Ritualized Strategy Making and Political Functions of the Unachievable

Michel Villette ()
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Michel Villette: ETT-CMH - Enquêtes, Terrains, Théorie (ETT) / Equipe du Centre Maurice Halbwachs - CMH - Centre Maurice Halbwachs - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Département de Sciences sociales ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres

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Abstract: Strategic intentions rarely determine the future of a company. However, strategic seminars are repeatedly organized in large firms, and these seminars serve a function. In this paper, we shift the focus from correlations between strategic predictions and realizations to study the immediate effects of the strategic process -examining participants and non-participants -and how participation confers power to reallocate budgets and eliminate programs.. All this takes place in real time and independent from the seemingly accurate predictions and future visions. To be effective, the strategic ritual must be sufficiently grounded in credible beliefs about what is predicted and planned, and how the process takes place. If not, the strategic design process would be a simple and pure demonstration of power, which is precisely what has to be avoided.

Keywords: Business; Strategy making; rituals; consulting; ethnographic study. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996-06-08
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Published in Third IFSAM Word Conference, International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management, Jun 1996, Paris, France

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