THE DESIGN SCHOOL

H . M I N T Z B E R G ’ S T E N S C H O O L S O F T H O U G H T

BA 190 - Strategic ManagementUniversity of the Philippines Baguio Prof. Mita Angela M. Dimasalanta

J O S H U A N E I L V. B A N Z O N

J A N N Y A N N A . R E Y E S

THE DESIGN SCHOOL• The most influential school in the process of strategy

formulation• Strategic formulation as a design process that matches

the internal aspects of an organization with the external environment

THE DESIGN SCHOOL MODEL

PREMISES OF THE DESIGN SCHOOL• Strategy formation should be a deliberate process of

conscious thought.• Responsibility for that control and consciousness must

rest with the chief executive officer: that person is the strategist.• The model of strategy formation must be kept simple and

informal.• Strategies should be one of a kind: the best ones result

from a process of individualized design.• The design process is complete when strategies appear

fully formulated as perspective.• These strategies should be explicit, so they have to be

kept simple.• Finally, only after these unique, full-blown, explicit and

simple strategies are fully formulated can they then be implemented.

TOOLS OF THE DESIGN SCHOOL• Strength, Weakness, Opportunities Threats (SWOT) Analysis

TOOLS OF THE DESIGN SCHOOL• Ashridge Mission Model

CRITIQUE OF THE DESIGN SCHOOL• The school’s promotion of thought independent of action,

strategy formation above all as a process of conception rather than one of learning.• The school promotes that structure should be determined by

strategy, but the past counts! It must be an integrated system.• Explicit strategies are binders designed to focus direction and

so to block out peripheral vision; it promotes inflexibility.• The school promotes the formulation-implementation

dichotomy and encourages leaders to oversimplify strategy.

APPLICATION OF THE DESIGN SCHOOL• Design school model may best be applied at the intersection of a

huge shift for an organization, coming out of a period of changing circumstances and into a stable circumstance.• The model is applicable in a new organization. It will set a clear sense

of direction for it to compete against its more established competitors.

The design school’s major contribution is that it has developed an important vocabulary by which to discuss grand strategy and has provided the central notion that strategy represents a fundamental fit between external opportunity and internal capability; an “informing idea”.Reference : Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. (1998). Strategy safari : a guided tour through the

wilds of strategic management. New York: The Free Press.