Considering Strategy
Strategy is a fundamental business process, the roots of which can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Athenian positions of strategos (Cummings 1993). In its purest form business strategy is the process of planning that steers the business in a direction that aids the pursuit of its organisational goals. In endeavouring to define the concept of corporate/business strategy, Porter (1983) puts forth that “almost no consensus exists about what corporate strategy is, much less about how a company should formulate it”. Every businesses strategy will differ, whether it is oil companies or bespoke clothing ranges every strategy should be unique with explicit tailor fit.
Porter (1998) offers that a good strategy is “concerned with the structural evolution of the industry as well as with the firm’s own unique position within that industry”. On the other hand, less structured and industry focused definitions are offered; Hamal & Prahalad (1993) suggest that strategy is concerned with stretching aspirations, leveraging resources to encircle rather than to compete with competitors, where as Mintzberg (1985) quite abstractedly presents that strategy is a “pattern in a stream of decisions”. Fundamentally, in developing a strategy, a business aims to accrue the ability to cope with the uncertainty and ambiguity of the external environment, linking in with the continuing route of the company and the achievement of competitive advantage. Strategy looks to find ‘strategic fit'and stretch the businesses resources, to create opportunities and mitigate against external threats and internal weaknesses. Furthermore it must be noted that strategic decisions will also be influenced by stakeholders and their values and expectations.
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