Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management

Authors Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel provide the oft-cited "The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe as a backdrop to their discussion on the ten schools of management (Design, Planning, Positioning, Entrepreneurial, Cognitive, Learning, Power, Cultural, Environmental, and Configuration), because while at the outset they indicate that "we are the blind people and strategy formation is our elephant", since "everyone has grabbed hold of some part or other and 'railed on in utter ignorance' about the rest" because "no one has had the vision to see the entire beast", the authors end their discourse by showing that there is not necessarily one safari beast with which to contend, but multiple, although "we shall never find [the whole beast of strategy formation], never really see it all". Corresponding to each of these ten schools is a different view of the strategy process - strategy formation as a process of conception, strategy formation as a formal process, strategy formation as an analytical process, strategy formation as a visionary process, strategy formation as a mental process, strategy formation as an emergent process, strategy formation as a process of negotiation, strategy formation as a collective process, strategy formation as a reactive process, and strategy formation as a process of transformation. The chapter introductions to each of the schools provide superb historical information, and the last chapter discusses the evolution of the the ten schools and provides an excellent bulleted summary table that whimsically assigns different beasts to each school as well as easy-to-remember homilies such as "take us to your leader" for The Entrepreneurial School, "I'll see it when I believe it" for The Cognitive School, and "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" for The Learning School. In the opinion of this reviewer, the chapters on these three schools are also the best, even though the authors indicate that The Cognitive School is "characterized more by its potential than by its contribution. The central idea is valid - that the strategy-formation process is also fundamentally one of cognition, particularly in the attainment of strategies as concepts. But strategic management, in practice if not in theory, has yet to gain sufficiently from cognitive psychology. Or perhaps more accurately, cognitive psychology has yet to address adequately the questions of prime interest to strategic management, especially how concepts form in the mind of a strategist". The authors draw from many research sources (some readers may be interested in knowing that the bibliography is 18 pages long), including some of their past works, most notably Mintzberg, and their liberal use of well-placed sidebars and diagrams in the material is extremely effective in bringing these together. Their use of humor is also well received by this reviewer, especially when placed in the midst of some of the rather lengthy discussions that some readers new to his subject matter might otherwise receive as dry. For example, the chapter on The Design School starts with a quote by an anonymous manager about a Harvard MBA: "The damn guy just sits there waiting for a case study." This reviewer completely agrees that, in the words of the authors, this book makes sense of a field that often seems to make no sense. Well recommended to anyone in business, especially those struggling through the vast, sometimes confusing terrain of strategic management.

It’s worth the buy!

Very refreshing look at a very cloudy and complicated subject. This book although somewhat academic in nature is easy to comprehend and helps the reader understand and grasp concepts in the different schools of approach in the world of applying strategic concepts. If you are interested in this subject or you are a practioner this is a must read that will give you a new understanding and appreciation for the development of strategic management.

This is an excellent book. It worth for its topics and approaches. I believe, it is not an expensive book because it is printed for MBA students. Its paper seems to be from recycling materials, not glossy and what for me is being excellent, since I don't get the annoying reflex on the paper which usually makes harder for reading on the bed:-).

Book was delivered very quickly. It is a required reading for a semester that starts January 3rd. We all know that exercise. Christmas break means just keep reading!!! I received it in plenty of time to complete my reading and compile notes. Now time to chill and celebrate.Thank you, thank you, thank you.Nancy B.

If you need to know the gist of strategy schools, this would be the book to read. However, it doesn't offer virtually any practical means of using the aforementioned strategy schools... so you need to have that knowledge from somewhere else.As this is one of the most referred books in strategy literature, I found it a good buy, nevertheless. Makes it easier to know WHY scholars cite Mintzberg.

A poetic, yet sharp analysis of all major schools of thought concerning strategy. Mintzberg does favour his own school of emergent strategy, but this does not detract from the usefulness of his analysis of other schools. Excellent if you are intending to understand and appreciate all forms of business strategy.

Through a simple and direct language, using analogies who fit exactly in the context, this book clarifies the various points of views in the area of strategic planning, their weaknesses and contribuitions to the conception of strategy. Without a doubt, a useful tool to set a foot on this fantastic field.