week 3

1)      Why is strategy making like a science and why is it also like an art or craft?

Strategy making is science as well as art or craft. IN science for a single person, strategy is analyzing and making local recommendation. Strategy as a rational is formulaic application of analytical tools or set of rules. Strategy as formulation and then implementation.
Strategy is also an art and craft, Strategy as a group activity involves conflict, politics and compromise. Strategy leads to creative and unpredictable process.

2)      In your own words and using referenced quotes describe the difference between intended strategy and emergent strategy?

Intended strategies are made before hand to tackle problems which are pre analyzed where as Emergent strategies are quick and strategies which are made after the problem has occurred. Emergent strategies are like responding to market and environment issues caused by unexpected problems which may occur.
Intended strategy are planned, figuring-out(analyzing), formal and structured, think and act, forecasted and is strategic planning whereas  Emergent strategy  emerges inclemently, finding-out(exploring), informal and unstructured, trial and error, experiment and strategic thinking.

3)      Choose two of the 10 schools of strategy thought and describe them in your own words.  Try and provide a real world example for each e.g. an organization or a situation?

i)                    The learning school: According to this school, strategies emerge as people, sometimes acting individually but more often collectively, come to learn about a situation as well as their organization’s capability of dealing with it. Strategy comes through adaption and experimentation. Strategies emerge informally, sometimes gradually, sometimes spontaneously, and usually in a collective process. A learning organization actively seeks to move knowledge from one part of the organization to another, to ensure that relevant knowledge finds its way to the organizational unit that needs it most. You learn by acting- as we proceed we learn and as we learn we build or improve.

ii)                   The Environmental School: It is based on the idea that strategy should be a reactive process based on the environment surrounding the organization. Environment dictates strategy - about being unique and different this school argues that organizations in the same environment tend to adopt similar strategies.

4)      Write about your experience with today’s case studies.What answers did you give to the questions?