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Impressions Paper: Strategic Management
In chapter 12 of Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson’s Strategic Management, they define this “strategic leadership” idea as the ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, and empower others to create strategic change as necessary. This chapter caused me to think about how the idea of strategic management has already been applied to my student and professional career, as well as opened my eyes to a few ideas that I had not thought of before. In particular, I will share my thoughts on how a varied management team is a good thing, how internal promotions to top management is a changing trend, and the surprising importance of human/social capital.
First, there is the issue of composing a top management team. Before I read this chapter, my first instinct would be to assume that a homogeneous top management team would be the most efficient. My thought process for this idea is that if all of the top managers have similar backgrounds, communication styles, and views on what objectives and goals are important, then the decision making process would run much more smoothly and would take less time than if these ideas were varied. After reading this chapter, I now realize that while having a homogeneous top management team may certainly be more efficient for a company, it is not necessarily the most effective composition. My reason for this change of thought is that even if it takes a little longer to come to a conclusion, no company is going to come to the best answer if everyone is thinking and saying the same thing. If no one is being challenged to scrutinize their own idea of the best strategy, or to think of something outside of the box, then the company would suffer from lack of innovation and the strengthening of their competitive advantage. In summary, I do believe that a heterogeneous top management team is ideal for a company that desires to grow and flourish long-term.
Second, there is the...