Chapter 1

The Structure of this Book

T
his book is divided into six parts. Readers who want a quick overview of the scope and content as a whole should read the rst chapters of Parts I to Vthat is Chapters 1, 4, 6, 13, and 16. Part I is concerned with the basics of strategic management. Chapter 1 describes the structure of the book with more explanation than in the Table of Contents. Chapter 2 considers the nature of strategy and how ideas about strategy have originated from military, academic, and practical origins. Chapter 3 attempts to structure the currently accepted body of literature on strategic management. Parts II, III, IV, and V address each of the four elements of strategic management context, the strategy formulation process, strategy content, and the strategy implementation process. Figure 1.1 illustrates how these four elements form a conceptual framework for strategic management. This gure is the basis of the structure of this book. Part II is devoted to examining the rst elementContextwhich forms the background to the model in Figure 1.1. Strategy and strategic management can only exist in a particular context. The context is unique for each enterprise and has numerous characteristicsboth of the enterprise itself and of its external environment. The context determines the issues which strategic management must address and hence the agenda and scope of strategic management for that enterprise. The context may present a range of strategic issues or a single strategic dilemma which strategic management has to resolve. All effective strategic management must start from a deep understanding of the context. Chapter 4 is concerned with context in general. Chapter 5 discusses some of the diverse contexts that exist in an attempt to alert the reader to the impact that different industry and organizational factors may have on strategy formulation and implementation. Part III addresses the second element of strategic managementthe Strategy Formulation Process. This is the process by which strategies are thought about, conceived, compared, and chosen within a particular enterprise over time. It is the process of strategic thinking in that enterprise. There is no universally correct process that will generate successful strategies nor are there any proven means by which

8 strategy and strategic management

infallible strategic thinking can be caused to occur. Some processes may be formal and involve a large number of people; other processes may be completely informal and involve only a handful; a sudden ash of insight may sometimes be worth more than years of analysis. The purpose of the strategy formulation process is to arrive at an agreed view of how the enterprise will succeed in the future. The strategy formulation process has three logical elements, as illustrated in Figure 1.2 and described further in Chapter 6. Strategic Intent is the highest level purpose of the enterprise. It is therefore a driver of the strategy process since all meaningful action must originate in purpose.

the structure of this book 9 Strategic intent may also change or develop as a result of the strategy formulation process. Strategic intent is described at more length in Chapter 7. Strategic Assessment is an overall assessment of the context at a particular time and the effects of possible future actions. Strategic assessment involves standing back from the everyday activities of the business. It requires consideration in broad terms of the capabilities of the enterprise and the characteristics of the business environment in which the enterprise operates. Strategic assessment considers how likely the enterprise is to realize its strategic intent as the business environment changes. Strategic assessment takes into account current performance, expected future trends, the aims of the enterprise, and the success of past strategies. Strategic assessment involves both analysis and judgement. The principles of strategic assessment are described in Chapter 8. Some of the tools and techniques that may be useful in practical strategic assessment are described in more length in Chapters 9 and 10. Strategic Choice involves deciding what action to take and how to take it for the future health and direction of the enterprise. It requires faith that actions taken now will improve future outcomes. The degree of uncertainty in strategic choice is often very high. But if there are no choices to be made, there is no value in the strategy formulation process. Strategic choices should address strategic issues or resolve the strategic dilemma posed by the context in a way that ts with the strategic intent. Strategic choice is described in more detail in Chapter 11. Formulating strategy usually involves analysis and the manipulation of data and ideas. Chapter 12 describes how analytical tools (usually programs running on personal computers) can support the strategy formulation process in practice. The strategy formulation process delivers the Content of Strategy. This is the third element of strategic management and is addressed in Part IV. Chapter 13 examines the content of strategy in general and discusses what results can reasonably be expected from a strategy process. Chapter 14 focuses on Business Strategies and on what is likely to make the business strategy of an enterprise more effective. Chapter 15 is devoted to the subject of Corporate Strategythe additional component of strategy required if an enterprise has more than one business. Strategic management is incomplete and of little value without effective implementation. The nal element of strategic management is the Strategy Implementation Process described in Part V. Implementation is too often seen as separate from strategic management. Our view is that implementation is an integral part of strategic management so that the process and content of strategy should take the needs and capabilities for implementation into account. Many strategic change initiatives fail to achieve their stated objectives. Often this failure is due as much to underestimation of the difculties of implementing the changes as to poor execution. Figure 1.3 shows the parts of the strategy implementation process. Chapter 16 summarizes the key themes of the strategy implementation process. Chapters 17 and 18 distinguish between the leadership of strategic change and the management of a change programme. Leadership and management are both essential for successful implementation and form the vertical dimension of Figure

10 strategy and strategic management

1.3. To implement a new strategy it is likely that change will be needed in the business processes, the culture, and the structure of the enterprise. Practical approaches for causing change in each of these three are described in Chapters 19 to 21. Chapter 22 addresses the question of Adaptabilityan organizational competence which adds to the chances of future success in an unpredictable world. The four elements of strategic management relate closely to each other. The context sets the scene, poses the issues to be resolved, and constrains the style of the strategic management process. The quality of the strategy formulation process and its suitability to the context will tend to determine the quality of the strategy content that results. The strategy content is of little value unless it has taken implementation issues into account and leads to an effective process of implementation that turns ideas into realities. The results of the strategic implementation (and other unrelated changes) will in due course affect the context so that the elements of strategic management interact in a cycle. Figure 1.4 combines the content of Figures 1.1 to 1.3 into a single diagram. Figures 1.1 to 1.4 are original to this book. They are derived from classical models of strategic management. The main extensions to other models are that context is specically represented and implementation is given more emphasis. Part V ends with a brief Epilogue to conclude the book. Part VI contains six case examples. A case example differs from a case study in that it is structured to be useful as an example of principles described in the text. Specic references to these case examples occur throughout the book. It is hoped that the case examples give a fuller understanding of the context than is possible in brief vignette examples on their own. Readers may nd it useful to read the case examples through in parallel with the main text to get a wider feel for each of the six contexts. We hope that we have avoided unnecessary jargon. Terms that are dened in the text are also listed in the Glossary for easy reference. The structure of the book was designed to focus on key elements of strategic management. Each element stands on its own and will offer a grounding in the themes

the structure of this book 11

covered. Taken as a whole the book offers, in a comprehensive and digestible format, a manual of strategic management from which either students or practitioners can benet quickly.