Mintzbergs Planning and Positioning Schools Essay

Mintzbergs Planning and Positioning Schools - Essay Example Aspects addressed include Steiner model of strategic planning, planning hierarchies, and Mintzberg’s 7 deadly sins of strategic planning. Steiner is recognized for coming up with a model that outlines the structure and process of strategic planning in a systematic way (Steiner, 1979). He pointed out that the process of strategic planning should be a collective responsibility of all managers in all managerial levels within an organization. Steiner’s model outlines the assessment of expectations of key outside interest, assessment of expectations of key inside interest, examining past performance, and current performance and future forecast. The model also outlines the evaluation of environmental opportunities and threats, organizational strengths and weaknesses, assembling of master strategy as composed of mission, purposes, objectives, policies, and program strategies. Steiner’s model provides organizations with strategies on competitive advantage over their rivals, which is not elaborate in other models. The other strength is its emphasis on a plan, which calls for commitment from top management (Steiner, 1979). Planning can be effected through corporate, business and departmental hierarchical levels. Planning at the corporate level entails selection of businesses in which the organization should compete. It also deals with the development and coordination of a corporate level portfolio. Planning at the corporate level focuses on defining corporate responsibilities, determining the center for competition, management of business units, and identifying the overall goal of an organization (Simerson, 2011). Planning at the business unit level concentrates on the functioning of operating units, as well as developing a competitive advantage for goods and services rendered by an organization. This entails placing the organization against its rivals, speculating on future changes, and influencing the