The strategic process according to the ‘Umbrella Strategy’ model (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985) is characterized by the company’s top managers establishing general guidelines for the organization’s behavior (defining the limits), and then leaving it to maneuver within those limits. In other words, the company’s top managers establish a sort of umbrella under which they expect organizational actions to fall. Therefore, leadership allows strategies to emerge within the limits it has previously established.
The following table and figure respectively describe and represent the strategic process enacted by the ‘Umbrella Strategy’ model, assuming that strategies emerge from this process as patterns of behavior in streams of actions carried out by individuals and groups of people in the organization.
Table. Description of the strategic process enacted by the ‘Umbrella Strategy’ model
Figure. Representation of the strategic process enacted by the ‘Umbrella Strategy’ model
NOTE: In the book “The strategic process of the firm: Theory and cases” (Roch, 2024) there are more case studies than those included in this blog.
If you are interested in going deeper into the strategic process, allow me to recommend you: - Book: "The strategic process of the firm: Theory and cases" (Roch, 2024). - Courses and consulting program on the strategic process.
