Module 8a Flashcards
Name the four elements of strategy
- Consideration of changing environments that create opportunities and threats
- Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of institutions, in particular threat response
- Product decision making process influenced by values, preferences and power interested parties
- Generating options and evaluating them
Name the three types of strategy
- Corporate strategy
- Business strategy
- Functional strategy
What is corporate strategy?
Decisions about entire organizations. These decisions give direction and addvalue to entire organization.
What is business strategy?
Decisions abuot specific products/markets that are differentiable from other products/markets. Can refer to SBU and should relate to the overall corporate strategy
What is functional strategy?
This is strategy about various business activities. This determines how corporate and business strategies will be fulfilled.
what is the strategic process?
A way that management strategy is formed. This is a combination of rational analysis and subjective and political considerations.
Name the six different approaches of the strategic process
- Rational approach
- Flexible approach
- Creative approach
- Behavioural approach
- Incremental/emergent approach
- Absence of strategy
What is the rational approach of the strategic process?
This is a form of strategy formulation that is the result of scientific, rational process. this includes the analysis of SWOTs, portfolio etc.
What are the disadvantages of the Rational approach of the strategi process?
- Assumption that all information is available
2.Complex environments make environmental analysis difficult - Unawareness of organization’s real strenghts and weaknesses
- Lack of innovative solutions because the same information is collected
- Decision making process becomes subjective and political
What is the flexible approach of strategic process?
This approach assumes that uncertainty cannot be eliminated, just reduced through, for example, scenario planning
What is scenario planning?
Planning out scenarios of different visions of the future to prepare a number of strategies.
What is the creative approach of the strategic process?
This approach uses creativity to make faster decisions than the rational approach. It increases the chances of competitive advantages and complex, dynamic environments require creativeity to get ahead.
What is the behavioural approach to the strategic process?
believes that strategy depends on values, personalities of dominant coalition. Due to involvement of bargaining process, reaching satisfactory results is more important than value maximization.
What is the incremental/emergent approach of the strategic process?
Constant modification of objectives and strategy to improve the fit with the environment.
What are the three broad planning styles?
- Formalized planning: large organization
- Negotiation and consultation: government ageny
- Entrepreneurial planning: small firm
Why is the relation between strategy and performance hard to prove?
- Too many variables make it impossible to isolate effects of strategy
- Possible that performance influences strategy
What are the contexts in which strategy operates?
- Type of organization
- Does strategy count for industries, markets or firms
- Corporate vs business strategy
- Broad strategies to specific objectives
What are the aspects of the environment that influence strategy?
- General environment: factors effecting all firms in the industry
- Immediate competitive environment: factors directly influencing firm’s competitive position
How can firms reduce uncertainty?
- Collect relevant information
- Influence and control of environment (attempt to)
- Creating structures and procedures to deal with uncertainty
Name the components of Mintzberg’s typology of strategies
- Intended strategy=plan
- Unrealized strategy: part of plan that failed
- Deliberate strategy: part of plan that happend
- Emergent strategy: not planned parts of strategy that happened
- Realized strategy: emergent+ deliberate strategy
What are the rational, flexible and creative approach of the strategy process?
These are what is called prescriptive theory: plans on how to get to the intended strategy
