Business blog 16-11-2013

We forced on the organizational strategy this week, and the general definition for strategy is ‘a pattern in a stream of decisions’, by Mintzberg. And before making any plan of strategy, there always need to be an analysis, like the PESTLE and SWOT analysis

Talking about the SWOT analysis, it contain the below four elements:

·         Strength: what the organisation strong at and which part of their business have advantage over the others

·         Weaknesses: what the organisation weak at and their disadvantage over other organisations

·         Opportunities: New project that the organisation can do base on its strength in the future

·         Threat: the elements that will cause problem to the business from the external environment and the industry

This analysis can help the management of the organisation set a more clear and achievable goal.

Using Microsoft as an example for the SWOT analysis,

·         Strength: The well-known brand name, experiences about the industry, technology of software

·         Weaknesses: haven’t develop any new products for many years, and there are some technological in their software

·         Opportunities: develop new mobile product, enter new market

·         Threat: Privacy problem, competition

Besides of the SWOT analysis, we focus on strategies. And our reading is ‘of strategies, deliberate and emergent’ by Mintzberg and Waters. In that article, it mainly talks about the formation of strategies, it also illustrate that how the Deliberate and emergent can be the two end of a continuum.

Deliberate strategies Emergent strategies

 

·         Clear intentions                              absent of intention

·         Leadership

·         Shared vision

·         Control over organisational action

 

·         External environment

In which, the deliberate strategies are realised as intended strategies, and emergent strategies are patterns of consistencies realised in the absence of intention.

In addition, the article mentions that the umbrella strategies and process strategies are the most common types.

Umbrella strategies:  

·         More relaxed approach of strategies

·         Guidelines and boundaries are set clearly, but people can maneuver it

·         Strategies are allowed to emerge within the boundaries

·         Seem as deliberately emergent

Process strategies:

·         Influence of the leadership is indirect

·         Process are guided

·         Seem as deliberately emergent

Finally, the strategies can help the organisation by the following:

·         Encourages the leadership to assess and articulate a vision

·         May found out new opportunities

·         Guide the structure formation with business grows

·         Provide guidance for decision making

 

In which, the deliberate strategies are realised as intended strategies, and emergent strategies are patterns of consistencies realised in the absence of intention.

In addition, the article mentions that the umbrella strategies and process strategies are the most common types.

 

 

 

Umbrella strategies:  

·         More relaxed approach of strategies

·         Guidelines and boundaries are set clearly, but people can maneuver it

·         Strategies are allowed to emerge within the boundaries

·         Seem as deliberately emergent

 

Process strategies:

·         Influence of the leadership is indirect

·         Process are guided

·         Seem as deliberately emergent

Finally, the strategies can help the organisation by the following:

·         Encourages the leadership to assess and articulate a vision

·         May found out new opportunities

·         Guide the structure formation with business grows

·         Provide guidance for decision making