term paper on strategic management

Term Paper Topics on Strategic Management | Management

Here is a compilation of term paper topics on ‘Strategic Management’ especially written for college and management students.

• Term Paper Topic on Strategic Control through Formal and Informal Organizations

Term Paper Topic # 1. The Strategy Hierarchy :

In most (large) corporations there are several levels of strategy. Strategic management is the highest in the sense that it is the broadest, applying to all parts of the firm. It gives direction to corporate values, corporate culture, corporate goals, and corporate missions. Under this broad corpo­rate strategy there are often functional or business unit strategies.

Functional strategies include marketing strategies, new product development strategies, hu­man resource strategies, financial strategies, legal strategies, and information technology manage­ment strategies. The emphasis is on short and medium term plans and is limited to the domain of each department’s functional responsibility. Each functional department attempts to do its part in meeting overall corporate objectives, and hence to some extent their strategies are derived from broader corporate strategies.

Many companies feel that a functional organizational structure is not an efficient way to organ­ize activities so they have reengineered according to processes or strategic business units (called SBUs). A strategic business unit is a semi-autonomous unit within an organization. It is usually responsible for its own budgeting, new product decisions, hiring decisions, and price setting. An SBU is treated as an internal profit centre by corporate headquarters. Each SBU is responsible for develop­ing its business strategies, strategies that must be in tune with broader corporate strategies.

The “lowest” level of strategy is operational strategy. It is very narrow in focus and deals with day-to-day operational activities such as scheduling criteria. It must operate within a budget but is not at liberty to adjust or create that budget. Operational level strategy was encouraged by Peter Drucker in his theory of management by objectives (MBO).

Operational level strategies are informed by business level strategies which, in turn, are informed by corporate level strategies. Business strategy, which refers to the aggregated operational strategies of single business firm or that of an SBU in a diversified corporation, refers to the way in which a firm competes in its chosen arenas.

Corporate strategy, then, refers to the overarching strategy of the diversified firm. Such corpo­rate strategy answers the questions of “in which businesses should we compete?” and “how does being in one business add to the competitive advantage of another portfolio firm, as well as the competitive advantage of the corporation as a whole?”

Since the turn of the millennium, there has been a tendency in some firms to revert to a simpler strategic structure. This is being driven by information technology. It is felt that knowledge manage­ment systems should be used to share information and create common goals. Strategic divisions are thought to hamper this process. Most recently, this notion of strategy has been captured under the rubric of dynamic strategy, popularized by the strategic management textbook authored by Carpen­ter and Sanders.

This work builds on that of Brown and Eisenhardt as well as Christensen and portrays firm strategy, both business and corporate, as necessarily embracing ongoing strategic change, and the seamless integration of strategy formulation and implementation. Such change and imple­mentation are usually built into the strategy through the staging and pacing facets.

Term Paper Topic # 2. Process of Strategic Decision-Making :

How does one think and act strategically? Strategic decision-making is marked by four key distinctions. First, it is based on a systematic, comprehensive analysis of internal attributes and factors external to the organization, not just part of the organization. Second, it is long-term and future-oriented-usually several years to a decade or longer-but built on knowledge about the past and present. Third, it is distinctively opportunistic, always seeking to take advantage of favorable situa­tions that occur outside the organization.

Finally, strategic thinking involves choices. Although making “win-win” strategic decisions is often possible, most involve some degree of trade-off between alternatives, at least in the short run. For example, raising salaries to retain a skilled workforce can increase wages, and adding product features or enhancing quality can increase the cost of production.

However, such trade-offs may diminish in the long run, as a more skilled, higher paid workforce may be more productive than a typical workforce, and sales of a higher quality product may increase, thereby raising sales and poten­tially profits. Decision-makers must understand the complex relationships among numerous factors across the business spectrum.

Because of these distinctions, strategic decision-making is generally reserved for the top execu­tive and members of his or her top management team. The chief executive is the individual ultimately responsible (and generally held responsible) for the organization’s strategic management, but he or she rarely acts alone.

Except in the smallest companies, he or she relies on a team of top-level executives including members of the board of directors, vice presidents, and various line and staff managers-all of whom play instrumental roles in strategically managing the firm. Generally speaking, the quality of strategic decisions can improve dramatically when more than one capable executive participates in the process.

The size of the team on which the top executive relies for strategic input and support can vary from firm to firm. Centralized organizations generally involve fewer managers in strategic decisions than do decentralized ones. In addition, companies organized around functions such as marketing and production generally involve the heads of the functional departments in strategic decisions. Very large organizations often employ corporate-level strategic-planning staffs and outside consultants to assist top executives in the process.

The degree of involvement of top and middle managers in the strategic management process also depends on the personal philosophy of the CEO. Some chief executives are known for making quick decisions, whereas others have a reputation for involving a large number of top managers and others in the process.

Input to strategic decisions, however, need not be limited to members of the top management team. To the contrary, obtaining input from others throughout the organization, either directly or indirectly, can be quite beneficial. In fact, most strategic decisions result from the streams of inputs, decisions, and actions of many people. For example, an employee in a company’s research and development department may attend a trade show where a new product or production process idea that seems relevant to the company is discussed.

The employee may relate the idea to his or her manager, who, in turn, may modify and pass it along to his or her manager. Eventually, a version of the idea may be discussed with the organization’s marketing and production managers, and later presented to top management.

The CEO will ultimately decide whether or not to incorporate the idea into the ongoing strategic planning process. This example illustrates the indirect involvement of individuals throughout the organization in the strategic management process. Top management is ultimately responsible for the final decision, but its decision is based on a culmination of the ideas, creativity, information, and analyses of others.

Ethics and social responsibility are also key concerns in strategic decision-making. Simply stated, the moral components and social outcomes associated with a strategic decision, such as the effects of closing an existing production facility in search of lower costs broad, should be considered alongside economic concerns. These issues are discussed in greater detail under the umbrella of strategy formu­lation.

Term Paper Topic # 3. Strategic Dimensions of the Internet:

In addition to the movement towards di-aggreagtion and re-aggregation, the Internet has a number of characteristics closely associated with the strategic management process, the effects of which typically vary among industries.

1. Movement towards Information Symmetry :

Information symmetry occurs when all parties to a transaction share the same information concerning that transaction. Information symmetry is an underlying assumption of the economics- based models of “ pure competition .” Information asymmetry-when one party has information that another does not-is the primary reason why many markets that might otherwise tend toward pure competition remain marginally competitive.

Businesses often seek to promote information asymmetry and utilize the information edge to their own advantage. Automobile retailers, for example, rarely post their absolute bottom line prices on their vehicles. Consumers are generally left to “haggle” with a number of dealers to estimate the true wholesale cost of the vehicle and the value of various options and accessories. The lack of consumer knowledge, as well as the lack of time and expertise required to obtain the information desired, results in higher selling prices for many of the retailers.

Following this example, the Internet provides a wealth of information to educate consumers. Independent vehicle test results, retailer web sites, wholesale costs for new vehicles, and estimated trade-in values are only a few mouse clicks away. Some consumers may end up purchasing a vehicle from a sponsor of an informational site, and even educated consumers who do not complete part or all of the transaction process online will likely force their traditional retailer of choice to negotiate in a more competitive manner.

2. Internet as a Distribution Channel:

The Internet acts as a distribution channel for non-tangible goods and services. Consumers can purchase items such as airline tickets, insurance, stocks, and computer software online without the necessity of physical delivery. For largely tangible goods and services, businesses can often distribute the “ intangible portion ” online, such as product and warranty information.

3. Speed of the Internet:

The Internet offers numerous opportunities to improve the speed of the actual transaction, as well as the process that leads up to and follows it. Consumers and businesses alike can research information 24 hours a day. Orders placed online may be processed immediately. Software engineers in the United States can work on projects during the day and then pass their work along to their counterparts in India who can continue work while the Americans sleep.

4. Interactivity of the Internet:

The Internet provides extensive opportunities for interactivity that would otherwise not be available. Consumers can discuss their experiences with products and services on bulletin boards or in chat rooms. Firms can readily exchange information with trade associations that represent their industries. Users can share files with relative ease.

5. Potential for Cost Reductions and Cost Shifting:

The Internet provides many businesses with opportunities to minimize their costs both fixed and variable-and thereby enhance flexibility. Information can be distributed to thousands or millions of recipients without either the expense associated with the mail system or the equipment required to do so. The “ virtual storefront ” does not necessarily require an actual facility and may reduce transaction costs through automated online ordering systems, although this is not always the case.

Term Paper Topic # 4. Formulating Strategies of a Firm at the Business Level:

After a firm’s top managers have settled on a corporate-level strategy, at least in general terms, they need to focus on how the firm’s business (es) should complete. Whereas the corporate strategy concerns the basic thrust of the firm-where top managers would like to lead the firm- the business strategy addresses the competitive aspect- who the business should serve, what needs should be satis­fied, and how a business develop core competencies and be positioned so that the customers’ needs as satisfied.

A business unit is an organizational entity with its own mission, set of competitors, and industry. A single firm that operates within only one industry is also considered a business unit. Strategic managers craft competitive strategies for each business unit to attain and sustain competi­tive advantage, a state whereby its successful strategies cannot be easily duplicated by its competitors. In most industries, a number of different competitive approaches can be successful, depending on the business unit’s resources.

Although each business strategy is unique, strategies can be classified into a limited number of generic strategies based on their similarities. Generic strategies emphasize the commonalities among different business strategies, not their differences. Business adopting the same generic strategy com­prises what is commonly referred to as a strategic group.

In the airline industry, for example, one strategic group may comprise carriers such as Southwest Airlines and Air Tran that offer low fares and no frills on a limited number of domestic routes, thereby maintaining their low cost structures price may traditional carriers such as Continental, United, and American that serve both domestic and international routes and offer extra services such as meals and movies on extended flights.

A new breed of fast-food restaurants is avoiding the value menu concept, however. High-end sandwich chains such as Paner Bread Company and Corner Bakery Cafe are sticking to a highly differentiated approach, emphasizing fresh bread and ingredients to an increasingly health- con­scious market. The various strategic implemented by different, successful fast-food players demon­strate the number of viable market niches available in the industry.

Because industry definitions and strategy assessment are not always clear, identifying strategic groups within an industry is often difficult. Even when the industry definition is clear, an industry’s business units may be categorized into any number of strategic groups depending on the level of specificity desired.

There may also be one or two competitors that seem to be functioning between groups and are difficult to classify. For these reasons, the concept of strategic groups can be used as a means of understanding and illustrating competition within an industry, but the imitations of the approach should always be considered.

The challenging task of formulating and implementing a generic strategy is based on a number of internal and external factors. Selection of the generic approach is only the first step in formulating a business strategy. It is also necessary to fine-tune the strategy and accentuate the organization’s unique set of resource strengths.

Term Paper Topic # 5. Organizational Structure of an Enterprise:

Although some new businesses are launched on a large scale, many start small with an owner/manager and a few employees. Neither an organizational chart nor a formal assignment of responsi­bilities is necessary. Each employee often performs multiple tasks, and the owner/manager is involved in all aspects of the business, a form of organization often called a “simple structure.” Early survival depends on an increase in demand for the company’s products or services.

As the organization grows to meet this demand, more permanent division of labor forms. The owner/manager, who once was nearly involved in all functions of the enterprise, begins to play more of a leadership role, and additional employees are assigned to more specialized functions. At some point, however, top man­agement must evaluate the effectiveness of the evolving system of coordinating tasks and consider modifying it-if necessary-to facilitate implementation of the firm’s strategy.

Organizational structure refers to the formal means by which work is coordinated in an organi­zation. Simply stated, the structure exists to provide control and coordination for the organization. As such the structure designates formal reporting relationships and defines the number of levels in the hierarchy. There are logical reasons for organizing work along various lines.

For example, work can be organized along function so employees can work only in their areas of specially, by product so decisions about products can be made in an integrated fashion, and along geographical lines so decisions can be tailored to unique needs of various geographical regions. It is also reasonable to assume that individuals can and should work across the structure when necessary. Nonetheless, there is no single best structure, and the one selected for any organization will have its own set of benefits and challenges. Interestingly, many large, well-known companies change structures frequently as their environments change.

i. Vertical Growth:

The growth of the organization expands its structure, both vertically and horizontally. Vertical growth refers to an increase in the length of the organization’s hierarchy (i.e., levels of management). The number of employees reporting to each manager represents that manager’s span of control. A tall organization is composed of many hierarchical levels and narrow spans of control, whereas a flat organization has few levels in its hierarchy and a wide span of control from top to bottom. In reality, organizations fall somewhere in between the two extremes. Hence, organizations are seen as being “relatively tall” or “relatively flat.”

