STRATEGY

CONTRIBUTIONS
• Professor Henry Mintzberg, (born in Montreal ,
Sept 2, 1939) is an internationally renowned
academic & author on business and management.
• He writes on the topics of management &
business strategy, with more than 150 articles
& fifteen books to his name.
• His seminal book, ‘The Rise and Fall of
Strategic Planning’ (1994), criticizes some of
the practices of strategic planning today.
• He recently published a book entitled ‘Managers
Not MBAs’ (2004) which outlines what he
believes to be wrong with management education
today.
Mintzberg ’ s 5 P ’ s
• It is a set of consciously intended course
of action, a guideline to deal with a
situation.
• By this definition, a strategy has two
essential characteristics:
1.
 They are made in advance of the actions
to which
 they apply
2.
 They are developed consciously and
purposefully
Plan ……
• It is a specific tactic intended to
outsmart an opponent or competitor.
• A firm may threaten to establish a new
practice area in order to discourage
a competitor from trying to do the
same
•
Threatened litigation
often falls into this category.
 Ploy ……

• Ploys add a dimension of deception

by a mock action & tactic, where
one firm's gain is another's loss
& competitive advantage is
critical.
• A pattern is a
• Defining strategy is incomplete and needs
an outline that encompasses the
resulting behavior.
• The outcome of strategy does not derive
from the design, or plan, but from the
action that is taken as a result.
• A pattern makes a strategy consistent in
behavior, whether or not intended.
Pattern ……
• Position implies a specific means of
locating a firm in its environment.
• In management terms: a "domain"
consisting of a particular
combination of services, clients and
markets.
• Position is defined competitively.

Position ……
• Perspective looks inward into the firm.
• Strategy is a perspective shared by
members of an organization, through
their intentions or by their actions.
• Strategy in this context, leads to the
territory of the collective minded-
individuals united by
 common thinking and behavior.

Perspective ……
CASE : HERO HONDA
• Honda is the leading manufacturers of motorbikes.
• The company is credited with identifying and targeting
an untapped market for small 50cc bikes in the US,
which, enabled it to expand, thrash European
competition and severely damage indigenous US bike
manufacturers.
• By 1965, Honda had covered 63% of the US market.
• On entering the US market, Honda’s planned strategy was
to compete with the larger European and US bikes of
250ccs and over. These bikes had a defined market,
and sold through dedicated motorbike dealerships.
• Disaster struck when Honda’s larger machines developed
faults - they had not been designed for the hard
wear and tear imposed by US motorcyclists.
• Honda had to recall the larger machines. Honda had made
little effort to sell its small 50 cc motorbikes.
• Sports goods shops and ordinary bicycle and department
stores had expressed an interest, but Honda did not
want to confuse its image in its ‘target’ market of
men who bought the larger bikes.
• The faults in Honda’s larger machines meant that
reluctantly, Honda had no alternative but to sell the
small 50cc bikes just to raise money.
• They proved very popular with people who would never have
bought motorbikes before.
• Eventually the company adopted this new market with
enthusiasm with the slogan:
• The strategy‘ Youhad emerged as the agents’, managers’
meet the nicest people on a Honda .’
conscious intentions, but they eventually responded to
the new situation.
 Conclusion
• PLAN :
 The company identified and targeted an
untapped market for small 50cc bikes in the US.
• PLOY :
 These bikes had a defined market, and sold
through dedicated motorbike dealerships.
• Competed with the larger European and US bikes
of 250ccs and over.
  PATTERN :
 They proved very popular with people who would never have
bought motorbikes before.
 POSITION :
 Company adopted a new slogan to present itself to the
customers : ‘You meet the nicest people on a Honda.’
 Did not want to confuse its image in its ‘target’ market of men
who bought the larger bikes.
 PERSPECTIVE :
 The strategy had emerged, through agents, managers, conscious
intentions, but they eventually responded to the new situation.
Thank You!!!