25 Need-to-Know MBA Models

Part three

Strategy

A firm’s strategy explains where it is going and how it intends to get there – it involves figuring out where to play (which products to sell to which customers) and how to play (how it positions itself against its competitors). There are many views about how to define strategy – the famous management thinker, Henry Mintzberg, once identified ten different models and perspectives. This section focuses on five of the most well-known ones.

Perhaps the most popular starting point on strategy is Michael Porter’s five forces analysis. This approach says a firm should define its strategy by first of all understanding the structure of the industry it is competing in, and then choosing a position within that industry that is most ...