Critical Analysis of Strategic Choice and Deterministic Theories

This essay provides a critical analysis of strategic choice and deterministic theories within the context of management practice. It begins by defining and comparing these concepts, highlighting the role of strategic choices in determining an organization's future direction and the influence of deterministic theories, such as resource dependency theory, on managerial decision-making. The essay explores how managers utilize strategic analysis to assess internal and external factors, develop long-term goals, and implement strategic alternatives. Real-world examples, such as the relationship between Shell and its resource dependencies, and Coca-Cola's leadership strategies, are used to illustrate the practical application of these theories. The discussion emphasizes the importance of strategic choices over theoretical ideas, while acknowledging the role of institutional theory. The essay concludes that strategic choices are more compelling than deterministic theories because they determine how organizational activities are implemented to achieve specific goals in a dynamic business environment.

Running head: MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND THEORY
Management practice and theory
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Topic- Critical analysis of strategic choice and determinist theories
Introduction
The present essay provides an intensive analysis on the deterministic theories and
strategic choices. Many managerial and organizational actions are embedded in the strategic
choices, whereas deterministic theories help to make appropriate managerial decisions. However,
it is not certain that theories would provide the same and desired results. In this context, Friend
(2011) commented that strategic choices are referred to the decisions that determine the future
strategy of an organization. For example, a SWOT analysis is performed to identify the strength
and weaknesses of the organization and opportunities. Similarly, based on the analysis, the
organization selects a suitable path among different alternatives that help the firms to achieve the
objectives. The strategic choice is thereby, the decision to choose from the granted strategies.
Determinism is generally understood to exclude free intention as it entails that human
might not act otherwise than they do. Such theory provides the facts that the universe is rational
and the complete knowledge of any particular given situation that unerring knowledge of its
future is also possible. Hence, Avery (2014) mentioned that a theory is considered as
deterministic if, provided some all the positions as well as the velocities of its elements at only
moment in time. It wholly determines what could happen before and after that particular
moment. Nonetheless, the fact that if a theory is deterministic does not mean that it is actually
possible to anticipate the evaluation of a particular system in practice. The present essay
discusses these facts with the real-life contexts.
In the following essay, the strategic choices have critically been defined with the real life
example and facts. Likewise, the deterministic theories have critically been discussed with the

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supporting evidences. The essay also presents the facts regarding how managers are shaping the
ideas to implement the managerial actions. For conducting the analysis, existing academic and
management journals have been cited as the supporting requirement. Firstly, two variables such
as the strategic choices and deterministic theory have been defined in the analysis and then those
definitions have been analyzed comparing them with the opinions provided in the previous
studies.
Discussion
As put forward by Nielsen and and Nielsen (2011), strategic choice is central to the strategy
making, which means an effective strategic choice process could position an organization for
preparing sustainable strategic decisions. Kraus, Kauranen and Henning Reschke (2011) defined
strategic planning as the systematic as well as formally documented method for deciding the
useful key decision that an organization considers, for implementing them into the operation.
The study conducted by Wüstenhagen and Menichetti (2012), presented the fact that focuses on
the decisions to be made in a particular planning situation, whatever their timescale and whatever
their substance is. The first step in strategic choice approach is evaluating as well as selecting a
strategy to evaluate the outcome of the strategic situation including the analysis in general with
respect to factors critical to the success of the business.
On the other side, Baybeck, Berry and Siegel (2011) mentioned that strategic choices are
mainly concerned with the decisions regarding an organization’s future and the way in which it
is supposed to respond to the stress as well as the outcome of its immediate and macro
environment. When it comes to determinism, people consider it as a basic idea that every event
including every human decision is inevitable and essential consequence of previous state of

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affairs. In this context, Ida, Lin and Nagasawa (2013) mentioned that determinism should be
distinguished from pre-determinism, the idea that a complete past was determined in the origin
of the universe.
Among many deterministic theories, Resource dependency theory is often considered in
the managerial activities (Verbruggen, Christiaens & Milis, 2011.). This theory investigates the
relationship between the firms and the resource they need to run the operation. Hence, the
resource could take several forms such as the raw materials, employees, and financial resource.
For example, the large oil and gas organization Shell is dependent on minerals and other
materials from mining (Shell, 2017). If one organization maintains the large proportion of the
resource, another organization could become dependent on it to operate, which certainly creates
a symbolic relationship. In this context, Gerlagh and Liski (2011) commented that too much
dependency creates uncertainty and this could lead the firm to a state of risk from the external
control. Here, the government as well as other organizations could impose the external control
and they might have a significant influence on the operation. Here, the organizational managers
apply the strategic alternatives to minimize such risks. For example, SIS Security system is the
technology security agency for the large FMCG company Unilever and Unilever is also SIS’
only client. In such context, SIS is largely dependent on Unilever as their only source of revenue
(Unilever, 2017). Such strategic approaches increases the risks, as such relationship gives
Unilever a complete advantage at the time of providing service as well as fee negotiation.
The deterministic facts and the given example helps to understand that deterministic
theory helps to create the initial base of organizational activities; thereafter, the strategic choices
are applied by the organization to deal with the barriers and find a suitable solution (Avery,
2014). Thus, it can be added that somehow related or inter-linked to each other. Furthermore, it

