The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition)
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
In our first edition, we set out to produce a different kind of textbook in the field of strategy, or general management: We tried to provide the reader with a richness of theory, a richness of practice, and a strong basis for linkage between the two. We rejected the strictly case study approach, which leaves theory out altogether, or soft-pedals it, and thereby denies the accumulated benefits of many years of careful research and thought about management processes. We also rejected an alternate approach that forces on readers a highly rationalistic model of how the strategy process should function. We collaborated on this book because we believe that in this complex world of organizations a range of concepts is needed to cut through and illuminate particular aspects of that complexity. There is no "one best way" to create strategy, nor is there "one best form" of organization. Quite different forms work well in particular contexts. We believe that exploring a fuller variety systematically will create a deeper and more useful appreciation of the strategy process. In this revised edition, we remain loyal to these beliefs and objectives, while making major changes in the readings and cases. We kept some of the classic readings, but there are many new ones. A host of new cases provide rich vehicles for discussing the value and limits of new management approaches and the dimensions of new management issues. There is a conscious balance among small, medium, and large-scale companies. They are entrepreneurial, innovative, rapidly growing, or slowly maturing; and they run the gamut from consumer goods to high technology. We have made an effort to select cases from new areas of the economy, such as microelectronics, digital technology, software, personal computers, as well as areas that have been around for a while but are increasingly important, including media, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, and management consulting. Companies such as Sony, Acer, LVMH, Kami Corporation, S.A. Chupa Chups, and National Bicycle Industrial Company represent some of the most exciting experiments in products and services, and management itself, today. We have also set out to offer the most international set of cases available. Glance down the fist of cases included in this book and you realize how widely we have covered the globe. This text, unlike most others, is therefore eclectic. Presenting published articles and portions of other books in their original form, rather than filtered through our minds and pens, is one way to reinforce this variety. Each author has his or her ideas and his or her own best way of expressing them (ourselves included!). Summarized by us, these readings would lose a good deal of their richness. We do not apologize for contradictions among the ideas of leading thinkers. The world is full of contradictions. The real danger lies in using pat solutions to a nuanced reality, not in opening perspectives up to different interpretations. The effective strategist is one who can live with contradictions, learn to appreciate their causes and effects, and reconcile them sufficiently for effective action. The readings have, nonetheless, been ordered by chapter to suggest some ways in which reconciliation can be considered. Our own chapter introductions are also intended to assist in this task and to help place the readings in perspective. ON THEORY A word on theory is in order. We do not consider theory a dirty word, nor do we apologize for making it a major component of this book. To some people, to be theoretical is to be detached and impractical. But a bright social scientist once said, "There is nothing so practical as a good theory." And every successful doctor, engineer, and physicist would have to agree: They would be unable to practice their modern work without theories. Theories are useful because they shortcut the need to store masses of data. It is easier to remember a simple framework about some phenomenon than it is to consider every small detail you ever observed. In a sense theories are a bit like cataloging systems in libraries: The world would be impossibly confusing without them. They enable you to store and conveniently access your own experiences as well as those of others. One can, however, suffer not just from an absence of theories but also from being dominated by them without realizing it. To paraphrase the words of John Maynard Keynes, most "practical men" are the slaves of some defunct theory. Whether we realize it or not, our behavior is guided by the systems of ideas that we have internalized over the years. Much can be learned by bringing these out in the open, examining them more carefully, and comparing them with alternative ways to view the world including ones based on systematic study (that is, research). One of our prime intentions in this book is to expose the limitations of conventional theories and to offer alternate explanations that can be superior guides for understanding and taking action in specific contexts. PRESCRIPTIVE THEORY VERSUS DESCRIPTIVE THEORY Unlike many textbooks in this field, this one tries to explain the world as it is rather than as someone thinks it is supposed to be. Although there has sometimes been a tendency to disdain such descriptive theories, prescriptive (or normative) ones have often been the