Henry Mintzberg's Definition Of Strategy Analysis

Definition of strategy varies with situation, time, place, people, business sector, internal and external business policy and level of implementation. So considering different scenarios in business and non-business areas, where strategy is implemented, we will understand the meaning of strategy. Every activity that is targeted to achieve a specific goal is an investment of time, money, efforts, resources and intellect of people involved in the process. Hence, it requires strategic planning to achieve those goals. Strategy is a tool by which every enterprise and idea is developed. It alone opens the gate to expand the businesses. Strategy is defined as – The determination of the long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption

But overall strategy definition have changed since then, as industrial revolution and introduction of modern technology have made the world a complicated place to achieve the targets. In business these complex environment needs to be scrutinized to define a concrete path to achieve the targets. Thus the overall strategy is very different from the perception of strategy by manager’s or owner’s or employee’s point of view. According to Henry Mintzberg, a strategy is defined as a plan, ploy, pattern, position and perspective (Henry Mintzberg, 1987). Hence, it is very important to understand strategy from different perspective. The below diagram explicitly depicts the five Ps of strategy. I will discuss how companies implement these definitions to achieve the target goal and how the company’s definition of strategy can be perceived by these 5 Ps. The organizations form different business and non-business sectors are discussed and their goals and strategies are analyzed as per five Ps

It directs the organization in a particular direction without possessing the ability to manage change or risk. It is important to realize these factors clearly and design a strategy which acts as a plan. A process or a step work is not about eternal existence and something very broader to synthesis, it is simple, precise and feasible to follow. The strategy that leads to success need not be tough, but it needs be critical to establish competitive advantages for the organization.

Despite these polished strategy summary, companies put all efforts to save money, for instance if the cost of repairing, donating (corporate social responsibilities) and loss due to damage is lesser than that of constructing the best infrastructure at first place in long run, the companies will invest in repairing rather than building perfectly at first place. These will help them cut the cost and use the capital for other growth and expenses. Thus, the actual strategies are very different from stated strategies. (Smit and Trigeorgis,