Module 3.

1 – Strategy
Basic strategy – VMOSA
Vision (DREAM) – Big picture of what you want to achieve. It provides a destination for the organization
Mission – A vision statement outlines the goals and mission of the organization, outlining who they are, what they do, and
their industry affiliation.
Core Values – The example business values innovation, ethical practices, environmental respect, and meeting client and
consumer needs, focusing on new ideas and meeting evolving needs.
Strategies – Strategies are methods used to achieve a vision statement within an organization, often involving multiple
strategies. They are crucial for an organization's success, as unique organizations require more creativity and innovation in
crafting their plans.
Goals – Business goals include enhancing profit margin, enhancing efficiency, capturing a larger market share, and
enhancing customer service.
Objectives – Objectives provide specific milestones with a specific timeline for achieving a goal. (How Much Of What
Will Be Accomplished By When)
Action Plans – These are specific implementation plans of how you will achieve an objective.(What change will happen;
who will do what by when to make it happen)

Goal
Focus on key strategy implementation aspects, avoid setting too many goals to avoid losing focus, and ensure goals don't
conflict or interfere with each other.
A goal should meet the following criteria:
• Understandable: Is it stated simply and easy to understand?
• Suitable: Does it assist in implementing a strategy of how the mission will achieve the vision?
• Acceptable: Does it fit with the values of the organization and its members/employees?
• Flexible: Can it be adapted and changed as needed?

Objective
An objective is a statement that transforms a goal's general statement into a specific, quantifiable, and time-sensitive
statement of what will be achieved and when.
Examples of business objectives are:
• Earn at least a 20 percent after-tax rate of return on our investment during the next fiscal year
• Increase market share by 10 percent over the next three years.
• Lower operating costs by 15 percent over the next two years through improvement in the efficiency of the
manufacturing process.
• Reduce the call-back time of customer inquiries and questions to no more than four hours.

Objectives should meet the following criteria:

• Measurable: What specifically will be achieved and when will it be achieved?
 • Suitable: Does it fit as a measurement for achieving the goal?
• Feasible: Is it possible to achieve?
• Commitment: Are people committed to achieving the objective?
• Ownership: Are the people responsible for achieving the objective included in the objective-setting process?

GOAL OBJECTIVE
Definition The direction and overall destination of your The exact actions and steps your company must
company that helps you realize your vision take to reach its goals
Specificity General intention or direction Specific, Precise
Plan Broad in scope Narrow in scope
Size Large in size, the whole Small chunks, part of the whole
Example Increase international customer base Acquire 20% more customer from the UK,
Australia, and Germany in next 3 months
Actions Difficult; goals are usually intangible and may Easy; it must be measurable and tangible
not be strictly measurable
Timeframe Long- term Medium- to short term

Action plan
Action plans are detailed plans outlining specific actions or activities to achieve a goal within the specified timeframe.
Action plans can be concise or detailed business plans, incorporating goals and objectives, and can be utilized for strategic
planning to implement a comprehensive strategy.
Examples of action plans within the context of goals and objectives are:

Goal Objective Action Plan

Increase Profit Margin Reduce operating costs by 10% in Finance department will conduct an in-depth
18 months analysis of identifying low-cost suppliers
Improve Employee Skills Conduct a training program in the A special committee will be format to select and
net 12 months to improve employee hire a professional trainer to conduct the training
skills
Increase Profit Margin Increase sales volume by 20% in 12 Marketing department will create and implement a
months plan to increase sales in regions 3 and 5

Basis for comparison Planning Strategy

Meaning Planning is thinking in advance, for the actions Best plan opted for achieving
which are going to take place in the future desired outcomes
What is it? Planning is a road map for accomplished any Strategy is the path chosen for
task achieving the objectives
Related to Thinking Action
Basis Assumptions Practical considerations
Term Preventive Competitive
Part of management functions Yes Sub-part of decision making
Sequence Second First

When should you use VMOSA?

• when you are starting a new organization.
• When your organization is starting a new initiative or large project or is going to begin work in a new direction.
• When your group is moving into a new phase of an ongoing effort.
• When you are trying to invigorate an older initiative that has lost its focus or momentum.
 • Clarify your vision and mission when applying for funding or a new funder to ensure the funding aligns with your
organization's true purpose and philosophy.

Difference between Plan and Strategy

A plan is needed to …
• allocate and align resources, especially when they are limited.
• manage people and processes efficiently.
• ensure clarity and alignment so you can get into action!
• clarify roles and responsibilities.
A strategy is needed when …
• you are not clear on your destination or when there is no agreement on the destination.
• you have been through a great deal of change, and there is confusion about how to regain traction.
• even with all your grand plans, hard work, and dedication, you are not getting the performance you want or need.
• you are new to your leadership role and want to define an exciting new direction.

