Essay Sample on Strategic Management: Prestige, Social Hierarchies, Enduring Success

Introduction

Organizations always talk about strategy as key to their successful long term planning, and this term implies making rational business decisions for organizational success. The term has numerous academic critics for its usage in a business context, and this makes it intriguing as an area of study for a student. Prestige and social hierarchies, and often characterize strategic management in a modern business environment. The three characteristics of strategic management demonstrate the enduring legacy of militaristic and neoliberal movements. The essay will argue how militaristic and neoliberal strategies have had a significant influence on strategic management. First, the paper will give an overview of strategic management, discussing how the term is applied in business perspective. The paper will then discuss the neoliberalism's history and how it and its influence on strategic management. Finally, the paper will explain the history of military strategy and its impacts on the dominant models of strategic management.

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Strategic Management in Today's Business Context

As a way of ascertaining whether the dominant technical models of strategic management demonstrate the enduring legacy of militaristic and neoliberal values, it is essential to clearly understand how strategy is in the modern business context and how it is practiced. Usually, a strategy can take the form of a perspective, position, pattern, plan, or ploy (Mintzberg, 1987). The broad definitions suggested by Mintzberg are related in one way or the other. However, they are the origin of heated debate in today's business operations. It is the case because these broad definitions require the knowledge of experts who can interpret the term and therefore apply it in a business context. Usually, strategic management is the role of top management in organizations. As the paper goes on, it will discuss why the senior executives in organizations re solely responsible for implementing a strategy based on the history of both military and neoliberalism prospects.

It is important to note that in today's business environment, enterprises utilize several tools to act as the lead to the achievement of business success. For instance, businesses frequently use Porter's Five Forces Model to assess the condition of the operating environment. With this model, organizations can assess how intense is competition in their operating industry. As such, they implement plans to guide their strategic position in their respective industries. Although different models such as the Porter's Five Forces Model are frequently used in business, it is wrong for organizations to rely heavily on them because they are only theorists' way of strategy interpretation (Carter, Clegg & Kornberger, 2008). Such dominant technical models of strategic management in one way or the other demonstrate militaristic and neoliberal values based on the history of both movements.

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism, as a political or an economic situation, describes the idea of no interruption from people in economic matters. As such, proponents of neoliberalism are adamant that the economy is way off better when it is left to run on itself without regulations. Historically, neoliberalism concept arose to allow citizens to operate in an unregulated market. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan credited as being neoliberal historical leaders who believed in the idea of no interruption in the market. As such strategic management tools such as the Porter's Diamond were created during the times of the two leaders. Theoretically, this would give them the freedom to make their own choices as they so wish and therefore assist them in achieving their life goals.

The neoliberalism movement was most popular in the 1970s. It arose with the need for fighting off the evils of that came with socialism that brought unwarranted suffering to citizens such as the oil crisis at the time (Sewpaul, 2015). Neoliberalism is credited with elevating strategic managers to high organization's rankings. Therefore in business strategy, neoliberalism has provided strategic managers with high status and privilege. As a result, employees are detached from strategic management decisions. It is the case because, with neoliberalism, workers are deemed not necessary enough to implement decisions regarding the future direction of the organization. As Carter, Clegg & Kornberger (2008) state, in any organization, top executives are elite strategic thinkers, while junior employees are the non-elite setters of strategic vision. Therefore, it is correct to stipulate that neoliberalism values are reflected in today's business world rarefication, wherein most businesses, the top managers enjoy immense prestige and power in making strategic decisions. On the other hand, low-level employees do not have such an opportunity to contribute to business strategy. For this reason, most employees yearn for strategic management positions so that they can have the opportunity to make strategic business decisions.

Military Strategy

Similar to neoliberalism, a militaristic strategy has also had a significant impact on the outlook of strategic management and business practice in today's highly competitive business world. It was in the military field that the concept of strategy was first elaborated as the means of planning war and regulating combat (Knights and Morgan, 1990). Historically, militaristic strategy is related to strategic business management in that in the world of competition; businesses must compete with others in their respective industries. It depends on how well a business can compete with others, as this is what defines organizational success. Business strategy is highly linked with militaristic values in that organizations are made up of professionals who are very important in their capacity. Although Keller (2008) is adamant that it is wrong to give too much credit to military values in making contemporary business strategies, still it makes much sense in the way average employees and organizational direction are separated. The military strategy has a relentless focus on being more competitive than the rivals as a business strategy (Whitington, 2012). The focus of the military strategy is only winning. Therefore, the values of this strategy are based on the idea of doing whatever it takes no matter the cost, and this is the cause of unprecedented business evils whose effects are felt by society and environment (Talpot, 2001). Military ideology has a considerable impact on strategic management. Although it is not a positive thing, still this strategy has shaped the way businesses make strategic decisions. In today's world, companies, even engage in unethical business practices as they yearn to outwit their competitors, and this is a common trend witnessed every day in a business environment. It is this base of negativity that is used in academic to criticize this ideology.

Conclusion

Technical models of strategic management demonstrate the enduring legacy of militaristic and neoliberal values. Neoliberalism ideas are based on the idea that the economy is way off better when it is left to run on itself without regulations. As such neoliberalism is credited with elevating strategic managers to high organization's rankings, providing strategic managers with high status and privilege. On the other hand, the militaristic strategy is related to strategic business management in that in the world of competition. Businesses do whatever it takes to beat competition, no matter the cost. It is the latter that is reflected most in business attitudes and language. Nevertheless, in a business context, the primary objective should be to create their success while ensuring that they adhere to social and environmental responsibilities.

References

Carter, C., Clegg, S., & Kornberger, M. (2008). A Very Short Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Strategy. SAGE Publications.

Keller, G., (2008). The Influence of Military Strategies on Business Planning. International Journal of Business and Management, 3(5), 129-134.

Knights, D & Morgan, G., (1990). The Concept of Strategy in Sociology: A Note of Dissent. Sociology, 24(3), 475-483

Mintzberg, H., (1987). The Strategy Concept I: Five Ps for Strategy. California Management Review, 30(1), 11-24.

Sewpaul, V. (2015). Neoliberalism. International Encyclopedia Of The Social & Behavioral Sciences, 462-468. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.28062-8

Talbot, P. (2001). Corporate Governance, Neoliberalism and Transition Economies. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Whittington, R. (2012). Big Strategy/Small Strategy. Strategic Organization, 10(3), 263-268. doi: 10.1177/1476127012452828