to maneuver through this difficult field. Accordingly, this article presents five definitions of strategy—as plan, ploy, pattern, position, and perspective—and considers some of their interrelationships. Strategy as Plan To almost anyone you care to ask, strategy is a plan—some sort of consciously intended course of action, a guideline (or set of guidelines) to deal with a situation. A kid has a "strategy" to get over a fence, a corporation has one to capture a market. By this definition, strategies have two essential characteristics: they are made in advance of the actions to which they apply, and they are developed consciously and purposefully. (They may, in addition, be stated explicitly, sometimes in formal documents known as "plans," although it need not be taken here as a necessary condition for "strategy as plan.") To Drucker, strategy is "purposeful action'"; to Moore "design for action," in essence, "conception preceding action."^ A host of definitions in a variety of fields reinforce this view. For example:...
Words: 5726 - Pages: 23
...Strategy Formation in Former South African Firms' London Headquarters and in Their South African Your title should be not more than 16 words, must include “South Africa” and/or other relevant countries and should not refer to the methodology (eg A case study of . . .”). Don’t start each word with a capital letter – use ordinary sentence case and only capitalise proper nouns. Operations Sxxxx Cxxxxx Student number: 1234567 Tel: 089 555 5555 Student.wbs@hotmail.com A research proposal submitted by Proposed Supervisor: Dr Txxxx Mxxxxx Your proposal is the plan of your research. You must NOT do any actual research, eg interviews, before the panel. Wits Business School 2nd March 2009 The final Research Report resulting from this proposal was 116 pages long, including references and appendices, excluding the beginning section – dedication, declaration, Table of Contents, etc (see Research Report template at www.wbs.ac.za). This is just about exactly the length expected. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................. LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................III 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 INTRODUCTION........................................................................1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 1 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY.................................................................
Words: 8300 - Pages: 34
...- 13 - Uditha Liyanage Abstract Strategy is often confused with planning. The many definitions and delineations of strategy, which highlight one or more aspects of strategy, while ignoring the others, have led to a state of confusion as to what strategy really is. This is evident in the content-analysis of the vision, mission and value statements of a number of companies. Not only were the analysedanalyzed company- - specific statements vague and general, they were also unrelated to one another. Specifically, the espoused values were generic and terminal in nature and unrelated to the tasks and goals at hand. To avoid the confusion in the minds of practitioners, and as reflected in the literature itself, a Strategy Quadrant (content), consisting of Stand, Standing, Shared values and Steps is proposed. The process of developing the 4Ss of strategy is delineated in terms of Mintzberg's "think/see/do first" processes (Strategy Triangle). The context ofcontext of strategy is defined in terms of stability and complexity (Strategy Duality). It is argued that, in complex and unstable contexts, the traditional mode of "think-first" deliberate strategies which set "thinking" apart from "doing" is becoming increasingly ineffective. The unpredictability of complex contexts, in which we operate, leave us with no choice but to be markedly adaptive rather than attempt to be overly prepared. Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) are the order of the day, and the organization's Standing...
Words: 10911 - Pages: 44
...large quantities for special needs. For more information, contact Premium Sales at (212) 572-2232 or e-mail specialmarkets@randomhouse.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request. ISBN 978-0-307-88623-1 eISBN 978-0-307-88625-5 Printed in the United States of America Book design by Robert Bull Jacket design: TK Author photograph: TK 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition Rume_9780307886231_2p_all_r1.indd vi 3/17/11 11:46 AM CONTENTS ■ INTRODUCTION OVERWHELMING OBSTACLES 1 PART I GOOD AND BAD STRATEGY CHAPTER 1 GOOD STRATEGY IS UNEXPECTED 9 11 How Steve Jobs saved Apple • Business 101 is surprising • General Schwarzkopf ’s strategy in Desert Storm • Why Plan A remains a surprise CHAPTER 2 DISCOVERING POWER 21 David and Goliath is a basic strategy story • Discovering Wal-Mart’s secret • Marshall and Roche’s strategy for competing with the Soviet Union CHAPTER 3 BAD STRATEGY...
Words: 7637 - Pages: 31
...A Critical Review Of Crafting Strategy - Henry Mintzberg Table Of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................. 2 Wider Debate Of Strategy .................................................................. 2 Placing The Article In The Wider Debate.................................... 4 Strengths & Weaknesses of the article......................................... 4 Conclusion................................................................................................. 6 References................................................................................................. 7 1 Introduction This essay will critically evaluate the article “Crafting Strategy “ written by Henry Mintzberg. The essay will evaluate the difference between deliberate and emergent strategies and will compare the article against wider debate about processes of strategy. Strengths and weaknesses of the article will be critically reviewed by comparing with previous academic journals and conclusions will be made upon findings. Wider Debate Of Strategy Mintzberg (1984, pp. 69) argues that “strategies can form as well as be formulated” he believes they can emerge due to an ever changing environment” In contrast Porter (1987) takes a more deliberate strategy approach he believes there are 3 types of strategies, low cost, differentiated or focus. “Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position involving a different...