According to John Child, the average number of hierarchical levels for an organization with 3,000 employees is seven. Consequently, one might consider such an organization with fewer than seven hierarchical levels to be relatively flat, and one with more than seven to be relatively tall.

Because tall organizations have a narrow span of control, managers in such organizations exercise a relatively high degree of control over their subordinates, and authority tends to be relatively centralized. Conversely, authority is more decentralized in relatively flat structures because managers have broad spans of control and must therefore grant more flexibility to their employees. Because decisions are more likely to be made at lower levels in flat organizations, it is advisable for employees to have a more generalist orientation.

Strategically speaking both organizational types possess certain advantages. Tall, centralized organizations foster more effective coordination and communication of the business’s mission and goals to all employees. Planning and its execution are relatively easy to accomplish because all em­ployees are centrally directed. As such, tall organizational structures may be best suited for environ­ments that are relatively stable and predictable, although a number of experts have begun to suggest that tall structures do not yield the advantages today that they once did.

Flat structures also have their advantages. Administrative costs tend to be less than those in taller organizations because fewer hierarchical levels require fewer managers and support personnel. Decentralized decision-making also gives managers at various levels more authority, which may in­crease their satisfaction and motivation. The greater freedom in decision-making also encourages innovation. Hence, flat structures are best suited to more dynamic environments, such as those in which most Internet businesses operate. Quality tends to improve when decision-making is decentral­ized closest to the level at which the decisions will be implemented.

ii. Horizontal Growth:

Horizontal growth refers to an increase in the breadth of an organization’s structure. The owner/manager end a few employees may perform all of the functions in a new business. With growth, however, each function expands so that no one individual can be involved in all of the company’s functions, and the structure of the organization is broadened to accommodate the devel­opment of more specialized functions. Owners and managers who are unable to “let go” of former realms of responsibility as their ‘responsibilities increase are often referred to disparagingly as “micromanagers.”

Increases in organizational size usually lead to additional organizational layers and bureauc­racy. Over time a large firm may become both less efficient and less capable of meeting the net is and expectations of its customers. Top management often responds by instituting a more horizontal structure-one with fewer hierarchies.

The organizational restructuring so pervasive throughout the 1980s and 1990s has often involved forming a more horizontal structure through downsizing, whereby one or more hierarchical levels- typically middle managers- are eliminated. Additionally, employee layoffs often occur in order to cut costs and eliminate some of the bureaucracy that invariable accompanies multiple organizational layers. As layers are reduced, decision -making becomes more decentralized.

Interestingly, downsizing often does not achieve the desired results, especially in the long term. Most studies suggest that only about one half of downsized firms actually lower costs, and many of these firms also suffer declines in productivity. When cuts are applied equally to all departments, both efficient and inefficient ones lose employees without regard to performance level when buyouts are offered to relatively high-paid, long-time employees, the firm can be faced with a drastic loss of critical experience.

In addition the positive changes in the formal organization created by downsizing often lead to dysfunctional consequences in the informal organization. Survivors (i.e. employees who remain after the cuts) are typically less loyal to the organization and wonder if they will be cut next. Hence, downsizing is a viable strategic alternative, but one whose long-term ramifications must be seriously considered before it is adopted.

Firms occasionally seek to downsize for the specific purpose of eliminating pat of the workforce so that it can be rebuilt in a different manner. A downsizing may occur after an acquisition if there are substantial cultural differences between the two firms and the acquiring firm wishes to reorient the new combined workforce.

Term Paper Topic # 6. Product Divisional Structure of an Enterprise:

The product divisional structure divides the organization’s activities into self-contained entities, each responsible for producing, distributing, and selling its own products. This structure often adopted when a businesses has several distinct product lines. For example a software developer may organize along three product lines business, productivity, and educational applications. Each division would have its own functional areas, such as R&D, marketing, and finance. The product divisional structure is used both in manufacturing and service organizations.

The product divisional structure has a number of advantages. Rather than emphasizing func­tions, the structure emphasizes product lines, resulting in a clear focus on each product category and a greater orientation toward customer service. Pinpointing the responsibility for profits or losses is also easier because each product division becomes a profit center-a well-defined organizational unit headed by a manager accountable for its revenues and expenditures.

The product divisional structure is also ideal for training and developing managers because each product manager is, in effect, run­ning his or her “own business.” Hence, product manager-develop general management skills-an end that can be accomplished in a functional structure only by rotating managers from one functional area to another.

The product divisional structure also has its disadvantages. Because product divisional firms generally lave multiple departments performing the same function, the total personnel expense for manufacturing is likely to be higher than if only one department were necessary.

The coordination of activities at headquarters also becomes more difficult, as top management finds it harder to ensure consistency among the various departments. This problem can become substantial in large organiza­tion with 40 or more product divisions. Finally, because each product manager emphasizes his or her own product area, product managers tend to compete for resources instead of working together in the best interest of the company.

Term Paper Topic # 7. Geographic Divisional Structure of an Enterprise:

When a firm’s operations are dispersed through various locations, top executives often employ a geographic divisional structure) where ‘y activities and personnel are grouped by specific geo­graphic locations. This structure may be used on a local basis (i.e., a city may be divided into sales regions) on a national basis (i.e., southern region, mid-Atlantic region, Midwest region or even on an international basis (i.e., North American region, Latin American region, Asian Region, Western Eu­ropean region). The primary impetus for the geographic divisional structure is the existence of two or more distinct markets that can be segmented easily along geographical lines.

There are two key advantages to organizing geographically. First, products and services may be tailored more effectively to the legal, social, technical, or climatic differences of specific regions. For example, relatively small 220-volt appliances may be appropriate for parts of Asia where living quar­ters tend to be limited and the American 110-volt system is not used. In addition, insurance compa­nies are often organized along state and nation boundaries because of legal differences. Second, producing or distributing products in different locations may give the organization a competitive advantage. Many firms, for example, produce components in countries that have a labor cost advan­tage and assemble them in countries with an adequate supply of skilled labor.

The disadvantages of a geographic divisional structure are similar to those of the product divisional structure. Often, more functional personnel are required because each region has its own functional departments. Coordination of company-wide functions is often more difficult, and area managers may emphasize their own geographic regions to the exclusion of a companywide view­point.

Term Paper Topic # 8. Matrix Structure of an Enterprise:

In a general sense, the functional and divisional structures-both product and geographical-can be viewed as opposites on ends of a continuum. The traditional demands for quality and price may pull an organization toward the functional end, whereas demands for service and speed may pull the organization toward the divisional end. To address these demands, to managers may settle on one of the two poles or may attempt to position the organization between the extremes. One such approach that has gained considerable popularity in recent years is the matrix structure.

Unlike the other structures that are characterized by a single chain of command, the matrix structure is a combination of the functional and product divisional structures. Hence personnel within the matrix have two (or more) supervisors- a “functional boss” and a “project boss.” In one project, a project manager might pull together some members of the organization’s functional de­partments. After the project is completed, the personnel in the project return to their functional departments. Hence, some individuals may be assigned to more than one team at the same time.

The matrix structure is most commonly used in organizations that operate in industries with a high rate of technological change, such as software development, management consulting, and tel­ecommunications. Because of its complexity, the matrix structure is seen only in a relatively small number of organizations, such as engineering and interior design firms. However, recent develop­ments in network technology have helped managers in many matrix organizations overcome some of the confusion and duplication that can accompany the structure. As such, matrix approaches are likely to continue to expand, especially in industries governed by technology.

A variation to the traditional project form of the matrix structure is reflected in the form of organization pioneered by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1927. At P&G, rather than a project manager being in charge of a temporary project, each of P&G’s individual products has a brand manager. Like a project manager, the brand manager pulls various specialists, as they are needed, from their func­tional departments.

Each brand manager reports to a category manager, who is in charge of all related products in a single category. The category manager coordinates the advertising and sales efforts so that competition among P&G products is minimized. Interestingly, P&G continues to modify its brand management approach as the environment changes, and has recently undergone a shift toward a more global orientation.

The matrix structure offers four key advantages. First, by combining the functional and product divisional structures, a firm can enjoy many of the advantages of both forms. Second, a matrix organization is flexible because employees may be transferred with ease between projects with differ­ent time frames. Third, a matrix permits lower-level functional employees to become heavily involved in projects and gain valuable experience. Finally, top management in a matrix is freed from day-to-day involvement in the operations of the enterprise in order to focus on strategic leadership.

The matrix also has a number of disadvantages First, because coordination across functional areas and across projects is so important, matrix personnel spend considerable time in meetings exchanging information, ultimately growing the bureaucracy and raising personnel costs. Second, matrix structures are characterized by considerable conflict, both between project and functional managers over budgets and personnel, and among the project managers themselves over similar resource allocation issues. Finally, reporting to two managers simultaneously violates a basic premise of management (i.e., each employee should report to only one boss) and can create role conflict when different bosses provide conflicting instructions.

Term Paper Topic # 9. Strategic Control through Performance:

Control through performance occurs by comparing the company’s profitability or market share growth to others in the market place. For example, the collective market share for cable television providers consistently declined throughout the 1990s. A number of cable customers switched to less expensive satellite providers such as DirecTV and Dish Network. By the early 2000s, cable’s competi­tive advantage of simplicity and complete local network programming had eroded in light of the satellite providers ability to offer small, easy-to install, and discreet satellite dishes and include local networks as part of the service plan. As a result, a number of cable companies began cutting rates in 2002 in an effort to regain lost market share.

Because individual measures of performance can provide a limited snapshot of the firm, a number of companies have begun using a balanced scorecard approach to measuring performance, whereby measurement is not based on a single quantitative factor, but on an array of quantitative and qualitative factors, such as return on assets, market share, customer loyalty and satisfaction, speed, and innovation. The key to employing a balanced scorecard is to select a combination of perform­ance measures tailored specifically to the firm. This approach has helped a large number of firms better understand performance issues.

The PIMS program provides a broad range of benchmarks against which a firm’s performance can be compared. Top managers may also monitor the price of the company’s stock as relative price fluctuations suggest how investors value the performance of the firm. A sudden drop in price makes the firm a more attractive takeover target, whereas sharp increases may mean that an investor or group of investors is accumulating large blocks of stock to engineer a takeover or a change in top management.

Term Paper Topic # 10. Strategic Control through the Formal and Informal Organizations:

Strategic control can occur directly through the formal organization (i.e., the organizational structure) or indirectly through the informal organization. The formal organization the official structure of relationships and procedures used to manage organizational activity-can facilitates or impedes a firm’s success. When an organization’s structure is no longer appropriate for its mission, strategic control can initiate a change. However, structural changes typically require changes in the reward system all well.

In the 1990s, a number of organizations shifted from functional or product divisional struc­tures to matrix structures and experienced considerable unanticipated difficulty. Substantial struc­tural changes cannot be easily implemented and typically require a large amount of training and development. Strategic managers at many of these firms underestimated the complications associated with transforming their organizational structures into a more complex matrix structure.

The informal organization refers to the norms, behaviors, and expectations that evolve when individuals and groups come into contact with one another. The informal organization is dynamics and flexible and does not require managerial decree to change. Simply stated, informal relationships can promote or impede strategy implementation and can play a greater role than the formal organi­zation.

When top executives use the formal organization effectively, the informal organization tends to reinforce the formal organization and promote the same values. However, when the organization’s value system is unclear or even contradictory, the informal organization will ultimately develop its own, more consistent set of values and rewards. For example, every organization claims to reward high job performance. However, when promotions and pay increases go to individuals who have the greatest seniority (regardless of their level of performance), employees will lose motivation and de­velop their own set of informal rules concerning what will and will not be rewarded.

Management must recognize its limitations concerning the informal organization. Specifically, management can influence, but cannot control, the informal organization. The most effective means of influencing the informal organization is to develop and promote a formal organization that is consistent with the core values of the firm. The informal organization becomes dysfunctional when it develops means to address inconsistencies in the formal organization.

