Competitive Activity

Abstract

In many organisations strategic processes and activities have bad reputations and low regard. The plans produced are so detailed, cumbersome, long and unreadable that nobody ever actually uses them or makes reference to them. It is therefore viewed as a waste of time and resources, carried out by persons in think-tanks or other elite committees, without reference to performance, production, outputs, quality, marketing or sales functions. Information, especially historic information, is analysed, and past gaps and discrepancies in performance highlighted in great detail. However, the information is not gathered or presented in ways useful to strategists or managers. A divergence is created between the ‘strategy’ and the reality of the organisation. The result of all this is to discredit the strategy processes. Organisations and their managers revert to operations rather than strategy as their reasons for being. Strategy is never discussed unless there is a crisis.