Strategy Safari

Question 1

Positioning school

Answer 1

Strategy as an analytical process

Look at business in the context of the industry (use tools such as five forces, BCG matrix and value chain).

How can the organisation improve its strategic positioning?

e.g. TripAdvisor

+ Systematic, focus on hard facts.
- Biased towards big companies

Question 2

Learning school

Answer 2

Strategy as an emergent process

Strategy is developed as a process of negotiation between power holders within the company.

+ Offers solution to coping with complexity of strategy formation.
+ Adaptive
- No strategy
- Expensive

Question 3

Design school

Answer 3

Strategies are formulated. Internal situation is used to match the external environment.

\+ order, reduced ambiguity 
\+ useful in stable environment 
- simplification may distort reality. 
- bypass learning 
- risk of resistance

Question 4

Planning school

Answer 4

Rigorous set of steps are taken, from analysis of the situation to execution.

+ clear direction, control
+ enables resource allocation
- risk of groupthink
- predicting is hard

Question 5

Entrepreneurial school

Answer 5

Visionary process takes place in the mind of the leader of the organisation. Relies on intuition, judgement and insight.

+ can help navigate uncertainty of early venture
+ flexible and emergent in details
- sailing predefined course can be dangerous in turbulence
- demanding on CEO

Question 6

Cognitive school

Answer 6

Analyses how people perceive patterns and process information. What is happening in the mind of the strategist and how they process information.

+ strategy emerges as concepts, maps and frames of reality.

• not practical beyond conceptual stage.
• not good conceive strategies

Question 7

Power school

Answer 7

Strategy is a process of negotiation between power holders within the company, and/or between the company and its external stakeholders.

+ useful to understand alliances, joint ventures
+ democratic
- can be divisive
- causes wastage

Question 8

Cultural school

Answer 8

Involves various groups. Collective and collaborative process - developed as a reflection of corporate culture.

+ helps deal with resistance to change
+ emphasises role of social values, processes and beliefs play in decision-making
- vague

Question 9

Environmental school

Answer 9

Reactive process to challenges in the environment.

+ gives a central role to the environment in strategy formation

• dimension of the environment is vague and aggregated, less useful for strategy formation.
• unrealistic

Question 10

Configuration school

Answer 10

Strategy as a process of transforming the organisation from one type of decision-making structure to another.

+ strategy and organisational development closely integrated.
+ sustain stability but undergo transformation and to manage the disruptive process
- many shades of grey, not just a limited number of valid configurations