The relationship between the formal and informal organizations should not be underesti­mated. In general, any change in structure may also necessitate an appropriate modification in the organization’s reward system, so that the new forms of desired behavior will be properly rewarded. When management fails to align the formal organization’s reward systems with new expectations, the informal organization typically changes to counterbalance the inconsistencies.

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Strategic management term paper

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A strategic management process: the role of decision-making style and organisational performance

Journal of Work-Applied Management

ISSN : 2205-2062

Article publication date: 16 February 2023

Issue publication date: 24 April 2023

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for integrating strategic thinking factors, organisational performance and the decision-making process.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology involves a synthesis of literature and proposes a framework that explores the relationship between strategic thinking enabling factors, organisational performance and the moderating effect of decision-making styles.

The framework includes strategic thinking enabling factors (systems perspective, focused intent, intelligent opportunism, thinking in time and hypothesis-driven analysis), organisational performance and the moderating effect of decision-making styles (intuitive and rational).

Research limitations/implications

This research results in a conceptual model only; it remains to be tested in actual practice. The expanded conceptual framework can serve as a basis for future empirical research and provide insights to practitioners into how to strengthen policy development in a strategic planning process.

Originality/value

A paradigm shift in the literature proves that strategic management and decision-making styles are vital in determining organisational performance. This paper highlights the importance of decision-making styles and develops a framework for strategic management by analysing the existing strategic management literature.

• Strategic management
• Intuitive decision-making
• Rational decision-making
• Strategic thinking process
• Organisational performance

Sinnaiah, T. , Adam, S. and Mahadi, B. (2023), "A strategic management process: the role of decision-making style and organisational performance", Journal of Work-Applied Management , Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 37-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWAM-10-2022-0074

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Tamilarasu Sinnaiah, Sabrinah Adam and Batiah Mahadi

Published in Journal of Work-Applied Management . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Managers are appointed to achieve the organisation's objectives and goals. As these objectives gradually increase with competition, managers must become strategic thinkers with excellent decision-making skills. The strategy towards the organisational outcome highlighted in this section has been widely debated among academic scholars and practitioners. Organisational strategies are essential in sustaining an organisation's competitive advantage to face a complex and uncertain future.

Effective strategic management frameworks enable managers to focus on the complex issues that must be prioritised to hasten decision-making processes ( Dlamini et al. , 2020 ). Whilst enabling managers important to make the decisions needed to direct the organisational effort towards overcoming specific issues ( Wang et al. , 2021 ). The organisation's effectiveness in addressing critical issues with solutions that best fit the current environmental factors will ensure the vitality and image of the organisation. Strategic management is pertinent to manage the organisation in a continuous, systematic manner.

The first segment of strategic management is the effective action programs chosen to reach these goals and objectives.

The second segment is the resource allocation pattern that relates the organisation to its environment.

Moreover, strategic management is defined as translating the thinking process into an action plan that benefits the organisation to sustain its competitive advantages. Strategy also can be categorised as strategic thinking and strategic planning. Strategy is also the commitment of the top-level management to attaining outcomes aligned with the organisation's strategic objectives. Strategy can be realised when there is consistent outcomes or patterns over the years. Therefore, strategy is planning for the future or determining patterns based on consistent outcomes. Organisations must develop plans and also evolve patterns derived from previous organisational outcomes. These phases can be explained as intended strategy and realised strategy.

The effectiveness of the strategies employed can indicate the organisation's performance in achieving its objectives and goals. Organisations need to measure the outcome of the strategies employed by having measurable objectives that will enhance the employees' commitment towards achieving the goals. Conversely, organisational learning and financial measures such as organisational profitability can also benchmark organisational performance. The responsiveness of organisational performance has a direct relationship and is influenced by management efforts to emphasise leadership within the organisational structure. This is done by observing the support and strategies utilised by managers to achieve the objectives and goals. This paper aims to enhance an understanding of strategic management processes involving decision-making styles towards organisational performance. First, this paper highlights strategic management's operational and theoretical approach towards organisational performance. Moreover, this study enhances the result of previous literature on strategic enablers by explaining the effort involving decision-making to strengthen the organisational structure, particularly the decision-making styles (intuitive and rational), that moderates the relationship between the strategic thinking process and organisational performances ( Ritter, 2014 ).

Academic scholars and practitioners have highlighted the importance of strategic management in measuring organisational performance in terms of innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, knowledge, economics, healthcare and organisational performance ( Adam et al ., 2018 , 2020 ; Alosani et al. , 2020 ). Conversely, there is a knowledge gap on the effective judgement practices of strategic management enablers and organisational performance during decision-making ( Abuhjeeleh et al ., 2018 ; Acciarini et al. , 2021 ; Elrehail et al ., 2020 ; Nguyen, 2020 ). This paper analyses the relationship between strategic management and organisational performance and suggests a framework to elucidate the relationship variables such as moderators, rational and intuitive decision-making styles.

2. Literature review

Strategic management is applying strategic decisions towards the organisational vision to achieve strategic competitiveness and sustain competitive advantages ( Alosani et al. , 2020 ; Rodrigues and Franco, 2019 ). Strategic management is a cognitive impairment of structuring the internal capabilities to fulfil external demands and involves plans, patterns, positions, perspectives and plots ( Mintzberg et al ., 2020 ). Strategic management is the managerial discourse involving a framework of the decision-making process, which highlights how the strategy process is formulated in organisations, acknowledging the cognitive management structure of the organisations. Additionally, the organisation's members need to respond effectually to the decisions made by the management and cooperate to ensure that the organisational vision is reached, given that this will affect the organisational adaptability, legitimacy and performance ( Johnsen, 2015 ). Organisations must be aware of the uncertain environments that can influence their welfare.

Consequently, the strategic management process can be reflected in two directions: strategic planning and strategic thinking. Strategic planning emphasises formulating strategies or disciplined efforts to produce strategic decisions to achieve the organisation's objectives ( Bryson, 2018 ). Strategic planning also can be reflected as a system that enhances the decision-making process among the members of an organisation. The strategic management process needs to be fulfilling for the organisation to sustain its competitive advantages. Moreover, strategic thinking is creative, disruptive, future-focused and experimental and often contradicts traditional notions of strategic planning ( Liedtka, 2000 ). Strategic planning is the principal element of the strategic management process involving resource management, implementation, control and evaluation of strategies ( Poister et al ., 2010 ). Strategic planning focuses on formalising existing strategies and employing creativity to enhance perspectives ( Mintzberg et al ., 2020 ). The uncertainties of environments and conflicting perspectives can be evaluated and addressed using strategic thinking as a part of the organisational decision-making process ( Chin et al ., 2018 ). Studies by Goldman et al . (2015) indicated that organisational members are not actively involved during the strategic decision-making process, leading to the decline in the organisation's performance.

The importance of the strategic decision-making process towards organisational performance was emphasised by Steptoe‐Warren et al. (2011) . The research suggested that evaluating, identifying and validating the process will enhance the strategic thinking process to positively impact performance ( Norzailan et al ., 2016 ). Moreover, strategic thinking plays a vital role in analysing the external factors influencing the process. If the organisational members take it lightly, it will lead to perception deficiencies ( Kızıloglu and Serinkan, 2015 ). Additionally, the study highlighted that strategic planning occurs after strategic thinking ( Alatailat et al ., 2019 ; Bonn, 2001 ; Mintzberg, 1994 ). Consequently, this study will focus on strategic thinking as the fundamental phase in the strategic management process.

A conceptual framework that highlights the management principles among the business process in delivering effective solutions for problems is shown in Figure 1 .

3. Strategic management

Strategic management is defined as a framework for achieving success, and it is pivotal for organisations to achieve their objectives and continuously perform better ( Elliott et al ., 2020 ). Additionally, strategic management is a continuous process of looking for a better action plan to ensure the organisation's competitiveness.

3.1 Strategic thinking

The most challenging issue an organisation faces is awareness of the strategic vision and missions, available resources and identifying opportunities for growth within the organisation ( Bryson, 2018 ). Therefore, strategic thinking is a vital element in the chain of processes, which must be carried out effectively and systematically ( Sahay, 2019 ). Nevertheless, organisations need to be aware that strategic thinking can fail miserly if the decision-makers do not realise the strategic enablers or the factors responsible for the effective strategic thinking process. Strategic enablers influence the thoughts and decision process of the organisational members ( Goldman et al ., 2015 ). Therefore, strategic enablers will lead the organisation's members towards idea growth and personal development, while strategic thinkers expedite the organisational performances ( Alatailat et al ., 2019 ).

Individuals involved in the organisational structure utilise their experiences and thought processes in managing conflicts to enhance strategic thinking ( Alaarj et al ., 2016 ). Strategy managers or thinkers recognise the relationship between business responsibilities and departments and organisations and their business stakeholders ( Cabral et al. , 2019 ). This relationship is known as “system thinking”, where an organisation explores the structure reflected in the action and environment that causes the incident. Additionally, the direction or the organisational destiny is a type of strategic intent utilised to help achieve the business objectives. This occurs when all the employees can concentrate on their purpose until it is achievable.

Strategic intent is pertinent in increasing competitive advantages and improving organisational performance ( Chen et al ., 2015 ). Intelligent firms must be considered before becoming competitive to ensure the organisation can create intelligent opportunities to lead the business emerging strategies towards their vision ( Alaarj et al ., 2016 ). Conversely, the organisation should integrate previous events with the current situation to achieve and align with the organisation's objectives. This is vital for organisations to connect to the past and present environment to envision the firms and prepare for any internal or external challenges in their business ( Abubakar et al ., 2019 ). A hypothesis-driven analysis is the core element in the strategic thinking process to gather relevant information regarding the business. Therefore, the challenges faced must be transformed into a hypothesis-driven analysis to understand better the measures needed to be taken by the stakeholders to improve the organisational performances.

3.2 Decision-making style

The role of managers within an organisation must be elucidated to help enhance the decision-making process to create competitive advantages for the organisation ( Dionisio, 2017 ). Moreover, Porter (1990) emphasised the differences between competitive strategy and competitors. Decision-making styles also play a vital role in formalising the strategic decision procedure and can be defined as a habitual or formal response pattern taken by managers when there is an incident ( Kulcsár et al ., 2020 ). According to Acciarini et al. (2021) , decision-making styles are directly related to cognitive styles involved in the strategic thinking process. Decision-making style, which can be both at individual and team levels, can be classified into intuition and rationality ( Dayan and Di Benedetto, 2011 ; Dayan and Elbanna, 2011 ; Giermindl et al ., 2022 ; Luan et al ., 2019 ; Sukhov et al ., 2021 ). Therefore, the author highlighted that cognitive styles could be divided into two different categories: “feeling as information evaluators”, where managers actively gather information intuitively, and “thinking as information evaluators”, where managers systematically collect information ( Behling et al ., 1980 ). Alternatively, decision-making styles can be considered intuitive and rational information gathering and evaluating styles ( Calabretta et al ., 2017 ).

The intuitive decision-making style can be defined as the episodes of uncertainty patterns of action imposed by managers or the decision-makers based on the current situation. In addition, intuitive decision-makers must be aware of current issues and relate the relationship between cognitive schemes with holistic thinking to resolve problems ( Calabretta et al ., 2017 ). It is also believed that the intuitive decision-making process can be influenced by a sudden awareness of information ( Zhu et al ., 2017 ). Decision-makers can determine solutions without fully understanding or realising the extent of information available. Studies agree that the intuitive decision-making process can occur when unsorted information is restructured into an organised pattern of action that transforms into a conscious solution ( Zander et al ., 2016 ). Furthermore, the intuition organisations performance is enhanced when decision-makers utilise the intuition decision-making style when there is no access or relevant analytical data to support them in making strategic decisions that align with the organisation's objectives ( Temprano-García et al ., 2018 ). Conversely, intuition decision-making also contributes positively to the organisations performance when the issues are resolved quickly despite limited resources or knowledge on the current issues.

