Issues in strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issues in strategic management - Essay Example However, it is essential to distinguish the two basic differences in the strategic management research - while one focuses on the research of the content of the strategic management ideas, the other makes the process of strategic management its object, and also examines the factors, which influence this process. It is interesting to note the expression, which can give and explain the principal roots of the strategic management decision making: Thus, the aim of the research is not only to make the taxonomy of the decision making knowledge in strategic management, but to make it simple, understandable and practical for the use in the further similar researches. Taxonomy is the science of classification of any knowledge, and can be applied to any theoretical or practical field of science. (Porac & Thomas, 1990) Applying taxonomy to the area of strategic decision making has become popular in the recent years, though attempts to systematize the schools of the strategic decision making has been attempted earlier. It was a difficult task to accomplish, as strategic decisions have been described, as being unclear, complex, unpredictable and messy. (Schwenk & Dalton, 1991) The first attempt to create at least approximate taxonomy of the strategic decision making was performed in 1976 by Mintzberg and Theoret, who were able to define the three major phases in this process, and described them as the identification phase, the development phase and the selection phase. (Goodstein et al, 1994) Hart (1992) has also created his own system of strategic decision making processes, and has divided them into five different types - the command mode, the symbolic mode, the rational mode, the transactive mode and the generative mode. The systematization of the knowledge in the area of strategic management decision making is a difficult process, but we will here attempt to create a table on the basis of the existing theoretical schools and to describe them in more detail, which will assist in further application of the knowledge found in literature in future researches and the solution of the practical issues. Taxonomy of the strategic management decision making Name of the theoretical school The author The basic knowledge used The design school model Learned, Christensen, Andrews and Guth SWOT analysis; defines strategy as simple and informative process The planning school Ansoff Makes little emphasis on the concept of strategy as it is; is more concentrated on the detailed plans elaboration The entrepreneurial school Schumpeter Focuses on the CEO role in strategic decision making process The extended design school model Prescribes the CEO's vision to the building of consensus and commitment in the decision making The detailed discussion of the theoretical schools In the light of the abovementioned information and in the view of the table created on the basis of the already existing schools of strategic management thinking and decision making, it is interesting to note, that some strategies use the role of the