Strategy: Theory and Practice

Written by a team of leading academics with international renown, this textbook is an invaluable guide through all of the core elements of your strategic management course while encouraging you to challenge conventional thinking about the field. The book is underpinned by the premise that strategic management is an important social practice in organizations and society alike. Regarding strategy as the prime means through which organizations produce rationality, the book engages with the philosophical underpinnings of strategy, as well as providing detailed coverage of the practical implications of strategy tools in the real world. The authors provide a coherent and engaging overview of the established 'classics' of strategic management, while taking an exciting and innovative approach to contemporary issues such as: behavioural decision making, power and politics, ethics and globalisation. Key features of the text are: - A unique critical perspective which encourages you to reflect on the strategy process and strategic decision making - Mini-cases and questions for reflection throughout the chapters allow you to relate topics to your own experience - Key terms are defined in the margins and appear in a glossary at the end of the book to help you learn and remember important terminology and concepts - End of chapter web exercises, international case studies and questions make great in class exercises for lecturers and help student's consolidate their knowledge - A comprehensive companion website offering a lecturers' guide, video cases, podcasts and full text journal articles

About the Author :
Born in Bradford, England, Stewart Clegg was Reader at Griffith University (1976-84), Professor at the University of New England (1985-9), Professor at the University of St. Andrews (1990-3), Foundation Professor at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, (1993-6) before moving to UTS. He is Research Director of CMOS (Centre for Management and Organisation Studies) Research at UTS, and holds a small number of Visiting Professorships at prestigious European universities and research centres. He is one of the most published and cited authors in the top-tier journals in the Organization Studies field and the only Australian to be recognised a by a multi-method ranking, as one of the world's top-200 "Management Guru's" in What's the Big Idea? Creating and Capitalizing on the Best New Management Thinking by Thomas H. Davenport, Laurence Prusak, and H. James Wilson (2003), Harvard: Harvard Business Review Press. Because the central focus of his theoretical work has always been on power relations he has been able to write on many diverse and ubiquitous topics - because power relations are everywhere! He is the author of two widely used textbooks on Management & Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (with Martin Kornberger andTyrone Pitsis) and Strategy: Theory and Practice (with Chris Carter, Martin Kornberger and Jochen Schweitzer), both published by Sage. He is also the chief editor of the Handbook of Organization Studies (with Cynthia Hardy, Walter F. Nord and Thomas B. Lawrence), Handbook of Power (with Mark Haugaard) and Handbook of Macro-Organizational Behaviour (with Cary Cooper), all published by Sage. In 2012 he will publish a book with Oxford University Press on The Virtues of Leadership: Contemporary Challenges for Global Managers (with Armenio Regio, and Miguel Pinha e Cunha), as well as a set of eight 'Major Works" on Power and Organizations and Political Power and Organizations, jointly edited with Mark Haugaard. Outside work he enjoys cultural pursuits, travel, and current affairs. Professor Chris Carter is from Cornwall, he teaches strategy at the University of St Andrews and also holds a visiting fellowship at the University of Technology, Sydney. His research explores the politics of strategy and campaigns. Chris received his PhD in Organization Theory from Aston Business School. He lives in Edinburgh.

