GLOBAL LEADERSHIP


decision-making might set long-term goals such as carbon neutrality several decades away. Public opinion, however, is leading to stakeholder demands of less environmentally damaging business approaches right now. The pressure to amend strategic approaches to the production, packaging and delivery of goods, for example, is calling for strategic change far sooner than governmental climate targets. Classical approaches to strategy are


thus suggested as giving way to a more systemic approach, whereby strategic goals and processes are increasingly shaped by the social system in which they are embedded. Drawing upon the field of sociology, the systemic approach to strategy reflects the values of societies. Strategy determination remains deliberate, but is driven by pluralism. By using a more systemic strategic approach, organisations can still plan ahead and formulate strategies that are appropriate to particular contexts, but their strategic goals and processes become increasingly shaped by local social and economic systems, and factors such as culture. Hence, global leaders wishing to determine strategic goals and their implementation will acknowledge a range of contextual factors in different societal, political and financial regimes – and strategise accordingly.


EMERGENT APPROACHES TO STRATEGY As an alternative to the deliberate approach to strategy, organisations might consider using a more emergent approach. The evolutionary strategy, with its backdrop in biology and using Darwinian principles, highlights that market unpredictability militates against heavy investment in strategic plans. The evolutionary approach suggests that the market, not global leaders, secure profit maximisation and determine strategies. If using this approach, leaders will need to keep their options open; the firms that survive will be the fittest and most efficient. In essence, an evolutionary approach


will follow the principles of the competitive process of natural selection and the market will dictate strategies to be adopted. If it is accepted that long-term strategising is ineffective, rather than using long-term planning, leaders will experiment with many small initiatives. They will then


choose the winning ones and abandon the failures. Of course, it should be recognised that firms must be able to differentiate between courses of action and likely outcomes, and be capable of adapting their goals and approaches to achieving these if their firms are to survive. A further emergent strategic approach


that global leaders might consider is referred to as processual, whereby the strategy emerges from the day-to-day activities of the firm, rather than being a function of the market. In this approach, which draws upon the field of psychology, strategy is a continuous, formative and adaptive process. It represents a pragmatic response to events in which global leaders continually make compromises and adjustments. This approach acknowledges the limits of human cognition, the imperfections of human behaviours and action, and the realities of organisational life. In recognition that organisations are complex, strategy formulation and implementation become inextricably entwined. Strategies can emerge with much


confusion and in small steps; they are often only recognised in action. Strategy may sometimes only be identifiable in hindsight. This approach makes use of the organisation’s core, distinctive competencies, placing these at the heart


of a firm’s competitive advantage and sustainability. The processual approach also recognises


the range of different organisational stakeholder interests and pays attention to the consideration of alternative approaches to address these. As such, strategies may


“STRATEGIES CAN EMERGE WITH MUCH CONFUSION AND IN SMALL STEPS; THEY ARE OFTEN ONLY RECOGNISED IN ACTION.”


result in ‘satisficing’ behaviours. Satisficing refers to actions taken by global leaders who are unwilling to maximise one goal at the expense of another, but wish to reach a high level in both. In this way, outcomes can become acceptable to a wider range of stakeholders.


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