Mintzbergs Ten Schools of Thought and Whittingtons Strategic Lenses - Essay Example

Strategic Management Table of Contents Introduction 3 Ideas of Strategy 3 Mintzberg’s Ten Schools of Thought 5 Whittington’s Strategic Lenses 10 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction Strategy is one of the most important and relevant themes persisting within business organisations, which determines their overall success (Payne, 2009). Strategy is a theme, which provides coherence along with direction to the decision-making procedure of an organisation. In other words, it can be stated that strategy is a mix of views and competitive moves of numerous business approaches that are executed by the managers of an organisation for gaining superior customer satisfaction. Thus, strategy can be reflected as a basic direction or plan, which is established by the business organisations to achieve their predetermined vision as well as mission. Specially mentioning, strategic management assists modern business organisations to take effective decisions and conduct activities for attaining success, resulting in attaining superior competitive position and sustaining in the long run (Wells, 2003). In this essay, the views of two different authors of strategic management will be elaborately discussed in order to gain a proper understanding of strategy. The essay intends to explore and compare the views of Mintzberg’s ten schools of thoughts along with Whittington’s four strategic lenses. A proper analysis will be conducted in order to gain insights about the different levels of strategy. Ideas of Strategy According to the views of Michael Porter, strategy is a decision, which includes a conscious approach of performing activities in a different manner from that of the competitors in order to accomplish a viable long-term competitive advantage. Porter states that it is important for the organisations to focus not only on the operational perspectives but also on the strategic activities that tends to be effective in performing effectively in the business markets (Sage Publication, n.d.). Moreover, as per the views of Strickland and Thompson (2003), strategy is described as a managerial process, which is used to form strategic visions, objectives and approaches that are considered to be appropriate in order to accomplish long-term success. It is reflected that a strategy is said to be ineffective without the implementation of proper strategic management. It is often observed that there are various strategies that reflect as quite useful for developing overall business performance, but does not succeed in the long-run due to the lack of strategic management initiative. It is noticeable that the success of the organisations is dependable on various factors and thus there exists various levels of strategy for fulfilling the aforesaid objectives. The different levels that are important for the success of the organisations include corporate level strategy, business level strategy along with operational level strategy (Strickland & Thompson, 2003). However, there are various others authors in the field of strategic management such as Henry Mintzberg and Richard Whittington who had provided dissimilar viewpoints about the notion of strategy. The authors had different perceptions and diverse “schools of thought” regarding the concept of strategy and its successful implementation in the business organisations for gaining superior competitive position and long-term sustainability in the business environment without the fear of competition. It would be vital to mention that Mintzberg highlighted the significance of “ten schools of thought” regarding the concept of strategy formulation for the sustainability of the organisations based on operational along with strategic thinking (Dettmer, 2003). On the other hand, Whittington’s school of strategic thought reflected different philosophies regarding the formulation of strategy. The author formulated his thoughts into four generic strategic frameworks in order to derive a successful outcome for the success of the organisations in the competitive scenario (Rowe, 2008). Moreover, it is seen that the concept of strategy has undergone various changes over the previous few years and have shown tremendous alteration, which can be best examined through the use of number of lenses. Lenses are of importance in order to analyse the changing concepts of strategy and perspectives for understanding the complexity of strategy development and implementation. Mintzberg’s Ten Schools of Thought Henry Mintzberg is one of the famous experts who made significant contribution in the field of strategy formulation as well as execution. The author initiated the “ten schools of thought” regarding the development of strategy for the success of the organisations and attainment of their respective business goals. Among the ten “schools of thoughts” explained by Mintzberg, three of them are found to be prescriptive and the remaining seven are descriptive. These have been discussed in detail in the following. The Design School- The design school concept suggests that the strategy of any organisation must be established by evaluating its strengths as well as weaknesses along with assessing the external environment and the opportunities accessible for the business. The school emphasises the importance of strengthening internal along with external capabilities of the organisations. This model is a process of conception, wherein the approach is to formulate clear and unique strategies. It states that the internal situation of the business should be able to match with the external environment to attain a competitive advantage. This concept expresses the use of SWOT analysis technique to implement proper strategy be analysing the organisational strengths along with weaknesses (Shekhar, 2009). The strategy implemented in this school of thought is influenced by the architecture as a metaphor. As per this school of thought, social responsibilities along with managerial values of an organisation play an important part in the formulation of strategies. This school of thought made various contributions towards the strategy formulation, which includes orders and reduced ambiguity in the business organisations (Cordos, n.d.). The model is of importance and is effective in the environment, which is stable. Moreover, this particualr school of thought supports leadership, which is strong and visionary. However, in the real context, the environment