STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Major Assignment

CITY UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Master of Sciences in Management Sciences

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

NAME of STUDENT: Tauseef J. Shah

0
Table of content

1. Introduction
a) Strategic management process
b) Aims, concept and role of strategic management
c) Contemporary and continuity of strategic issues
d) Identify levels of strategy
e) Perspectives of social science in strategic management

2. Discussion and analysis

a) Mintzberg and its organizational configurations
b) Whittington

3. Similarities & differences between the two models

4. Conclusion

5. Bibliography

6. Reference

1
Introduction

a) Strategic management process:

Strategic Management (SM) is an ongoing management planning process aimed at

developing strategies to allow an organization to expand abroad and compete
internationally. Strategic planning is used in the process of developing a particular international
strategy. An organization must be able to determine what products or services they intend to sell,
where and how the organization will make these products or services, where they will sell them,
and how the organization will acquire the necessary resources for these tasks (Ref: Strategic
Management: An Integrated Approach by Charles W. L. Hill and Gareth R. Jones Oct 14, 2009).
Even more importantly an organization must have a strategy on how it expects to outperform
its competitors.

b) Aims, concept and role of strategic management:

Strategic management is the key activities that are performed in order to establish goals and
objectives also the mission and vision statement. Management is responsible for entire
operations in corporate level; functional level some time may involve voluntary or labor work.

c)Contemporary and continuity of strategic issues

Contemporary business is that business that aims to run their operation not just based on profit
margin per annum but also expansion of it market growth. These sorts of businesses are highly
reputed and very famous in participating in welfare of the society (Ref: www.scribd.com).

d) Identify levels of strategy:

There are various levels of strategy which directs the company towards its goals and objectives.
As the management has it different sectors to be expertise. Strategy is the guideline developed
by the corporate level or top level managers which elaborate the strategy at its different sectors
such as: management strategy, marketing strategy, operational strategy, innovation and follower
strategy, business research strategy etc.

e) Perspectives of social science in strategic management:

Recent day’s social science has developed a lot, especially for example school children get a lot
of advanced studies. There are universities that has sociology, environmental science etc. these
allow those children to be responsible and well educated. That enables the society much better.
Once these children are grown up they take more responsible steps or spend their day to day life
in concerning to the socio environmental for example United Kingdom has declared to go green
thus reducing carbon foot prints (Ref: http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Henry-
Mintzberg/137950). They are prioritizing the green energy.

e) Implications and importance of theory and management:

Management is the very crucial key factor that runs the world today. And innovation has given
blessings to it. But even this innovation procedure has to oblige with management strategy.

2
Managing a task may look easy but it do really been utilized in order to get a task done in time it
also defines the current requirements. And implying these tasks in order does need some skills
thus it can also be called as a skilled job. A top level manager bring changes for more efficient
world as well as a advanced world without which most of our work would be in stall, so
management is a very crucial factor. It has developed its studies day by day and formulated
various theory, tools, and applications so we could reduce our human effort.

Discussion and analysis

a) Henry Mintzberg:

Theory on Organizational Forms the organizational configurations framework of Mintzberg is a

model that describes six valid organizational configurations:
 Entrepreneurial organization
 Machine organization
 Professional organization
 Diversified organization
 Innovative organization
 Missionary organization

Regarding the coordination between different tasks, Mintzberg defines that the Mutual
adjustment, that achieves coordination by the simple process of informal communication such
as communicating through various means between two operating employees. Direct
supervision, is achieved by having one person issue orders or instructions to several others
whose work interrelates for example when the boss orders others what is to be done and not
to be done by a step by step process such as an business infrastructure. Which often seen at
centralized based companies where chain of command is very narrow and time consuming
but on the other hand the company has more control over the operations. (Ref: The Strategy
Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition) by Henry Mintzberg, Joseph B.
Lampel, James Brian Quinn and Sumantra Ghoshal Aug 12, 2002). Standardization of work
processes are achieved by coordination and specifying the work processes of people carrying
out interrelated tasks, these standards usually being developed in the techno structure to be
carried out in the operating core. And these case of the work instructions that come out of
time-and-motion studies. Standardization of outputs, which achieves coordination by
specifying the results of different work and usually developed in the techno structure, as in a
financial plan that specifies subunit performance targets or specifications that outline the
dimensions of a product to be produced ( Ref: Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases:
Competitiveness and Globalization by Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland and Robert E.
Hoskisson Feb 21, 2011). Standardization of skills as well as knowledge in which different
work is coordinated by virtue of the related training the workers have received as in medical
specialists say a surgeon and an anesthetist in an operating room responding almost
automatically to each other’s standardized procedures. Standardization of norms, in which it
is the norms infusing the work that are controlled, usually for the entire organization, so that
everyone functions according to the same set of beliefs (as in a religious order). According to
the organizational configurations model of Mintzberg each organization can consist of a
maximum of six basic parts:
 Strategic Apex (top management)
 Middle Line (middle management)