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is found that before making a strategic choice, the firm is supposed to conduct a strategic
analysis, which further helps to identify the strength of the business’s position as well as
understand the significant external factor that could influence the position of a firm.
The usual factors that are usually taken into the consideration are the major internal
factors such as management, marketing, operation/production, finance, accounting and
research and the external factors such as political, economical, social and others (Ates et al.
2013). Before implementing a strategic alternative, the firm must develop long-term goals,
particular approaches to act it. During the implementation of strategic choice, the manager of the
firm should play the role of fixing long-term goals and different types of strategies that should be
most significant for the mission of the firm. Rekonen (2013) mentioned that middle managers
play a very strong role in the strategic choice implementation.
According to Bititci et al. (2011), managers interact with divers employees and such
practice allow them to formal as well as informal approaches to promote innovation and
calculated risks. The managers play the role of communicating their ideas for the advancement
and innovation to senior management. This practice helps the managers and organizational
executives to generate new opportunities where these concepts and ideas are evaluated within the
context of organization’s strategic priorities. A study conducted by Rekonen (2013), manager’s
job is to create a vision for the organizations in way that could engage both imagination as well
as energies of other organizational member. Moreover, a skilled manager knows that the ultimate
activity of manager is to create human energies and human vision. Nielsen and Nielsen (2011)
mentioned that visions should be tied to what organization values; hence, the manager should
make this connection in a manner that the firm could understand as well as support. For example,
in the operation of Coco Cola, as customers’ taste and preferences change, the leaders lead the

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business increasingly evolving the business to reach a wide range of new as well as different
drinks (Coca-Cola, 2017).
The leaders are strictly committed to generate the lasting values for their associates such
as the customers, shareowners, communities and bottling partners. The effective leadership style
helped Coco Cola to shape such large set of activities. Today, Coca Cola has more than 30,000
employees throughout the world, which certainly would not have been possible without a stiff
and accurate managerial direction (Coca-Cola, 2017). The leader John Murphy of Asia pacific
of Coca cola lead whole operation in all Asian nations and brought a rapid growth to the firm
within an very short time. This example indicates that the organizations are more concerned
about the strategic actions that can be implemented by leveraging the human resources. Thus, it
can be mentioned that strategic actions are compelling for the growth and expansion of business
compared to theoretical ideas.
However, this has also been identified that institutional theory under deterministic,
provides way to understand how organizations could navigate rules and the norms of the system
to appear legitimate as well as survive. The principles of this theory are related to the strategic
choices or the managerial actions on the basis of the strategies. Therefore, Brammer, Jackson
and Matten (2012) mentioned that even though strategic alternatives work as the solutions for
organization’s issues, the alternatives are based on the theories first. More specifically, it has
been studied that one aspect of organizational theory- coercive process signifies that firms adopt
changes consistent with the larger firm due to the stress from other organization on which they
could depend on, or by which, they could be regulated such as the customer or the suppliers’
demand.

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This fact makes it evident that wherever an organization applies a particular strategy to
decrease external stress or fulfill the growing demands, the practical actions are largely related to
the deterministic theories. However, it is worth mentioning that theories might show the process
to act on a particular action but the strategy implementation is a major organizational activity,
which should be prioritized. Inappropriate implementation of strategies could provide
unexpected results. From theories, the managers might derive each element for performing the
organizational activities but eventually, the organization as a whole, or the mangers implement
those activities with the help of the resources that organizations have. More specifically, theories
might help to identify organizational requirements but eventually strategies determine what
actions need to be applied to meet those requirements. In this context, Friend (2011), strategic
analysis as well as the choices of strategies are usually done through a number of techniques.
Certainly, those techniques are determined based on the situations that managers observe.
Thus, if a proper strategic choice is selected, a firm could become more efficient to
develop sustainability in the competitive advantage as well as increase company’s valuation.
This fact also signifies the significance of strategic choices in the organizational operation.
Wüstenhagen and Menichetti (2012) mentioned that leaders play a most significant role in the
strategic choice implementation. This is because the strategic implementation of any kind of new
firm policy required engagement participations from all of the departments that could be
impacted. Hence, the organizational leadership should identify what those departments are as
well as generate an implementation team that is built of representatives from each involved
group. Thereby, compared to deterministic theories, the strategic choices are more important to
an organization because eventually, the outcomes of organizational activities are dependent on
how what strategic choices are selected and how they are implemented. In order to support this

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fact, Rekonen (2013) mentioned that theories do not help to create organizational goals and
objectives, they only show the directions but in a real-world context, the leaders understand the
scenario and develops appropriate objectives to deal with the scenarios.
Conclusion
The essay presented the fact that strategic choices are more compelling than the
deterministic theories. The above-mentioned discussion justifies the fact by mentioning that
theories only provide the ideas and some particular requirements related to the organizational
activities but it does not concentrate on the techniques or the methods that organization needs to
implement. In addition to this, theories provided in the previous studies are formed based on the
observations of facts. However, the business environment in the recent time have become more
dynamic; thereby, the strategic choices are need to be implemented based on the present situation
instead of being depended on the existing theories. Lastly, based on the analysis provided above,
it can be ascertained that strategic choices are compelling than deterministic.

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