STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC
INTEGRATION:
ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
- Tarak Bahadur K.C., PhD
Strategic Human Resource Management Training
Session Outline
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Strategy - concept
Strategic thinking
Strategic management
framework
Strategic integration
Strategy
3
4
Exercise
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
What comes to your mind while talking about Strategy?
Please create a PICTURE/DIAGRAM within 5 minutes that
expresses the term- ‘Strategy’. (You may use words or
phrase as supplement)
o Each participant will get 1 minute for drawing
o Succeeding officers may build on the concept already
drawn
o Executives are requested not to communicate while
drawing
o Circulate your drawing to other groups
o Share learning in plenary in 5 minutes
Strategy as defined by participants
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Strategy
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- is a plan / tactics / scheme one
adopts to get something done
under conditions of uncertainty.
 - is a method or plan chosen to
bring about a desired future, such
as achievement of a goal or
solution to a problem.
- is an action oriented plan of operation for achieving desired
goals based on situation analysis, and emphasises what an
organisation will be doing in future.
- is the answer to the question “How”?
Strategies are simply a set of actions that enable an
organisation to achieve results.
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5 Ps of Strategy – H Mintzberg
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Plan
Perspective
Strategy
Position
Ploy
Pattern
Strategy …
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PLAN
o Consciously intended course of action, a set of guidelines
to deal with the situation
PLOY
o Specific maneuver intended to outwit an opponent or
competitor
PATTERN
o In a stream of actions…consistency in behavior whether
or not intended
POSITION
o Means of locating an organization in an environment
PERSPECTIVE
o An engrained way of perceiving the world
Strategy
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Managerial Intent
1. Logical incremental
2. Rational command
2. Cultural / Political Process
1.
1. Strategy: A Managerial Intent
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
Logical incremental
o
o
o
o
o
o
Standardized planning procedures
Systematic data collection and
analysis
Constant environmental scanning
On going adjustment of strategy
Tentative commitment to strategy
Step by step small scale change
Strategy: A ….
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
Rational command
Senior managers determines and direct
strategy
o Strong vision or mission
o Definite and precise objectives
o Analysis and evaluation of environments
o Clear plans
o
2. Strategy: A Cultural/Political
Process
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
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Muddling through
Managing conflicting interest groups
Powerful groups with control over critical
resources more likely to influence strategy
Standardized way of doing things
Routines and procedures embedded in
organizational strategy
Deeply rooted beliefs and assumptions
Strong resistance to change
Gradual adjustment to strategy
Strategy: A ….
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Externally dependent
o
o
o
o
o
Strategy is imposed by external forces
(e.g. legislation, parent organization)
Freedom of choice severely restricted
Groups dealing with the environment
have greater influence over strategy
Political activity within organization and
between environment likely
Externally driven strategy
- Johnson & Scholes
Strategic Intent
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

Strategy could be described as an expression of the
intentions of the organization – what it means to do and
how, as Wickens (1987) put it, the business means to ‘get
from here to there’.
Strategic intent could be a very broad statement of vision
or mission and/or it could more specifically spell out the
goals and objectives to be attained over the longer term.
The strategic intent sequence has been defined by Miller
and Dess (1996) as:
o a broad vision of what the organization should be;
o the organization’s mission;
o specific goals, which are operationalized as:
o strategic objectives.
Strategic Intent
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Strategic Thinking
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Strategic Thinking
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Strategic Thinking- Development
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Impact
Fundamental
and
sustained
Strategic Thinking
Strategic
Core Enabler
Management
Integrated Systems
Strategic
Planning
Methods
Limited
1960s
Time
Self Assessment
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Assess your strategic
thinking abilities
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
Time 10 minutes
Part II: Scoring
Use the following table to interpret your score.
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104–125 Exceptional: You’re a talented strategic thinker who possesses
many of the traits, behaviors, attitudes, and cognitive capacities
that are necessary for thinking strategically.
78–103 Superior: You’re a highly effective strategic thinker in many
areas but would benefit from refining some of your skills.
51–77 Adequate: You know and practice many of the basics of
strategic thinking. However, you can increase your success by
further extending your skills.
25–50 Deficient: You’ll need to work broadly on your strategic thinking
skills so that you can learn how to analyze opportunities and
problems from a broad perspective and understand an action's
potential impact on others.
Strategic Thinking- Principles
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Strategic Thinking
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Strategic Thinking - Level
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Strategic Thinking
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
Strategic thinking means asking “Are we
doing the right thing?” Precisely, it means
making that assessment using three key
requirements about strategic thinking:
o A definite purpose be in mind;
o An understanding of the environment,
particularly of the forces that affect the
fulfillment of purpose;
o Creativity in developing effective
responses to those forces.
Strategic Management
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


