The nature of strategy and planning
Plan
A detailed scheme or method for attaining an objective
A proposed, usually tentative idea for doing something
An outline or sketch
To have something in mind as a purpose
The concept of planning is a combination of objective, goal and anticipated route; an explicit idea or sometimes a statement that identifies a number of distinct facets that we expect to encounter or complete on our journey into the future
The word strategy has two core dictionary definitions
The art or science of the planning and conduct of a war
A particular long term plan for success, especially in politics or business
Pettigrew and Whipp (1991) suggest that there are three key elements behind any strategic decisions
Context
the environment within which the strategy operates and is developed
Content
the main actions of the proposed strategy
Process
how the actions link together or interact with each other as the strategy unfolds (this may be described as the plan
Clegg et al. (2017) adds a human dimension to these concepts by suggesting that Strategy = Knowledge + Capability
Knowledge is required o enable a human being to be able to imagine a future state of affairs together with the ability to visualise how one might obtain that future state
Capability is the power and ability to get things done, to be able to implement ideas, visions and plans
Johnson et al. (2017) defines strategy as the long term direction of an organisation, which includes 'deliberate, logical strategy and more incremental, emergent patterns of strategy'
Lynch (2015) defines strategic management as 'the identification of the purpose of the organisation and the plans and actions to achieve that purpose'
Splender (2015) suggests that business strategy reflects the vast variety of goals that are open to businesses in a capitalist democracy and the difficulties of achieving them. It arises precisely because (a) the businesses goals have been chosen not imposed and (b) it can only be reached by engaging a difficult or resistant situation
Levicki (2003) states that strategy sets the objectives and the goals for the organisation into a series of timeframes to enable people to know what must be achieved, by whom and when
Strategy: as an overarching construct that is present within one or more brains, which incorporates both the imagination of how a future situation might look and the conceptual alignment of what might be required to achieve the realisation of that imagined situation.