Chapter 7 Strategy formation
Introduction
Definition: ‘Strategy is a course of action for achieving an organization’s
purpose’.
Intended strategy is what individuals or organizations formulate prior to action (a
pattern of decisions).
Realized strategy refers to the strategic behaviour exhibited in practice (a pattern
of actions). Strategy formulation: The process by which an intended strategy is
created.
Strategy formation: The process by which a realized strategy is formed.
If the actions do not follow a pattern directed at achieving the organization’s
purpose, it does not qualify as strategy.
Managers must also ask themselves how the entire process of strategy formation
should be managed to get their organizations to act strategically. Who should be
involved, what activities need to be undertaken and to what extent can strategy
be formulated in advance?
The issue of realized strategy
Getting an organization to exhibit strategic behaviour is what all strategists aim
to achieve. Ultimately it is the organization’s actions directed at the marketplace
that count. The key issue facing managers is, therefore, how this strategic
behaviour can be attained.
Strategy formation activities
Getting people within an organization to exhibit strategic behaviour necessitates
the exchange of information and ideas, decision-making procedures,
communication channels, the allocation of resources and the coordination of
actions.
Identifying refers to all activities contributing to better understanding of what
should be viewed as problematic - what constitutes an important opportunity or
threat that must be attended to if the organization’s purpose is to be met. The
key activities are:
Mission setting. What the organization sees as an issue will in part depend
on its mission. Where a company has a clearly developed mission, shared
by all key players in the organization, this will strongly colour its filtering of
strategic issues.
Agenda setting. Besides the organizational mission, many other factors can
contribute to the focusing of organizational attention on specific strategic
issues. The cognitive map of each strategist, group cultures, under what
conditions discussions should take place, each actor’s communication and
Introduction
Definition: ‘Strategy is a course of action for achieving an organization’s
purpose’.
Intended strategy is what individuals or organizations formulate prior to action (a
pattern of decisions).
Realized strategy refers to the strategic behaviour exhibited in practice (a pattern
of actions). Strategy formulation: The process by which an intended strategy is
created.
Strategy formation: The process by which a realized strategy is formed.
If the actions do not follow a pattern directed at achieving the organization’s
purpose, it does not qualify as strategy.
Managers must also ask themselves how the entire process of strategy formation
should be managed to get their organizations to act strategically. Who should be
involved, what activities need to be undertaken and to what extent can strategy
be formulated in advance?
The issue of realized strategy
Getting an organization to exhibit strategic behaviour is what all strategists aim
to achieve. Ultimately it is the organization’s actions directed at the marketplace
that count. The key issue facing managers is, therefore, how this strategic
behaviour can be attained.
Strategy formation activities
Getting people within an organization to exhibit strategic behaviour necessitates
the exchange of information and ideas, decision-making procedures,
communication channels, the allocation of resources and the coordination of
actions.
Identifying refers to all activities contributing to better understanding of what
should be viewed as problematic - what constitutes an important opportunity or
threat that must be attended to if the organization’s purpose is to be met. The
key activities are:
Mission setting. What the organization sees as an issue will in part depend
on its mission. Where a company has a clearly developed mission, shared
by all key players in the organization, this will strongly colour its filtering of
strategic issues.
Agenda setting. Besides the organizational mission, many other factors can
contribute to the focusing of organizational attention on specific strategic
issues. The cognitive map of each strategist, group cultures, under what
conditions discussions should take place, each actor’s communication and
