Examine the rational and dynamic approaches to strategic management a Case Study
Key Learning Outcomes
By the end of the case, students should be able to:
- Understand the major theories underlying the rational and dynamic approaches
- Understand the advantages and disadvantages of these two different approaches to strategic management and critically evaluate the two approaches
- Apply the two approaches to real-life organization
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Strategic management as a field of managerial practice and scholarly attention has been studied and has garnered plenty of attention in the past few years as per Knights and Morgan (1991). This management system is known to link both strategic planning and decision-making in the current business world whilst operating the organization. It is commonly established or developed by high levels of management that aid the business in assembling, analyzing, and putting in order constructive information to keep up with the industry and competitive trends. The rational and dynamic approaches to strategic management are two different schools of thought. The rational approach is well-planned and more prescriptive on strategy selection whereas the dynamic approach is the opposite. The aim of this paper is to explore and discuss the rational and dynamic approaches to strategic management.
What is the rational approach in strategic management? It is a management structure where the top management of an organization controls all other activities of the business. This approach provides an organized and sequenced approach to strategically managing an organization. Here, the objectives and main goals of an organization are always defined before a strategic plan is drawn. It is more favorable in an unchanging and predictable business environment. This approach generally centers its attention on an organization’s ability to achieve its set goals and objectives.
What is a dynamic approach to strategic management? A dynamic approach is one where a business can easily adapt to new changes making it easy to utilize new opportunities and minimize or even mitigate operational threats. This approach is based on the fact that a company or business can treat management as a leadership exercise and not solely as an administrative activity. This makes it easy to transform the leader’s strategic goals into other specific activities that enable the organization to adjust to a changing business environment. This study is going to evaluate both the rational and dynamic approaches to strategic management.
For an organization to choose between the rational and dynamic approaches to strategic management, it must look at the environment in which it operates, or it must ascertain the various factors that affect these approaches of strategy management. This study is going to evaluate and discuss in detail both the rational and dynamic approaches to strategic management.