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| Miles and Snow Topology
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| Introduction |
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While the McKinsey 7-S framework is useful in internal measure of an organization and the congruence between its parts, the Miles and Snow typology classifies strategy in terms of the shifts in the environment surrounding the organizations and therefore focuses more externally.
Raymond Miles and Charles Snow looked at 84 for-profit firms and their approaches to environmental shifts. And one might expect (and where there is significant application to the non-profit world) the more successful companies were able to shift the products and services that align with significant developments in their environments. As strategies were adjusted to new environmental realities, four strategic organizational patterns emerged which have significance for the non-profit world.
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| Defender |
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Defenders try to protect their “domain” in order to maintain their current level of service. This may be done by either trying to be cost-effective in their operations or by producing products and services that have very high quality. In seeking to protect “turf” from competitors, they rely on selling franchises, developing trade associations and lobbying.
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| Prospector |
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They find new markets and market segments, while engaging in product innovation. This type of companies spend significant part of the budget on market research or environmental scanning in order to anticipate contextual shifts. Their entrepreneurial tasks becomes research for new products that will fit into particular market segments. Organizations move quickly in light of new opportunity, have flexibility of systems, policies and management coupled with the willingness to take organizational risks.
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| Analyser |
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An organization that is both a prospector and defender is an analyzer; it is looking to both lowering risks and taking advantage of new opportunities. These companies enter into market after both product and the market are established. Using an imitation strategy, products are adopted by the company that have a proven track record in the market place.
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| Reactor |
Reactors often do not change in the face of environmental upheaval, if they do change, it can be inappropriate, ineffective, or unprofitable. This lack of change is usually attributable to two reasons.
There is either a leadership void or departure resulting in a lack of clearly defined strategy.
The strategy that the organization is articulating is clearly at odds with parts of itself.
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