A brief summary of the main points of the book: strategy - an international perspective by Bob de Wit and Ron Meyer (5th edition). In addition to a summary of the chapters, the readings which are also summarized in the book.
Samenvatting boek Strategy: An International Perspective, 5e editie (H7 t/m 12)
Samenvatting Organisatiekunde en Strategie blok II (H1 t/m 4)
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Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (RU)
Bedrijfskunde
Strategie
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Samenvatting strategy - an international perspective by
Bob de Wit & Ron Meyer (5th edition)
Hoofdstuk 1: introduction
Approaches for identifying the strategy issues
Tools driven: each tool comes first, you combine them to solve the problems later
(tool problem)
Problem driven: you have a problem and you’re searching for the tools to fix
them (problem tools)
Two important inputs for strategy:
- Cognitive process of individual strategists (strategizing)
- Purpose as the impetus for strategy activities (missioning and
visioning)
Strategic dimensions:
1. Strategy content: business, corporate and network levels (what)
Strategic content: combined decisions and choices that lead a company to the
future = what Strategies can be made for different groups of people or activities.
The lowest level of aggregation is one person or task, the highest level contains
all people or activities. what should be the strategy?
- Functional level: specific functional aspects of a company
- Business level: integration of functional level for distinct set of products or
service intended for a specific group of customers (often the highest level
in a firm when companies only operate in one business)
- Corporate level: companies with two or more businesses, which aligns the
various business level strategies
- Network level: higher than the individual organization; cluster of groups of
two or more collaborating organizations
2. Strategy process: forming, changing and innovating (how, who,
when)
Strategic process: the manner in which strategies come about = how, who and
when The manner in which strategies come about. Strategy
process is a basically linear progression with a number of distinct steps (analysis,
formulation and implementation stage).
How should the strategy be made? Who is involved? When do the activities take
place?
3. Strategic context: industry, organizational and international
(where)
,Strategic context: the set of circumstances under which both the strategy
content and process are determined = where
Every strategy context is unique and managers must strive for a fit between
strategic process, content and circumstances in the context.
Where do the activities take place?
3 aspects:
- Industry context: does the industry set the rules or do companies have
freedom to choose?
- Organizational context: do organizational circumstances determine
strategy process and strategy content?
- International context: is adapting to the diversity of the international
context required or is their freedom for the company to chose themselves?
Strategic tensions and dilemmas:
- Trade-offs: a problem situation in which there are many possible solutions,
each striking a different balance between conflicting pressures.
- Paradoxes (unsolvable): a situation in which two seemingly contradictory
factors appear to be true at the same time.
Dealing with paradoxes (several ways):
- Navigating: focus on one contrary element at the time
- Parallel processing: separate the contrary demands in different internal or
external organizational units (outsourcing products while focusing on R&D)
- Balancing: manage opposite demands by trading of elements
- Juxtapositioning: manage opposite demands on a permanent basis
- Resolving: develop a new synthesis between competing demands or by
exploiting the tension
- Embracing: embrace and actively use the tension as a source of creativity
and opportunity
Reading 1.1: complexity: the nature of real world problems
- Wicked problems: can be compared to a web of tentacles. The more you
attempt to tame them, the more complicated they become (these
problems very unclear and hard to solve).
Characteristics of wicked problems:
1. Interconnectedness
2. Complicatedness
3. Uncertainty
4. Ambiguity
5. Conflict
6. Societal restraints
Quest for new methods: criteria for the design of real world problem-solving
methods are:
, 1. Participative: methods must incorporate the active involvement of groups
of people
2. Adversarial: best judgment on the assumptions in a complex position is
rendered in the context of the opposition
3. Integrative: unified set of assumptions as a coherent plan of action are
needed to guide effective policy planning and strategy making
4. Managerial mind supporting: the policy-makers thinking process needs to
be supported
Reading 1.2: managing strategic contradictions
Top management teams balance short term performance and long-term
adaptability. Balanced strategic decisions are based on two criteria: 1. Their
disruptive natures and 2. Their integrative nature.
1. Cognitive biases define how managers understand a situation, seek
information and make decisions.
2. Cognitive frames are stable constructs that provide a lens to understand a
situation (create a context for complex behavioral response).
3. Cognitive processes are behavioural routines and ways that managers use
to think about and respond to information
Antecedents of leader centric teams: leaders are able to manage paradoxical
cognitions and balance strategic decisions with teams that exhibit:
1. distinct roles, goals and rewards
2. supportive integrator
3. high quality leader member interactions, but limited member-member
interactions
4. leader coaching to reinforce differentiation.
Antecedents of team centric teams: each team member offers contribution
through interactions with the others. Team centric teams exhibit:
1. real teams: clear sense of boundaries
2. roles, goals and rewards at multiple levels of analysis
3. frequent team interaction
4. leader coaching to facilitate integration
Reading 1.3: cultural constraints in management theories
the role of managers and their importance is different for different countries and
cultures:
1. Germany: the engineer is the hero, not the manager. Highly skilled German
workers don’t necessarily need a manager. High rate of personnel in
productive roles.
2. Japan: the core of the enterprise is the permanent worker group. Large
extent of control through peer group rather than by managers
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