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Mastering Strategy: Art and Science
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Issues such as those currently faced by Apple are the focus of strategic management because they help
answer the key question examined by strategic management—“Why do some firms outperform other
firms?” More specifically, strategic management examines how actions and events involving top
executives (such as Steve Jobs), firms (Apple), and industries (the tablet market) influence a firm’s
success or failure. Formal tools exist for understanding these relationships, and many of these tools are
explained and applied in this book. But formal tools are not enough; creativity is just as important to
strategic management. Mastering strategy is therefore part art and part science.
This introductory chapter is intended to enable you to understand what strategic management is and why
it is important. Because strategy is a complex concept, we begin by explaining five different ways to think
about what strategy involves (Figure 1.1 "Defining Strategy: The Five Ps"). Next, we journey across many
centuries to examine the evolution of strategy from ancient times until today. We end this chapter by
presenting a conceptual model that maps out one way that executives can work toward mastering
strategy. The model also provides an overall portrait of this book’s contents by organizing the remaining
nine chapters into a coherent whole.