Studies by Sauter (1999) emphasised that intuition decision-making or illumination is a sudden awareness of information where the decision-makers are unaware of fundamental facts or information. The author also highlighted several ways to establish the intuitive decision-making process. First, detection is an intuition where decision-makers think of several different situations rather than focusing on the current issue ( Kolbe et al. , 2020 ). Working on current strategic issues will enable managers to comprehend related information to help solve the issue by connecting facts or elements that previously did not relate to each other ( Temprano-García et al ., 2018 ). Another form of intuition is evaluation, where the solution appears as an available option creating a sense of certainty or vague feelings towards the analytical data ( Hodgetts et al ., 2017 ).

Conversely, the intuition decision-making process can also be hypothesised as an explicit and implicit decision-making style ( Tabesh and Vera, 2020 ), where explicit decision utilises feelings or emotion and implicit decisions refer to the experience of the relevant situation ( Bhat  et al ., 2021 ; Remmers et al ., 2016 ). Moreover, intuitive decision-making styles also utilise the subconscious processing of verbalised and nonverbalised facts or information ( Tabesh and Vera, 2020 ). A recent study suggests that intuitive decision-making aided managers in enhancing the strategic decision towards the organisation's performance ( Francioni and Clark, 2020 ).

Rational decision-making involves several solutions that will be analysed based on the issues and the relevance of this information towards the current problem before implementing the final decision ( Temprano-García et al ., 2018 ). The structured information consisting of conscious thinking must be evaluated critically ( Acciarini et al. , 2021 ). In addition, the rational decision-making process will enhance the effectiveness of the decision by structuring the decision criteria by highlighting and evaluating the alternatives individually ( Fitzgerald et al ., 2017 ). The decision-makers or the managers who utilise rational decision-making styles are more likely to be vigilant and organised about available information during decision-making ( Zhu et al ., 2021 ).

3.3 Organisational performance

For five decades, organisational performance has been widely researched by academic scholars and business practitioners ( Adam et al ., 2018 ). Organisational performance has been analysed in terms of normative and descriptive explanations in strategic planning research for continuous improvement in managing organisational performance ( Buddika et al ., 2016 ). Organisational performance can be explained by describing how things happen without judging good or bad. Alternatively, the organisational performance also can be elucidated by an evaluation in terms of performance against a benchmarked alternative or standard or by a descriptive statement explaining how the situation occurs without judgement ( Camilleri, 2021 ). Even though most research is done on the continuous improvements of organisational performance, practitioners still have many arguments and discussions on the terminology and conceptual bases to determine organisational performance ( Sarraf and Nejad, 2020 ).

Organisational performance can be reflected based on the results of the organisation's common objectives, given that the methods implemented are coherently used. Consequently, the performance processes' flow or the input resources can be critically analysed ( Tsai et al ., 2020 ). The effectiveness of organisational performance is influenced by the process implemented and can be measured by the achievements. Furthermore, organisational performance is defined as analysing the series of improvements to achieve organisational objectives. Generally, various factors can be associated with organisational performance, such as organisational structures, conflict, cross-cultural and social influences ( Sinnaiah et al. , 2023 ).

Performance measurement is a systematic series to identify the effectiveness and efficiency of people's behaviour to perform to their utmost abilities. Adam et al . (2018) described performance measurement as a unit, department or business process. Therefore, it is conceptualised that there is a structural relationship between organisational performance and performance measurement. Moreover, performance measurement requires substantive and relevant restructuring of input resources and processes to be aligned with the current system to increase productivity level or performance. Failure to analyse the performance measures will weaken the organisational strength and drain the organisation's efforts ( Alosani et al. , 2020 ). Thus, strategic thinking can be a highly effective performance measure for organisations.

4. Propositions

4.1 strategic thinking process and performance.

Strategic thinking is a structured assessment of analysing and synthesising information, intensively assessing the current situation and initiating new ideas or best available options to achieve strategic objectives ( Dhir and Dhir, 2020 ). An organisation's success depends on strategic thinking as it will enhance a decision-maker's skills, abilities and knowledge and help sustain competitiveness in uncertain environments ( Dhir et al ., 2021 ). Consequently, the process of strategic thinking is crucial for any organisation to successfully achieve and survive in the market for a more extended period. Decision-makers need to be effective and cognisant of the business opportunities that arise from innovating new ideas to enhance the strategic portfolio of organisations ( Bryson et al ., 2018 ).

Strategic thinking process will positively influence organisational performance.

4.2 Rational decision-making style, strategic thinking process and performance

In evaluating an organisation's performance and the uncertainties of the environment that influences the complexities in achieving positive growth for the organisation successfully, managers must have decision-making skills that utilise strategic thinking processes. Moreover, managers must be responsible for making fast and effective solutions by analysing, evaluating and prioritising available information to overcome strategic issues and obtain positive results ( Acciarini et al. , 2021 ). According to Calabretta et al . (2017) , there is a positive correlation between the strategic thinking process and decision-making style. Decision-making styles have the same structure as strategic thinking, which involves different levels, such as organisation or individuals.

Rational decision-making will moderate the relationship between the strategic thinking process and organisational performance.

4.3 Intuitive decision-making style, strategic thinking process and performance

Several studies highlight the roles of the strategic thinking process among managers within the boundaries of our cognitive capacities ( Kaufmann et al ., 2017 ) and postulate that mental flexibility can influence it ( Barlach and Plonski, 2021 ). Studies also emphasise that managers or decision-makers often utilise intuition during challenging situations, which is expected compared to the rational way of analysing the issues ( Kaufmann et al ., 2017 ). This intuition process can be a two-fold construct consisting of experience-based and emotionally affected situations. Additionally, this can involve a complex process of information affected by new cues towards previous experiences stored in their memory and transform it into subconscious action in the decision-making process ( Stanczyk et al ., 2015 ). Based on the study done by Simon (1976) , academic scholars and practitioners emphasised that managers are highly keen on inner feelings or gut feelings involving strategic decisions when faced with competitive issues ( Al-Jaifi and Al-Rassas, 2019 ; Bozhinov et al ., 2021 ; Palaniappan, 2017 ). The decision-making process utilising intuition uses available information, which might not have been available in the past, to quicken the process of decision-making. It is also important to realise that decision-making depends on the issues faced by the organisations, and not all issues require a rational decision-making style. For specific issues, managers might only need relevant information, deliberation and formal procedures to derive effective solutions for the organisation compared to instances where the managers are not bounded by any set of procedures or rules to solve the issue.

Therefore, strategic thinking is a process of synthesis, and based on intuitive decision-making style, where the outcome is an integrated perspective of the enterprise, managers can utilise intuition decision-making style to arrive at a solution with complete freedom and flexibility towards the organisational performance. The decision-makers attempt to be involved in the decision-making process while being aware of the current issues and having a sense of relationship among the cognitive schemas with the approach of holistic thinking to determine the solution to the problem ( Khemka and Hickson, 2021 ). It is clear that the intuitive decision-making process would include the issues faced by the organisation in analysing the issues and synthesis ( Zhu et al ., 2017 ) although all the processes occur under the sense of relationship or perception. It is also believed that the intuitive decision-making process could be influenced by the decision-makers upon the sudden awareness of information ( Peng et al ., 2020 ), whereby the decision-makers could propose a solution without the understanding or realisation of why the facts are present.

Intuitive decision-making will moderate the relationship between the strategic thinking process and organisational performance.

5. Discussion and conclusion

This paper reviews strategic management involving the strategic thinking process, organisational performance and decision-making styles with extant empirical work transforming into propositions, with the ultimate goal being to integrate the strategic management process into a systematised and approachable process that needs a fast response. Strategic management plays a vital role in aligning the standard repertoire of an organisation's strategic thinking. Moreover, managers must realise that strategic thinking has a unique process that depends on the situation. The thinking process should be aligned with the specific scenarios to ensure the best solution can be implemented. To sustain competitive advantage, managers should be effectively involved in the strategic thinking process to positively impact their organisations ( Bryson et al ., 2018 ).

The importance of strategic thinking enablers (systems perspective, focused intent, intelligent opportunism, thinking in time and hypothesis-driven analysis) was emphasised in the strategic thinking process and organisational performance. The systems perspective exposes the importance of organisations understanding the relationship between functions and departments internally and externally. Furthermore, organisations need to consider the functional, business and organisation strategies towards a highly competitive environment ( Buddika et al ., 2016 ). Consequently, these systems perspectives will help organisations manage interactions effectively across all departments to enhance productivity. Focus on intent will guide the organisations towards achieving strategic objectives and resisting eccentricity ( Bromiley and Rau, 2015 ). Focus intent will positively aid organisations to be more competitive in the long run as the managers realise the sense of discovery in managing strategic objectives. Therefore, it will improve the performance and consciously push the organisation towards innovation by eliminating limitations and becoming high achievers. Conversely, intelligent opportunism will enhance the strategic objectives by creating new opportunities to be more competitive although the strategies do not align with the current vision of the organisation. This is where intelligent opportunism will play an essential role at the managerial level of the organisation to effectively communicate and measure organisational performances ( Camilleri, 2021 ).

Emerging strategies will boost the organisation's motivation and productivity and should be carefully evaluated from time to time as the future of the organisations might be projected based on the past performance. Therefore, the importance of swift thinking permits the strategic managers to purposefully analyse the mission and vision of the organisation over time. The right action at the right time will help the organisations sustain competitively and save the organisations from self-destruction by limiting the positive changes made to help improve the organisation's performance ( Adam et al ., 2018 ).

Maintaining the balance between thinking creation and cognitive processing ( Calabretta et al ., 2017 ) and enhancing organisational performance (education, financial, creative, innovation, e-commerce and quality) is a challenge faced when creating effective management strategies ( Adam et al ., 2018 ; Al-Jaifi and Al-Rassas, 2019 ; Alharbi et al ., 2019 ; Arvis et al ., 2018 ). In addition, based on previous theoretical perspectives, most of the research scenarios will be based on the governance mechanisms of management and the policy development impacts on organisational performance ( Abubakar et al ., 2019 ). Therefore, based on extensive empirical and conceptual research, strategic thinking processes positively contribute to measuring organisational performance. Based on previous research, this study infers that cognitive development plays an effective role in the segregation of control between strategic thinking, which serves as a barrier to becoming more competitive and innovative in the long run ( Adam et al ., 2018 ). In addition, this happens among employees and directly impacts the quality of the organisational harmonies, such as mutual respect, trust and welfare of the employees. A cognitive processing environment is the use of intuition and rationality in decision-making with equal importance. The managers utilise intuition decision-making styles to resolve unrelated information received. During the strategic thinking process, the managers will receive unsorted information without processed knowledge which will be later organised into sorted knowledge using intuition styles ( Zander et al ., 2016 ). However, the rational decision-making style focuses more on the analytical procedure to conclude an issue the organisation faces. This helps the managers build confidence in the solution by eliminating uncertainty during decision-making ( Zhu et al ., 2021 ). Moreover, managers will only accept solutions with clear and less ambiguous information (rational) compared to managers utilising a more subconscious style (intuition) when formulating solutions. Consequently, there will be conflict in the decision-making process within the organisations.

According to Boamah et al. (2022) , the effectiveness of decision-making styles can differ according to the situation and the dependents. Alternatively, both decision-making styles were highlighted as an alternative way of generating a problem–solution approach within organisations ( Kolbe et al. , 2020 ; Stanczyk et al ., 2015 ). This study argues that both decision-making styles have equal importance in resolving problem–solution approaches and can be a harmonious process to achieve an effective performance measure. This argument is supported by Acciarini et al. (2021) , Tabesh and Vera (2020) . Therefore, this study concludes that both decision-making styles (rational and intuition) positively impact the strategic thinking process and organisational performance. Based on the framework in Figure 1 , the proposed framework highlights the missing sections of cognitive processing among businesses when delivering effective solutions for a complex problem. Organisations have only emphasised human capital and treated it as a scarce resource that will determine the organisation's performance. This study proposed that future strategic management researchers should explore the thinking process literature's core principles to investigate policy development further. Future research should transform these academic initiatives into empirical research by implementing this proposed model.

Conceptual framework

Competing interests: The authors reported no competing interests.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the administration of Azman Hashim International Business School, Block T08, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, for providing the facilities and the PhD Scholar room during this research.