is ever changing and it is important to analyse the business environments. In this context, the example for such school of thought in strategy formulation is the Toyota Motor Company. The company formulated strategy for the hybrid car Prius, which is eco-friendly (Jump Associates, 2013). The Planning School- As per this school of thought, strategy is reflected as a plan, which acts as a guide or direction for the future course of action. The planning school is a formal process wherein rigorous steps are taken from analysis situation to the execution of the strategy. Moreover, according to this school of thought, the strategy is the result of conscious and controlled process of formal planning. This concept enhances the need for brainstorming in order to achieve the goals of the companies and allocate the resources as per their need. This concept is mostly implemented in the contemporary environment of business. The concept is based on urban planning and has enough room for invention. The contribution of this school is that it provides a clear direction for the businesses in order to formulate strategies. However, the concept can generate conflicts amid the managers as it is grounded on pure instinct (Shekhar, 2009). The Positioning School- This school of thought differs from the other two thoughts of Mintzberg. The concept signify that the business should focus more on the current situations and thus formulate strategies in order to alter its current situation in the industry. This concept states that the business should implement strategies that would assist them to alter their current situations for making better progress in the same. This is an analytical process, which looks at the fact regarding how a business can improve in internal as well as external environments. The contribution of this school of thought is that it focuses on the durable facts. The strategy implements the BCG matrix, value chain analysis and game theory in order to formulate strategy (Shekhar, 2009). The Entrepreneurial School- This school of thought emphasises determining the role of the leaders and their visions for strategizing business. The visionary leader will be effective in formulating strategy keeping in view the contemporary environment. The supporters of this school tend to value the importance of strategic vision in order to attain the desired goals of the organisations. This concept is of relevance as strategy in this school becomes centralised and hence the formulation for strategy development depends on the leader. The vision acts as an inspiration for the business and its success. The strategy is formulated in the mind of the leaders with proper control and it is implemented as per the requirement of the business. One key example of this type of school of thought is Ford Motor Company, which followed strategies based on the roles of the visionary leaders (Kaipa & Kriger, 2010). The Cognitive School- This school of thought formulates strategies by taking into concern the psychological need of the customers. The theory reflects that more information that an organisation acquire about the customers’ needs and the business environment, the decision regarding formulating strategy would become easier. The cognitive philosophy is thus of relevance for the organisational success as it helps in taking the best decisions. This school of thought is often regarded as a mental process as it formulates the strategy by focusing on the perception of the customers and their changing behaviours. The concept analyses the reasons for having changes in the behaviours of the customers (Shekhar, 2009). The concept is usually influenced by various psychological facts and is of no use in the contemporary business owing to its expensive approach and time consuming. Moreover, the concept of cognitive school at certain times goes wrong as it depends on the mind-sets of the strategy makers. Example for this concept is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., as the company evaluates the needs of the customers and then strategize its policies (Wexler, 2011). The Learning School- According to Mintzberg, this concept reflects that business organisations follow this school of thought and implement strategy based on their learning and mistakes. The formulation of strategy in this process tends to be slow as the managers first learn and then formulate strategy. Education is the influential factor in this form of concept and it is useful in the business environment. This form of concept is expensive, as it requires proper learning in order to form strategy (Shekhar, 2009). In this concept, strategy is formed by analysing from experiencing past mistakes and learning. For example, The McDonald’s Corporation attained success in the business markets of China after analysing its past mistakes and learning. The company initially failed to appeal customers in the Chinese business market based on their cultural aspect. However, the company learnt from its past mistakes and launched products according to the customers’ preferences with new strategy (Griffith, 2008). The Power School- As per this school of thought, strategies are formulated on the basis of power to gain competitive advantage. The power is useful as it helps the organisations in formulating strategy based on their brand image. This strategy is useful as it enforces few powers over the customers for the benefit of the organisations. The influential factor for this concept is the political science. It also possesses certain few similarities with regards to the entrepreneurial school of thought on the aspect of visionary leader. This concept contributes in strategizing policies in the form of taking necessary steps in opposition to mitigate crucial operational issues. The approach is realistic in nature keeping in view various aspects. The power has been divided into two forms i.e. micro power and macro power. Micro power reflects the conflicts taking place within the organisations such as bargaining and persuasion amid the employees. On the contrary, micro power reflects the situation when the organisations enforce their respective power over partners and alliances. This is usually implemented by the organisations having monopoly. This process is expensive and any misconduct might lead to the implementation of a wrong strategy (Shekhar, 2009). A key example of power school of thought is Lancome perfume. This perfume has quality fragrances that charm several customers who have a propensity to