Chapter 1 - The process of strategy formation Flashcards
What is strategy - According to Johnson, Scholes and Whitanger.
Involves setting future plans. but requires understanding of orgs a) resources b) environment c) stakholders
Allow orgs to decide how to achieve a competitive advantage.
Discuss The Levels of Strategy
A) Corporate
- Strategies for org as a whole e.g which bus / market to focus on
- M&A/ Disposals, Diversifying, new industries, leaving existing etc .
B) Business
- Then concerned with how org can compete in above
- Concerned with comp adv, needs of cust, avoiding disad
- Focus on SBU’s not org as a whole
C) Functional / Operational
- how components e.g resources, people and processes are pulled together to achieve overall strategic direction
- HR, Marketing, IS and IT, OPS could be unique to SBU or org as whole
What is the rational approach to strategy
Logical step by step approach Mission and Obj Position and Appraisal (Internal / External) Strategic Options Eval and Choice Implementation Review
J S and W grouped the rational approach to strategy into what, and discuss.
3 Stages
1) Strategic Analysis
- Ext (O +T) and Internal (S + W)
- Stakeholder Analysis (id objs, power and interest)
- Gap Analaysis
2) Choice
- Strategies required to close the gap
- Directions for growth - which markets and products
- Expansion - via ggrowth / acq or JA’s
3) Implementation
- Formulatation of plans and budgets
- Target setting for KPI’s
- Monitoring and Control
Ads and Disads of Rational Approach to Strategy
Ads
- Forces mgrs to look ahead
- Improved Control
- Id key risks and contingencies
- Encourages creativity (forced to generate ideas)
Disads
- difficult to set objs with conflicting stakeholders
- ST preassures
- Head to forecast accurately
- Bounded rationality - incomplete analysis = inneffective strateg
- Rigidity, Cost, Mgmt distrust ( accounting techs unknown)
Discuss the Emergent Approach to Strategy Dev (Mintzberg)
- Rational too slow, becomes outdated
- Strategy evolves, continous, incrememental,
- tried, if fail different approach taken,
- May have formal plan BUT can change
- Required culture of innovation where ideas are forthcoming
- distinction between 3 stages can become blurred (analysis/choice/implementation)
Discuss Locical Incrementalism approach to strategy development (Lindbolm)
- Strategy is small extensoin of past policy
- Rational not used in real world where no time for autonomous team to do dull analysis. bounded rationaliity means mgmt select from limited options tend to be ext of past policy.
Ads- Less culture shift, stakeholders consulted
Dis- No overall LT plan, strategic drift (maybe), may not make major changes when needed
Discuss Freewheeling Opportunism
- No formal planning, take opps as arise
- Why ? Planning takes too long and is contraining for fast pace industry
- When ? Skills mrgs with dislike for planning
Disads -No id of risk
- Mgmt skill, strategic drift, difficult raising finance.
Which approach should one take to strategic development
No correct way- its a spectrum
Formal when - stable industries, sufficient time to analyse, relatively inexperienced mgrs (enesure get to know org).
Informal - fast changing industries, experienced innovative managers who id and react, no need for external finance
Strategic planning for NFP’s is different. Discusss
1_ Profit is typically not the objective - (likely to have multiple
2) Difficult to measure objectives
3) Equal balance of power between stakeholders
NFP strategy - 3E’s objective setting
Economy - Looks at inputs
Efficiency - Internal processes approach’ how well inputs used to create outputs e.g spend p. bed in hospital
Effectiveness - looks at outputs (goal approach) - how many treated etc.
Approaches to strat planning - Traditional Approach Stakeholders
- Look at stakes and their objective then go about planning
- often flawed as miss market considerations / may be unrealistic
- good for NFP’s though (where mission / objective are key)
Approaches to strat planning - Market Led Approach
- Look and market and competitors before setting objectives
- Ensure org has a good fit with environment
- of market is to change then firm needs to too
- X problem is predicting the future
Approaches to strat planning - Competency / Resource Based approach
- When anticipating the future it was hard so many firms switched to Comp approach
- Focus on what good at - core competencies
- And ideally correlate to what org needs to be good at to succeed (the CSF’s)
Role and Responsibility of Directors / Snr Managers
- fiduciary duty to shareholders - put in a position of trust
- Duty to exercise skill and care
- Interest of Co and Shareholderes typicall similar so Directors should put shareholders interest first in strat decisioning