Strategic Management Questions
1. What factors should be considered in choosing the approach to strategic decision-making?
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Issues faced by an organization.
Style and preferences of its leaders
Personalities of those making the decisions
Good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization
Its environment and current position
In order to establish, sustain and acquire the competencies that are required, and to adopt the
most appropriate leadership style to see the overall strategy realized.
Other factors: Company Culture and Values, Business Environment, Decision Complexity,
Timeframe, Stakeholder Involvement, Risk Tolerance and Resources
2. What are the management themes that should be considered and included in deciding what
approach to adopt?
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The need for leadership and sound decision- making to be present at every level.
The need to manage uncertainty and get the best from new situations – problems as well as
opportunities (the challenge of “leading change:
The need to manage in adversity, such as a market collapse or the failure of a product. An
organization’s structure and its cultures and control systems must be flexible enough to
enable swift decision-making and action to get matters back on course.
3. Describe a “Classical Administrator; “design planner”; and “role player”
Classical Administrator – in the classical school of management, a set of common activities and
principles are developed. These include planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and
controlling. This classical-administrator approach to decision-making is largely concerned with
measuring and improving skills and processes within organizations. It is characterized by hierarchy,
usually in the form of top-down planning and control, formal target setting and performance
measurement, structured programmed for functional improvements through “scientific” engineering
and a formal organization structure.
Design Planner – the design planning approach emphasized that the principal role of a leader is to
plan the development of an organization beyond the short term. This heralded the arrival of strategic
thinking in organizations, as distinct firm of focusing on continuing management activities. In this
approach, strategy results from a controlled an d conscious though process, achieving long-term
competitive advantage and success through answering questions such as: Where are we now? Where
do we want to be? How are we going to get there?
Design planning requires expertise in two areas:
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Anticipating the future environment, with the help of analytical techniques and models;
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Devising appropriate strategies matching the external opportunities and threats to the
organization’s resources, internal strengths and weaknesses.
Once the strategy is planned, it is simply a matter of using the techniques of the classical
administrator to plan its implementation by, for example, having a master plan that schedules key
tasks and budget-controlled activities.
The result was that strategic decision-making had been given a separate focus. Decision types were
identified, covering strategy, policy, programs and standard operating procedures.
Role Player – the role-player approach vies the job of the strategic decision-making as more than
that of a reflective and analyzing planner and controller. In this approach, vision, communication and
negotiation, as well as the need to be able to react quickly to disturbances and to change tactics at
short notice, are of greatest importance. The decision-maker’s role becomes one of learning,
supporting and positively enabling rather than directing. The long-term result is incremental progress
rather than a big bang, but it is no less real and over the long term may be more valuable.
4. In what situation may the business firm be in, where the following strategy approach may be
adopted?
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Business start-up – developing the capabilities essential to starting a new business or project
Business turnaround – Turning around a failing or struggling business that is either
performing weakly or facing major challenges in the future.
Realignment – Ensuring that a once successful organization is able to refocus and adapt to
serious challenges.
Increasing the pace – Improving the performance of a good-enough business with the aim of
transforming it into a top ranking one.
Maintaining growth and success – preserving and building on the best features of a team or
business and taking it to the next level.
Winding down – closing down or divesting a business that is no longer strategically
important or that no longer warrants investment.
5. Describe how the turnaround strategist can reverse business’ state of crisis.
This decision-making approach focuses on turning around the performance of an organization in
decline, perhaps when a visionary leader has failed. It is autocratic, ruthless and swift, and it is more
context specific. Invariably, the requirement is to operate when an organization is in a state of crisis.
To achieve turnaround success, it is important to implement new control systems quickly, and to
focus on the reasons for decline and reverse them while going for the easiest route to immediate
growth. Short-term issues are critical, and a dramatic change of overall perspective is required
The turnaround strategist faces several significant challenges. Many can be classed as cultural
challenges that focus on the need to change not only what is being done but, crucially that way that
employees operate and how they work.
6. Describe the approach that the strategist must adopt for a “business-start up.
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Gathering the right information
Developing market awareness
Deciding what action needs to be taken
Assessing risk
Thinking critically
Taking into account of unexpected