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Strategic Management

(15 reviews)

Kennedy B. Reed, Virginia Tech

Copyright Year: 2020

ISBN 13: 9781949373950

Publisher: Virginia Tech Publishing

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Jiwon Suh, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington on 3/7/24

This book covers core topics that should be included in a strategic management textbook. I particularly like that the book has a chapter devoted to corporate governance, ethics, and social responsibility. I hope to see that vertical and horizontal... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book covers core topics that should be included in a strategic management textbook. I particularly like that the book has a chapter devoted to corporate governance, ethics, and social responsibility. I hope to see that vertical and horizontal alignment within an organization is highlighted at the beginning of the book. I see it in Chapter 10.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This book contains core and major models, concepts, frameworks, and theories that should be included in a strategic management textbook. Especially, this book also explains a balanced scorecard and its linkage with organizational mission and vision.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The main content is highly relevant. The concepts and frames that are included in the book are not fast-changing. This book uses a variety of examples to explain concepts to help students understand. These examples are a good mixture of timing (old and relatively new) and I believe such examples should be aged well to evaluate.

Clarity rating: 5

This book was well-written. This book uses clear language so that students including undergraduates can easily follow.

Consistency rating: 5

This book is consistent with all the structures and contents that are expected in the strategic management textbooks.

Modularity rating: 5

The topics in this book are well divided into 11 chapters so that faculty members can easily develop a semester-long course. On page 2, the authors also provide 6 modules on how these chapters can be used in a shorter course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The way of chapter sequencing is easy to follow: understanding strategic management -> external analysis -> internal analysis -> strategy development -> implementation. Every chapter provides ‘Learning Objectives,’ ‘Key Takeaway,’ and ‘Exercises’ from which students can effectively learn about the topics in the chapters. Also, figures, pictures, videos, and other sources are very helpful.

Interface rating: 4

External sources were hyperlinked with the original sources. This book also provides enough space between paragraphs and the next sections. This helps readers. It would be very helpful if the book included an Index at the end of the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn’t find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book uses examples from different cultural backgrounds, such as an example of ancient China and wars on Russian soil on pages 18-20 and an example of Starbucks in Korea on page 33.

I'd like to use this book for my Strategic HR management course in the public and nonprofit sectors. Although this book doesn't 100% fit my course, I can use this book to explain and provide core/major concepts of strategic management.

Reviewed by Sergiy Dmytriyev, Assistant Professor of Management, James Madison University on 9/10/23

The textbook covers all key topics in the strategic management such as overall strategy, business- and corporate-level strategies, the analysis of external and internal environments, international strategy, organizational design, innovation, etc.... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers all key topics in the strategic management such as overall strategy, business- and corporate-level strategies, the analysis of external and internal environments, international strategy, organizational design, innovation, etc. Each sections ends with the reference list of the cited sources, and the Glossary of key terms is provided at the end of the book.

The book is well-written which makes it an easy read.

The content is up-to-date, with plenty of contemporary business situations and examples. At the same time, these examples are of general nature and can be used in a classroom for many years ahead, without become obsolete. Having said that, the textbook also has a number of historical examples which is a must to have in order to learn from strategic successes and failures.

The text is written in a more informal way than in some other strategic management textbook. This makes this textbook better perceived by undergraduate students, who are rather more excited by its interesting and accessible prose.

Consistency rating: 4

The textbook utilized common terminology and frameworks used in the strategic management field, and is consistent throughout the whole text. The only thing, sometimes I could have a feeling that there were many interesting narratives and examples, but some of them might not be well connected among themselves, which could make the reading slightly less coherent, though it wasn't a big deal.

Indeed, the text is readily divisible into smaller reading section since many of them start and end in a similar fashion making them standalone pieces. I didn't find many self-references which serves the modality purpose well.

The book is well organized in terms of the sequence of introduced topics and the transitions between them.

Interface rating: 5

The textbook offers an easy-to-follow navigation structure such as a numeration for each section/subsection as well as consistent headings' styles and the use of colors and graphical designs.

I didn't find any grammatical errors or typos in the text which speaks to its high quality.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The textbook is full of various examples from different countries which helps keep the reader's mind open to insights from different cultural environments. Yet, I wish there would be more examples with female and minority managers - I realize that today those groups are still underrepresented in leadership roles, but the author could have considered purposefully selecting those stories/backgrounds which may appeal to and inspire different audiences.

Most sections in the textbook end with discussion questions (often provoking ones) which can help with kicking off interactive discussion in class. The key information is summarized in the form of tables or graphs that make it easy to review the summarized learnings. There are also many videos throughout the book which can help break the monotony of reading with interesting visual experiences.

To sum it up, the textbook offers a typical content for a strategic management textbook (in terms of key strategic topics, terminology, theories and frameworks, etc.), yet it does it in a more appealing way compared to some more "formal" available textbooks in the market. In addition to offering discussion questions and exercises at the end of each section, the textbook also utilizes a more accessible prose for undergraduate students, as well as provides many illustrative or summary tables and graphs, as well as short business stories and videos done in an interesting way.

I really like the textbook and this year I started using it in my Strategic Management course.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Gale, Professor Emeritus of Strategic Management, Loyola Marymount University on 4/10/23

[Note: I used the book in my Strategic Management class in Spring 2023 semester. I have, in the past, used the open textbook, Mastering Strategic Management on which this one is based as well as a commercial version of the text which was picked up... read more

[Note: I used the book in my Strategic Management class in Spring 2023 semester. I have, in the past, used the open textbook, Mastering Strategic Management on which this one is based as well as a commercial version of the text which was picked up by a pubisher.] The coverage in the book is pretty standard for Strategic Management texts. It's a little light on implementation/execution particularly on reward systems, strategic leadership and a bit on culture. Like most of the texts, it really doesn't cover the online world. Because it was done in 2020 and used some of the materials some of the materials need newer examples--and to reflect lessons of the pandemic and de-globalization (in Chap. 9) There is a glossary but no index.

The coverage of the book is accurate in the concepts handled.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

All strategic management textbooks suffer from obsolescence--it is the nature of the subject matter and the need for ongoing revision of relevant examples. The concepts change more slowly. Use of the book requires instructors to fill that in to make the material relevant. The prior book (from 2020) was not updated for years which made it hard to use. Hopefully this one will be.

The book was extremely well-written and edited. This is remarkable since there was a team who worked on it at VPI. Kudos for doing a good job.

It is consistent. The framework used is very standard in strategic management texts.

The book is well done with coherent chapters and headings and subheading breaking up the text. I was able to use some of the materials out of order.

Strategic management textbooks lend themselves to a logical organization based on the analytic process common to the topic. This book is consistent with that. I did find that references and credits, which are listed in the chapter sections, are a bit distracting and would be better, in my opinion, at the end of the chapters. Likewise, I would prefer that the Exercises be at the chapter end as well. Learning Objectives at the beginning of each chapter are useful as well as the Takeaways in the sections.

My students and I used the PDF version of the book which is pretty standard with only limited jumps for Table of Contents. .

I didn't find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not see anything culturally insensitive or offensive in the book. There is, as is typical in the texts in the field, not a lot of cultural variety. There are no Black or Hispanic business in the examples.

The book did what I wanted it to in the course. I thought that Chapter 7 on Innovation is a bit of a hodge-podge of topics and doesn't flow all that well. The Powerpoint slides that the author made available are very uneven and I wasn't able to really use them--though I didn't really need to since I have taught the course for so long. They are not the equivalent of what commercial publishers provide with their texts. I did not use the text bank that is also available.

Overall, a good quality textbook that is usable with the caveats I raised earlier.

Reviewed by Stephen Horner, Associate Professor, Allen Community College on 6/9/21

Chapter one is a good an example of the type of comprehensiveness that I like. The text addresses most of the major models and concepts within the strategy domain. It also includes examples of strategy and strategic management from antiquity and... read more

Chapter one is a good an example of the type of comprehensiveness that I like. The text addresses most of the major models and concepts within the strategy domain. It also includes examples of strategy and strategic management from antiquity and classic military history encompassing ancient, modern, and postmodern eras. In addition, the critique of strategic management is refreshing to see in an introductory textbook chapter.

I find no glaring inaccuracies.

The cross disciplinary relevance of the text is demonstrated by allusion in chapter one to strategy throughout history. The text also has relevance in terms of relating the topic to contemporary issues.

This text is written at a basic level easily accessible to the common reader and especially suited to today's college senior.

The text uses the A-F-I framework consistently throughout.

The chapter topics are organized following the traditional analysis-formulation-implementation (A-F-I) framework allowing the course to be easily divided into modules. In addition, the authors have developed their own modular framework overlaying the A-F-I model.

The text uses the traditional analysis-formulation-implementation framework while taking a critical asssessment of the use of that framework.

The layout and flow of the text are satisfactory. In addition, I appreciate the smaller chunks in each chapter supplemented by references cited only in those specific chunks.

The writing demonstrates no systematic grammatical difficulties. The use of the Engish language is proper and acceptable.

The authors recognize changing sociocultural values and demonstrate sensitivity of the theory and practice of strategic management to such changes.

I found the text to be quite readable. It spawned in me new ideas for ways of reaching my students.

Reviewed by Yuan Li, Assistant Professor, James Madison University on 5/29/20

The text covers all major topics discussed in a standard strategic management textbook. Some topics that could be included or discussed more in detail are strategic leadership, innovation management, and corporate entrepreneurship. The pdf version... read more

The text covers all major topics discussed in a standard strategic management textbook. Some topics that could be included or discussed more in detail are strategic leadership, innovation management, and corporate entrepreneurship. The pdf version of the text does not include an index or glossary, which can be an enhancement to the book.

The content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased. However, there are a few typos in the book. Some of the labels are incorrect. For example, Level 3 of Table 10.4 is labeled incorrectly.

The content is up-to-date. For the most part, the examples are classic and do not need to be updated frequently. However, some of the examples, especially those related to movies are dated. Nevertheless, necessary updates can be easily implemented.

One of my favorite things about this text is its clarity. The text is written in a language that is accessible to all undergraduate students, including freshmen. Jargon and technical terms are explained in layman’s terms using real-world examples.

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The chapters of the text are self-contained and can be individually assigned to students or used as additional readings to supplement a different text.

The structure of the text is clear and follows the structure of a standard strategic management textbook. The only difference is that international strategies are discussed before corporate-level strategies. Many of the tables and the text repeat each other. I think some of the tables can be eliminated.

There are no significant interface issues in the text. There are no hyperlinks in the pdf version of the book. All navigation is done through the search and find function of the pdf reader. The text in the examples and vignettes is too small and hard to read, at least for the pdf version I have. Overall, I would describe it as a no-frills text.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The text is not culturally offensive in any way. The examples include both American and non-American firms mostly competing in the US market.

This is a great book for an introductory level strategic management class. Students do not have to be a management major to understand the book. Instructors can easily supplement the book with examples that are relevant to the background and major of their students. I find the book an interesting and enjoyable read. The authors did a great job in making strategic management interesting to students.

Reviewed by David Flanagan, Professor of Management, Western Michigan University on 12/12/19

This book covers all the major topics needed in a strategic management course plus a few other useful topics. read more

This book covers all the major topics needed in a strategic management course plus a few other useful topics.

First rate book. Easy to read with no errors (conceptually or grammatically).

All the conceptual information is up to date. I do have students do assignments where they research more recent examples.

Students comment that it is straight forward and easy to read. Key concepts are defined.

The text flows well from start to finish.

The chapters break up the material well as do sections within chapters.

good structure

easy to interface with

Well edited and credibly written

I detected nothing that could be insensitive

The authors are outstanding in their field. Can't find more credible sources.

Reviewed by Jason Kiley, Assistant Professor, Oklahoma State University on 5/21/18

Overall, the book has very good coverage of the topics typically included in a strategy textbook. To be more specific, I reviewed the book against a commercial book that I have used in the past. I looked at 43 topics that is a union of the content... read more

Overall, the book has very good coverage of the topics typically included in a strategy textbook. To be more specific, I reviewed the book against a commercial book that I have used in the past. I looked at 43 topics that is a union of the content I would use across the two books. The commercial book covered 41 topics, and Mastering Strategic Management ("MSM") covered 39. Of the discrepancies, three topics in the commercial book and one topic in MSM were topics that were probably timely when written but are less relevant now. Excluding those, each book had one topic that I would have liked to have seen in the other.