Words: 1498 - Pages: 6
...“Crafting Strategy” (Mintzberg, 1987) Positioning in the Field of Strategy “…I believe the problem often lies one step beyond, in the distinction we make between formulation and implementation, the common assumption that thought must be independent of (and precede) action.” (Mintzberg, 1987) The above quotation, taken from Henry Mintzberg’s “Crafting Strategy”, concisely outlines one of the most prominent debates in the field of strategy over the last fifty years. Although the field is heavily fragmented - a feature highlighted by Mintzberg’ et al.’s “Ten Schools of Thought” model (1998) – it can be reduced into the two key approaches implicit above: the prescriptive, or Planning School, and the descriptive, or Learning School. The prescriptive approach describes strategy formation as a deliberate, conscious process of thought that comes prior to implementation. Most authors from this school define strategy as the establishment of a company’s future position [see, for example, Andrews, 1965; Ansoff, 1965, Byers, 1985; Chandler, 1962], illustrating how planning is a cornerstone of the prescriptive approach to strategic management. Serving as a juxtaposition, the descriptive approach suggests that strategies will emerge through the process of trial-and-error and that intention need not precede action. Mintzberg and Waters (1985) argue that the “open, flexible and responsive” nature of emergent strategies is especially important during crises when the environment...
Words: 1545 - Pages: 7
...ICHEC – Professor Luc Moeremans 2015/2016 Catarina Duarte 153111 Corporate Strategy Good Strategy / Bad Strategy The difference and why it matters by Richard Rumelt Part I The book Good Strategy/Bad Strategy written by the professor of business and society in the school of business and management UCLA - Richard Rumelt - clarifies the difference between good strategies and bad strategies and provides a thorough understanding of how to create and think about good strategies. It daylights a fundamental range of aspects to which has not been given much importance and where people fail when trying to manage an organization, a school or even a research. Presenting interesting and fascinating examples of contemporary businesses and from world’s history, Richard Rumelt motivates his ideas and makes the readers have a clear understanding of them. The difference between a good strategy and what people think of a “good strategy” has grown over the years. In the opinion of Richard Rumelt a strategy is not a goal or a vision but a plan to achieve that ambition. It is fundamental to find and understand what problems an organization is facing and design a way to coordinate actions and resources in order to deal with those problems. The problem is when leaders cannot define those obstacles, making impossible to create a strategy to overcome the organization’s challenges; or when leaders mistake the plan to deal with the organization’s problems with statements of desire...
Words: 4383 - Pages: 18
...‘Crafting Strategy’ by Henry Mintzberg Strategy is a topic that receives a considerable amount of focus in both business schools and industry throughout the world (Knight and Mueller, 2004). A key debate in the field strategy is how exactly strategy is formulated. In ‘Crafting Strategy’ Mintzberg (1987) examines the distinctions between planning strategy and crafting strategy. This literature review will discuss Mintzberg’s argument and approach in the wider debate of strategy, followed by an analysis of the articles strengths and weaknesses. The position of the article in the wider debate about processes of strategy Whittington (2001) categorised strategy in to four principle approaches; Classical, evolutionary, processual and systematic. Mintzberg challenged traditional classical planning on a number of levels; Classicalist believed that the world was stable enough that strategist could accurately forecast through a rational process of deliberate calculation and analysis and that they are best created by senior management away from the operating environment (Whittington, 2001). Prescriptive strategic management literature indicates there is “a correlation between organizational performance and strategic planning, although empirical evidence is less than conclusive in this respect (Glaister and Falshaw, 1999; McKiernan and Morris, 1994; Pearce II et al., 1987; Rigby, 2001),” (Gunn and Williams, 2007, p206). Mintzberg believes that the term ‘planning strategy’ causes people...
