Week 4 Reading
By Carl Botan and Vincent Hazelton, 2006
When I first saw the title of the chapter, I was immediately drawn to it as I was wondering to myself what is the difference between grand strategy and strategy. It made me wonder what this chapter was about as it sounded very magnificent and majestic from the words “Grand strategy.” Hence, I decided to do my reading on this chapter to feed my curiosity.
This chapter talks about the 3 levels of planning which are Grand strategy, strategy and tactics, how they are related to one another, and how different they are from each other. It especially highlights the meaning of grand strategy. I found this chapter interesting as it helps to decide which clients or employers are good to work for and which ones should be avoided.
This chapter talks about the 3 levels of planning which are Grand strategy, strategy and tactics, how they are related to one another, and how different they are from each other. It especially highlights the meaning of grand strategy. I found this chapter interesting as it helps to decide which clients or employers are good to work for and which ones should be avoided.
Grand strategy is the policy-level decisions an organization makes about goals, alignments, ethics, and relationship with publics and other forces in its environment (Botan and Hazelton, 2006). This simply means lots of strategy put together to reach an ultimate goal.
Strategy is the campaign-level decision making involving maneuvering and arranging resources and arguments to carry out organizational grand strategies (Botan and Hazelton, 2006). Thus, strategy is always confined to grand strategy.
Therefore, the major difference between grand strategy and strategy is that they are both targeted at different levels of decision-making, where strategy acts as the base of creating a grand strategy. The similarity between both of them is that they both aim to achieve a specific goal of the organization.
Tactics are the specific activities and outputs through which strategies are implemented (Botan and Hazelton, 2006). In other words, it is the small details that make up the big picture-strategy.
The 6 dimensions of grand strategies
There are 6 dimensions of grand strategies that affect PR practices in all organization. They are:
- Organizational goals
- Attitude towards change
- Attitude towards publics
- Attitude towards issues
- Attitude towards communication
- Attitude towards PR practitioners
There are also various forms of grand strategy used in organizations that addresses these dimensions. Examples of such grand strategies are Intransigent, Resistant, Cooperative and Integrative. It is important to note that companies nowadays are adopting Integrative strategy as they want to have a two-way communication with the public.
In conclusion, PR practitioners should be aware of the different types of grand strategy used in various organizations before they choose to work for them. This not only gives them a precaution of the organization, but they will also be aware of how the company works and use strategies that are permissible with the company. It is also important for PR practitioners to know the difference between grand strategy, strategy and tactics as they form the basics of PR.
8 comments:
Heya Nivi, well done on the post. It was an interesting and educational read. You gave a clear definition and example on what the differences and similarities are for grand strategy and strategy. I find your point on the Integrative Strategy to be interesting, perhaps you could have explained a bit more on how organizations today are using Integrative Strategy to reach out to their target audience and what are the forms of such two-way communication, like blogs, Twitter and Facebook. I find it interesting to know that from this chapter, you get to learn that by knowing grand strategy and strategy it helps you to decide which clients or employers are good to work for and which ones should be avoided. It would have been helpful if you could have elaborated on this point as it will be useful for us PR students to know and apply in our assignments and in the future.
Also, perhaps you could have used a real life example of a real organization or company to illustrate the differences and similarities of grand strategy and strategy. This would have clearly explained the difference and also made it easier to understand. And you could have added some pictures to make your post more appealing.
Over all, good job on the post!
Hey Shasi,
Thank you so much for your comment. I would have loved to elaborate more on this topic with examples as well but the word count restricted me. As for the pictures, I am very sorry about it. I shall take that into consideration the next time I write an entry. Thanks a lot once again.
Heya Nivi,
Thats ok :) It was an educational and interesting post. Well done :)
Hi Nivi!
It's a nice post. You wrote it in such a way that it flows nicely.
About the grand strategies, though, I'm curious on its application by real companies (just like Shasi mentioned). Can you tell us one simple example?
Hey Eva,
ok for example, we take the company General Motors. Their Grand strategy restricts their normal strategy. So it is like a policy that prevents and guides them in their strategy of selling certain brands. To make it simpler, You know how Tactics are the little things that make up strategy? Strategy is the little things that make up grand strategy. Hope that helps you.
Thanks Nivitra for the interesting post! Despite prior knowledge of strategies and tactics from past modules, your blog post offered greater insight to these methods and in the planning of proposals to suit the needs of different clients.
As companies are more often than not unable to choose their clients, especially if they are new startup companies and need the revenue and experience to establish themselves in the industry, they cannot risk losing their business and reputation when they unknowingly suggest strategies that are unacceptable in the company. In knowing the grand strategies used in their client company, PR practitioners are able to adjust their strategies and tactics to suit individual client companies as there is no one fixed set of strategies for all. Moreover, in understanding the client company’s values, mission and culture, PR practitioners are better able to come up with strategies and tactics to bring the company to greater heights. Perhaps a short explanation on the importance of knowing the various types of grand strategies in a company and the types of strategies that were implemented can be illustrated using a case study.
Overall, a great post on grand strategies, strategies and tactics!
Hey Calcy,
Yes, my only regret is not being able to put up a case study in my post. I was trying to keep it short and within the word limit. Thank you very much for your comments.
I absolutely loved this post! The clarity and depth of your thoughts are impressive. Keep up the great work!
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