GE: Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning

Literature Review

Introduction

The theories on strategy development and associated concepts of strategic thinking and strategic leadership are becoming more and more popular in today’s business environment. Leaders possessing strategic skills could turn to be the best strategy of their own as well as for their respective organizations.

Meaning of Strategy

Today the word ‘strategy’ is so prevalent that there are hardly any people who know nothing about it. Conversely, with this prevailing feature of the word, there is incredible disarray on its meaning. Analysis of literature showed that there are innumerable definitions, many of which have certain common features.

Johnson et al. (2005) define strategy as “the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations” (p.7). While Liddell Hart brings a brutal aspect to strategy when he concludes that it is "the art of distributing military means to fulfill the ends of policy."

Mintzberg (1998) reasoned a more pride and extended approach definitions of strategy doesn’t show the whole scope of the word (p.9). In this context Mintzberg (1998) refers to strategy as a plan. Apart from this, strategy is a pattern, which means consistency in actions and behavior over time. He opines that it is possible to subdivide strategies into intended and realized. Those intentions that are realized are deliberate strategies, while those that are not are unrealized strategies. The third definition of strategy offered by Mintzberg (1998, p. 12) is the one as a position. It means locating of certain products in certain markets. The fourth de...

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...about How to Improve Strategic Processes within the Organization

The implementation of strategy should be organized by selection of specific strategic objectives, on which attention of the staff should be focused. They should be separated from the rest of the current activities.

It is also recommended for GE to consider the six silent killers of strategy implementation defined by Beer and Eisenstat’s (2000).

These barriers create a backbiting power to strategy execution despite that top executives assented to it. To reinvigorate the agents of change and make sure that strategy is successfully executed, GE plans to build capabilities required to counter these killers.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, strategic thinking and strategic planning processes are complex and require close attention on the part of management aspiring to be successful in its respective field.