Strategic management

This is the first strategic management text to provide students and executives with a fully integrated guide combining strategy content with strategy design and execution. Based on courses taught at Wharton and other top international business schools, the English-language text is redesigned and revised from a higly successful German-language text first published in 2001 and now in its 2nd edition. The text is designed for use primarily at MBA and executive MBA levels. It offers a comprehensive framework for understanding and implementing strategic management to meet a growing need for effective strategic action at all levels of organizations. The text is accompanied by electronic teaching materials and powerpoints and is linked to an on-line course and a web portal, which facilitate multi-channel delivery of the material and will open up additional demand for the printed text. Numerous case examples, summaries and review questions throughout the text help to reinforce key messages of the book. An integrated four-stage framework helps students and executives understand and apply strategic management lessons. In the second chapter of the book the authors discuss several approaches on how firms shape their strategies and generate strategic initiatives, while the fifth chapter deals with the topic of strategic change. Commenting on the positioning of this text in relation to Grant, Raffi Amit explained that Strategic Management complements and extends the content - centered strategy formulation approach of Grant, as it integrates strategy process and content with formulation and implementation. It embraces strategy process as an essential part of a comprehensive framework, rather than stand alone chapters on process and implementation. " From discussions with hundreds of MBAs and practicing executives we know that this integrated view of strategy is highly valued, as the practice of strategy contains both content and process work." For this reason the textbook fits well with the needs of MBA- and EMBA-students. Based upon their teaching and consulting experience the authors have found that in most North American B-schools, these two topics are either treated separately or that strategy process is not taught at all. Their approach helps to bridge this gap by providing a coherent framework for strategy making.

Contents.

1. Introduction.

Provides an Overview of the core challenges of Strategic Management and how these are addressed, discusses diverse pathways to strategy, boxes show brief but comprehesive summaries of development of field of business strategy, chapter overview illustrated throughout with a variety of business cases.

2. Initiating the Strategy Process.

Introduces strategy formulation in the context of the different pathways and processes for the genesis of strategy. Compares top down and bottom up approaches, presents framework of 13 key dimensions in 5 critical areas(place, participants, timing, resources, practices).

3. Defining Positioning.

Explores the challenges of strategic positioning (including organizational and environmental analysis), identifies the various stakeholders (competitors, clients, investors, customers, employees) and defines the company's position in relation to each, discusses strategy development at the corporate and strategic business unit levels and the process of evaluating strategy.

4. Creating Value.

Discusses how the organization will 'deliver' on its strategic positioning, in relation to the value chain, corporate capabilities, and stakeholders. Examines business model configuration, functional strategies and organizational design.

5. Leading Change.

How do we make strategy happen? The process of leading change is often overlooked in discussions of strategy formulation, but it is ciritical to successful execution. This section explores how the positioning covered in Ch 3 and the value creation in Ch 4 are actually carried out in organizations. The design of change processes involves decisions about timing, objects, roles and location of change initiatives. Central case of General Electric used to demonstrate these themes.

6. Performance Management.

At the center of the process of strategic management is the design and continuous monitoring of the process. Companies need to monitor strategic initiatives and their results. This chapter examines a systematic and integrated system for monitoring and measurement, with a tool for navigating each stage of the process.

This is the first strategic management text to provide students and executives with a fully integrated guide combining strategy content with strategy design and execution. Based on courses taught at Wharton and other top international business schools, the English-language text is redesigned and revised from a higly successful German-language text first published in 2001 and now in its 2nd edition. The text is designed for use primarily at MBA and executive MBA levels.