3
  Operating Core (operations, operational processes)
 Techno structure (analysts that design systems, processes, etc.)
 Support Staff (support outside of operating workflow)
 Ideology (halo of beliefs and traditions; norms, values, culture)

b) Whittington

The Whittington castle in 845, the builders designed it after the Motte and Bailey style castles. But
it was later remodeled in 1221 replacing the old structure with stone. Originally, the castle was
assembled with seven towers, each about 18 meters high, with wall 3.7 meters thick, and a
drawbridge over 12 meters long. Now, only the gatehouse remains. Around the castle, extensive
marshlands acted as protection in medieval days. The remnants of Whittington castle are situated
in the small village of Whittington, a few miles outside of Shrewsbury, England. Originally, the
mote castle of Whittington was built by the Welsh Prince ‘Ynyr ap Cadfarch’. After being seized by
Roger de Montgomery, the castle was given to Sir William Perveril of Peak. Perveril had no male
heir; therefore, his eldest daughter Mellet inherited the castle (Ref:
http://www.castlewales.com/whittng.html).

Similarities & differences between the two models

Off course there are so many negative effects of advanced technology that are harming our
society every day the greatest example would be green house effect. But when we are talking
about Henry’s Mitzberz School it is for sure that the students are learning more and more but
some time that does have side effects due to which parental guidance is always required. For
example, accessing of internet provides any information about anything that a pupil must not be
learning. Because that may divert his mind and inspire him to act dangerously ( Ref: Strategic
Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization by Michael A. Hitt, R.
Duane Ireland and Robert E. Hoskisson Feb 21, 2011). This often brings harm to the society.

4. Conclusion

The work of Canadian Henry Mintzberg counters much of the detailed rationalism of other major
thinkers of recent decades. From his first publication, The Nature of Managerial Work, Mintzberg
has challenged orthodoxy, arguing the case for a more intuitive and humane approach to strategy
formulation and practice, as well as to the structure of organizations. The Nature of Managerial
Work exposed many of the myths surrounding senior managers, revealing them to be creatures
of the moment rather than far-sighted strategists carefully planning (Ref:
http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Henry-Mintzberg/137950).

4
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.scribd.com
2. http://www.castlewales.com/whittng.html.
3. www.oppapers.com
4. http://essaytree.com/management/
5. http://www.mightystudents.com/
6. http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Henry-Mintzberg/137950
7. Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach by Charles W. L. Hill and Gareth R.
Jones (Oct 14, 2009)
8. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and
Globalization by Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland and Robert E. Hoskisson (Feb 21,
2011)
9. Strategic Management: Concepts: Competitiveness and Globalization byMichael A.
Hitt, R. Duane Ireland and Robert E. Hoskisson (Jan 1, 2010)
10. Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages by Gregory Dess, G.T. (Tom)
Lumpkin and Alan Eisner (Nov 1, 2007)
11. Concepts, Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage (3rd Edition) by Jay
Barney and William S Hesterly (Sep 14, 2009)
12. Strategic Management: Theory and Practice by John A. Parnell (Mar 25, 2008)
13. Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations by Linda E. Swayne, W. Jack
Duncan and Peter M. Ginter (Jan 20, 2009)
14. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition) by Henry Mintzberg,
Joseph B. Lampel, James Brian Quinn and Sumantra Ghoshal (Aug 12, 2002)
15. Strategic Management & Business Policy: Achieving Sustainability (12th
Edition) byThomas L. Wheelen and David L. Hunger (Jul 31, 2009)

5
REFFERENCE

1. www.scribd.com
2. http://www.castlewales.com/whittng.html.
3. http://www.mightystudents.com/
4. http://essaytree.com/management/
5. http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Henry-Mintzberg/137950
6. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition) by Henry Mintzberg,
Joseph B. Lampel, James Brian Quinn and Sumantra Ghoshal (Aug 12, 2002)
7. Strategic Management: Theory and Practice by John A. Parnell (Mar 25, 2008)
8. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and
Globalization by Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland and Robert E. Hoskisson (Feb 21,
2011)
9. Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach by Charles W. L. Hill and Gareth R.
Jones (Oct 14, 2009)
10. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases (4th Edition) by Henry Mintzberg,
Joseph B. Lampel, James Brian Quinn and Sumantra Ghoshal (Aug 12, 2002)