Reporter: Donnalyn C.

Murillo

Strategic types
The Miles-Snow typology is one of the most popular classifications of business-
level strategies. Beginning in the early 1970s and continuing through the mid-1980s,
Miles and Snow explored the strategies of hundreds of companies in numerous
industries. They almost always found impressive and bold strategies and tactics. Over
time, however, they realized that all of these strategies and tactics were related to a few
underlying business strategies. They identified four basic types of strategic behavior
and supporting organizational characteristics.

1. Prospectors. This type of companies includes firms with fairly broad product
lines that focus on product innovation and market opportunities. The sales
orientation makes them somehow inefficient. They tend to emphasis in creativity
over efficiency. Ex: Amazon, Microsoft , Google
2. Defenders. This type includes companies with a limited product line that focus
on improving the efficiency of their existing operations. This cost orientation
makes them unlikely to innovate in a new area. Ex. eBay, BIC, Mrs. Fields
3. Analyzers. This type includes business organizations that operate in at least two
different product market areas, one stable and one variable. In the stables areas,
efficiency is emphasized. In the variable areas, innovation is emphasized.
4. Reactor. This type includes companies that lack a consistent strategy –
structure – culture relationship. Their (often ineffective) responses to
environmental pressures tend to be piecemeal strategic changes.

Strategy vs Tactics
The terms tactic and strategy are often confused: tactics are the actual means
used to gain objective, while strategy is the overall campaign plan, which may involve
complex operational patterns activity, and decision-making that govern tactical
execution. Tactics and its role in concretizing the intents and purposes of business
policy and strategic management is equally important. It is more operational and done in
context with or as a support activity or operation to achieve a strategy.
The following are the major differences between tactics and strategy:

1. Tactics are the properly organized actions that help to achieve a certain end. The
strategy is the integrated plan that ensures the achievement of organization
objectives.
2. Tactics is a subset of strategy, i.e. without the strategy, tactics can do nothing.
 3. Tactics try to find out the methods through which strategy can be implemented.
Conversely, Strategy is a unified set of activities that can help the organization to
gain an advantageous position.
4. Tactics are formulated by middle-level management, whereas top level
management formulates a strategy.
5. Tactics involve lower risk as compared to strategy.
6. Tactics are preventive in nature while Strategy is competitive in nature.
7. Tactics are defined as a trip, i.e. typically for a short duration, but the strategy is a
journey that lets the company travel from one position to another. Hence it is for
a long duration.
8. Tactics frequently change with the changes in the market conditions; however,
the strategy remains same for a long period.
9. Tactics have a reactive approach, unlike strategy.
10. Tactics are made for coping with the present situation. In contrast to strategy,
they are made for future.

Strategyy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy
is the noise before defeat.” - Sun Tzu
The strategy is about choosing the best plan for accomplishing long-term goals
of the organization. Tactics instant reaction of the organization, in response to the
changing business environment. For a business entity, both the tactics and strategy are
important. It should be kept in mind while making strategies or tactics that the tactics
match with the strategy. Similarly, the strategy should consider the tactics. If these two
work in tandem, then the outcome will always be positive, and the risk of failure will be
reduced to a large extent.