Across a number of topics, the exposition that fit my expectations about the material covered, explanations of the material, and examples that fit the material. Strategy covers a number of models that have been around for some time, and the authors seemed to do a good job of thinking about which models are reasonable to describe as they were conceived and which ones should be adjusted a bit to better reflect the underlying mechanisms or modern circumstances.

One small exception (shared in most strategy books) is the description of the BCG matrix using market share (as originally conceived). That notion is very sensitive to specification of markets, and I've seen more helpful formulations that describe it a little more generally as having dimensions that reflect using and generating cash.

The main content is fine and highly relevant. However, there are some examples which have not aged well. This is not so much the fault of the authors, as the business-relevant content is fine, but an example using Jared from Subway reads very differently in light of subsequent revelations. That is perhaps the most glaring, but there are a few others that have not aged well (e.g., the AppleTV has become reasonably successful in subsequent iterations). That said, this book is well within the norms of example relevance over time.

The book is written directly and clearly. In terms of style, it is more approachable than some alternatives, in part because I never got the sense that the authors were lowering the information density to produce more text.

Terminology and approach are generally consistent. Strategy is at the intersection of other disciplines, so there is often a change of perspective, but that comes with the content. That said, the authors have combined those well into a logical, consistent narrative.

For the most part, this book would be easy to use out of order or as selections. The chapters have numbered subdivisions that are logically coherent, and, in my view, it would be clear to students to assign selections. My initial read suggests that the brief motivating examples to begin chapters and the conclusions of chapters would be helpful to include even if the middle sections are selected from or reordered.

Overall, the organization and flow are consistent and logical, and it generally mirrors that of most strategy books. In a couple of places, the ordering is a bit different (e.g., international strategy before corporate-level strategy), but the broader logic may actually be more linear that way.

I used the epub 3 version of the book. The table elements tended to be built with markup instead of images, so they rendered nicely on a high-resolution display. Cross references were often done with links, and many text boxes were also done with markup, so the book takes advantage of the technology it uses for distribution. Given the prevalence of mobile devices among students, this is a strong positive for this book compared to others.

The writing is clear, error-free, and straightforward, including the consistent use of active voice.

Though the book (like many strategy and business textbooks) has a somewhat US-centric presentation, there are plenty of examples that include diversity along a number of dimensions where that kind of diversity is not the topic of the example. That broad level of inclusiveness is a positive for the book.

Overall, I found the book to be consistently high in quality, coverage, and consistency with other books in this area. Using it as an alternative or replacement for other books should be straightforward. The anonymous authors have done the field and our students a real service in writing this book.

Reviewed by Jiyun Wu, Associate Professor , Rhode Island College on 5/21/18

The book covers key areas of strategic management, much like other strategic management textbooks. read more

The book covers key areas of strategic management, much like other strategic management textbooks.

The content is accurate, though there are a few typos.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The examples are a few years old and need to be updated.

The book is very lucidly written. I think it is one of the best written textbooks.

The book is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

The text is easy to follow.

The topics are organized well and easy to follow.

I didn't encounter any problem with navigation.

I did not detect any grammar errors, although I did find a few typos.

The book is culturally relevant.

Please update the examples and correct the few typos in the text.

Reviewed by Edward Ward, Professor, Saint Cloud State University on 2/1/18

Relative to the other textbooks I have used in my strategic management course, this textbook is comprehensive. Topics include analyzing the environment, leading strategically, selection of business level strategies, ethics, organization design,... read more

Relative to the other textbooks I have used in my strategic management course, this textbook is comprehensive. Topics include analyzing the environment, leading strategically, selection of business level strategies, ethics, organization design, and more. However, it does not have a separate chapter about small business strategy.

This book is accurate as evidenced by the frequent references from both research journals and practitioners' publications. There is little in the way of the author's opinions, rather facts are emphasized.

The relevance of the book is excellent in that historical examples are often used, which by definition will not need to be updated. The examples of recent strategy uses (e.g. a goal by Coca-Cola on page 40 is for 2012) are in need of only slight modifications.

This is the paramount strength of the book. When the vocabulary (i.e. jargon) of strategic management is used, facile explanations and examples are used to clarify the term. An example is Figure 2.5, which explains financial performance measures for students who did not major in finance or accounting.

What is admirable as to the book's consistency is it's sequence of chapters, such as starting with "Mastering Strategy" as chapter one, through "Selecting Business Level Strategies" in the middle of the text, and concluding with corporate governance and ethics. There is also consistency in terms of the key takeaways and exercises throughout the book.

This is another strength of the book. For example, in clarifying "Entrepreneurial Orientation" sections such as "Autonomy", "Competitive Aggressiveness", and "Innovativeness" are presented in small sections that in total describe the term. This is done consistently in the book, such as in chapter eight the terms vertical integration, backward vertical integration, and forward vertical integration.

The topics are presented in a deductive order, starting with a superordinate term such as "Strategies for Getting Smaller", followed by retrenchment and restructuring. By describing a construct by its dimensions, the construct is more readily understood by students.

I don't think there are any such problems.

There are not any grammatical errors. I do think the reading level is for undergraduates rather than MBA students.

The photographs and examples are varied in terms of surface characteristics.

It is superior to my present textbook in terms of being written in a conversational style, which is complemented by useful tables such as 8.7 on page 293. These tables and other graphics will assist students with a visual learning style. The only negative that comes to mind is if this textbook is to be used for a MBA course, outside readings will need to be assigned.

Reviewed by Jorge Zazueta, Adjunct Professor, American University on 2/1/18

The book covers all the standard topics in Strategic Management in a well-structured and cohesive manner. The table of contents provides detail on contents and the interactive PDF version is an excellent way to navigate the text. Electronic... read more

The book covers all the standard topics in Strategic Management in a well-structured and cohesive manner. The table of contents provides detail on contents and the interactive PDF version is an excellent way to navigate the text. Electronic versions are searchable, obviating the need for an index.

I didn't find any inaccuracies or biases in the text (although I ran into a few minor typos). Each concept follows a critical discussion inviting the reader to reflect on the topic, rather than being dogmatic.

The topics covered are well established Strategic Management ideas with direct application in actual business practice, making the content both relevant and time enduring.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is clearly written and enjoyable. It provides straight commentary on the ideas discussed and is very easy to read. A minor drawback is that it lacks memorable design around many of the classic frameworks. For example, when discussing the diamond model in chapter 7, its elements are defined in the form of a table--rather than in a diamond shape.

The narrative is consistent throughout both in depth and style.

While the content follows a logical path, chapters are concise and mostly stand-alone, making it easy to use individual chapters or to tailor content for a class.

The topics follow a standard order of ideas in a consistent and logical flow, while maintaining modularity.

The interactive PDF version is clean and easy to use. A comprehensive table of contents is always available without being intrusive and the book is fully searchable. Making it convenient for student research or review. A keyword search results in a list of references to different chapters in the book, with a short summary of the content discussed.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Other than a few minor spelling typos. I found no errors.

The nature of the book is mostly transparent to cultural issues. Examples are business focused and do reflect a wide world view.

It is a great introductory text to Strategic Management. It covers all the standard material in a concise, easily accessible way. I would have enjoyed a bit more quantitative material, such as basic formulas from economics or discussions about how to quantify market competitiveness for example. Perhaps, that´s the material for a second book….

Reviewed by Bill Rossman, Instructor, Penn State University on 2/1/18

The book covers the major topics expected to be covered in a strategic management textbook. read more

The book covers the major topics expected to be covered in a strategic management textbook.

The material covered in the textbook is accurate and error-free.

Th material is up-to-date, however, some of the examples in the book could quickly become outdated. For example, there is an example referencing a 2001 movie which students may not understand. The book could easily be updated to keep examples up-to-date.

The book is clearly written without unnecessary jargon. Definitions for key terms could be emphasized to help students identify key terms and concepts. Additionally a glossary would be beneficial for students to quickly reverence the definition of key terms.

The book is consistent with other texts on the topic of strategic management.

The book is modular and chapters could be reorganized without issue. Instructors could assign chapters or subsections as they see fit without loss of educational value.

The book flowed well, the only change I would make is to move the corporate-level strategies to follow the business-level strategies. The instructor could easily make this change when assigning chapters in the textbook.

I did not encounter any issues with the interface of the textbook. The location of charts and images were appropriate and supported the material.

The book was free of grammatical errors.

The text was not insensitive or offensive.

Supporting material such as glossary, online assignments or self check exercises could be included. Overall, the book is well thought out and easily adaptable for instructors to use.

Reviewed by Sam Cappel, Professor, Southeastern Louisiana University on 6/20/17

I found the book to be comprehensive, covering in detail important parts of strategic management. read more

I found the book to be comprehensive, covering in detail important parts of strategic management.

I found the book to be accurate and well referenced. Examples were used which were most instrumental in helping students to understand important concepts.

The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. Many of the examples used are classic or very timely. It would require little work to update concepts and examples.

The book is written without unnecessary jargon. Terms commonly used in the study of Strategy are fully explained.

The framework of the book allows for easy transitions from one topic to another. Throughout the book there is consistency in the straight forward approach to topics. There is a consistent attempt within this book to explain complex concepts in such a way as to allow undergraduate students to master them easily.

Modularity rating: 4

The text is well divided into a logical sequence of intuitively developed reading sections. Sections within the book serve to reduce confusion which can occur when learning a subject area with the diversity and complexity of Business Strategy

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I like the flow of the text but prefer a flow which started by simply following the strategic management process step by step.

I had no issues with the interface of the textbook. Navigation was simple and charts were well placed and clear.

I found no grammatical errors i the text.

Culturally the book was sensitive in dealing with issues such as ethics and the role of diversity in the workplace.

With the current push for on-line offerings I feel that it is now imperative that offerings include test banks, power-points, on-line readings, films and perhaps simulation tools that can be used on-line. I love the book for in-class use but feels that it does not offer enough support to be viable for extensive on-line offerings,

Reviewed by Cynthia Steutermann, Multi-Term Lecturer, University of Kansas on 8/21/16

This book does a somewhat good job of covering many aspects of strategic analysis. For instance, the discussions relative to cost leadership, differentiation, and focused strategies were good. However, I found this book to be lacking in critical... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This book does a somewhat good job of covering many aspects of strategic analysis. For instance, the discussions relative to cost leadership, differentiation, and focused strategies were good. However, I found this book to be lacking in critical discussion areas, such as the importance of evaluating a firm's internal financial assets. While it mentioned current ratio, debt to equity ratio, and net income .. it does not show how to calculate those ratios. And, there are many, many more financial ratios that should be covered in great detail to effectively analyze an organization's internal financial capabilities. This was an area I would consider to be seriously lacking in content.

Other critical areas missing from this textbook were the discussion of entrepreneurial strategy and competitive dynamics, as well as managing innovation and corporate entrepreneurship. Likewise, this textbook did not include any strategic management cases which greatly supports a student's ability to apply concepts to a multi-page case of an organization they may be familiar with.

Also, while there was included on the website a table of contents, no such table of contents exists in the .pdf version that students would actually use. In general, this book is not written at the level of sophistication and comprehensiveness I would expect to use for college students, particularly since a strategic analysis course is often taught as a capstone course (undergraduate senior level of student). In my opinion, this textbook is written more at the senior in high school or college freshman level.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book's accuracy is adequate, although there are many areas of strategic analysis which I would consider to be missing in this textbook.

The one area of relevance and longevity I found to be questionable was the various references to "At the Movies". Some of the movies are quite dated and students may not have even heard of them. Or, if they have heard of the movie, they may not have seen it. While the intent seems to be a creative way to illustrate basic concepts, the use of movies is not (in my opinion) the most relevant way to accomplish this, at least to the extent that this is repeated throughout the textbook.

The book is written clearly, although not at the college reading level I would expect it to be written at.

Consistency rating: 3

The text is inconsistent since it references certain figures that actually do not exist. For instance, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix is referenced to be in figure 8.7. There is no BCG matrix figure, nor any figure 8.7. In fact, there are very few figures in the book. There are some pictures (unidentified mostly) but no figures that illustrate important concepts.

The book's modularity is done well. Within each chapter there are several smaller reading sections.

The book's organization/structure flow is generally good. I believe the organization and flow would be better if corporate-level strategies followed business-level strategy, and then the chapter about international markets would follow after that. This textbook, instead, has business-level strategy, international markets, then corporate-level strategy.

