1. Strategic Management Lecture 1
Introduction to Strategy: Origins and Meaning

2. Learning Outcomes Define strategy
Define strategic management and explain its five elements
Explain the core elements of strategic management and how they link together
Distinguish between process, content and context of a strategy
Identify what makes ‘good’ strategic management

3. The Role of Strategy in Success
Common Elements in Successful Strategies
Grant, R. and Jones, J. (2012) Foundations of Strategy , Wiley
Successful Strategy
Effective Implementation
Objective appraisal of resources
Simple, consistent, long-term goals
Profound understanding of the competitive environment

4. What is Strategy? Some elements / characteristics Long term
Competitive advantage
Planning
Distinctiveness
“Big” decisions
Significant resources
Important
Not easily reversible

5. What is Strategy? Where to compete? How to compete?
Which businesses should we be in?
A corporate strategy decision
How to compete?
How do we create / build / defend a competitive advantage?
A competitive strategy / business strategy decision
Interlinked but, in principle, distinct

6. Strategy is About Choice

7. A Brief History of Strategy
Origins
Military strategy: Sun Tzu, c 500 BC, The Art of War
Visible in
Politics
Companies
Chess
Sport
Warfare
Charities?
Public sector?

8. A Brief History of Strategy
The Evolution of Business Strategy
Corporate Planning (introduced in 1950s)
Strategic Management (1970s)
Resource-Based View of the firm (1990s)

9. Strategy Today
RATE OF RETURN ABOVE THE COST OF CAPITAL How do we make money?
INDUSTRY ATRACTIVENESS Which industries should we be in?
CORPORATE STRATEGY
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE How should we compete?
BUSINESS STRATEGY
Grant, R. and Jones, J. (2012) Foundations of Strategy , Wiley

10. How Do We Describe a Firm’s Strategy?
Static
Dynamic
Where are we competing?
How are we competing?
What do we want to become?
What do we want to achieve?
How will we get here?

11. How Do We Identify a Firm’s Strategy?
The mission statement – ‘Why we exist?’
A statement of principles and values – ‘What we believe in and how we will behave?’
The vision statement – ‘What we want to be?’
The strategy statement – ‘What our competitive game plan will be?’

12. How Do We Identify a Firm’s Strategy? (contd.)
Where is the company investing its money?
What technologies is the company developing?
What new products have been released?
Intended vs. released vs. emergent strategy

13. Whose interests should be prioritised?
Shareholders vs. stakeholders
Profit and purpose
The debate over CSR

14. Developing Analytical Tools
The foundations of mainstream strategy lie in analysis of competition and firms’ quest to outperform their rivals. Three key considerations are:
Competition
The market for corporate control
Convergence of stakeholder interests

15. Strategy Analysis Strategy The Environment The Firm Goals and Values
Resources and Capabilities
Structures and systems
Limitations
The Environment
Competitors
Customers
Suppliers
Others?

16. What is Strategic Management? A Prescriptive View
Lynch, R. (2006) “Strategic Management”, 5th edition, Prentice Hall

17. What is Strategic Management? An Emergent View
“The field of strategic management deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments” (Lynch, 2006)

18. The Main Factors in Strategy and Key Strategic Decisions
Lynch, R. (2006) “Strategic Management”, 5th edition, Prentice Hall

19. Elements of Strategic Decision Context, Content and Process
Lynch, R. (2006) “Strategic Management”, 5th edition, Prentice Hall

20. Impact on Three Core Areas
Lynch, R. (2006) “Strategic Management”, 5th edition, Prentice Hall

21. Strategy Development and Implementation
Lynch, R. (2006)

22. Strategy Development and Implementation
Lynch, R. (2006)

23. End of Lecture