Strategic Management at The Cardiff Metropolitan University (GC0460)
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction.
2.0 Concept of ten schools of strategy.
2.1 Design school
2.2 Planning School
2.3 Positioning school
2.4 Entrepreneurial School
2.5 Cognitive School
2.6 Learning School
2.7 Power School
2.8 Cultural School
2.9 Environment School
2.10 Configuration School
2.11 The similarities and differences between the prescriptive and descriptive schools.
3.0 Concept of strategy lenses.
3.1 Three lenses of strategy in the graph.
3.2 Summary of strategy lenses.
4.0 Critically analyze and evaluate the strategy lenses in comparison and contrast with ten schools of strategy
4.0 Similarities between ten schools of strategy and four lenses.
5.0 Differences between ten schools of strategy and four lenses.
5.0 Conclusion.
6.0 References.
1.0 Introduction
According to Mintzber et al (2000), ten schools of strategy or thought can be helpful to understand strategy concepts and ideas. On the other hand, according to Johnson Scholes and Whittington (2010), strategy research, teaching as well as a practice have been changing rapidly; as a result, different lenses of strategy could be helpful to understand the concept and ideas of strategy.
This report conducts a study on the above statement. The first part of the report gives the general concepts of ten schools of strategy and several strategy lenses. In the second part, the report compares and contrasts the ten schools of strategy as well as three strategy lenses as perspectives of understanding the concepts and complexity of strategy development and their implementation. Finally, the report concludes with a view of whether “strategy lenses” are more useful or not than the ten schools of strategy in the 21st century.
2.0 Concept of ten schools of strategy
The concept of ten schools of strategy by Mintzberg et al. (2009) is discussed as follows:
2.1 Design school
| Model | This is a process of conception |
| Approach | The internal environment is compared with the external environment to formulate clear as well as unique strategies |
| Basis | Architecture as a metaphor |
| Contribution | Follow order, reduce ambiguity, support strong and visionary leadership, and useful in a stable environment |
| Limitation | Simplification can distort reality, the strategy includes many variables which are complex, learning is bypassed and inflexible in a rapidly changing environment, maybe too static. |
| Typical | Ashridge Mission Model and SWOT Analysis. |
| Example | Microsoft share was falling in 2013 because of a lack of long term communication and contracts with OEM manufacturer and the design team who can influence the consumers hugely. Microsoft did a strategic alliance with Nokia acquiring capability internally. |
2.2 Planning School
| Model | This a formal process |
| Approach | A number of rigorous steps are followed from the analysis stage to the execution of the strategy. |
| Basis | Urban planning system theory, Cybernetics |
| Contribution | It provides clear direction, control and enables resources allocation |
| Limitation | Maybe a high risk of resistance and difficulty of prediction. Senior/top management has to create a strategy following an ivory tower |
| Typical | Scenario planning, levers of control, parenting styles, the theory of mechanistic |
| Example | INFOSYS was slightly on the lower trend in the market. It started to process improvement analyzing internal factors like new clients, attrition rate, etc, and external factors like GDP outlook, the performance of the European market. |
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2.3 Positioning school
| Model | This is an analytical process |
| Approach | It looks at the existing context of business to find out how it can improve its strategic positioning inside the industry. |
| Basis | The basis on industrial organization and military strategy |
| Contribution | It is mainly useful in the early step of strategy development. It focuses on hard facts. It gives content in a systematic approach to the existing strategy following the science of strategic management. |
| Limitation | Maybe a high risk of resistance and difficulty of prediction. Senior/top management has to create a strategy following an ivory tower. It is based on large organizations. It ignores politics, power, culture, social components, etc. |
| Typical | Five forces, competitive advantage, value chain, game theory, BCG matrix, |
| Example | Toyota is a good brand of car manufacturing. When it came with Lexis Sedan as a sub-brand it felt that it was losing its brand image, then Toyota leaves Lexus launched it as a separate brand. |
2.4 Entrepreneurial School
| Model | This a visionary process |
| Approach | It depends on judgment, intuition, experience, wisdom, and insights where the process relies on the mind of the founder or leader of an organization |
| Basis | Economics |
| Contribution | CEO and a clear vision can help the organizations in their difficult time. It deliberates in a broad line with flexible and emergent ideas. |
| Limitation | A predefined course of action may blind to potential development and implementation or unexpected dangers. Difficult to find the right leader because being a CEO would be demanding. |
| Typical | Leadership styles, Entrepreneurial, and Seven surprises for new CEO |
| Example | GE has produced the largest number of CEOs than Harvard. When Jack Welch took the responsibility for the leadership, he dismantled the way the company was working under Jones as well as same was the case when Jeff took over Jack |
2.5 Cognitive School
| Model | This is a mental process |
| Approach | Analysis of people perceives patterns as well as process information, and on how strategists are thinking about the process of information. |
| Basis | Psychology |
| Contribution | Useful to explain why people’s minds are imperfects. It creates maps, concept, reality frames to emerge strategies. Look at strategies through the cognitive process in the strategist’s mind. It focuses on creative sides and individual strategists. |
| Limitation | It is not very practical against the conceptual stage and to conceive great strategies or ideas, and it is not useful to help the collective strategy process at present. |
| Typical | Johari Window, Whole Brain Model, Groupthink, Indicator, Cognitive Bias, |
| Example | When Facebook learned that there was a need for social networking, it foresees a need for social network and introduced a site, where it has gained huge success now. |
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