Strategy Under Uncertainty
Nowadays the role of strategy is rather important in all companies and organizations and, therefore, it is necessary to agree that strategy should be paid more attention in order to improve company’s performance and it is necessary to work out new strategies to diversify. The idea of strategy under uncertainty seems both interesting and original, though because it is very new it may seems dubious and risky. On the one hand, it is important to implement and develop new strategies, though many companies consider strategy developing just simple procedure consisting of following simply industry’s rules.
Nevertheless, it is stated that more companies realize the importance of strategy making and thus tend to rewrite and to overturn the industrial order.There is an idea that strategic planning is the most fundamental principle, though it is not strategic innovation and uses only small percentage of company’s creative potential. For many companies, as it is mentioned above, strategic planning is a route procedure. One of the benefits of strategy under uncertainty is that it implies both theoretical and practical implication. It is known that business environment is often instable and, thus, analytic tools such as, for example, value chain analysis and market research seem to be improper and companies tend to seek for new opportunities.
Actually, it is necessary to support author’s idea that uncertainty is a reality of present times because business environment is swiftly changing and companies should find ways how to quickly respond to them. Of course, the primary way is to change current strategy and to match them to objectives and goals. It would an excellent opportunity to survive and to remain competitive in business world. If to promote only old tools and strategies the company may fail to attract customers and may fail to defend itself against threats. Furthermore, old strategies fail to leverage uncertainty. Author’s point of view that companies should refer to uncertainty is rather persuasive.
Uncertainty is inevitable part of everyday life and the author reveals four levels of uncertainty in his paper: a clear-enough future, alternate futures, a range of futures and, finally, true ambiguity. However, the author argues that the last level occurs rarely in business environment and he claims that strategic decision-making is very difficult at this level. The next positive moment is that the author doesn’t simply describe the strategy; instead, he provides recommendations how to better achieve the desired outcomes. Examples and illustrations are used to provide better understanding of the current issue.Speaking about practical application of the strategy, it is necessary to emphasize the role of strategic decision-making. Firstly, it is recommended to apply analytic tools with the purpose to choose the best available tools and options and only then to select strategic plan.
Therefore, the author’s point of view is logical and consequent. He recommends “driving your industry toward a new structure of your devising and creating new opportunities”. (Courtney et al. 2005)ReferencesCourtney, H., Kirkland, J., and Viguerie, P.
(2005). Strategy under Uncertainty. Harvard Business Review, 1-16.