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… is the application of strategic thinking to the job of
leading an organisation.
“Managing strategically”, in other words:
o ‘Diagnosing situation strategically’, and
o ‘Applying knowledge strategically’
…is the application of strategic thinking to the job of
leading an organisation.
“… is continuous, iterative process aimed at keeping an
organization as a whole appropriately matched to its
environment.”
-

Certo and Peter
… Is an ongoing process and involving a series of steps
to be followed.
Strategic Plan
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In order to determine where we are going,
where we stand, then determine where we want
to go and how we will get there. The resulting
document is SP for performance improvement to
achieve desired goals.
 A living document that has ability to create
successful future of the organization NOT large
document with detailed plans created arduously
over months at great effort and abandoned
after they have been duly acknowledged and
then filed away.
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Strategic Planning
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

… is an organization's process of defining its strategy,
or direction, and making decisions on allocating its
resources to pursue strategy including its people and
capital.
… is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental
decisions and actions that shape and guide what an
organisation is, what it does, and why it does it with a
focus on the future. It is defined as the process of
addressing the following questions:
o Where are we? SWOT – Analysis
o Where do we want to be? – VMO
o How do we get there? – Strategy Formulation
Strategic Planning Process
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Getting ready (agreement)
Environmental analysis (SWOT analysis)
Strategy Formulation (Identification of
Strategic Issues, Vision/Mission, Objectives,
Roles, Strategies)
Strategy Implementation (Strategic
Actions/Action plan- Tasks/Activities, By
whom, By when, Critical Success Factors, etc.)
Evaluation and Control
1. Getting Ready (Agreement)
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Assessing readiness
o Commitment of leadership
o Ability of leaders to devote necessary
attention to the ‘big picture’
 The purpose is to develop initial
agreement among key internal decision
makers about overall planning process for
their support and commitment

Steps in preparing for planning
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Obtain formal commitment
Select a strategic planning committee- a combination of
‘visionaries’ and ‘actionaries’ or a planning liaison to
spearhead the process, and clarify roles
Develop a work plan or a plan to plan that outlines who
is responsible for each outcome and time frames
Consider the adequate level of resources (money and
time) required for appropriate planning process
Identify the information that must be collected to help
make sound decisions
2. Environment Analysis
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This is undertaken to assess an organisation’s
ability to deal with its environment by
identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats (SWOT).
 Internal- What are major internal Strengths and

