Strategic Thinking

Session-1
 Strategy – Military Origin
– The concept of strategy is ancient and originated in the study of
success in war.

– The word strategy comes from the Greek ‘stratos’ (army) and ‘agein’
(to lead).

– The “strategos” in Athens was an elected general.

S.Subramanian, IIMK 2
 Strategy in Business
• Originated in business with the emergence of the business
schools (Wharton- 1881 and Harvard -1908)
• First known as Business Policy
• Used as a capstone course to bring business functions together
• Had little grounding in its own theory
• Development in the area of “strategic management” only
really began to take shape in the 1970’s

S.Subramanian, IIMK 3
 Strategy
• Mintzberg (1987) defines strategy in terms of 5Ps. These 5Ps are:
• 1P Plan: is a direction, a guide or a course of action from the present (or
from the past) and into the future. However, that ‘future’ is defined by
whatever the time horizons associated with it.
• 2P Ploys: are the competition strategies designed to maintain, reinforce,
achieve or improve the relative competitive position of the organization
within its sector and markets
• 3P Patterns: are the consistency of firm decision making.
• 4P Position or positioning: where the firm ‘locates’ itself within its external
and competitive environments; and by which it positions particular
products or services against the demands of the market segments it
serves .
• 5P Perspective: is the main business concept or idea and the means by
which that concept or idea is put into practice or implemented.
S.Subramanian, IIMK 4
 Strategy as Plan
High level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions
of uncertainty

Strategy is an intended, well planned and consciously followed

course of action. The strategy is made in advance of its
implementation and is followed up by actual implementation
and development - also called ‘deliberate strategy’.

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 Strategy as Ploy
• A ‘ploy’ is usually a maneuver in a competition or a game, one
that is taken to get the better of your competitor. Ploys are
usually undertaken to deter competitors from entering the
market, for example by building new facilities with plenty
capacity, or lowering prices.

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 Strategy as Pattern
• It may be possible to look back at what has happened, and
describe a company’s strategy in terms of a pattern that
emerged
• The degree of consistency in company’s strategic actions
defines company’s strategy
• This definition focuses on strategic outcomes rather than
planning.

S.Subramanian, IIMK 7
 Strategy as Position
Strategy is also a position—specifically, a means of locating an
organization in its "environment." In ecological terms, strategy
becomes a "niche"; in management terms, a product-market
"domain." Position is usefully identified with respect to
competitors (literally so in the military, where position becomes
the site of the battle)

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 Strategy as Perspective
While position looks out, seeking to locate the organization in
the external environment, perspective looks inside the
organization. Here, strategy becomes the ingrained way of
perceiving the world and defining self.
Strategy is the way a company views itself in the world, through
the eyes of its management and employees.
Strategy can be defined in terms of the corporate personality and
culture a company has adopted over time.

S.Subramanian, IIMK 9