Organizing for strategic management

In this paper, the author—a well-known Dutch academic and consultant—discusses the factors which make ‘strategic management’ effective. Among these, a dominant factor is the organization climate which, in its turn, is determined by the quality of the managers and the availability of alternatives. He suggests that to improve the organization climate in which strategic management can be effective, the quality of the managers is a crucial factor. The scope for alternatives is an important constraint. This article assesses common problems and failures in strategic management and gives some suggestions for organizing it, including the use of consultants and the role of formal procedures.