Identifying Strategic Alternatives
For this discussion, you will be testing out strategic alternatives. Chapter 6 of your text is extremely helpful for you to create an organized method for determining strategic alternatives. Notice that your text on p. 208 provides a decision logic. To choose your alternatives, first, consider the mission of your project (which should be consistent with your agency’s overall mission). Then, consider these other strategies–adaptive, market entry, competitive, and implementation strategies. Each choice needs to be consistent with the other selections. The table on page 209 explains how the strategies unfold from general to more specific. For example, if I am adding a brand new unit (consistent with the overall mission and the directional (mission statement) strategy for my project), I need to choose one of the expansion of scope strategies. Reduction of scope or maintenance would not be consistent with my mission. Notice that there are sub-strategies on p. 211 to choose as well. For example, for my adaptive strategy, if I am expanding scope, I have other choices that describe how I am going to expand–diversification, vertical integration, market development, product development or penetration. Use this week as an opportunity to think through these choices and test them out.
