The Importance Of Strategic Control

Henry Mintzberg,one of the foremost theorists in the area of strategic management, tells us that no matter how well the organization plans its strategy, a different strategy may emerge.

Starting with the intended or planned strategies, he related the five types of strategies in the following manner:

1. Intended strategies that get realized; these may be called deliberate strategies.
2. Intended strategies that do get realized; these may be called unrealized strategies.
3. Realized strategies that were never intended; these may be called emergent strategies.

Recognizing the number of different ways that intended and realized strategies may differ underscores the importance of evaluation and control systems so that the firm can monitor its performance and take corrective action if the actual performance differs from the intended strategies and planned results.