Schools of Strategic Management Thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Schools of Strategic Management Thought - Essay Example The key characteristic of the Environmental School of Strategic Management Thought is that business is considered as closely depended on its environment – being unable, in a way, to take initiatives that would support its various activities. In accordance with Sadler (2003) the specific School of Strategic Management Thought is based on the contingency theory. In this context, it is noted that businesses that are influenced by the Environmental School of Strategic Management Thought have the following characteristics: a) their strategic decisions are likely to be influenced by the organizational environment, b) all organization’s decisions and activities need to be aligned with the environment, c) the leaders of these organizations do not have power to act independently; rather they should focus on identifying the conditions of the organizational environment and ensure the alignment of the business decisions with these conditions, d) businesses that follow the rules of the specific School of Strategic Management Thought are finally become unable to keep their identity and to realize their goals; this result to the gradual loss of the power of the organization to face the environmental conditions – which are likely to become hostile; in the long term, this phenomenon could lead the organization to stop its operations. In accordance with Matthews (2005) the Environmental School of Strategic Management Thought is based on ‘strategy formation as a reactive process’ (Matthews, 2005, p.29).