Why does knowledge of different generic approaches to strategy matter Essay - 1

Why does knowledge of different generic approaches to strategy matter What implications does this have for our understanding of the shrm field - Essay Example e understood the strategic role that the human resources can undertake in equipping firms with competitive advantage and therefore contributing to the improvements in performance. As Lengnick – Hall et al. (2009) indicate, SHRM has been highly emphasized within the context of integrating strategic initiatives on the Human Resources with the strategic posture of firms. This paper focuses on two fundamental constructs; the first one is the establishment of the positive relationship between knowledge of generic strategies and understanding the strategic initiatives and the second one is the link between generic approaches to strategies and SHRM. Conceptualizing and evaluating business and organizational strategies is a common perspective that scholars and practitioners undertake in their attempt to understand the competitive position of the firms as well as the forces that interact in the strategy decision making and formulation (†¦..). Whittington (2001) argues that it is imperative to have certain knowledge on strategies as it enables the better understanding of the strategic choices that organizations often make. O’ Farrell et al. (2006) further claim that knowledge on strategies actually influences organizational performance for three reasons; first, understanding strategies implies understanding of the context in which strategizing can take place, second, understanding strategies suggests that management has a clear view of the different forces that can have an impact on the strategic level of firms and third, understanding strategies increases the capabilities and skills of management towards strategic dec ision making. The Generic approaches to strategy are viewed by Whittington (2001) as four fundamental ‘movements’ which reflect different schools of thought regarding the strategic design, implementation and execution on the part of firms. The author distinguishes the generic approaches to the following perspectives: the classical, the evolutionary,