There is Surprisingly Little Agreement on What Strategy Really Is (Markides, 1999) - Essay Example

Strategy Submitted By: ***** Number: ****** ****** *************** ******* *********** University of ******** “There is surprisingly little agreement on what strategy really is” Markides (1999). Introduction: Every organisation is faced with a number of different decisions that it is required to make to enhance their business. It is a known fact that behind every successful business there is a strong and well planned strategy (Mintzberg, et.al, 2002). Strategy plays a very essential role in every business and is the in some terms the backbone for the businesses. There have been a number of different views and explanations of strategies by different authors. As said by Markides (1999), “There is surprisingly little agreement on what strategy really is”. This report aims at understanding the various definitions that have been set down by the various authors in the past and to analyse whether the statement by Markides (1999) has significance in the true sense. The following section will deal with the various definitions that have been developed over the years. Strategy: Strategy includes a number of different aspects that it is associated with. Firstly, a strategy is normally long planned. This is in a hierarchical system of goals and objectives. A strategy is a combined effort to create a blend between the external environment, internal resources and the capabilities of the resources within the business (Bernus, et.al, 2003). “Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations.” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2006, p. 9) According to Johnson et.al, (2006), there are six major elements that strategic decisions are made out off. It is essential to understand that strategic decisions are normally long term directions of organisations, which include the scope of the organisation. Also this includes to a great extent gaining advantage over the competitors and addresses the changes that happen within the business environment. Strategies that are developed, try to develop the resources and try to improve the capabilities of the people within the organisation. These strategies are also expected to be based on the values and expectations of the stakeholder. There are a few different schools of the thoughts for the views of strategy. Each of the views of thought has been over the years from 1960s until now. The 1960s and the early 1970s, saw the school of thought where the strategies were expected to be systematic and with analytical approach. Following which the change in the need for strategy, this period aimed at having strategies which are more focused on assessing the competitive forces and the strategic positioning (Mintzberg, et.al, 2002). This was mainly a period where the companies tried harder to ensure that the businesses are well positioned and was competitive in nature (Nickols, 2004). Following which a period during the 1980s was more focused on complexities and uncertainties. These generally included a study of the external factors that affect the working of the company as well. The later 80s saw a school where resources were given more importance and the strategies were more based on the unique resources and core competences. Post the 1990s the strategies moved in to the configuration school of thought (Mintzberg, et.al, 2002). There have been a number of different definitions that have been developed some as mentioned below: According to George Steiner, strategy has become a part of the management literature as a mode to compare and counter the competitor’s actual or possible moves. He also highlights in his works that there is very little people who agree to the meaning of strategy in the real business world. He uses a few different definitions to explain strategy: “Strategy is that which top management does that is of great importance to the organization. Strategy refers to basic directional decisions, that is, to purposes and missions. Strategy consists of the important actions necessary to realize these directions. Strategy answers the question: What should the organization be doing? Strategy answers the question: What are the ends we seek and how should we achieve them?” (Nickols, 2004). It was around 1979, that strategic planning saw a rise and this was when a number of different authors provided different explanations for strategy. This caused the decline of strategic planning in 1980s. However this again saw a rise once Mintzberg expressed his views on the subject. According to Henry Mintzberg, strategy can be used by people in a number of different ways of which he has discussed the essential ones to be, a) strategy is a plan of how to get from a here to there, b) it can be considered to be the actions over time, c) it refers to the position, i.e. how products and services can move to particular markets, and d) it is a perspective, i.e. it refers to a vision, mission or direction that the company undertakes. He has developed a number of different arguments which imply that strategy is something that would grow over time and normally accommodates reality. Mintzberg has used a realistic approach towards defining strategy. He has supported earlier literature that has been developed by others in relation to strategy. One of the authors he has majorly supported is Kenneth Andrews. In short, Mintzberg’s definition of strategy is more realized and is an emergent strategy. According to Andrews, "Corporate strategy is the pattern [italics added] of decisions in a company that determines and reveals its objectives, purposes, or goals, produces the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals, and defines the range of business the company is to pursue, the kind of economic and human organization it is or intends to be, and the nature of the economic and non-economic contribution it intends to make to its shareholders, employees, customers, and communities” (Andrews, 1980, p 18-19). It is clear from the definition that Andrew has used the theory of Mintzberg as a basis for his expression of strategy. Attention has been paid to pattern, plan and perspective. The