Review :
"A timely book, impressive in its scope, authoritative in its analysis, and wonderfully written. An extremely enjoyable intellectual journey into many of the intricate aspects of strategy. A must read for all serious students of strategy" Mahmoud Ezzamel, Cardiff Professorial Fellow, Cardiff Business School "Unravels the neatness of traditional economics-based views of strategy and replaces them with much needed social, political and organizational lenses. The authors have produced a refreshing book which rightly establishes organization theory at the centre of strategic analysis and practice" David C. Wilson, Professor of Strategy and Organization, University of Warwick Business School "The authors have produced a text that offers a critical overview of strategy in a global context that illuminates the flows of value, not merely over-emphasizing the economic dimension but linking to sociological and bio-medical issues, throughout the world in the context of the enframing social processes that structure and maintain them. Its style is accessible and its detail is authoritative, current and precise so students, professors and general readers will enjoy it. For many university and business school courses it will quickly become the preferred introduction" Professor David Weir, Professor of Intercultural Management, Liverpool Hope University "We have waited a long time for a book like this: it is eminently readable, genuinely ground-breaking and absolutely timely. Students will find it indispensable, scholars will find it thought-provoking and practitioners will find it energizing, even liberating. It revitalizes our understanding of strategy and disposes of some tired cliches and well-worn dogmas along the way" Professor Susan J. MillerHull University Business School "Teachers, students and practitioners of strategy will welcome this new book which provides a fresh and more critical view on strategy. There are unfortunately not m A timely book, impressive in its scope, authoritative in its analysis, and wonderfully written. An extremely enjoyable intellectual journey into many of the intricate aspects of strategy. A must read for all serious students of strategy Mahmoud Ezzamel, Cardiff Professorial Fellow, Cardiff Business School Unravels the neatness of traditional economics-based views of strategy and replaces them with much needed social, political and organizational lenses. The authors have produced a refreshing book which rightly establishes organization theory at the centre of strategic analysis and practice" David C. Wilson, Professor of Strategy and Organization, University of Warwick Business School "The authors have produced a text that offers a critical overview of strategy in a global context that illuminates the flows of value, not merely over-emphasizing the economic dimension but linking to sociological and bio-medical issues, throughout the world in the context of the enframing social processes that structure and maintain them. Its style is accessible and its detail is authoritative, current and precise so students, professors and general readers will enjoy it. For many university and business school courses it will quickly become the preferred introduction Professor David Weir, Professor of Intercultural Management, Liverpool Hope University We have waited a long time for a book like this: it is eminently readable, genuinely ground-breaking and absolutely timely. Students will find it indispensable, scholars will find it thought-provoking and practitioners will find it energizing, even liberating. It revitalizes our understanding of strategy and disposes of some tired cliches and well-worn dogmas along the way" Professor Susan J. MillerHull University Business School "Teachers, students and practitioners of strategy will welcome this new book which provides a fresh and more critical view on strategy. There are unfortunately not many textbooks out like this, which make the obvious link between strategic management and strategizing processes on the one hand and organizational politics and power relations on the other. This readable textbook is an invaluable resource for those who believe that education and research on strategists and strategies requires a new, more political approach, given the problems triggered by the current economic and financial crisis Mike GeppertProfessor of Comparative International Management and Organization Studies, School of Management, University of Surrey An outstanding book in the field of OB Strategy, written by a team of outstanding academics. A must buy for MBA students and practitioners alike Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE, Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and HealthLancaster University Asks the right questions of strategy, and encourages students to do the same. Placing strategy in its social and political context, it adds new and critical dimensions, going beyond the usual economic and organisational considerations. In doing so, an agenda is set for the new strategic thinking required following the financial crisis, encompassing dimensions of risk, governance and financial instability. Offering new insights into standard theories, it encourages us to think deeply about, as well as practise, strategy Professor Steven TomsThe York Management School, The University of York Bravo! Finally, a strategy text that takes issues of power, politics and organizing seriously. Integrating concerns about ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, "Strategy: Theory and Practice" provides a provocative and critically engaged approach to understanding strategy and strategizing as a complex, distributed and unpredictable activity. As such, it is an important contribution to pedagogy at the intersection of strategic management and organization studies Professor Michael LousburyUniversity of Alberta Strategic thinking has become central across all forms of organisations. This book will be welcomed for its contribution to the study and practice of strategy. It enhances our understanding of strategic processes through a refreshing and powerful theoretical lens, with finely nuanced interpretations of the implications of strategy in practice Professor Irvine LapsleyUniversity of Edinburgh Business School Offers all the basics that business students need to know about the economic and organizational sides of strategy in an appealing easy-to-read format complete with mini-cases and exercises, while stepping outside the run of the mill by provoking critical reflection on established ideas and placing the tools and concepts in perspective. We need more textbooks like this to ensure that future generations of managers become informed yet reflexive consumers of management knowledge and ideas Ann LangleyHEC Montreal This brilliant book moves away from the rational toolbox approach and highlights the organizational determinants and political outcomes of strategy. Clegg and his colleagues bring a much needed perspective to understand how strategy impacts society and what can be done Bernard ForguesProfessor of Organization Theory, EMLYON Business School We've known for some time now that the discipline of Strategy is fragmenting. What I like about this book is that it not only helps us make sense of why this is happening, but it offers a coherent new framework for understanding what strategy means in the 21st century. Clegg et al begin by revealing the dirty little secret of strategy - most of it is highly revisionist. From In Search of Excellence to the adulation of Enron before its collapse, by looking backward we now see that those who study strategy really do a terrible job of predicting 'winners' and 'losers' but do a great job of explaining success after the fact. Clegg et al demonstrate the reason for this - i.e. strategy is much less about firm performance than it is about politics and power both inside and outside the firm. As such this book provides a refreshing new perspective on strategic management. It demonstrates an awareness that firms compete not only in the material world for hard resources but also in the political world for power. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to make sense of modern (or should I say post-modern) strategic management Roy SuddabyAlberta School of Business Strategy, Theory and Practice sweeps up many of the important research strategy research advancements and currents in recent years. That is to say, the authors begin the difficult task of joining up the various theoretical perspectives on strategy. If nothing else, the staging posts from Strategy, Theory and Practice remind us of the eclectic nature of strategy. It also reminds us of the various provinces from which it is emerging, the directions it is moving and the staging posts it has quite not yet reached. It is within this intellectual containment of the strategy textbook genre that the 430 page epitome (excluding references) ought to be singled out and enlisted as a core reading text. It merits adoption not least because it taps into rich steams of research, opening up and engaging with extant strategy avenues of research. This is a marked departure from many of its contemporary cohort... This textbook will surely be a relief for students who are increasingly primed on the culture of strategy...While the book is aimed at students studying undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, its insightful commentary on a range of theory development and conceptual questions suggests that is likely to also benefit research students. This might even extend to the wily artefact researcher more generally. Anyone interested in accessing the more subtle and pervasive social and political spaces of strategy, will gain significantly from picking up this well crafted textbook Organization Journal"