Week 7 Flashcards
What is the etymology of the word “strategy”?
From Greek στρατηγός – meaning army leader or military general.
Define strategy (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington, 2008).
The direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, achieving advantage in a changing environment through configuration of resources and competences, aiming to fulfill stakeholders’ expectations.
What are Michael Porter’s two key components of strategy?
Operational effectiveness – performing similar activities better than rivals.
Strategic positioning – performing different activities or similar ones in different ways
Define strategy (Michael Porter).
Deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.
What are the four qualities of good strategy according to Richard Rumelt?
Consistency
Consonance
Advantage
Feasibility
What is Rumelt’s “strategy kernel”?
Diagnosis + guiding policy + coherent actions.
What are examples of bad strategy (Rumelt)?
Fluff (e.g. McDonald’s “Plan to Win”)
Failure to face challenges (e.g. Kodak)
Mistaking goals for strategy (e.g. Kmart)
Bad objectives (e.g. Yahoo!)
What is the difference between strategic planning and strategic thinking? (Liedtka, 1998)
Planning: Structured, goal-oriented, action-based.
Thinking: Visionary, flexible, creative, long-term.
Who are examples of strategic thinkers?
Edwin Land (Polaroid)
Tim Cook (Apple)
Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger (Instagram)
Define strategic leadership (Achua & Lussier, 2010).
The ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate change and implement vision and strategies.
How does leadership of organisations differ from leadership in organisations?
Of: Context positioning, high complexity, multi-functional, indirect leadership.
In: Lower-level team-oriented leadership, more direct.
What is absorptive capacity?
The ability to recognize, assimilate, and apply the value of external information (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990).
Give an example of failed and successful strategic leadership.
Failed: SONY Betamax – limited adaptability, high price, poor marketing.
Successful: Netflix – digital transition, learning culture.
What is the Upper Echelons Theory (Hambrick & Mason, 1984)?
An organization reflects its top management team (TMT); outcomes can be predicted based on leaders’ characteristics and values.
What is Positive Agency Theory?
Leaders are agents of shareholders but have their own goals—alignment and accountability are key.
What are the five psychological stages of a CEO’s tenure (Hambrick & Fukutomi)?
Response to mandate
Experimentation
Selection of enduring theme
Convergence
Dysfunction
Describe visionary leadership.
Leaders inspire a shared goal, envision the future, are passionate and innovative, and motivate others.
What are Yukl’s (2002) critiques of strategic leadership?
External determinants
Limited discretion
Biased attributions of success/failure to leaders
What are examples of business-level strategies?
Differentiation (e.g. Apple)
Cost leadership (e.g. Aldi, Xiaomi)
Niche focus (e.g. early Amazon)
High quality (e.g. Apple)
Imitation (e.g. early Xiaomi)
Alliances (e.g. BMW + Daimler)
Acquisitions (e.g. Twitter)
Global diversification (e.g. Coca-Cola)
Brand leadership (e.g. Google)
Reinvention (e.g. IBM)
What is strategic risk leadership?
Using strategy to create value while managing risk to protect it; involves anticipation, adaptation, alignment, assessment, and action.
What are key traits of risk leaders?
Visionary
Strategic
Decisive
Resilient
Collaborative
What are “extreme context” leadership traits?
Agile decision-making, self-regulation, moral courage, trust-building
What is the focus of Leadership-as-Practice?
Leadership as collective, emergent, interaction-based practice
Not traits but situated, intersubjective processes
Emphasizes “doings and sayings” in context
What does Strategy-as-Practice (SAP) emphasize?
Focus on strategists and their actual activities
Micro-level practices and tools (budgets, forecasts, etc.)
Strategy as something people do, not just plan