How does the process to produce a plan differ from one to create a strategy?
• Disrupt problem-solving practices to invite new ideas, eventually aligning with the planning team for robust
discussions that lead to a strategy that leads to satisfying plan development.
• Understanding your needs and aligning processes to satisfy them is crucial. Clarify if a strategy or plan is needed
and develop the appropriate approach.
• if you need a plan, you focus on a goal, Break down goals into smaller objectives, defining what, how, when, how,
and how much for each. Iterative plans take time, with complex goals requiring more complex plans.

Conclusion
• Vision is what you want to accomplish.
• Mission is a general statement of how you will achieve your vision.
• Strategies are a series of ways of using the mission to achieve the vision.
• Goals are statements of what needs to be accomplished to implement the strategy.
• Objectives are specific actions and timelines for achieving the goal.
• Action plans are specific actions that need to be taken for reaching the milestones within the timeline of the
objectives.

Mintzberg 5 P’s of strategy

Plan
• Plan: planning and strategy are not the same thing. Planning is one part of a strategy and it alone is not enough for
success.
• Plan by understanding the wider environment with a PESTLE
• Plan by setting clear Strategic Objectives
• Plan by understanding your internal strengths and weaknesses with SWOT
Ploy
• Ploys are synonymous with tactics. They are a specific actions intended to achieve a result.
 • Ploy is about specific actions within your strategy that relate to the competition.
• Ploy is to ensure you have considered your competitive strategy and have a plan to get the better of the competition
through a specific, chosen approach.
• To be effective, Ploy must have a comprehensive understanding of its competitive landscape, ensuring its strategy
is tailored to its specific aspects.
Helpful Tools:
• Understand the current market using Five Forces
• Establish your competitor strategy using Four Corner Analysis
• Tools like Futures Wheel and Scenario Analysis help businesses analyze potential competition scenarios, such as
grocery chain expansion threats or telecoms corporation patent acquisitions.
Pattern
• Pattern touches on the concept of intended vs emergent. While Plan and Ploy are both intended strategic actions.
• Strategy can be derived from historical organizational behavior, influencing a coherent and successful business
style. Observe team and organization patterns to apply the five P's.
• Pattern is about taking advantage of observed successful behaviors that contribute to strategic success.
• It's about responding to opportunities, threats and unexpected results in a way that will bring you success.
• Strategic objectives or actions are added or adjusted due to unforeseen events, occurrences, or successful business
opportunities that continue to develop and evolve.
• Pattern refers to consistency in approach and behavior, ensuring a company focuses on repeating successful
actions. It doesn't contradict Plan or Ploy but should be a management behavior, identifying opportunities and
responding to them. These patterns influence future strategic planning and are also known as emergent strategies.
Helpful Tools:
• Find out your opportunities and threats with a SWOT Analysis
• Understand how are you generating value with the Value Disciplines Model
• Establish what is giving you a competitive edge with the VRIO Framework

Position
• Positioning is crucial for strategy, impacting brand, pricing, and relationships with buyers and suppliers.
Examining current and future positions is essential for company success.
• Position is a crucial aspect of strategic planning, requiring thorough analysis and understanding of the business
environment, external factors, and competition's plans to ensure success.

Helpful Tools:
• Bowman’s Strategy Clock provides several examples of strategic positions
• Ansoff Matrix assists companies in thinking about the future
• Kotler’s Pricing Strategies provides a number of price position options
Perspective
• Perspective is a comprehensive approach that considers the perspectives of various stakeholders, including
employees, customers, suppliers, and competitors, to determine a company's overall perception.
 • Brand perception and culture influence strategic decisions, ensuring business profile, realistic organization type,
and appropriateness for objectives, ensuring strategy alignment with capabilities and situation.
• A successful strategy requires a clear understanding of your business's strengths and weaknesses, as a lack of
perspective can hinder effective strategy execution.

How to use Mintzberg’s 5 Ps of Strategy in business?

When evaluating your strategy consider:
• Have we a clear Plan?
• Should we factor in competitors via Ploy?
• Are we spotting successful actions and taking advantage of Patterns?
• What is our current and future Position?
• Will we be successful at execution given our company Perspective?
Each of these Ps relies on a good understanding of key areas:
• Have we conducted an industry analysis?
• Do we know what our competitor activity is?
• Are we aware of what our USP is currently?
• Do we have a current strategic position?
• Have we asked what our buyers, suppliers and employees think of us?
• The combination of this background analysis and critical thinking will ensure your strategy is well placed for
successful execution.

