Submitted by: Submitted by yp00024
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Words: 2041
Pages: 9
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 11/11/2012 03:26 AM
A Critical Review of ‘The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning’ by Henry Mintzberg. “According to Mintzberg, for all intents and purposes, all of the prescriptive schools for strategy formulation should be committed to the garbage heap of history, leaving the field to the 'emerging strategy' school which he represents,” (Ansoff, 1991, p449). The article, ‘The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning’ (Mintzberg, 1994) essentially suggests a move from traditional strategic planning to the involvement of emergence in strategy formation. With use of Mintzberg’s related publications, the article will be put into context from which the authors underlying assumptions will be drawn. Literature surrounding the prescriptive and emergent approaches will place this article firmly in the debate and provide a basis for critique. The article ‘The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning’ distinguishes strategic planning and strategic thinking. Strategic planning, according to Mintzberg (1994, p107) as it has been practiced, is essentially strategic programming, “the articulation and elaboration of strategies…that already exist.” This involves heavily formulated plans; it revolves around breaking down intentions into communicated steps and “formalizing those steps so that they can be implemented almost automatically,” (Mintzberg, 1994, p108.). This is a typically prescriptive approach which views the “formulation and implementation of strategic management as a logical, rational and systematic process,” (Evans et al, 2003, p322). “[Mintzberg’s] objection is to the concept of strategy as a plan which has been worked out in advance in the head of the strategist,” (Turner, 1990, p59). The article argues that strategic thinking, converting manager’s knowledge and experience into an overall vision or direction, should replace ...