definition by Andrews is one with a clear distinction between the corporate strategy and business strategy. This is very useful as it provides a clear understanding of the business in which the company will compete as well as the basis of the competition. He has also taken into consideration the position as an important element of strategy. This draws attention to the guru of competitive strategy; i.e. Micheal Porter. According to Porter, Strategy is about being different, he also said, “It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value" (Porter, 1996). There are a number of different thoughts that have been laid down this clearly shows why there is a question of what a strategy really is. There is uncertainty if strategy is a plan, or whether it’s a route to obtain ends, or positions. Strategy is a combination of four major things, i.e. perspective, position, plan and pattern (Mintzberg, et.al, 2002). The strategy normally in simple terms can be described as the as a web of thoughts, insights, and ideas, experiences, and goals. It also includes to a great extent the memories, perceptions, expectations and also provides for specific actions of particular ends. It can also be described as the course that has been imagined for the company (Nickols, 2004). Every strategy has a purpose and the end is always taken into consideration and the outcome is also required to be well decided well before hand. Strategy is more like a framework that which provides for the actions that need to be taken and also shaped based on the actions that are taken. A clear end result that is required allows for formulating better and clearer strategies and helps reach unto the ends that are being aimed at. Without a clear view of the end results, strategies tend to be less effective and will not serve the purpose for the organisation as a whole (Mintzberg, et.al, 2002). Based on the various definitions that have been developed over the past, it is clear that the need for a clear plan and a clear set of ideas is very essential for the companies and for the authorities responsible. A comment from Lionel Urwicks classic Harvard Business Review article regarding the span of control is applicable here: "There is nothing which rots morale more quickly and more completely than . . . the feeling that those in authority do not know their own minds" (Urwick, 1956). Without a clear and widespread understanding of the ends, no levels of strategic planning will help the company. However, irrespective of any of the definitions that are considered, the end decision for all the companies is the same. The decision and strategies of a company mainly pertain to the products, services, customers, markets, distribution channels, technologies, pricing, etc. Thus the most essential elements that are required for a strategy are structure, discipline, and a systematic way of making decisions (Nickols, 2004). Conclusions: Based on the above discussion and after a study of the various definitions of strategy, it is clear that this is a concept that has been borrowed from the military and there is very little that is required for the businesses to adapt too. Strategy can be considered to be a means of attaining the end results. The specifications of the end are more likely to be stated based on the conditions and the circumstances and this however can be known only once the ends are obtained. Strategies are more of a route that is required to be attained rather than what the final aims are, nor for how to obtain the ends (Mintzberg, et.al, 2002). There are four main parts to the structure and strategy forms just one of the four parts of the structure. The other three are the ends that are required to be obtained, the tactics that are usually employed and the resources themselves that are available to meet the end results. The strategies are only the way that is chosen and the ways how the resources will be utilized. It is also important to understand that the determination of the enterprise is a matter of governance however the achievement is a matter of management. It is to a great extent up to the people who govern the organization to ensure that the ends are legal, ethical and also those which will benefit the members of the company as well as the company itself. Strategy is a joint effort of both people who govern as well as people who manage and the tactics that are normally used are all by people who manage (Nickols, 2004). The means and the resources are generally jointly controlled and the persons who are responsible for the management generally form the people responsible for the employment of resources and this is normally in the context of the ends that are sought. Thus it can be said that strategy is an adaptive view and is an evolving view. Based on this study, it is difficult in to provide for a clear definition of strategy. But it can be said very confidently that strategy is a very broad subject hence the definition of it is unambiguous. As Markides, has mentioned, there is very little agreement on what the topic really is and this has been proved from the various suggestions that have been provided by the various authors. It is also up to each individual to come up to an individual concise of what the subject is based on the available literature and the companies as well. Bibliography Andrew, K., 1980, ‘The concept of Corporate Strategy’, 2nd edition, Dow – Jones Irwin Bernus, P., Nemes, L., & Schmidt, G., 2003, ‘Handbook on enterprise architecture’, Springer Publishers, New York Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R., 2006, ‘Exploring Corporate Strategy’, 7th edn, Prentice Hall, Essex Mintzberg, H., Lampel, J., Quinn, J.B., & Ghoshal, S., 2002, ‘The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts and Cases’, 4th Edition, Financial Times Management, Prentice Hall Nickols, F., 2004, ‘Strategy: Definition and Meaning’, 6th October 2004, Accessed on 9th March 2009, Retrieved from http://home.att.net/~nickols/strategy_definition.htm Porter, M., 1996, ‘What is strategy?’, November – December 1996, Harvard Business Review Urwick, L., 1956, ‘The Span of Control’, May – June 1956, Harvard Business Review Read More