The images are generally not distorted, although on page 172 the Arby's graphic and text are out of proportion. Page 177 includes some type of graphic that is only shades of grey. I don't know what that is intended to represent.

The text contains no grammatical errors that I observed.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way that I observed.

Reviewed by Daniel Forbes, Associate Professor, U. of Minnesota on 6/10/15

The book covers most of the chapters commonly found in a strategy textbook, and the content within each chapter is also similar in terms of the key topics & models addressed. One exception is strategic entrepreneurship, which is not covered as... read more

The book covers most of the chapters commonly found in a strategy textbook, and the content within each chapter is also similar in terms of the key topics & models addressed. One exception is strategic entrepreneurship, which is not covered as a separate chapter as is often the case but is instead partially covered under "Entrepreneurial orientation" within Chapter 2, "Leading strategically". Another exception is that there is only one chapter on corporate strategy, whereas many books have a second chapter on strategy alternatives (M&A, etc.). However, some of this content has been folded into the corporate strategy chapter. The PDF I reviewed did not contain a glossary or index.

The book provides an accurate introduction to contemporary strategic management. The authors' perspective is consistent with mainstream scholarly views in the field.

Most strategy textbooks tend to gravitate towards concepts and models that have a relatively long "shelf life," and this one is no exception. The book contains current examples and timely content. The book also does a good job presenting strategy in ways that undergraduate students, in particular, will find relevant. It does this through an emphasis on familiar, everyday brands (Facebook, Redbox) and through cultural references, such as its "Strategy at the movies" segments, which link concepts in the book to recent popular films.

The book is written in clear and accessible prose, and it carries a sense of humor. At times I would have liked to see clearer definitions that were easier to find in the text (e.g., highlighted or placed in sidebars). For example, the concept of "cost leadership" is introduced with good examples, but a concise definition seems lacking. Having clear definitions on key concepts is helpful to students studying for exams and for faculty who want to check concepts for consistency across materials without re-reading entire sections.

The book is internally consistent. It provides a framework for understanding strategy that is coherent and, at the same time, generally consistent with other major texts.

The text seems modular, and reorganizing the material is unlikely to pose a problem. It would be easy to rearrange the materials within a strategy course - provided, of course, that foundational concepts (e.g., "capabilities") have been established early on, as would be required in working with any major strategy text.

The book's flow is logical and it adheres to a structure that is common in strategy texts. One slightly unusual sequencing is the presentation of international strategy before corporate strategy (the reverse is more common), but these two chapters remain adjacent and there is a reasonable case for doing this. Given the overall modularity of the book, moreover, instructors can rearrange chapters as they see fit without much difficulty.

The interface reflects the thoughtful and creative selection of accompanying visual materials, especially photos and illustrations. There are fewer charts and tables than in the average strategy text. Some instructors and MBA students might find the text easier to navigate with fewer visual interruptions overall and perhaps more data or charts included in addition to the pictures. Overall, I think this interface that would be well received by undergraduate students, in particular.

The book's grammar is fine.

The book does not appear to be culturally insensitive. Examples are drawn primarily from the U.S., as is common in many major strategy texts, but there are also many examples drawn from outside the U.S.

Overall, I think this book is a very solid and worthwhile contribution to the set of available strategy textbooks. A particular strength of the book is its accessible writing style and its selection of "user-friendly" illustrations and examples. I think the book would be especially well-suited to first-time students of strategy who seek a general introduction. I also like that the book avoids delivering long, arbitrary lists of items in presenting material (e.g., "the nine reasons firms do acquisitions"), which is a common weakness of strategy textbooks. Instead, this book is generally succinct and reasonably comprehensive. At the same time, instructors & students seeking a more advanced treatment of strategy may find coverage of some topics to be relatively light. For example, limitations of the 5 Forces model are only briefly addressed and issues of industry evolution do not seem to be addressed.

Reviewed by David Try Ph.D., Instructor , Northwest Community College on 10/9/13

I found this text to be well-written and high quality, with up-to-date material, examples and case studies. In my experience, both as an instructor and retired practitioner, this textbook covers all basic concepts and topics at an appropriate... read more

I found this text to be well-written and high quality, with up-to-date material, examples and case studies. In my experience, both as an instructor and retired practitioner, this textbook covers all basic concepts and topics at an appropriate depth for an Introduction to Business Strategy/Policy course. The backend - index, glossary, on-screen reader and search engine - were accurate and faultless.

Diagrams, tables and case studies were up-to-date, professional quality and accurate. I found the text well supported by the supplemental teaching resources (quizzes, PowerPoint's, teaching notes, etc.) As with any USA based textbook, and to be fair hardly unique to this one, the content is USA-centric. Examples and in-text case studies do tend to examine issues through the lens of USA companies, and occasionally USA laws/regulations. Within this caveat, all material was well-edited, error-free, unbiased and including appropriate supplemental instructor material.

As with most introductory courses, the basic components of Business Strategy tend not to change rapidly. New tools, techniques, occasionally fads, as well as the inevitable rebranding (i.e. Management by Objectives [MBO] becomes Outcome Based Key Performance Indicators) are adopted by Business relatively slowly. The textbook covers certain recent advances in strategic and policy, as appropriate for a textbook at an introductory level. Looking forward, advances to this textbook would tend to focus on maintaining current and timeliness of in-text examples, update trends and data, and incorporate emergent strategies which could emerge in response to changing economic, business or global events, such as a global recession.

The textbook to be quite readable and engaging, and makes good use of current business examples. Terms and business jargon are properly defined, both within the text and by using small ‘call-out' (?) boxes on the side of pages and through the use of examples.

The concepts and ideas in the textbook are presented in a clear and logical order. Terminology is used consistently. As well, I found the ‘readability' of the textbook to be internally consistent – with no sense that different authors/editors had writte

The material is covered in 12 chapters, with 2 to 4 sections each, making it easy to assign weekly readings and cover the content within one semester. Chapters are fairly consistent in length and complexity. Instructors have the option to re-organize the course / subject order prior to students downloading the textbook should they wish. The text is not overly self-referential.

The flow or order of idea/concept presentation is consistent to most Strategy texts, and appropriate for an introductory textbook. Within Chapter layout is consistent; each chapter begins with "Learning Outcomes" and concludes with "Key Takeaways" and exercises, which can be assigned as homework.

Neither I, nor any of my students, experienced any interface issues at all. The underlying technology appeared faultless. The navigation process is logical and all images and text were clear and high quality, even on smaller e-reading devices. As well, color use is consistent, assisting in overall navigation. Interestingly, as the first e-textbook for NWCC Business, my students appreciated the ability to perform in-text searches and hyper-link to external electronic references (in text URLs), as well as textbook's cost of course!

I found zero (0) grammatical errors, or ‘broken' URL links. Well edited

This text is not culturally or sexually insensitive, or offensive. Overall, examples are based on business culture with limited applicability on cultural relevance. One chapter focuses on Ethics and Social Responsibility and examines these issues from a strategic perspective, with examples. However, the focus is principally from a business perspective, as compared to social, legal or moral perspectives. As the text is fairly USA-centric, Canadian students may feel that Canadian and possibly Asian business strategies should receive greater emphasis.

Overall, I was very impressed with the quality and professionalism of the text. A ‘newbie' to e-textbooks, I was surprised by the usefulness of additional features available with electronic textbooks (searching, imbedded URLs, etc.). As noted above, the textbook content is somewhat USA-centric. Examples and in-text case studies tend to focus on USA companies, and occasionally USA laws/regulations. However, given the highly integrated nature of Canadian and USA business environments, there is some value in this. And, it was certainly not difficult to incorporate Canadian examples into the Lectures. This review originated in the BC Open Textbook Collection and is licensed under CC BY-ND.

Table of Contents

• I. Chapter 1: Mastering Strategy: Art and Science
• II. Chapter 2: Assessing Organizational Performance
• III. Chapter 3: Evaluating the External Environment
• IV. Chapter 4: Evaluating the Internal Environment
• V. Chapter 5: Synthesis of Strategic Issues and Analysis
• VI. Chapter 6: Selecting Business-Level Strategies
• VII. Chapter 7: Innovation Strategies
• VIII. Chapter 8: Selecting Corporate-Level Strategies
• IX. Chapter 9: Competing in International Markets
• X. Chapter 10: Executing Strategy through Organizational Design
• XI. Chapter 11: Leading an Ethical Organization: Corporate Governance, Corporate Ethics, and Social Responsibility

Ancillary Material

• Virginia Tech Publishing

About the Book

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT  offers an introduction to the key topics and themes of strategic management. The authors draw on examples of familiar companies and personalities to illustrate the different strategies used by today’s firms—and how they go about implementing those strategies. Students will learn how to conduct a case analysis, measure organizational performance, and conduct external and internal analyses. In short, they will understand how organizations operate at the strategic level to be successful.

An older version of Mastering Strategic Management  (2015) by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing can be found here: https://open.lib.umn.edu/strategicmanagement/

About the Contributors

Reed B. Kennedy, Associate Professor of Practice, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech

Reed B. Kennedy is an Associate Professor of Management Practice in the Management Department, where he teaches management courses. He began his career as a naval officer before entering his primary career in healthcare administration, where he served in senior executive roles in various hospitals for over 20 years. He then worked as a business consultant for the Small Business Development Center for the New River Valley at Radford University. His education includes a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters of Healthcare Administration from Medical College of Virginia / Virginia Commonwealth University, a Masters in Public Health and a Graduate Certificate in Global Planning and International Development from Virginia Tech. Reed served as the chief textbook reviser on this project. He worked with the contributor and editorial teams from project start to completion.

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Strategic Management at the Euro Disney Term Paper

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Euro Disney was a company on the verge of economic collapse reflected on the grim figures of its financial statements. Below is an illustration of the statement from 1993/1994.

To steer the organization into profitability to become a market player and strategically position it in the market, the organization’s risk-taking intellectual executives had to embrace knowledge management skills integrated in the organization’s culture, behavior and vision to be a market leader, to gain a strategic market position.

One of the key elements for the management was to use value addition and analysis techniques in the design and implementation of its value chain activities in addition to embracing the four concepts of product, price, promotion and place in the pursuit of a bigger market share, a strong brand name and image which are vital for any business interest.

These value chain activities could help position Euro Disney at a strategic position if the business managers envisaged them in the infrastructure of the company by identifying the human resources available, their knowledge and skills, the technology they had. Technology was catered for by integrating different subsidiary companies in addition to identifying logistical needs of the company and its subsidiary companies.

These value addition activities are a chain of events and activities which add value to the final product making it more valuable than the original product and competitive in the market. In addition to that, as illustrated in the case study, these value chain activities lead to the final cost of the product being lower than the value of the final value-added product. This is a combination of activities such as economies of scale, experience, supply costs, and the product design process. Euro Disney failed in this (Strategic Management 1).

Euro Disney has integrated the above factors in its value addition process particularly in the development and design of many of its unique products tailored to reflect the target market. The unique products include identification of cultural values of the target market such as the European markets and the Japanese market.

One of the successful integration of value addition activities included the Japanese Tokyo Disney land, a target market. The management of Euro Disney identified the unique market characterized by the 2 million customers annually, its potential as a tourist destination, readily available infrastructure, and a large market for its unique products.

The management, strategically thinking like their customers, tailoring and adding value to their products, strategically used the value chain analysis to identify the market potential and improve the quality of their product offerings.

According to the article Value chain (Business Edition) (1), one of the primary activities the management of Euro Disney in its value chain analysis incorporated in the infrastructure of the organization was identifying strategic value addition activities such as the creation of resorts for family vacation entertainment centers, large and unique cultural offerings for its customers, and family vacations for those who wanted to stay for a short period of time in those parks.

However, Euro Disney’s management in its business strategies was using the same value addition activities to destroy itself. The decision by Walt Disney to build Euro Disney was a financial disaster culminating in the loss of $43 million against an investment of $ 600 million, reflecting poor management decisions in the use of the value chain analysis concepts. In addition to that, these value addition activities were clearly illustrated in the development phase the company invested in. These included phase one and phase two of the development plans (Strategic management 1).

