Strategic Management

SIM336

May2007

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UNIT ONE:
Introduction to Strategy and Related Concepts

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Following the completion of this unit you should be able to:
 Define the key terms relating to strategy, business
policy and planning
 Explain the relationship between the various
concepts related to business policy and strategy
 Outline the evolution of strategic management as a
formal management concept

Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare

Sunderland Business School
2007

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Introduction: Strategy & Strategic Management
 The word ‘strategy’ is derived from the Greek word
‘strategos’ which derives from two words:
‘stratos’ – an army and ‘ago’ - which means ‘to
lead’, ‘to guide’, ‘to move’, which refers to a
'military commander' during the age of Athenian
Democracy.
 Today, ‘strategy’ means a ‘long-term plan/scheme
to gain competitive advantage’
 Strategic Management therefore involves
‘planning’, implementing, and controlling’ the
‘strategy’ adopted by organisations
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Adopt a Holistic Approach to Strategy
 There is no universal definition of ‘strategy’,
generalisation can be misleading/confusing.
Related terms include: Business Policy;
Corporate Planning, Organisational change
 Strategists are challenged to adopt a holistic
approach to strategy, by taking into account
the various strategy perspectives i.e.
classical, evolutionary, voluntarism and
determinism, processual and systemic
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Ansoff (1969) on ‘Strategy’
Strategy according to Ansoff (1969) means:
“…a set of management guidelines which specify the
firms product-market position, the directions in
which the firm seeks to grow and change, the
competitive tools it will employ, the means by which
it will enter new markets, the manner in which it will
configure its resources, the strengths it will seek to
exploit and conversely the weaknesses it will seek to
avoid. Strategy is a concept of the firm’s business
which provides a unifying theme for all of its
activities…” (Ansoff, 1969, p. 7)
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Evolution of ‘Strategic Management’
 Strategic management refers:
“To the way in which an organisation carries out the
continuous task of orienting itself within the environment,
to pursue its purpose in such a way as to ensure its
continuing survival.” (Module Guide, p. 19)
 Today ‘strategic management’ is concerned less
with the specific direction in which the company is
going, and more with its overall ability to cope with
change and the unexpected.
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Understanding the holistic nature of
Strategy – Strategic ‘Fit’ or ‘Tailoring’
 Strategy as a ‘match’ or ‘fit’ between (1)
activities and (2) the environment.
 It means (1) identifying opportunities from the
environment and (2) tailoring future activities
to capitalise on the opportunities. E.g.:
Locating in or appealing to favourable
markets
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Understanding the holistic nature of
Strategy – Strategic ‘Stretch’
 Strategy as: building on resources to create
opportunities or to capitalise on them.
 It means ensuring that resources are available, or can
be made available, to take advantage of some new
opportunity.
 It also means identifying existing resources and
competences, which might be a basis for creating new
opportunities.
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Conclusions & Recommendations
 This introductory unit explored the meaning of
some of the words commonly used in the literature
that deal with the subject matter of ‘strategy’ and
‘strategic management’
 It placed the terms in the context of the
development of management thinking about how
organisations determine their future strategic
direction
 The next unit looks at some of the schools of
thought that have and are currently contributing to
the theory of strategic management
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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Bibliography
 Ansoff, H. I. (1969) Business Strategy,
Penguin Books, Middlesex
 De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. (2004) Strategy
Process, Content and Context, International
Perspective, Third Edition, Thomson
Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare
Sunderland Business School
2007

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