Miles and Snow Organizational Strategy Model is a planning framework that enables organizations to understand their strategic position and gain a competitive advantage in their market. It was created by Raymond Miles and Charles Snow in 1978.
Main Benefits of Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies
Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies provide a framework for organizations to identify how they develop and implement their business strategies.
Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies help:
- to understand different types of business environments,
- to achieve and sustain competitive advantage by adapting to different business environments,
- to evaluate the strategic approach and make adjustments for long-term success,
- to understand an organization’s strategic development process via classification of different types of strategies,
- to adapt an organization’s strategy based on the perception of the environment and their internal capabilities.
Explanation of Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies:
Raymond Miles and Charles Snow defines 4 main types of strategies that organizations can adopt: Prospector, Defender, Analyzer, Reactor.
Prospector: If it is a changing and high dynamic industry, a prospector organization look for new ideas. In that kind of business environment, organizations invest on research and development. They can be innovative and risk-taking.
Defender: Defender companies may prefer to achieve cost leadership with a focus on protecting their current market position. In a stable industry, defender companies try to achieve long-term success with a deep understanding of customer needs.
Analyzer: This strategy is adopted by organizations that balance flexibility and stability. Analyzer companies try to defend their current market position, whilst looking for ways to maximize their opportunities. They monitor successful strategies of competitors, observe the market and its demands.
Reactor: Reactor organizations don’t have a consistent or coherent strategy. Management team of reactor organizations simply react to what’s happening on the external environment. They look for short term opportunities rather than long-term plans.
Strategy differentiation is based on distinct approaches to basic managerial problems such as Entrepreneurial, Engineering and Administrative problems.
Entrepreneurial problems can relate to the product domain of the company and a business venture. Engineering problems focus on ways to utilize resources, therefore try to solve the entrepreneurial problems. Administrative problems are related to organizational structure and processes. They focus on the execution of the strategies.
Different strategies arise from the way companies decide to address these three core organizational problems – entrepreneurship, operational, and administration.
How to Apply Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies:
To apply Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies Model to your business, FITMINDS is providing an adoption of the model that fits your company and your company’s needs. By using The Model you can provide a framework to identify how you can develop and implement your business strategies and gain a competitive advantage in your market.
Contact us to get more information or discover your probable personalized roadmap for Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies Model.
Additional Tips and Readings
- You can read 7Ps Marketing Mix to optimize your strategy.
- For a a step-by-step strategic planning tool, you can read The Five-Step Strategy Model.
- You can learn more about management methods with the The Hoshin Planning.
- For the adaption of your strategy across all parts of your organization, you can read The Pyramid of Purpose Model.
Contact us to rethink Your Business Strategy via Miles and Snow Organizational Strategies.