The above chart clearly illustrates Euro Disney’s value chain activities and the financial management activities of the company in terms of the subsidiary companies it formed in its value chain activities incorporated in its strategic management plans.

The unique financial management structure illustrated above clearly illustrates the unique relationship between different European subsidiaries and Euro Disney. In addition to that other subsidiaries were managed by different companies such as the Euro Disney SCA by Euro Disney SA a subsidiary of Euro Disney.

According to the article Strategic Management (1) additional value chain analysis activities by Euro Disney included the management’s ability to identify logistical activities incorporated in the structure of the management as illustrated in the case study, out bound logistics, and the operations leading to it, the marketing and selling activities and tasks, services provided after the product had reached the market in this case including the kind of services customers received when enjoying the facilities and services of Euro Disney and those offered by subsidiary companies culminating in the company’s margins.

The organization was keen in factoring intellectual needs of the customers by identifying cultural and intellectual needs. This was vital in knowledge management initiatives of the organization. The wide variety of strategies in customer needs and customer behavior were deciding factors in value addition activities. These cultural needs included the French culture in addition to knowledge management skills of identifying and emphasizing on intellectual needs in the design of its products.

The use of value chain analysis was directly linked to the organization’s failure realized in the first year of business when students demonstrated identifying inherent design problems which did not factor customer needs in the event of a rise in the number of customers. The design did not incorporate the organization’s image in the context of European needs with an emphasis on European cultural context.

It clearly bore the characteristics of the American culture, thus a failure in the part of the organization in using its knowledge management skills and value chain analysis techniques in addressing customer needs. Such a poor image does not place a company in a strategic market position, particularly in its initial stages entry into the market. The company was plagued with loss-making financial statements, bad economic situation, and plummeting number of customers in addition to dwindling profits. The organization was on the verge of collapse.

It was incumbent upon the management of the company and its subsidiary companies to take bold and decisive actions to redesign its value chain activities and align the company with a vision that could integrate it into the exiting market create a good brand name and image in its value chain activities.

Strategic Management , The value chain [Online] 1999-2007. Web.

Strategic management. The Value chain Web. 2002-2007. Web.

Value chain (Business Edition). IBM Corporation. Web.

• Liker’s The Toyota Way and Collins’ Good to Great
• Business Research Methods
• Disney Company's Expansion in France
• Euro Disneyland. Decision Matrix Analysis
• Michael Eisner's Disney
• Suburban Health Center
• Trafalgar Company Overview
• Going, Inc. Service Design Strategy
• Toyota Recall – Global Crisis Management
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, April 21). Strategic Management at the Euro Disney. https://ivypanda.com/essays/strategic-management-term-paper/

"Strategic Management at the Euro Disney." IvyPanda , 21 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/strategic-management-term-paper/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Strategic Management at the Euro Disney'. 21 April.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Strategic Management at the Euro Disney." April 21, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/strategic-management-term-paper/.

1. IvyPanda . "Strategic Management at the Euro Disney." April 21, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/strategic-management-term-paper/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Strategic Management at the Euro Disney." April 21, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/strategic-management-term-paper/.

College Term Paper

🖋 best way to write a great college term paper, strategic management – term paper.

Introduction

Strategic management is a critical aspect of the operations of the most organization today. For an organization to be successful and remain its growth path, it is critical that it develops reliable strategic measures (Sempels & Hoffman 2013). The adoption of proper strategy is even more critical when an organization faces some fundamental issues which pose a threat to its growth (Northouse 2016). The aim of this paper is to provide a case study of an organization that faces an issue which requires interventions that are based on strategic management to resolve. The organization of choice of is Volkswagen with the primary focus being on the diesel scandal that affected the company. The paper begins by providing a definition of strategy, followed by an overview of the Volkswagen as the organization of choice.  The situation facing Volkswagen is the summarized and the strategic issues involved identified in the following section. The paper the reviews some of the common strategic tools, concepts and frameworks then narrow down to the most applicable ones in the Volkswagen’s case to develop the necessary strategy. In the final part, the paper makes recommendations for the organization in future. 

Definition of Strategy

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Organization can be characterized as a set of decisions and policies that are made by the leadership of a particular organization with the aim of establishing a well-grounded competitive position while making it more sustainable in the future (Ansari, Mela & Neslin 2008). An organization’s strategy is contained in its strategic plans which constitute a set of complex activities, expectations, insightful thoughts, perceptions and expertise that help to shape the actions that guide the organization towards a path of achieving its objectives (Sempels & Hoffman 2013). Notably, also, the existing literature on the area indicates that strategy is not reducible to the sum of individual activities as the interactions of the specific parts create an interactive synergy that produces an effect that is more powerful as a whole. 

General Overview of Volkswagen

The organization of choice for this paper is Volkswagen, a German carmaker which specializes in passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses. Volkswagen’s inception can be traced to the 1930s in Berlin Germany when the German Labor Front backed by Hitler opened the company under the name Gezuvor but later changed it to Volkswagen during its first year of operations. Over the years, the operations of Volkswagen grew rapidly leading the company to acquire the Auto Union Company in the 60s with the sole aim of producing the Audi models. The growth path continued in the following decades, and Volkswagen continued to purchase other car manufacturers such as Skoda, Lamborghini, and Porsche. Volkswagen has some notable brands which have an international presence such as SEAT, AUDI, Porsche, Bugatti, and the Volkswagen Marques.

The mission of the company is to establish strategic partnerships with its clients to minimize their costs of operations and still provide world class experience. The company aims at adopting more innovations to aid its manufacturing processes and remain more competitive across the globe. The primary challenge for Volkswagen is working to conform to the different regulations on the reduction in the level of emissions as specified in the global actions directed at controlling climate change.

Justification of the Choice of the Organization

The choice of Volkswagen as the organization of focus for this paper is based on several factors. First, the organization operates in an industry that has many hurdles which require strategic operations to enable the companies to continue their operations and realize the targeted growth. The company has been the subject of many studies across the globe, and as a result, there will be enough information from journals, books, and annual reports. Finally, the organization has remained innovative during the years and as a result, using it as a case study will enable me to develop an understanding of how organizations can maintain the position in the global space. 

Situation Summary

The motor industry has been subject to tighter controls as a result of the increased concern among most nations about conservation and safeguarding the environment for sustainability purposes (Lee, Veloso, Hounshell, & Rubin 2010). Given that most agencies had documented the dangers of nitrogen oxide emission on human lives about the causation of diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and premature deaths, most governments have taken steps to tighten their regulations for emissions. These new emission regulations posed an immense challenge for the auto manufacturers across the globe especially regarding the manufacture of the diesel efficient vehicles for the United States Market.

Volkswagen in an attempt to maintain its share of the USA market for diesel vehicles continued with its operations as compared opposed to its competitors who chose to scrap their operations. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that the company had been carrying out a “diesel dupe” which amounted to rigging the diesel emission tests that were performed on its product hence making them seem as they were causing less pollution than what was the actual results (Volkswagen, 2015). Volkswagen was shown to have used a device or software in its diesel engine with the aim of changing the performance of the vehicles and lead to improved results. Rather than provide the results for emission tests carried out during road tests, the company conducted lab tests that demonstrated that the vehicles had lower emission and presented these as the actual results. The program used by Volkswagen made slight changes to the engine making the cars to have a diminished record of the amount of nitrogen oxide that they emit. The program enabled the nitrogen oxide emission tests to thirty-five times lower than what would the vehicles were emitting. The emission scandal presented a major hurdle for the organization and continued to affect its operations till today. 

Summary of Strategic Issues Involved

The emission scandal for Volkswagen presented some strategic issues given that magnitude and factors involved in the process. One of the strategic issues that face Volkswagen is adopting a reliable environment management process.  Given that the organization’s main business is focused on manufacturing, it is necessary that the car giant seeks to develop products that do not cause any environmental harm. The strategy requires that the organization goes beyond the issue of emissions that was at the center of the scandal to ensure that it engages in processes that conserve the environment and guarantee the health of the population. The ability of the organization to be in a position to regain its competitive advantage it is critical that the company deals with the environmental management. 

The sales of Volkswagen were also affected by the emissions scandal. As a result, this one of the strategic issues that require being addressed. The scandal had an impact on the loyalty of Volkswagen’s customers leading to most of the clients to switch to its competitors hence causing a slump in the sales. The Volkswagen reports indicated that the drop that was realized in 2015 after the diesel scandal had not been witnessed since 2002 (Volkswagen, 2015). The plunge in sales also leads to the loss of Volkswagen shares especially once the scandal was associated with the unethical practice. Reports indicate that once the investigation of the company was revealed, the shares dropped by about a third of the value wiping out billions n Volkswagen value. 

A Review of Tools, Concepts and Frameworks for Strategic Analysis

From a strategic management point of view, there are some tools, concepts, and frameworks that Volkswagen can adopt to ensure that it can cope with the emerging issues after the diesel emissions scandal. The tools are effective in the identification of strengths of the business, evaluation of the effectiveness of the current strategies and also strategic analysis is critical to enable Volkswagen to be in a position to overcome the issues that have emerged following the diesel emission scandal (Kraus, Kuranen & Reschke 2010). The following section highlights the common strategic tools that the company can use in resolving the issues: 

i. SWOT Analysis

The concept enables the organizations to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and also the threats that exist within its operational environment (Sempels & Hoffman 2013). The following table provides a SWOT analysis for Volkswagen:

Table 1: Volkswagen SWOT Analysis

ii. PEST Analysis

The concept of PEST represents the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors that make the external environment of an organization. The PEST analysis concept provides insightful information that can be used to facilitate the strategic management processes in an organization. The following table provides a PEST Analysis for Volkswagen: 

Table 2: Volkswagen PEST Analysis 

iii. Porters Five Forces Analysis

The framework is critical in enabling the organization to determine their position and competitive strength. The analysis focuses on the power of suppliers, customers, the threat of entry, the threat of substitutes and competitive rivalry (Mainardes, Ferreira & Raposo 2014). The following table summarizes the application of this analysis on Volkswagen and the automobile industry where the company operates: 

iv. Value Chain Analysis

The framework provides a reliable analysis on how the organizational activities provide value for the customers (Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, Angwin, & Regner 2013). For example, the Volkswagen brand produces most of the units required to manufacture its automobiles which allow it to lower its operating expenses and hence reduce the cost of its cars.  The company also has several houses across the globe and single dealer orders that ensure that it can transport its products across the globe much faster. The company has adapted its assembly line to use robots hence reducing manufacturing wastes (Lee et al. 2010). The company also ensures that its products its cars on order to reduce the costs of storing goods. The company’s brand has gained global recognition and has remained unchanged for years. The company’s logo has also remained the same over the decades and hence has enabled it to gain more attention. The company also provides after sales training and handles all the emerging complaints. 

v. Resource-Based View

The resource-based view offers insight on the internal strengths of an organization and also the industry-specific factors which inform its strategies and determine its competitive position (Voss 2010). Volkswagen, as an organization has access to multiple tangible assets such as buildings which can be used to position it strategically to compete with the other players in the automobile industry. The intangible assets are also useful for in the development of strategies that enable the company to compete. Intangible assets include trademarks, intellectual properties and also brand reputation (Johnson et al. 2013). The use of heterogeneous resources such as the ability of an organization to design products that are different from what the market is offering is also another element that can be adopted by Volkswagen.

vi. Porters Generic Strategies

The framework specifies some strategies that an organization can adopt in pursuit of competitive advantage such as reducing the manufacturing costs, diversify the products, and also focusing on the industry. Volkswagen has continually diversified its products by purchasing more companies that enable it to meet the needs of the customers in the different automobile market segments (Alagöz, Ekici & Islek 2011). In order to lower its manufacturing costs, the company has adopted the MQB platform which allows within its groups to use pre-developed components in the manufacture of their products. The company ensures that most of the brands can share engine parts and the interior components which are a common trend in the automobile industry as seen in other players such as BMW and Rolls-Royce (Marcotte, Grabot & Affonso 2009). 

vii. Ansoff Matrix

The Ansoff matrix constitutes a tool that enables an organization to determine their growth strategy despite their markets being new or existing and also when dealing with both new and existing products.  The matrix provides an output of strategies that can be used to spur strategic growth in an organization. The following table illustrates the Ansoff matrix for Volkswagen.

Table: Volkswagen Ansoff Matrix

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