The sixth perspective of Mintzberg’s strategy

• Mintzberg's strategy's five perspectives are criticized for being too descriptive and lacking guidance on how to
implement them effectively.
• A sixth perspective, Practice, was developed to assist businesses in executing their strategies.

Key Points
• Mintzberg’s 5Ps of Strategy is a strategy development framework that incorporates five key perspectives.
• Mintzberg’s 5Ps of Strategy argues that one-dimensional strategies are unreliable from one day to the next because
they do not adapt to dynamic markets.
• Mintzberg's 5Ps of Strategy, sometimes incorporating practice, enables businesses to effectively implement their
strategic plans by remaining present and undistracted.

5 P’s of apple
Analyzing the case study of Apple and how they have leveraged Mintzberg’s 5Ps strategy.
1. Plan: Apple is known for creating consumer electronics that are both functional and user-friendly. They keep their
software up to date on a regular basis, which helps to expand their ecosystem.
2. Ploy: The company provides highly inventive and revolutionary products, providing them an advantage over their
competition. Companies that replicate their technology or features are frequently threatened with legal action.
3. Pattern: Apple uses previous innovations that have been quite successful in the past
4. Position: Apple has effectively built a position in the industry and in the eyes of consumers as a luxury brand that
only delivers high-end items
5. Perspective: Apple’s core values are innovation and thinking outside the box, and these ideals are ingrained in
the company’s culture

Tech company could use Mintzberg's 5 P's of strategy:

• Plan: The tech company plans and develops consumer products that are both functional and simple to use. They
also design and implement numerous software updates to broaden their ecosystem.
 • Ploy: The business is well-known for producing original, one-of-a-kind and extravagant items, giving them a
competitive advantage in the market. They threaten to sue any competitors who replicate their software or product
features.
• Pattern: The company takes earlier inventions that have been highly successful in the past and refines them. The
power of their brand hooks consumers into purchasing these products and quickly establishes them as a market
leader.
• Position: The company builds a place for itself in the market and creates a reputation with consumers as a
specialized and premium brand. Its adherence to high standards of quality means it's known for producing high-end
goods that are tough to compete with in terms of both software and hardware capabilities.
• Perspective: The company's key principles include innovation and the ability to think creatively, which act as the
foundation for the company's culture and its unique selling point.

Intended V/s Emergent Strategies

• Intended strategies are the plans an organization aims to execute, derived from a strategic plan prepared by top
management, as the starting point for achieving a specific objective.
• Emergent strategies involve identifying unforeseen outcomes from strategy execution and learning to incorporate
them into future corporate plans using a bottom-up management approach.
• arises from unplanned actions and initiatives from within an organization.
• Innovation is often a result of individual contributors' daily prioritization and investment decisions, such as middle
managers, engineers, financial staff, and salespeople.

Realized Strategy
• A realized strategy is a real and practical strategy.
• It is the strategy that a firm actually follows.
• Realized strategies are a result of an organization's intended, deliberate, and emergent strategies, which are
developed over time to respond to unexpected opportunities and challenges.
• In most other cases, however, firms’ original intended strategies are lost during its journey.
• The abandoned sections of the original and intended strategy are known as non-realized strategy. Following is an
example of successful non-realized strategy.
• Success of Non-realized Strategy at Avon
• David McConnell, an aspiring author, initially offered complimentary perfume with his books, but his perfumes
gained popularity, leading to the birth of the California Perfume Company, now known as Avon. This strategy
ultimately evolved into a successful writing career.
Example of Intended
• ABC Company, a technology product producer in five countries, aims to acquire 40% or more market share by the
end of the current financial year.
• A company's intended plan allocates significant resources and time, but unforeseen occurrences can lead to a
different outcome. Research indicates that only 10-15% of the strategy is realized, highlighting the importance of a
well-planned strategy.
• To achieve strategic objectives, companies should set SMART objectives, which are Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Result-oriented, and Time-bound. They should also assess the political, economic, social, and
technological environment to understand potential challenges. While favorable market conditions alone aren't
enough to gain a competitive advantage, internal capacity and capability are equally crucial.
• Top management's commitment and goal congruence are crucial for successful strategy implementation, requiring
effective communication and motivation among employees to achieve the desired outcome.

Example of Emergent Strategies

Continuing from the above example,
• ABC, aiming for a 40% market share in all five countries, is considering entering a new country to increase profits.
The new country's government has offered a substantial subsidy for ABC to establish a factory in the country. This
move, based on cost savings, would be more beneficial than pursuing marketing strategies in all five countries.
• The rigidness in plans emphasizes that companies must continue to implement their deliberate strategy despite any
changes in the environment.
• Political changes and technological advancements can hinder the implementation of intended strategies, leading to
the preference of emergent strategy by business theorists and practitioners for its flexibility and ability to learn
while in operation.