problem, rather than the solution, in the field of management. There is no one best way in management; no prescription works for all organizations. Even when a prescription seems effective in some context, it requires a sophisticated understanding of exactly what that context is and how it functions. In other words, one cannot decide reliably what should be done in a system as complicated as a contemporary organization without a genuine understanding of how that organization really works. In engineering, no student ever questions having to learn physics, in medicine, having to learn anatomy. Imagine an engineering student's hand shooting up in physics class: "Listen, prof, it's fine to tell us how the atom does work. But what we really want to know is how the atom should work." Why should a management student's similar demand in the realm of strategy or structure be considered any more appropriate? How can people manage complex systems they do not understand? Nevertheless, we have not ignored prescriptive theory when it appears useful. A number of prescriptive techniques (industry analysis, experience curves, and so on) are discussed. But these are associated both with other readings and with cases that will help you understand the context and limitations of their usefulness. Both readings and cases offer opportunities to pursue the full complexity of strategic situations. You will find a wide range of issues and perspectives addressed. One of our main goals is to integrate a variety of views, rather than allow strategy to be fragmented into just "human issues" and "economics issues." The text and cases provide a basis for treating the full complexity of strategic management. ON SOURCES How were the readings selected and edited? Some textbooks boast about how new all their readings are. We make no such claim; indeed we would like to make a different boast; many of our readings have been around quite a while, long enough to mature, like fine wine. Our criterion for inclusion was not the newness of the article so much as the quality of its insight that is, its ability to explain some aspect of the strategy process better than any other article. Time does not age the really good articles. Quite the opposite it distinguishes their quality. So look here for classics from the 1950s still fully relevant alongside the latest thinking in this new millennium. We are, of course, not biased toward old articles just toward good ones. Hence, the materials in this book range from the classics to some published just before our final selection was made (as well as a few hitherto unpublished pieces). You will find articles from the most serious academic journals, the best practitioner magazines, books, and some very obscure sources. The best can sometimes be found in strange places. We have tried to include many shorter readings rather than fewer longer ones, and we have tried to present as wide a variety of good ideas as possible while maintaining clarity. To do so we often had to cut within readings. We have, in fact, put a great deal of effort into the cutting in order to extract the key messages of each reading in as brief, concise, and clear a manner as possible. Unfortunately, our cutting sometimes forced us to eliminate interesting examples and side issues. (In the readings, as well as some of the case materials from published sources, dots . . . signify portions that have been deleted from the original, while square brackets signify our own insertions of minor clarifications into the original text). We apologize to you, the reader, as well as to the authors, for having done this, but hope that the overall result has rendered these changes worthwhile. We have also included a number of our own works. Perhaps we are biased, having less objective standards by which to judge what we have written. But we have messages to convey, too, and our own writings do examine the basic themes that we feel are important in policy and strategy courses today. ON CASES A major danger of studying the strategy process probably the most enticing subject in the management curriculum, and at the pinnacle of organizational processes is that students and professors can become detached from the basics of the enterprise. The "Don't bore me with the operating details; I'm here to tackle the really big issues?" syndrome has been the death of many strategy courses (not to mention managerial practices!). Effective strategy processes always come down to specifics. For this reason, cases are the most convenient way to introduce practice into the classroom, to cap a wide variety of experiences, and to involve students actively in analysis and decision making. Cases are the pedagogical approach of choice when it comes to stud...
The publisher, Prentice Hall Business Publishing
This collection of readings, edited by Henry Mintzberg, is combined with cases from James Brian Quinn. Together they present an up-to-date look at how actual companies act strategically and the research driving them.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition)
The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition),Henry Mintzberg,Joseph B. Lampel,James Brian Quinn,Sumantra Ghoshal,Prentice Hall,0130479136,Business & Economics,Business / Economics / Finance,Business/Economics,Case studies,Entrepreneurship,Management - General,Management Science,Strategic Planning,Business & Economics / Systems & Planning
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