Strategic Management As An Art Or Science?

The most obvious response as to whether management should be considered an art or science is that it is an amalgamation of both, however, the degree to which it is one or the other can be argued in favour of either way. Management can be considered an art as it requires creativity, flexibility, and the application of practical knowledge as a skill. Conversely, there are also sound arguments as to why management could be considered a science. There is substantial research into achieving replicable results with the application of different management techniques, which is, in essence, the fundamental basis for scientific study. Additionally, there is a wealth of information available and contributing to a singular body of knowledge consisting …show more content…
Strategic management was defined by Teece (1990) as “the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of managerial actions that enhance the value of a business enterprise”. The principles of strategic management can be applied to the automotive industry and how companies have had to adapt to the ever-changing external business environment.
Strategic management in its simplest form can be thought of as the implementation of a strategy in order to overcome an obstacle or to react to a change in the business environment (MacIntosh, 2015). In order for a strategy to be implemented positively and ultimately succeed, Syrett (2012) has suggested it needs to have three key pillars: vision, focus, and alignment with the corporate objectives. Although this is not to say that just because a strategy contains these three pillars it is guaranteed to succeed. Equally, if not arguably more important as the strategy, is the strategist. Without a good strategist behind it, any strategy, regardless of its content, is dead in the water. MacIntosh (2015) echoes this sentiment in his literature as he states, “Whilst strategy matters, strategists matter more”. It is the job of the strategist to be the creative force behind the …show more content…
The three biggest car manufacturers in the world are based in three different countries; Toyota are based in Japan, General Motors in the United States, and Volkswagen in Germany. While they may be based in different countries with different languages, the knowledge of business management and strategy transcends borders, and they share vastly similar strategies based on the same basic principles of strategic management. These three industry giants are successful largely due to the strategic management practices they employ with each corporation focusing on continually diversifying their offered product portfolio, in order to appeal to the mass market. (Clark & Fujimoto, 1991) This style of strategic management involves the implementation of several different strategies for each of the different product lines the corporation offers, which in some cases can result in competing strategies. Expanding on the example of General Motors, it is clear that the strategies of their products are in contention with each other; their compact car range are using Porter’s generic strategy of cost leadership, as they are able to lower their costs using economies of scale, while their sports car range are opting to use Porter’s generic strategy of differentiation through performance (Porter, 1998). General motors corporate strategy is based around the idea of “earn[ing] customers for