Words: 1543 - Pages: 7
...There are two main perspectives on strategy formation. One is formalism and planning which is known as deliberate strategy, and there other is emergence and incrementalism. The argument of this paradox is should managers formulate a deliberate strategy via a structured planning system and ‘think before they do’, or should managers opt for an incremental approach to strategy and experiment, explore and experience. Strategy deals with the future although the future is unknown, and managers may wish to prepare for the future, but they must be flexible in order to be prepared for unpredictable events. This essay will look at to what extent can a strategy be planned (deliberate), and to what extent can a strategy be emergent and flexible. Deliberate This process is very formal and action/planning oriented and the organisation is in control of the strategy process from step 1 until the end. This view can be seen as a very rational and militaristic procedure. A deliberate strategy Is where the collective vision, goals or intentions of a firm is articulated as broadly and in a much detail as possible, and communicated to the employees within the firm in order to realise an outcome. Employees are the ones who will be responsible for implementing these goals which is why they are included. Deliberate underpins logic – strategy creation is based on ‘think before action’ Uses tools – many analytical tools have been developed such as * Porters value chain * Five forces ...
Words: 1439 - Pages: 6
...Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent Author(s): Henry Mintzberg and James A. Waters Source: Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1985), pp. 257-272 Published by: John Wiley & Sons Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2486186 Accessed: 04/09/2009 11:09 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=jwiley. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. John Wiley & Sons is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access...
Words: 8393 - Pages: 34
...QUESTIONS FOR FINAL EXAM 1. What is control? 2. What is automatic control? 3. What is called as automatic control system? 4. What is the primary goal of automatic control? 5. What is called as object of management? 6. What is called as the operated size? 7. What is called as operating body? 8. What is called as a sensitive element? 9. What is the entrance and target sizes? 10. What is called as operating influence? 11. What is called as indignation? 12. What is called as a deviation from the set size? 13. What is called as the actuation device? 14. What is called as the setting device? 15. What is called as a function chart and of what it consists? 16. In what difference of a signal from physical size? 17. In what an essence of a principle of the opened management? 18. In what an essence of a principle of indemnification? 19. In what an essence of a principle of feedback? 20. List merits and demerits of principles of management? 21. What special case of management is called as regulation? 22. In what difference of systems of direct and indirect regulation? 23. List and give the short characteristic of principal views CS? 24. What is called as static mode CS? 25. What is called as static characteristics CS? 26. What is called as the equation of statics CS? 27. What difference from strengthening factor is called in transfer factor, in what? 28. In what difference...
Words: 2580 - Pages: 11
...Glossary of musical terminology From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian (see also Italian musical terms used in English), in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings. Most of the other terms are taken from French and German, indicated by "(Fr)" and "(Ger)", respectively. Others are from languages such as Portuguese, Latin, and Spanish. Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The list can never be complete: some terms are common, and others are used only occasionally, and new ones are coined from time to time. Some composers prefer terms from their own language rather than the standard terms here. Contents A· B· C· D· E· F· G· H· I· J· K· L· M· N· O· P· Q· R· S· T· U· V· W· Z See also· References· External links See also: Glossary of jazz and popular music A[edit] a, à (Fr): at, to, by, for, in, in the style of... a 2: see a due in this list a battuta: return to normal tempo after a deviation. Not recommended in string parts, due to possible confusion with battuto (qv.); use a tempo, which means the same thing. ab (Ger): Off, organ stops...
Words: 3449 - Pages: 14
...“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” - Alan Lakein “Strategy is the long-term direction of an organisation” - Johnson, G., et al (2008) “Strategy is a pattern in a stream of decisions” - Mintzberg, H., (2007) Strategy is a term frequently used by businesses and these are just a few definitions for it. A more extensive one by Chandler (1963) is that strategy is ‘the determination of the long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals.’ Strategic planning has been used in the general business community since the mid-twentieth century. In the 1960s and 1970s top firms such as General Electric applied strategic planning, promoting the qualities of providing a framework beyond the 12-month period and a systematic approach to managing business units (Webster, Reif and Bracker 1989). Today’s companies have to deal with dynamic and uncertain environments. For businesses to be successful, it is crucial to set out a game plan to continually strengthen the performance of their organisation. Traditional strategic planning has been an essential and repeatedly used management tool for decades; however, questions about its relevancy and effectiveness in that role have persisted. This essay critically examines the debate that formal strategic planning (FSP)...
Words: 335 - Pages: 2
...Sept.14 : Chapter 1 Introduction to Strategic Management Monday, September 14, 2015 11:32 AM Why is strategy important? • Because it leads the organization in the right direction to achieve its goals and objectives.( performance) • It outlines the means by which a company intends to create unique value for customers a other important stakeholders • If forces managers to think holistically ad dynamically about what the company does and those activities consistently attract customers over competitors • Compared to a rudder and a ship. • It is the ability to see 5-‐ 10 years down the road • Its all the competitive moves that the company engages in order to win over customers • Senior management is responsible for strategy ○ Business policy : is a concern about strategy that preoccupy their minds Health care is the number 1 growth engine Conglomerates : are companies having portfolio of business in unrelated industries Three critical questions...
Words: 2012 - Pages: 9
