1.
Why
is strategy making like a science and why is it also like an art or craft?
Strategy making
is itself a complex subject. It is like a science because it involves the
following things:
·
Single person analyzing and making
logical recommendation:
In the strategy decision making process a single
person analyses the data. He observes the data and manipulates it so that it
can be understood by others and uses it. And according to the nature of the
result they provide recommendation to its users.
·
Strategy as a rational formulaic
application of analytical tools or set of rules:
Strategy
can be seen as a tool to solve any problem aroused in an organization. A
strategist prepares a set of rules for an organization and the organization
needs to follow according to the given sets of rules.
·
Strategy as formulation and then
implementation
In
science we first experiment and then we will decide whether the experiment
fails or pass. Similarly, while making strategy we first formulate and observe
them. If any correction is needed we will try to improve and then finally
implement it.
Strategy making is like art or
craft because:
·
Group activity involves conflicts,
politics and compromise
Strategy
making process is a group activity so one need to creative to expose their ideas
and views. One needs to able to handle conflicts that arise during strategy
formation. There needs to be a person who can deal with micro and macro factors
and each member needs to compromise in order to make a good strategy.
·
Strategy as a creative and unpredictable
process
Strategy
is an art because one needs to visualize the scenario and should be creative.
As strategy making is an unpredictable one should be very careful in such
process.
·
Strategy as exploratory and emerging
The
main focus of strategy is to explore something that will lead an organization
into a long run. They have to be ready to deal with conflicts and problems that
arise in the business. Strategy is like craft because you have to experience
the problem and you need to solve by yourself.
2. In your own words and using
reference quotes describe the differences between intended strategy and
emergent strategy.
Most
of the strategies are the combination of both the emergent and intended
strategy. They are different because of the following reasons:
·
Planned versus emergent
Intended
strategies are planned earlier. For example, making decision to manufacture a
certain products and services is an intended strategy. Whereas a quick decision
to cope with a problem is emergent strategy. For example, after the social
media “FACEBOOK” BECAME successful Google also introduces “GOOGLE PLUS” which
is an emergent strategy.
·
Analyzing Versus Exploring
Intended
strategy is all about analyzing the product in a market whereas emergent
strategy tries to explore new things which might create new market and becomes
the first to capture the market.
·
Formal and structured Versus Informal
and unstructured
Intended
strategy making process is a long term process. So, it will be formal and
structured. Emergent strategy can be made with a minute because of emergency.
To get competitive advantage, emergent strategies are made and it will be
informal and unstructured.
·
Think then act versus Trial and error
Intended
strategies are made with a long term planning. Long term research and study is
needed to implement such strategy. But in emergent strategies they are used as
a trial. If it produces good result or shows positive sign then it will be
followed, if not it will be dumped.
·
Forecast versus Experiment
With
the help of intended strategy, we can forecast the business or its possible
outcomes, whereas in emergent strategy it is only taken as an experiment to
test the outcomes.
·
Strategic Planning Versus Strategic
Thinking
All
about strategic planning is analysis. It is the process which breaks down goals
of a firm and designs the steps to implement them. It also involves estimating
the possible outcome of the work.
On
the other hand, strategic thinking is a process of formulating the vision and
art to construct a strategy. It should be able to analyze and understand the
complex condition, then develop actions that can perform a positive impact
towards predefined goals and objectives of the organization.
3. Choose 2 of the ten Schools of
thought and describe them in your words. Try and provide a real world example
for each. E.g. an organization or a situation.
·
The Entrepreneurial School
Entrepreneurial
school of thoughts says that strategy is formed in a visionary process. It is
believed that secrecy is maintained to make vision flexible and affluent. Power
or authority lies under CEO where they need to have a transformational
charismatic leadership to lead an organization.
For
example, Apple Company was established in April 1, 1976 to sell the personnel
computer kit.
But with the vision and charismatic leadership, art, vision and innovation of
Steve jobs it has been able to become a number one brand today.
·
The Cultural School
Shared
beliefs or values are the main source of strategy formation in Cultural School
of thought. It is also believed that in order to change strategy there will be
a need of cultural change.
For
example, a foreign investor wants to start business in Nepal. So, in order to
start business in a good way he first needs to have the knowledge about culture
and Nepalese skills. Then he need to follow the rules and regulation of Nepal
as law are different from one country to another. So, there is a need of
cultural change before investing in other country.
4. Write about your experience with
today’s case study. What answer did you give to the questions?
It was participating in group discussion. We were six members in
our group and we discussed about the Google’s strategy. My team concluded that Google
is following emergent strategy after reading the case of Google. But another
two groups were arguing that Google is following intended strategy.
Following are the questions and answer during the case study:
a)
Would you
describe Google’s strategy as more deliberate or more emergent? (list reasons
for each)
I
think Google is experimental as it is involved in each and every sector. It
seems that Google’s strategy is emergent because of the following reasons:
It
has invested in new projects like wind energy which is totally different from
its core business
It
has also been involved in testing the self driving cars.
It
made Android free of cost, where other operating system charges for such
systems.
b)
What are the
advantages of being very “experimental”? (list)
Followings
are the advantages of being very experimental:
·
Business
leader:
If
you become the first to explore new products or markets then you can be the
leader and you will be the first who can grab the available opportunities.
·
Higher
risk means higher profit:
There
might be a high chance of loss of being very experimental but if you success
then they will get a high return than the others.
·
Sources
of income increases:
When
you have more sources of income then your revenue will automatically be higher.
c)
What are the disadvantages
of being very “experimental”? (list)
Followings
are the disadvantages of being very experimental:
·
Chances
of high loss
In
the experiment you get success or loss. If you get success it will be good, but
if you fail then you will suffer from a huge loss of money and time.
·
Conflict
may arises by which decision making process may be slow:
In experimental process, decisions should be
made immediately. But due to the conflict between the shareholders such as
whether to invest or not may make the decision process longer.
d)
What do you
think of their strategy? (try to justify and support your views)
I think their strategy is good because till
date it has managed to perform their job in a excellent way. Everyone knows
what Google is all about. Being emergent, on one side they are exploring new
products and services that can attract more customers and on the other side
their sources of income is also increasing day by day with the introduction of
new products and services. They want to be the leader so they have adopted the
emergent strategy. For example, they have invested in wind project, testing
self driven cars, providing Android system free of cost, developing own library
for online applications and many more. As needs of customers are advancing and
becoming more complex one cannot always follow the same strategy. They need to
adopt with time. So, in such a technological world, every company needs to
follow the emergent strategy in order to explore more and more.
References:
- Archibald Percival Wavell, Soldiers and Soldiering: Or Epithets of War (London: Jonathan Cape, 1953), p. 47
- Chandler, A.D., Strategy and Structure, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1962
- http://planningskills.com
- http://smallwarsjournal.com
- www.straightdope.com/
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