Weaknesses in terms of Structure, Resources, Processes,
Performance, Culture, etc. ?
 External- What major external Opportunities and
Threats (Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Legal,
Stakeholders, etc.) do the organisation has?
3. Strategy Formulation
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The formulation of strategy is best described as a process for
developing a sense of direction and ensuring strategic fit. The outcome
of which is a formal written statement that provides a definitive guide
to the organization’s intentions.
Identifying Strategic Issues- fundamental policy question/choice which
affects an organization’s mandate, goals, programs, management
processes, organization structure, culture, etc.
Vision/Mission, Objectives, Roles, Strategies
An effective strategy is:
o Technically workable
o Politically acceptable to key stakeholders
o Accords with the organization’s philosophies and values
o Ethical and legal
o Deals with the issues supposed to address
Approaches to strategy
formulation
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Whittington (1993) has identified four approaches to the
formulation of strategy:
1. Classical – as a rational process of deliberate calculation.
2.
Evolutionary – as an evolutionary process that is a product of
market forces in which the most efficient and productive
organizations win through.
3.
Processual – strategy formulation as an incremental process that
evolves through discussion and disagreement.
4.
Systemic – strategy is shaped by the social system in which it is
embedded. Choices are constrained by the cultural and institutional
interests of a broader society rather than the limitations of those
attempting to formulate corporate strategy.
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Considerations in Formulating
Strategy
Organisational competence and
resources to capture opportunities
Environmental threats to its longterm well being
Personal values and aspirations of
managers
Societal obligations and ethical
considerations
Organisational culture
4. Strategy Implementation
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For effective implementation, it
needs to be translated into more
detailed policies that can be
understood at the functional level
of the organization.
A General Framework for Strategy
Implementation
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o
o
o
o
o
o
Building an organisation structure to the
requirements of the strategy
Allocating resources and energies on
accomplishment of the strategic goals
Ensuring organisation-wide commitment
Installing administrative support system
Shaping the organisation culture to fit
the strategy
Exerting strategic leadership
Basic Approaches to Strategy
Implementation
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I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Commander Approach
Organisational Change Approach
Collaborative Approach
Cultural Approach
Crescive Approach
I. Commander Approach
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Manager determines “best” strategy
Manager uses power to see strategy
implemented
Three conditions must be met:
1. Manager must have power
2. Accurate and timely information is
available
3. No personal biases should be present
II. Organisational Change
Approach
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Focuses on the organisation
Includes
focusing
on
the
organisation’s
staffing
and
structure
Often
more
effective
than
commander
Used to implement difficult
strategies
III. Collaborative Approach
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Enlarges the organisational
change approach
Manager is a coordinator
Management team members
provide input
Group wisdom is the goal
IV. Cultural Approach
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

Includes lower levels of the
organisation
Breaks down barriers between
management
and
other
employees
Everyone has input into the
formulation and implementation
of strategies
V. Crescive Approach
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Moves upward from the "doers“
and lower middle-level
managers
The top management team
shapes the employees' premises
“Strategy" becomes the sum of
all successful approaches
5. Evaluation and Control
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The implementation of the strategy must be
monitored and adjustments made as needed.
Evaluation and control consists:
I. Defining parameters to be measured
II. Defining target values for those
parameters
III. Performing measurements
IV. Comparing measured results to the predefined standard
V. Making necessary changes
Strategic Integration
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Integration (from the Latin integer, meaning
whole or entire) generally means combining
parts so that they work together or form a
whole.
 Gradual combination and transformation of
independent components of organizations into
cohesive and synergistic entities.
 Facilitates the continuous alignment of business
strategies within the ever changing business
environment.
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Internal Integration
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Strategic approach to internal integration involves
streamlining the internal operations of an organization
(e.g. human resource, finance, operations, maintenance, procurement,
bookkeeping, etc.).


All the staff of an organization should be involved in
the strategic integration process and provided with
adequate access to all the relevant information that
pertains to the integrated approach to operations.
Organizations can make use of both manual methods
and information technology (IT) to link internal systems
and communicate procedure modifications across all
levels of the chain of production.
External Integration
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
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Strategic approach to external
integration involves streamlining
functional activities that affect external
stakeholders (such as suppliers,
regulators, clients, service recipients, etc.).
Integration of strategies governing
external stakeholders requires the
implementation of effective networking
and communication systems.
Functional Integration
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Organizatio
nal
Strategy
Human
Resource
Strategy
Key Requirements for Effective
Functional Integration
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Political and top management
vision and leadership
Planning functional integration
Implementation issues
Monitoring and evaluation
Building a Strategic Integration
Capability
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Organization structure and
culture
 Managerial control system
 Managerial incentives

Strategic nature of HRM
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The most significant feature of HRM is the
importance attached to strategic integration, which
flows from top management’s vision and
leadership, and which requires the full commitment
of people to it.
 This is a key policy goal for HRM, which is
concerned with the ability of the organization:

o
o
o
to integrate HRM issues into its strategic plans,
to ensure that the various aspects of HRM cohere, and
to encourage line managers to incorporate an HRM perspective
into their decision making.
- David Guest (1987, 1989a, 1989b, 1991)
Requirements for Strategic Human
Resource Managers
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Information management
Planning skills
Management skills
Integration skills; and
Change management skills
“If you don’t have a strategy, you
will be …. part of somebody- else's
strategy.
- Alvin Toffler
The story continues…
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