Examining the strategy development process through the lens of complex adaptive systems theory

The development of strategy remains a debate for academics and a concern for practitioners. Published research has focused on producing models for strategy development and on studying how strategy is developed in organisations. The Operational Research literature has highlighted the importance of considering complexity within strategic decision making; but little has been done to link strategy development with complexity theories, despite organisations and organisational environments becoming increasingly more complex. We review the dominant streams of strategy development and complexity theories. Our theoretical investigation results in the first conceptual framework which links an established Strategic Operational Research model, the Strategy Development Process model, with complexity via Complex Adaptive Systems theory. We present preliminary findings from the use of this conceptual framework applied to a longitudinal, in-depth case study, to demonstrate the advantages of using this integrated conceptual model. Our research shows that the conceptual model proposed provides rich data and allows for a more holistic examination of the strategy development process. © 2012 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved

"Objectives-based" evaluation of strategic planning systems

A comparative study of more effective vs less effective planning systems is reported here, where effectiveness is treated in terms of the fulfillment of six key planning objectives. Based on data on the strategic planning systems and processes of over 200 North American companies, key systems design and contextual factors associated with effective planning are identified. It was found that dissatisfaction with formal strategic planning is not as widespread among practicing managers as is widely alleged. The degree of fulfillment of key planning objectives varies widely not only from company to company but also from objective to objective. Overall, the creativity and control orientation of the system and its level of functional integration were found to be the principal design factors contributing to the effectiveness of a strategic planning system.

Strategic Planning for Lean Production, Comparing Hoshin Kanri with Balanced Scorecard

Some authors believed that Lean has to be strategically implemented just in a bottom-up way, involving production processes and trying to reduce waste in the so-called Gemba or shop-floor. However, since the 1990s many companies have implemented the Balanced Scorecard, integrating economic and financial strategies with strategies linked to operations management in general, to widen the satisfaction of their different stakeholders. In this way it can be affirmed that BSC is a well-consolidated system for deploying Lean strategies. However, BSC is not the only system that can be related to Lean deployment. Since the 1960s, a similar system has been put forward in Japan. The system is named Hoshin Kanri and it has been implemented by companies all around the world. This research wants to contribute to the debate concerning how to implement Lean Production from a strategic point of view. In this sense two different systems, Hoshin Kanri and Balanced Scorecard will be compared. The research is based on three manufacturing case studies investigating in particular how to combine the top-down and bottom-up approaches and the techniques used for the deployment and implementation. Interesting findings show a difference in terms of workers involvement and day-by-day performance measurement

The Ethics of Conscious Capitalism: Wicked Problems in Leading Change and Changing Leaders

Given corporate scandals, organizational crises, and accounting irregularities (e.g. Citigroup, BP oil spill, Enron, Arthur Andersen), leadership ethics has grown in relevance. The current study takes a discursive approach to engage in a multimethod case study of a consulting and leadership development firm that takes Conscious Capitalism as the impetus for, and target of, leader development. Using constructivist grounded theory and critical discourse analysis, we reveal themes and ‘best practices’ voiced by consultants and clients for cultivating mindfulness and developing ethical leaders, as well as micro- and macro-level paradoxes, tensions, and challenges: structuring-releasing; expanding-contracting; opening up-closing; and collaborating-competing. Our critical approach contributes (a) a critique of Conscious Capitalism as a Discourse that appears to offer hope for business ethics and societal transformation and (b) a critique of ethical leadership development through embedded power relations and the complex discursive processes within and driven by leadership development and ethics at the intersection of various d/Discourses. This research helps explain some of the challenges involved in developing ethical leaders. We reveal that although Conscious Capitalism appears to offer solutions to many of today’s social problems, including leadership ethics, developing ethical leaders ironically leads to problems that are ‘wicked.