purchase similar product, as it becomes their signature (Rose & Ruegemer, n.d.). The Cultural School- This concept is a collective process, which tends to include various groups along with departments within the organisations. The formulation of the strategy is referred to as fundamentally collective as well as cooperative process. This school of thought states that culture of the organisations assists in developing effective strategy. The process is of importance as it encourages employees’ participation in strategizing policies. It is influenced by anthropology and plays an important role while taking decisions based on organisational values. Culture is regarded as the core aspect of strategy formulation (Shekhar, 2009). One of the business examples in this regard is HSBC as the company believes in diversity and values different cultures. The strategies formulate by HSBC are developed keeping in view the cultural aspects (The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, 2008). The Environmental School- This particular school of thought is based on the fact that strategies are developed as per the external environment. The organisations focus on the external factors such as political and social among others for the implementation of strategy. It is a reactive process wherein the strategy is responsive towards the challenges levied due to the changes in external environment. This strategy analyses the external environment but does not consider the internal environment of the organisations (Shekhar, 2009). The Configuration School – This concept is a process of transformation as it combines the thoughts of various schools. The concept denotes that the organisations with this school of thought focus on making significant changes while formulating decisions (Shekhar, 2009). This concept reflects the need for flexible structure of the organisations and helps in taking prompt effective strategy to gain competitive advantage. Example can be Facebook, as it experiences the emerging popularity of one of its service i.e. “whatsapp” and initiated strategy to develop it as per the changing environment (Fitzgerald, 2014). Whittington’s Strategic Lenses Strategic lenses are regarded as important perceptions of strategic management that tend to evaluate different strategic perspectives. These lenses are often viewed as important approach implemented by Johnson and Scholes in order to develop strategy. Different lenses are appropriate as per the situations and circumstances for the development of strategy. The strategic lenses have been described in detail in the following. Strategy As Design- As per this strategic lens, strategy can be seen as a consequence of the design process. The design lens interprets strategy development as a thoughtful positioning of the organisations in terms of following directive, analytical along with structured process. It is based on two principles that include the proficiency of the managers being rational in making effective decisions and such decisions help in optimising the economic performance at large. The strategic decision is based on the careful evaluation of the industry based on the business environment and the resources. This type of strategy is useful for organisations with hierarchical structure of management. The top down organisation structure is followed in the design lens view, which is similar to deliberate strategy (Johnson & et. al., 2005). Strategy as Experience- The experience lens view strategic development as the result of the individual along with collective experience gained from inducing the strategy. It would be vital to mention in this similar context that this strategic lens is grounded on the experience attained from formulating as well as executing past strategies. It has a strong influence of culture and wisdom towards the strategy development. The strategy of experience lens is similar to incremental strategy. Moreover, this strategy includes high level of negotiation in making greater strategy development (Johnson & et. al., 2005). Strategy as Ideas- The strategy of idea lens values diversity and innovation in the organisations for attaining predetermined business targets. This form of lens values the cultural aspects of the employees and respects their ideas by following the bottom-up approach. This will certainly help the employees to feel valued and encourage the employees to attain their predetermined goals. It is similar to that of emergent strategy for developing effective strategies (Johnson & et. al., 2005 ;IUC, n.d). Strategy as Discourse- The strategy lens of disclosure gets inspiration from the choice taken from various possibilities for framing a strong strategy. The view is of importance in terms of valuing language and communication for strategy development. The disclosure lens reflect “The way in which we talk about strategy as well as the way in which we analyze particular actions that we categorize as strategic have political implications” (IUC, n.d.). Conclusion The essay explores the concept of strategy and its importance in business organisations. The views of the two experts Mintzberg and Whittington regarding strategy have been elaborately discussed. According to their respective viewpoints about strategy, it can be affirmed that strategy can be formulated as well as implemented through following various perspectives such as the above discussed schools of thought and strategic lenses. Thus, it can be concluded that the ten schools of thought are much useful than strategic lenses by taking into concern the challenges of business organisations of this 21st century as these found to be much effective in effectively determining as well as analysing internal along with external business environment. References Cordos, M., No Date. The Dimensions of the Managerial Thinking Strategic Schools and Their Deffinitory Characteristics for Elaborating the Strategy. Upload, pp. 1-7. Dettmer, H.W., 2003. Strategic Navigation: The Constraint Management Model. Documents, pp. 1-15. Fitzgerald, S., 2014. FTC Approves WhatsApp, Facebook Deal. Top Tech News. [Online] Available at: http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=032003WTKZWG [Accessed April 14, 2014]. Griffith, W., 2008. McDonalds Has A Big Appetite For China. CNBC. [Online] Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26226387/ns/business-cnbc_tv/t/mcdonalds-has-big-appetite-china/#.U0vRv1WSwXE [Accessed April 14, 2014]. 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