Exploring Corporate Strategy ^{5th Ed.}

The latest edition of this highly successful text covers all the underlying concepts, analytical methods and processes of development, selection, formulation and implementation of strategy.

• Part I: Introduction
1. Corporate Strategy: An Introduction
1. The nature of strategy and strategic decisions
1. The characteristics of strategic decisions
2. Levels of strategy
3. The vocabulary of strategy
2. Strategic management
1. Strategic analysis
2. Strategic choice
3. Strategic implementation
4. Strategic management as 'fit' or 'stretch'
5. Explaining strategic management processes
3. Strategic management in different contexts
1. The small business context
2. The multinational corporation
3. Manufacturing and service organisations
4. The innovatory organisation
5. Strategy in the public sector
6. Privatised utilities
7. The voluntary and not-for-profit sectors
8. Professional service organisations
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Microsoft and Netscape
2. Strategic management in Practice
1. Introduction
2. Patterns of strategy development
1. Punctuated equilibrium
2. Intended and realised strategies
3. Strategy development as managed intent
1. The planning view
2. The command view
3. The logical incremental view
4. Strategy development as the outcome of cultural and political processes
1. The cultural view
2. Organisational politics and networks
3. Cultural and political processes in strategic decision making
5. Imposed strategy development
1. Enforced choice
2. The environment as constraint
6. A note on strategic vision
7. Configurations of strategy development processes
8. Challenges for strategy development
1. The cultural web
2. The risk of strategic drift
3. Uncertainty  and the learning orgnisation
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: KPMG (A): strategt development in a partnership
• Part II: Strategic Analysis
3. Analysing the Environment
1. Introduction
2. Understanding the nature of the environment
3. Auditing environmental influences
1. PEST analysis
2. Porter's diamond
3. The use of scenarios
4. The competitive environment: five forces analysis
1. The threat of entry
2. The power of buyers and suppliers
3. The threat of substitutes
4. Competitive rivalry
5. Competition and collaboration
6. Key questions arising from five forces analysis
5. Identifying the organisation's  competitive position
1. Strategic group analysis
2. Market segmentation
3. Analysing perceived value by customers
4. Market attractiveness and business strength (the directional policy matrix)
5. Competitor analysis
6. Environmental analysis in practice
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Irish ports
4. Resources, Competences and Strategic Capability
1. Introduction
2. Resource audit
3. Analysing competences and core competences
1. Value chain analysis
2. Identifying core competences
3. Analysing cost efficiency
4. Analysing value added (effectiveness)
5. Managing linkages
6. Robustness
7. Tacit and explicit knowledge
4. Comparative analysis and benchmarking
1. Historical analysis
2. Comparison with industry norms
3. Benchmarking
4. Financial analysis
5. Assessing the balance of the organisation
6. Identification of key issues
1. SWOT analysis
2. Critical success factors
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Outsourcing
5. Stakeholder Expectations and Organisational Purposes
1. Introduction
2. Corporate governance
1. The governance chain
2. Shareholders and the role of the governing bodies
3. Rights of creditors and lenders
4. Relationships with customers and clients
5. Changes of ownership: mergers and takeovers
6. Disclosure of information
7. Conflicts of expectations
3. Stakeholder expectations
1. Identifying stakeholders
2. Stakeholder mapping
3. Assessing power
4. Business ethics
1. The ethical stance
2. Corporate social responsibility
3. The role of individuals and managers
5. The cultural context
1. National and regional cultures
2. Professional and institutional cultures
3. Industry recipes
4. Organisational culture
5. Functional and divisional culture
6. Analysing the cultural web
7. Characterising an organisation's culture
6. Organisational purpose
1. Mission statements
2. Corporate objectives
3. Unit objectives
4. The precision of mission and objectives
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Manchester United — football club or global brand?
• Part III: Strategic Choice
6. Bases of Strategic Choice
1. Introduction
2. Corporate purpose and aspirations
1. Ownership structures
2. Mission and strategic intent
3. What business are we in? The issue of scope and diversity
3. Bases of SBU competitive advantage: the 'strategy clock'
1. Price-based strategies (routes 1 and 2)
2. Added value, or differentiation strategies (route 4)
3. The hybrid strategy (route 3)
4. Focused differentiation (route 5)
5. Failure strategies (routes 6, 7, and 8)
6. The management challenges of competitive strategies
