STRATEGY Process, Content, Context Chapter 1 Introduction

Agenda Strategy Dimensions Organizational Purpose Strategy Process Strategy Content Strategy Context Organizational Purpose Introduction to the Readings

Strategy Dimensions Process, Content and Context

Strategy Dimensions Aspects of the Strategy Process

Strategy Content Business, Corporate and Network Levels

Strategy Context Industry, organizational and International

Structuring the Strategy Debates Chapter Topics and strategy tensions

Structuring the Strategy Debates Strategy Tensions as Strategy Paradoxes

Taking a Dialectical Approach Advantages Range of ideas Presenting opposite perspectives frame the full set of views that exist on the topic Points of contention The ´contrast function´ of opposite ideas is that it brings points of contention into sharper focus Stimulus for bridging The ´integrative function´ of presenting opposite ides is that it stimulates readers to seek a way of getting the best of both worlds Stimulus for creativity The ´generative function´ of presenting opposite ideas is that it stimulates innovative ideas

Strategy Synthesis Model

IV. Debate and the Readings Introduction 1.1 S. Cummings: The First Strategists Historical perspective 1.2 R. Mason and I. Mitroff: Complexity: The Nature of Real World Problems Introduction on the nature of strategic problems 1.3 M. Scott Poole and A. van de Ven: Using Paradox to Build Management and Organization Theories Introduction to paradoxes 1.4 G. Hofstede: Cultural Constraints in Management Theories Doubts about universal validity of strategic management

The First Strategists Practical Lessons Pericles Opportunity waits for no man Pericles Do not make any conquests during the war Epaminondas Defeat the enemy at the strongest point, not at the weakest Alexander the Great Decisions can only be made when the circumstances arise

2. Complexity Problem Interaction Matrix

Complexity Characteristics of Wicked Problems Strong connections link each problem to other problems Interconnectedness Wicked problems have numerous elements with relationships among them including feedback loops Complicatedness Wicked problems exist in a dynamic environment Uncertainty Wicked problems can be seen in different ways and there is no single ´correct view´ Ambiguity There is often a need to trade off ´goods´ against ´bads´ Conflict Social constraints Social, organizational, and political constraints

Complexity Quest for New Methods Participative Because the solution is distributed among many individuals, active involvement is vital Adversarial The best way to judge complex problems is in the context of opposition Integrative It is necessary to bring diverse and relevant together into a total picture Managerial mind supporting The thinking process needs to be supported

3. Using Paradoxes Different Levels A thought-provoking contradiction of all sorts, a puzzle needing a solution General A trope which represents an opposition of two accepted theses Rhetorical Consists of two contrary or even contradictory propositions to which we are led by apparently sound arguments Logic

Using Paradoxes Methods for Working with Paradoxes Opposition Accept the paradox and use it constructively Spatial Separation Clarify levels of analysis Temporal Separation Take time into account Synthesis Introduce new terms to resolve the paradox

4. Cultural Constraints Culture Dimensions Power Distance The degree of inequality among people which the population of a country considers as normal Individualism The degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of a groups Masculinity The degree to which hard values like assertiveness, performance, success etc. prevail over tender values Uncertainty Avoidance The degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations Long-Term Orientation The degree to which people in a country prefer values orientated towards the future

Cultural constraints Idiosyncrasies of American Management Theories The stress on market processes II. The stress on the individual III. The stress on managers rather than workers