Strategic Choice: Analyzing Internal and External Environments

The essay delves into the compelling nature of strategic choice as a theory that emphasizes analyzing both external and internal environments for effective decision-making in business contexts. Unlike deterministic approaches, which often prioritize external influences, strategic choice empowers individuals within organizations to evaluate and select strategies based on a broader spectrum of factors. The discussion includes theoretical underpinnings from notable scholars and real-world applications during periods of rapid industrial changes, particularly in the United States. This analysis underscores the relevance of strategic choice in achieving organizational goals amidst dynamic business landscapes.

Running head: MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE
Management Theory and Practice
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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The assignment is based on the proper analysis of contribution of determinist theories
and strategic choices. The organization theorists have properly developed different
perspectives that are theoretical in nature as to provide compelling view of the change in the
organization. The different theories such as resource dependency theory, population theory as
well as population ecology helps in generating proper understanding on the organizational
action.
The main aim and purpose of the assignment is to identify the perspective that is most
compelling in nature. The reasoning has to be properly analyzed as this will help in
comparing the different population as well as determinist theories along with the
organizational performance.
The structure of the essay will be discussing the different theories and approaches
with proper comparison with the organizational performance of the employees. The response
has to be properly provided with the dependency theory as well as population theory. The
different theories related to the determinism theory have been described as this will help in
analyzing the differences in the determinism as well as strategic choice theory. This will help
in understanding the compelling perception.
Strategic choice helps in involving an entire process with the help of decision that is
considered in order to choose a particular option from different alternatives. The original
procedure helps the managers and the decision makers to keep both external and internal
environment before thinning it to one (Lam et al., 2013). For instance- When an
organization has quandary as whether to invest in a new inorganic process of growth, there
are different options available for the overtaking reason. Furthermore, it is the duty to check
the merits as well as demerits of the companies that has been overtaken. Furthermore, after

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checking the external and internal environment, this will help in narrowing down the choice
to a single organization.
On the other hand, determinism is the philosophical approach that is inevitable as well
as necessary in nature for the different affairs that takes place in the organization.
Determinism is the approach that is relevant only for the external environment of the
organization and it helps the organization in taking important decisions based on the external
environment (Xu and Meyer, 2013). For instance- Proper availability of raw materials will
affect the productivity of the entire organization as the entire availability of resources is
dependent on the supply and demand for those particular resources in a particular
organization (Maudlin, 2014). There are different kinds of theories under determinism
approach that are described as follows:
Resource Dependency Theory is the study of the effect of the external environment
on the behavior of the organization (Foss and Knudsen, 2013). Proper procurement of the
different external resources is essential tenet for both tactical as well as strategic management
of the company. The success of the entire organization is dependent on the resource
dependency theory and this helps the organization in maximizing the power (Moulin, 2014).
There are different assumptions of resource dependency theory that are described as follows:
The different companies need to comprise of both internal as well as external
environment coalitions that emerge from exchanges that are social in nature and these are
created for controlling as well as influencing the behavior. The work environment is required
to carry scared as well as valuable resources that are essential for the survival of the entire
organization (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). The environment can face the problem of
uncertainty in acquisition of the resources. The companies are assumed to work properly on
two objectives wherein proper control has to be acquired as to minimize the dependence of

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the other companies. Proper control over the different resources is essential as this will help
in maximizing the dependence on the entire organization (Vanwonterghem et al., 2014).
Institutional theories help in asserting proper institutional kind of environment in the
organization that can strongly help in influencing the formal structure development. The
different strategies that are innovative in nature help in improving the efficiency technically
in making the organizations easily adopt in legitimizing the environment (Felin, Foss and
Ployhart, 2015).
The institutional isomorphism gets increased when the companies are that these are
highly dependent on different environment of the organization that is institutional and that
exists under uncertainty or the goals that are ambiguous in nature and properly rely on the
professionals (Franklin, 2017).
Population Ecology is the sub category of ecology that helps in dealing with
dynamics of the population of the species that helps in interacting with the entire environment
(Epstein, 2014). This is quite popular in the determining the external environment of the
organization as this will help in understanding the demand of the population. The most
popular theory of the population is Malthusian theory (Berofsky, 2015). The theory is simple
in nature as when the need of food increase in human beings, the individual himself will
increase the demand for the food (Anastasiou and Kauffman, 2013). This will result in
increase in supply of the food as well. The population will increase when the subsistence
means will increase as well (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis, 2015).
The theory will be propounded by Malthus has to be properly summed up as this will
help in making the different propositions that are:

