Analysis Strategy of an Organization from Strategic Intent and Stretch Essay

Analysis Strategy of an Organization from Strategic Intent and Stretch Perspective - Essay Example The present discussion revolves around, the IT giant, Accenture’s strategy and its execution. Porter’s studies and contribution towards gaining an understanding and insight into strategy is regarded as highly valuable in contemporary management, and have paved way to the emergence of many businesses that have reached their pinnacle and have managed to stay there; one of them being Accenture. Porter’s studies have identified five main forces of industry competition, which can be used as the core guide to business management. Porter (2008) ascertains that the industry structure drives competition and profitability irrespective of the age of the business, policies or technology used. This, in other words, accounts for strategy adopted by the industry or business to enter the market, grow and sustain its position. Precisely, strategies help organisations to be focused towards their goals. Accenture is a global organisation that deals with and provides services in con sulting, technology and outsourcing, with about 246,000 employees in more than 100 countries. Its strategy is to become the world’s leading company in the field of consulting, technology and outsourcing by delivering high performance.... they claim, is more often achieved by imitating or copying competitors’ practices and also sometimes partnering with competitors in some way or other to share the profits. They also identified that many businesses actually adopted practices that were beyond mere replication of existing strategies and such businesses not only succeeded but also reached far fledged horizons. A good lesson for most of the businesses worldwide, this approach has indeed opened up new ways of looking at business and management. Hamel and Prahalad (1989) refer to this approach or attitude as the ‘strategic intent,’ which also indicates a specific approach to all strategy formulation and implementation that will help in treading ahead in the chosen field of industry. Accenture’s mission to become the world’s leading company by delivering high performance can be considered as its strategic intent. Harfield’s (1998) study challenged Porter’s approach to strategy and strategic management claiming the latter’s concept to be more of a myth. His study on strategic management based on the linear, adaptive and interpretative approaches provides multidimensional view to strategic management. Overall, this extensive study credits Porter for his contribution and on the other hand also claims strategic management to be much more complicated as well as resourceful, which modern management specialists can use for further construction. This anticipated potential gives rise to the concept of strategic intent, which is realized by leaders that really wish to align the actions and beliefs of all employees of an organisation towards one common challenging goal; Smith (1994, p.66) refers to such leadership attitude as the ‘Merlin Factor.’ Strategic intent is a by-product of strategic