Strategic Management S8/ACG

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
SYNTHESIS

OUTAL Samir
ACG
2015/2016

Strategic Management S8/ACG

Document 1 :
The planning school
In this schools trail of thoughts strategy is seen as a formal process which
includes a rigorous set of steps, starting from the conception of the strategy to the
exploration and development of various scenarios, from which one is chosen and
implemented.
To come up with a strategy while following the teachings of this school, a formal
process is followed, this process is defined by distinct and well distinguished steps
that must adhere to checklists and rigorously defined techniques.
The duty of elaborating this strategy is given to a specific department, a department
that includes well-formed employees who possess the skills and abilities needed to
do so.
Numerous models have been formed following the same logic as the planning
school, but they all converge at following the same process, and going through the
same stages:
The objective setting stage: the goal is to define, explain and wherever
possible quantify the objectives of the organization using specific tools.
The external audit stage: in this stage, different prevision are made to ensure
that we understand and quantify the changes that are going to occur in the
external environment of the organization.
The internal audit stage: it consists of the study of strengths and
weaknesses within the organization.
The strategy evaluation stage: Every scenario that we have previously
elaborated is now up for an evaluation following rigorous methods and check
lists.
The operationalization stage: objectives, budgets, strategies and programs
declined in long medium and short terms are the whole work during this stage,
and we are now talking about controlling more than planning.
The scheduling stage: this final stages consists of scheduling the timeline of
every action carefully and in an efficient way.
The design school
The famous SWOT analysis is one of the central tools of the Design School. The
strategy of an organization is designed through the analysis of its internal Strengths
and Weaknesses therefore defining the firms distinctive competences. The evaluation
of external Opportunities and Threats helps to define the key success factors. These
are combined to allow for the creation of strategy, or at least the definition of a number
of strategic alternatives.
2

Strategic Management S8/ACG

The resulting strategy alternatives are evaluated and refined using the firms
managerial values, the beliefs and preferences of the organizations leaders and social
responsibility and the ethics of the social environment as perceived by the managers.
The evaluation takes place using the criteria of advantage and feasibility. Once the
best possible strategy has been selected, implementation follows.
There are other important factors to consider in the strategy:
The first is related with the management values : beliefs and preferences of
those who run the organization officially;
The second one is social responsibility in particular the ethics of the society in
which the organization functions.
The main differences between the two schools:
Design school
Strategy is made by the leaders of the
Organization.

Planning school
Strategy is made by a specific
department composed of specific people
with specific skills.
Follows a set of specific processes to
make a strategy.
Strategy must be quantified, and check
listed.
Analyzing and forecasting the
environment.

Follows an idea to make a strategy.

Strategy must follow the beliefs of the
leaders.
Analyzing the environment.

Document 2:
Strategic thinking is conceived as a set of ideas, principles, concrete rules and
operational procedures, that shape the way managers think about their role, therefore
serving as a guide for their daily actions.
Strategic thinking is far bigger than strategy itself, and in a way the source and
beginning of it.
Strategic thinking as a process and as a state of mind: this means that strategic
thinking is not only a process but also a state of mind, because a strategy is not only
made by following a set of steps, but it is also made by being involved and having a
vision as well as being able to transform that vision into a valid strategy.
Strategic thinking as the outcome of downscaling the ideal strategy to a possible
strategy:
The possible strategy is the result of scaling down the ideal strategy to a feasible end
point. From the largely utopian image, we descend the steps created by limitations in
resources, organizational culture, legislation, current market trends, etc.
Strategic thinking as a specific frame of reference:
Managers can approach information processing in two dominant ways:

Strategic Management S8/ACG

They can either let past experience guide current information processing, or they can
let the current information context guide the process. The most important phase in the
exercise of strategic leadership is the front-end work.
An alternative approach to strategy as derived from strategic thinking:
Strategy can be apprehended as the perspective of a managers shared framework It
can be considered as the daily guide for a managers daily actions. It can be adapted
depending on the internal and the external environment of the organization.
Types of frame of reference: (scheme)
Drifted frame of reference: An individuals mindset that changes based on
experience, values, beliefs and habits.
Reflected frame of reference: This represent a frame of reference that is
updated on a continuous and deliberate basis. In light of new events that catch
their attention, managers ponder the circumstances and adjust their mindset to
fit the new reality.
Enduring organizational mindset: This is best described as an enduring
organizational mindset, an essentially inflexible collective mind that changes
only gradually.
Strategic thinking: This constitutes what we refer to as strategic thinking. As
mentioned above, it represents a flexible frame of reference which is refined as
a result of reflection, reconsideration and new insights, and which places
objectives and priorities as the common ground.

Document 3:
The authors of Stratgique 9th edition, define strategy as a key to shaping the
future, thats why managers need to understand the strategic direction of their
organization, both for the support of their superiors, but also to explain the meaning
of their work to their subordinates, in effect, the strategy is the strategic long-term
direction of an organization which each organization has its own orientation and its
own vision, it depends on the strategy adopted. Strategy doesnt have one definition
but the three authors Chandler, Porter and Mintzberg said that strategy is based on
three aspects: Long-term, orientation and organization. They proposed also the three
horizons framework that offers a way to concurrently manage both current and future
opportunities for growth.
The strategy includes three levels: the first level is corporate strategy, it concerns a
whole organization, and it aims to meet the expectations of owners and stakeholders,
increasing the value of different parts of the organization. Secondly, business
strategy which sets goals for performance, evaluates the actions of competitors and
specifies actions that a company must take to maintain and improve its competitive
advantages. And then functional strategy, this level of strategy is the foundation of
the organization, here are developed operational strategies and different parts of the
organization (resources, processes, know-how of individuals) are determined.
There are also three dimensions of strategic management: The strategic diagnosis,
which have as an objective to understand the strategic impact of external environment,
4

Strategic Management S8/ACG

the strategic capacity of an organization, and its objectives as well as its culture,
training the managers to understand what is happening on both the inside and the
outside of their organization and how to integrate the environment in their developed
strategies by taking into consideration the resources and the abilities of the
organization. The second step is strategy formulation, which consist in formulating
options and strategic business unit (SBU) and select the best one to gain and to
sustain a competitive advantage, and finally strategy execution where the high level
plan is translated into more operational planning and actions.

Document 4:
Professor Porter clarifies that steps we take in order to achieve something are not a
strategy, and the goals we want to achieve are not a strategy.
A strategy is the advantage we want to have, meaning that a strategy is how we
differentiate ourselves from the rest, as well as strategy is something that is proper to
us and not something common to everyone.