4. Enhancing SBU strategy: the role of corporate centre
1. Managing portfolios
2. Corporate financial strategy
3. Corporate parenting: the role of the parent
4. The parenting matrix
5. The challenge of parenting
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: the Virgin Group
7. Strategic Options: Directions and Methods of Development
1. Introduction
2. Alternative directions for strategy development
1. Protect and build on current position
2. Product development
3. Market development
4. Diversification
3. Alternative methods of strategy development
1. Internal development
2. Mergers and acquisitions
3. Joint developments and strategic alliances
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Lonely Planet Publications — personal passion to business success
8. Strategy Evaluation and Selection
1. Introduction and evaluation criteria
2. Assessing suitability
1. Establishing the rationale
2. Screening options
3. Analysing acceptability
1. Analysing return
2. Analysing risk
3. Analysing stakeholder reactions
4. Analysing feasability
1. Funds flow analysis
2. Break-even analysis
3. Resource deployment analysis
5. Selection of strategies
1. The planned approach: formal evaluation
2. Enforced choice
3. Learning from experience
4. Command
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: The benefits of multi-utility?
• Part IV: Strategy Implementation
9. Organisation Structure and Design
1. Introduction
2. Structural types
1. The simple structure
2. The functional structure
3. The multidivisional structure
4. The holding company structure
5. The matrix structure
6. Intermediate structures and structural variations
7. Network and virtual organisations
8. Structural types in multinational companies
3. The elements of organisation design
4. Centralisation vs devolution
1. The role of the centre
2. Dividing responsibilities
5. Organisational configurations
1. Configurations in practice
2. Changing configuration
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Unilever
10. Resource Allocation and Control
1. Introduction
2. Resource configuration
1. Protecting unique resources
2. Fitting resources together
3. Business process re-engineering
4. Exploiting experience
5. Sustaining competitive advantage
3. Preparing resource plans
1. Critical success factors
2. Planning priorities
4. Processes of allocation and control
1. Control through planning systems
2. Control through direct supervision
3. Control through performance targets
4. Social/cultural control
5. Control through market mechanisms
6. Self-control and personal motivation
5. Information: a key resource
1. Information on individual resources
2. Creating competences through information
3. Information, performance targets and market mechanisms
4. Information, cultural and self controls
6. Influences on organisational design and control
1. Type of strategy
2. Operational processes, technology and innovation
3. Organisational ownership and accountability
4. The environment
5. Reinforcing cycles
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: Justice sector information strategy in New Zealand
11. Managing Strategic Change
1. Introduction
2. Understanding types of strategic change
1. Types of strategic change
2. Change and the learning organisation
3. Managed change
4. Imposed (or forced) change
3. Diagnosing strategic change needs
1. Detecting strategic drift
2. Identifying forces blocking and facilitating change
3. An openness to change
4. Managing strategic change processes
1. Changes in structure and control systems
2. Styles of managing change
3. Changes in organisational routines
4. Symbolic processes in managing change
5. Power and political processes in managing change
6. Communicating change
7. Change tactics
5. Roles in the change process
1. The change agent
2. Middle managers
3. Other organisational members
4. External stakeholders
5. Outsiders
6. Managing strategic change and strategic management
1. Environmental assessment
2. Leading change
3. Linking strategic and operational change
4. Strategic human resource management
5. Coherence in managing change
• Summary
• Recommended key readings
• References
• Work assignments
• Case example: South African Fabrication

Best study book in Strategy currently available.

When being midway in my MBA Strategy course, I bought this book. I've never regretted it, and it continues to be one of my favorites. In fact, I have many times wished I had it as my study literature, as the authors manage to get through a number of subjects in sufficient detail to make it understandable.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. If you're not interested in Strategy, skip this book, as they are very concentrated on making you understand and learn what they are discussing. In short, I won't trade this book for anything, it saved my hide a number of times during study and I keep getting back to it to refresh my memory or understand some finer points.