1338 Posts Found

This paper seeks to establish a model in which complexity can be positioned in the context of other management disciplines, in such a way as to effectively communicate to executives in industry and their equivalents in government the importance of applying complexity thinking. It also seeks to differentiate what is termed ‘social complexity’ from ‘mathematical complexity’ in the context of the development of management science. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: David Snowden, Peter Stanbridge | Source: Cynefin Center for Organizational Complexity | Subjects: Management, Strategy

Following the adoption of a collective bargaining agreement in 2005, National Hockey League GMs had one month to absorb the new rules and put a team together. How to best negotiate in an uncertain environment? Michael Wheeler advises looking to military science for winning strategies.

Content: Article | Author: Michael Wheeler | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Negotiation, Strategy

A vision without a task is but a dream,
a task without a vision is drudgery,
a vision and a task is the hope of the world.

Content: Quotation | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Strategy, Vision

This article attempts to trace the development and summarise the current state of strategic thinking and “strategy theory” in business.

Editor’s Note: dont’ let the introductory text and use of word “survey” fool you – this article is a great short history of the development of the various major approaches to strategy analysis.

Content: Article | Author: Gert Bruche | Source: Berlin School of Economics (FHW-Berlin) | Subjects: History, Strategy

Even the unforeseeable can be prepared for if you have the right tools. Start-ups are often faced with the unknown, when traditional methods cannot help them. But there are two options for managers of young companies such situations. So how to choose which method is most appropriate? Authors Sommer, Loch and Dong look at a sample of 62 start-up companies in Shanghai to shed light … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Christoph Loch, Jing Dong, Svenja Sommer | Source: INSEAD Knowledge | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Strategy

Traditional strategic-planning, decision-making, and financial planning approaches can work well in stable, predictable environments. These approaches assume that a good analysis will allow the future to be forecast with enough accuracy to point to the best strategy.

In 1994, a group of McKinsey partners met to discuss the prevailing strategy development approaches then taught and used. They concluded that those methods had fallen behind the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: ManyWorlds | Subject: Strategy

Convention and tradition may still have their (smaller) place in organizations today, but not in the company envisioned and described by one of the world’s leading and most respected management gurus, Gary Hamel. “In the years ahead,” he says in this extensive and provocative interview, “the challenge for every organization is going to be to begin to think about how to measure and support three … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Stephen Bernhut | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: People, Strategy

Accenture research has identified an important root cause of underperforming alliances: an inattention to the governance processes and structures required to tend to the alliance relationship, direct resources in the proper direction and maximize its value. Based on our experience with leading companies across a wide number of industries, we have identified several key principles of effective alliance governance that can improve a company’s chances … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Nick Palmer | Source: Accenture | Subjects: Management, Strategy

Partnering Intelligence, a consulting firm specializing in strategic partnerships, offers up a series of articles, white papers, case studies, video interviews, and newsletter archives.

Content: Online Resource | Source: Partnering Intelligence | Subject: Strategy

As companies have grown in size and complexity, delivering sustained superior performance has become increasingly challenging. Today’s large corporations compete across multiple product and service markets, value chains, and geographies – each of which is experiencing major shifts in economics and opportunities.

The typical approaches to charting portfolio strategy are no longer adequate. Neither the “hands-off” financial manager focusing on the numbers nor the synergy manager … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Bill Stevenson, Phyllis Rothschild, Richard Balaban | Source: Mercer Management Journal | Subjects: Management, Strategy

An in-depth look at environmental analysis (monitoring, scanning and scenario planning).

Editor’s Note: this is a bit long and focused on the education market, but still contains some useful overview material.

Content: Article | Authors: Ian Wilson, James L. Morrison | Source: HORIZON | Subjects: Management, Strategy

This paper attempts to throw new light on the increasingly relevant, albeit not new, subject of strategic scanning by applying a learning perspective to well-known theoretical approaches to strategic scanning and issue management. The main contribution of the paper is an analysis of three theoretical approaches to strategic scanning investigating their potential for creating and securing organizational learning.

Content: Article | Author: Anders Drejer | Source: Aarhus School of Business | Subject: Strategy

Companies are using alliances to take the risk out of acquisitions.

Content: Article | Author: Don Durfee | Source: CFO Publishing | Subject: Strategy

Years ago, corporate strategy was considered a secret known only by top executives for fear competitors might use the information to their advantage. Now it is important for everyone in the organization to understand the strategy and align everything they do with that strategy every day. Openness and clarity even help when coping with competition. “It’s good for a competitor to know what the strategy … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Strategy

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A strategic off-site’s success is largely determined by what happens before it convenes. To make sure the meeting generates tangible results, its designer must do three things. First, answer the most basic questions: Who should be there? Talking about what, when, and why? Second, compile and distribute relevant data. Third, create a structure for the meeting that will compel progress.

Content: Article | Authors: Bob Frisch, Logan Chandler | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Productivity / Work Tips, Strategy

If you’re an outsider, don’t be ruled by plans. Planning is often just a weakness forced on those who delegate.

Content: Quotation | Source: ChangeThis | Subject: Planning

According to Henry Mintzberg, an organization’s structure is largely determined by the variety one finds in its environment. For Mintzberg, environmental variety is determined by both environmental complexity and the pace of change. He identifies four types of organizational form, which are associated with four combinations of complexity and change.

Content: Article | Author: Fred Beshears | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Strategy

Strategy means so many things to so many people that it is difficult to have a meaningful conversation about strategy unless you define your terms.

Content: Article | Author: Fred Nickols | Subject: Strategy