Chapter 14: Strategy development processes Flashcards
What is deliberate strategy development?
Strategies come about as the result of the conscious intentions of top management
“Involves intentional formulation or planning”
What is emergent strategy development?
Strategies do not develop on the basis of a grand plan but tend to emerge over time in an organisation
“Strategies emerge on the basis of a series of decisions, which forms a pattern that becomes clear over time”
What is a strategic leader
Individuals/management teams whose personalities, reputations, positions make them a central part of the strategy development process
How does the deliberate intention of strategic leaders manifest itself?
Strategic leadership as command - Strategy is dictated by an individual. Advantage - Fast, innovative, difficult to imitate
Downside - Excessive risk taking
Strategic leadership as vision - Strategic leaders determines or is associated with an overall vision, mission, or strategic intent that motivates others
Strategic leadership as decison making - Different view on future strategy, leaders must take fast decision and decide what to focus on
Strategic leadership as the embodiment of strategy - A founder may represent the organisations strategy
What is Strategic planning? And what are the stages in the planning cycle?
Systematic analysis and exploration to develop an organisations strategy (Intended strategy)
Initial guidelines - guidelines and assumptions about the external environment (Price levels, demand, supply)
Business-level planning - Business units or devision presents strategic plans to the corporate center –> corporate center discusses these plans with business unit managers
Corporate-level planning - Corporate plan results from the aggregation of the business plans
Financial and strategic targets - Extracted to provide a besis for performance monitoring
What four roles does strategic planning play?
Formulating strategy - Establishes purpose and objectives (Competetive position, capabilities)
Learning - Managers can learn from strategic planning - question and challange
Integration
Communicating
Name the dangers of strategic planning according to Mintzberg
Confusing planning with managing strategy
Detachment from reality
Over complex planning processes
Dampening of innovation
What is logical incrementalism?
It is the first explanation of how strategies emerge
It bridges deliberate and emergent processes togheter - (The development of strategy by experimentation and learning)
Three main characteristics
Envirnonmental uncertainty - Constant scanning of throughout the organisation (Environmental signals)
General goals - More general goals may be preferred as specific goals might hinder innovation
Experimentation -
What is the political view of strategy development?
Strategies develop as the outcome of bargaining and negotiation among fowerful interest groups
“Objective may reflect the ambitions of powerful people”
People are likely to be influenced by at least one of the following when approching strategic problems
Position and personal experience - from their roles within the organisation
Competition for resources and influence - Enhancing their position
The relative influence of stakeholders - Financial deparment –> influenced by financial institutions
Marketing –> influenced by customers
Different access to information given their roles and functions affiliations
What is emerging strategy development from an orgasations structure and systems perspective?
Low level managers in large organisations making sense ad dealing with problems and opportunities by applying established ways of doing things
- Strategy may be steered by managers attention to their specific contexts and how resources are allocated
- Prior strategic decisions may guide later strategies
Two main arguments underlaying this view of strategy development
Organisational systems as a basis for making sense of issues –> managers make sense of issues on the basis of the systems and routines
Organisational systems provide bases of solutions to strategic issues - Systems and routines also provide solutions that managers can draw on when they face problems
