The Strategic Lenses

Strategic lenses

Different strategy lenses used to analyzes the Organization’s strategic issues. Strategic lenses are a concept of strategic management. It is different ways of viewing strategy development. It examines the flow of tasks and information, or how you get things done. Each lens reveals many different traits and qualities. Using the strategic lens, one looks to optimize workflow to meet the goals and objectives of the organization. This strategy can be viewed and implemented on a corporate level; they are strategy as design, experience, ideas, and discourse. (Francis, 2014)

1.      Strategy as a Design

This takes the view that strategy development can be a local process in which the forces and constraints on the organization are weighted carefully through analytic and evaluative techniques to establish a clear strategic direction. This creates conditions in which carefully planned strategy implementation should occur.  They are rationally, thoroughly researched, analytically considered strategies made by experts.

It is a top-down approach to strategic decision making. It takes no input from manager involved in the day to day operations. Strategic decisions are imposed on them, they may resent this approach. It is suitable in a fast and rapidly changing environment where decision making is separate from implementation.

2.      Strategy as Experience

Here the view is that the future strategy of organizations are heavily influenced by the experience of the managers and others in the organization based on their previous strategies. Strategies are driven not so much by clear-cut analysis as by the taken-for-granted assumptions and ways of doing things embedded in the culture of organizations.

The experience lens views strategy development as the outcome of the individual and collective experience of people in organizations who influence strategy or make strategic decisions and the taken-for-granted assumptions.

In summary, the experience lens provides a view of organizations as cultures within which people make decisions about or influence strategy on the basis of their cognitive (or mental) models and established ways of doing things (or routines).

3.      Strategy as Ideas

Neither of the above lenses is especially helpful in explaining innovation. Then how do ideas come about? The idea lens emphasizes the importance of promoting diversity in and around organizations, which can potentially generate genuinely new ideas.

It is an approach that requires innovation. These ideas can emerge from any level or anywhere in the organization. It requires encouragement to employees to give their views and suggestions and a mechanism to accommodate these ideas into a strategy.

It is suitable in an unpredictable macro-environment, where the ability to respond to unforeseen situations is required. It can be used organization developing new products or breaking into different markets. It can be used in innovative industries where innovation is the key to success. E.g. telecommunication industry and the fashion industry. It can also be used in newly established business where owners as well as employees have little previous knowledge and experience. They can benefit from the pooling of knowledge and experience.

4.      Strategy as Discourse

This lens sees strategy in terms of language. Managers spend most of their time communicating. Companies communicate their strategies by presenting year reports, vision statements, or press releases. Managers and shareholders debate about strategy when they discuss the future of the firm. We can see strategies as stories, including a beginning (the present) and an end (a successful future). Therefore command of strategy language becomes a resource for managers by which to shape ‘objective’ strategic analysis to their personal views and to gain influence, power, and legitimacy.

                        

Reference

Altaf, U. (n.d.). The Four Lenses Strategic Framework Toward an Integrated Social Enterprise Methodology. www.academia.edu. [online] Available at: https://www.academia.edu/9651202/The_Four_Lenses_Strategic_Framework_Toward_an_Integrated_Social_Enterprise_Methodology.

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Francis, A. (2014). Strategic Lenses. [online] MBA Knowledge Base. Available at: https://www.mbaknol.com/strategic-management/strategic-lenses/ [Accessed 12 May 2020].