An Overview of the Design School of Strategic Management (Strategy Formulation as a Process of Conception)

Since its emergence in the 1960’s, the field of strategic management and strategy formulation has evolved into a complex area of study, even for the most knowledgeable and experienced strategist. Strategy Safari (FT Prentice Hall, 2002), subtitled “A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management” by Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph Lampel is an overview of the full field of academic and business studies of strategy formulation, based on previous lecture series delivered by Mintzberg. In that book, the authors identified ten (10) schools of strategy formulation. One of which is the design school. The “design school” of strategic management, which focuses on a non-complex model that perceives the process of strategic formation as a design process to reach a satisfactory balance between internal distinctive competence and external threat and opportunity. Strategy formation should be a conscious, informal and controlled process of thought. While the model has limitations, four conditions may encourage an organization to use the design school model, including when relevant knowledge has been established and a situation is stable; an organization can cope with a centrally articulated strategy; and one person can handle all data connected to developing strategy. There are several criticisms of the design school of thought on its reliability and validity. The authors have counteracted with these criticisms and explained that it is based on assumptions which are misleading, as the concept propagated by design school was over simplified and restricted in application.