Mintzberg & Waters: of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent/ Harrison: Strategic Analysis for the Hospitality Industry

Two Articles, One Discussion

Mintzberg & Waters: Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent

Summary

1. Who is the article was written for?

In determining for whom the article is written (other academics or practitioners) it is important to note that in the last paragraph of the introduction, the authors state:

This paper sets out to explore the complexity and variety of strategy formation processes by refining and elaborating the concepts of deliberate and emergent strategy. We begin by specifying more precisely what pure deliberate and pure emergent strategies might mean in the context of organizations … The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this perspective on strategy formation for research and practice.

Although from these statements that the authors seem to intend for the article to be used by not only academics by also practitioners, a further reading of the entire article shows that the expected reader is mainly academics who in the theorization of clearer strategy formation.

2. What is the objective of the article?

The article purports to help the reader understand that deliberate and emergent strategies are not simply two different, polarized strategies to be on the lookout for in management. Each simply exists on opposite ends of a spectrum. Management requires an acknowledgement of that spectrum, and an ability to shift among the spectrum as warranted (The authors use an analogy of walking where you switch from one foot to the other as you walk; therefore the strategies are shifted form time to time like walking.). In essence, the article teaches the reader that these strategies do not have to be viewed as black and white, but rather shades of grey which when used properly will make effective managers and effective organizations.

3. On what is the article based?

According to the authors, “For over 10 years now, we have been researching the process of strategy formation based on the definition...