Henry Mintzbergs 10 strategiskoler

Strategy

Henry Mintzberg's 10 schools of strategy

When you think about the large scale of the area, it is not surprising that the strategy area has given rise to a voluminous literature. The problem, however, is that management strategists tend to see strategy as the six blind men saw the elephant. One felt the tusks and thought the elephant was like a spear, another grasped the trunk and thought it was like a snake, a third touched the ear and thought the animal was like a fan, and so on.

The authors of Strategy Safari: The Complete Guide Through The Wilds Of Strategic Management, Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand, and Joseph Lampel point out that strategy experts similarly view the subject through their own limited experience. There is therefore a need for these diverse experiences to be brought together so that we can better understand the subject as a whole.

The categorization into the 10 schools was created on the basis of an extensive study of the management literature. In the book, each of the schools is put into context and criticized.

Strategy

The 10 strategic schools

The design schoolSees strategy development as a recognition process, where it is about achieving a "fit" between the organization's internal capabilities and external opportunities. The SWOT analysis is widely used here.
The planning schoolHighly value the benefits of formal strategic planning and arm yourself with formal procedures, training, analysis and a lot of numbers. Among other things. inspired by Igor Ansoff.
The Positioning SchoolThis school is strongly influenced by the ideas of Michael Porter, who emphasize that strategy depends on the way. the company is positioned in the market and in the industry. Sees strategy development as an analytical process where it is about choosing the right strategy from among a limited amount of generic types.
The entrepreneurial schoolEmphasizes the central role of the leader, as the one who creates the strategy and has the vision. This means that the strategy is flexible and can be adapted to the manager's experiences.
The cognitive schoolExamines what happens in the head of the strategist and sees strategy as a mental process where there is room for creative interpretations. Strategists, of course, have different cognitive styles. Eg. extrovert or introvert, thinking or feeling.
The learning schoolSees strategy as an emergent process. That is that strategies emerge as people become more knowledgeable about a situation and about the organization's ability to handle it. In this way, formulation and implementation are intertwined.
The school of powerConsiders strategy as the result of various power plays both inside and outside the organization. Negotiation is a central element in the school of power.
The cultural schoolStrategy creation is seen as a process rooted in the social power of culture. Focuses on common interests and integration.
The environment schoolFocuses on the forces that surround the organization. A company's strategy therefore depends on events in the environment and the organization's response to them.
The configuration schoolSees strategy as a process that transforms the organization. The school describes the relative stability of the strategy, which is interrupted by occasional dramatic leaps to new stages.

There are therefore countless definitions within strategy, which is why you as a strategist must make your own strategy definitions. It is about choosing the type of strategy that fits best in a given situation in a given company.

Source: Strategy Safari, A guided tour through the Wilds of strategic management. (1998) By: Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph Lampel.

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