Module 2: Strategy Types (Miles & Snow, 1978)

Question 1

Van De Veb et al. (2013) Perspectives on Organising

Answer 1

• Configurations (Miles & Snow, 1978)
• Complementarity

Question 2

What do we need to know about strategy development?

Answer 2

• Strategy is only ONE MEANS by which the company can achieve a competitive advantage.

Question 3

What is the impact of strategic positioning as only A means for achieving competitive advantage?

Answer 3

• Top management needs to continuously refine the company’s strategy in the case of a rapidly changing environment. BTW if something does not ‘work’ - there is no “fit” - then managers need to look at what might not be working with the strategy or the structure (configuration).
• Remember strategy must align with structure! (This increases efficiency , lowers imitability)
• Managers must find out what areas of their strategy is lacking, are their core competencies matching with the resources? Has the firm created a “bundle” of unique resources & capabilities? Are the people & structure aligned?

Question 4

Strategy + Structure (Miles & Snow, 1978)

Answer 4

Efficient organisations establish mechanisms that complement their market strategy.”

Question 5

What do you need to remember about implementing strategy types?

Answer 5

• Strategic Fit
  (Ensure external positioning & internally consistent set of activities are aligned).

Question 6

What are the three broad problems of organisational adaptation?

Answer 6

• The Entrepreneurial problem
• The Engineering problem
• The Administrative problem

Question 7

How does management solve these problems?

Answer 7

Management solves these problems simultaneously - What does this mean??

Question 8

What are the three strategy types?

Answer 8

-Defender
- Prospector
- Analyser
[ Reactor]

Question 9

Defender strategy type

Answer 9

• Deliberately enacts & maintains an environment for which a STABLE form of organisation is appropriate.

Question 10

When is the defender strategy type useful?

Answer 10

Useful for maintaining position in the market

Question 11

Defenders aggressively maintain their market position through…

Answer 11

High exploitation

Question 12

Exploitation

Answer 12

TAKING ADVANTAGE of current or known technologies to do things in new or novel ways

Question 13

Exploitation activities

Answer 13

• refinement
• efficiency
• selection & implementation

Question 14

Prospector strategy type

Answer 14

Enacts an environment that is more DYNAMIC than other types of organisations within the same industry.

Question 15

Prospectors aim to be forward thinkers and lead market industry through…

Answer 15

High exploration

Question 16

Exploration

Answer 16

SEEKING new technologies or new ways of doing things

Question 17

Exploration activities

Answer 17

• search
• variation
• risk taking innovation

Question 18

Analysers

Answer 18

Combination of prospector & defender types (“balance”)
Organisation attempts to minimise risk while maximising opportunity for profit.

Question 19

When is it difficult to use the analyser strategy type?

Answer 19

Efficiency & effectivness - both goals- is difficult to achieve in industries characterised by rapid market & technological change.

Question 20

Reactor

Answer 20

Inconsistent & unstable - responding inappropriately to environmental change - lacks a set of responsible mechanisms when faced with a changing environment.

Question 21

When does the reactor strategy type emerge?

Answer 21

Arises when one of the three strategies are improperly pursued.

Question 22

Presentations: resources + organisational structure + strategy (revised BCom program)

Answer 22

• there is going to be a change to the usyd organisational structure should there be the introduction of an “interdisciplinary” core subject. For example, the configuration of the disciplines within the business school, staff salaries, & roles, & possibly more resources to facilitate collaboration & new 1st year core courses.

If there is a need for mass collaboration (taste of subjects in one core unit) then there would need to be justification for the collaboration between the different disciplines (head of disciplines too), so that it can be effective and beneficial for building a link between subjects in first year, then second year subjects, and third year subjects, in accordance with the student’s chosen major.

Question 23

Birkenshaw (2012) Management Model

Answer 23

Companies are differentiated by their management model.

Question 24

4 areas that comprise the core activities of management

Answer 24

Means: managing activities & decisions
Ends: managing objectives & individual motivation

Question 25

1. Coordinating activities

Answer 25

• Structure: Horizontal differentiation: Bureaucracy or Emergence

Question 26

2. Making decisions

Answer 26

• Structure: Vertical differentiation: Hierarchy or Collective Wisdom

Question 27

3. Defining objectives

Answer 27

• Strategy: Goals: Alignment or Obliquity

Question 28

4. Motivating Individuals

Answer 28

• HR: People: Intrinsic or Extrinsic

Question 29

What is the purpose of organisational strategy & configuration?

Answer 29

We want to adopt a holistic view of the organisational context & design. (& have a structure that compliments our strategy!!).

As identified by Birkenshaw (2012), management makes choices about HOW works gets done.

Management is not just strategy, vision, & goals (ends). It’s also about motivating people (social exchange theory), making decisions, paying attention to which activities are essential for achieving organisational goals, culture & climate alignment for organisational success (means).