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The population generally increases faster than the production of food. On the other
hand, when there is increase in population that is regarded as the geometric progression and
the production of food will be arithmetic progression and when the means of the subsistence
increases, then there is increase in the population as well (Castaldo et al., 2017). Food is
necessary element in the life of individuals, and this helps in exercising a proper check on the
entire population as well. Furthermore, it can be explained that population is limited by
subsistence means (Wolf and Floyd, 2017).
There are different kinds of criticism of the Malthusian theory wherein the grounds are
described as follows:
It has been seen that the theory of Malthus or the pessimistic conclusions did not
borne out in the history and the forecast that has been provided by Malthus was falsified in
the Western world. Malthus has done proper comparison of the food with the increase in the
food and the production alone. This comparison was not enough as there are different other
considerations as well that had to be taken into consideration as well (Baker and Saren,
2016).
The Malthusian theory is applicable in the today’s world as well as there are different
preventive checks that have been exercised and there is proper operation of the positive
checks as well. The population theory has huge importance in the organizational behavior as
well as on the individuals working in the organization. Malthusian theory helps in
understanding the importance of the external environment in the organization as this will help
in understanding the demand of a particular product and their supply in the external market as
well.
The perspective that is most compelling in nature is the strategic choice as this helps
the organizations in making proper strategic decisions and these are the decisions that are

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sustainable in nature as well. In the management view, the strategic choice refers to view that
the different relationships that are powerful in nature in different contexts of organization
along with managerial accountability are restricted by different factors such as technological
advancement as well as availability (Castaldo et al., 2017). The entire process of strategic
choice as well as planning helps in creating a proper corporate strategy in nature as this will
help in involving variety of the options that are strategic in nature along with decisions that
are strategic in nature as well. These are the strategic decisions that are the essence of the
entire corporate strategy as well. The entire responsibility of process of planning will help in
surfacing the different strategic issues along with the different range of uncertainties as this
will help in shaping the issues along with understanding the relationship among them.
Proper comparison is essential in nature as this helps in understanding the relative
potential effects on the entire performance of the organization and with such strategic issues
the different strategies can be explored to understand the different issues along with the
strategic elephants (Castaldo et al., 2017). The strategic choice has huge role in the corporate
performance as this helps in setting targets of the entire performance that will benefit the
beneficiaries. Proper setting of such levels helps in proper decision making process in the
entire organization as well. This decision making process will help in gaining satisfactory
performance and this will be a major choice as well. However there are different factors that
affects the strategic choice in organization that are Environmental constraints, reaction of the
competitors, constraints in information, effect of the previous strategy, time constraints and
the preferences and values.
Proper process of the strategic choice is essential in nature as this will help in
focusing on the different alternatives as this will help in narrowing down the choice to one
particular strategy that is feasible in nature. In the corporate level, the strategic alternatives
are stability, expansion as well as combination or retrenchment, however on the other hand

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the business level strategies include differentiation, focused strategy of business as well.
Secondly, the organization has to analyze the alternatives of the strategic choice that includes
both objective as well as subjective factors. The strategies has to be evaluated properly as this
will help in making proper strategic choice and it will help in understanding the most suitable
strategic choice that will help in analyzing both external as well as internal environment of
the organization (Castaldo et al., 2017). Strategic choice in the organization helps in
analyzing both the external and internal environment that are essential in nature and this will
help in achieving the goals of the organization as well.
Therefore, it can be concluded that strategic choice is the perspective that is most
compelling in nature as this focuses both on external and internal environment. This is the
choice that helps in analyzing the decision making of the individuals both outside as well as
inside the organization. Strategic choice helps in proper decision making of the individuals as
this will help in evaluating and analyzing the strategies (Castaldo et al., 2017).
Strategic choice theory was applied during the period of industrial relation in the
United States and this has huge influence on the changes that were taking place rapidly as
well. The determinism approach was not taken into consideration as that focused on the
external environment and the internal environment was not provided proper importance as it
was required.

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