Module 2: Strategy Types (Miles & Snow, 1978) Flashcards
Van De Veb et al. (2013) Perspectives on Organising
- Configurations (Miles & Snow, 1978)
- Complementarity
What do we need to know about strategy development?
- Strategy is only ONE MEANS by which the company can achieve a competitive advantage.
What is the impact of strategic positioning as only A means for achieving competitive advantage?
- 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?
Strategy + Structure (Miles & Snow, 1978)
Efficient organisations establish mechanisms that complement their market strategy.”
What do you need to remember about implementing strategy types?
- Strategic Fit
(Ensure external positioning & internally consistent set of activities are aligned).
What are the three broad problems of organisational adaptation?
- The Entrepreneurial problem
- The Engineering problem
- The Administrative problem
How does management solve these problems?
Management solves these problems simultaneously - What does this mean??
What are the three strategy types?
-Defender
- Prospector
- Analyser
[ Reactor]
Defender strategy type
- Deliberately enacts & maintains an environment for which a STABLE form of organisation is appropriate.
When is the defender strategy type useful?
Useful for maintaining position in the market
Defenders aggressively maintain their market position through…
High exploitation
Exploitation
TAKING ADVANTAGE of current or known technologies to do things in new or novel ways
Exploitation activities
- refinement
- efficiency
- selection & implementation
Prospector strategy type
Enacts an environment that is more DYNAMIC than other types of organisations within the same industry.
Prospectors aim to be forward thinkers and lead market industry through…
High exploration
Exploration
SEEKING new technologies or new ways of doing things
Exploration activities
- search
- variation
- risk taking innovation
Analysers
Combination of prospector & defender types (“balance”)
Organisation attempts to minimise risk while maximising opportunity for profit.
When is it difficult to use the analyser strategy type?
Efficiency & effectivness - both goals- is difficult to achieve in industries characterised by rapid market & technological change.
Reactor
Inconsistent & unstable - responding inappropriately to environmental change - lacks a set of responsible mechanisms when faced with a changing environment.
When does the reactor strategy type emerge?
Arises when one of the three strategies are improperly pursued.
Presentations: resources + organisational structure + strategy (revised BCom program)
- 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.
Birkenshaw (2012) Management Model
Companies are differentiated by their management model.
4 areas that comprise the core activities of management
Means: managing activities & decisions
Ends: managing objectives & individual motivation
