Explain the key differences between intended and emergent approaches Essay

Explain the key differences between intended and emergent approaches to developing strategy. Why might one be preferred to the other by strategic managers - Essay Example Factors that might convince an organization to adopt the emergent approach include a need to change according to the changing environment and context, advancement of technology paving way for new channels of communication and operation, unexpected and abrupt increase or drop in the value of currency, and stakeholder influence. Factors that might influence the emergent approach and optimize an organization’s tendency to stick to the intended approach include the commitment to the original vision and mission of the organization, and the constraints of resources. A very good example of emergent approach is provided by Mark Zuckerberg, the Harvard University student and the founder of Facebook. Zuckerberg’s intended approach in 2003 after being dumped by his girlfriend was to create the website â€Å"FaceMash† as a platform where the beauty of young women would be voted on. The website first evolved into Thefacebook online social network meant exclusively for the Harvard students. But the surprising and growing popularity of the website caused Zuckerberg to morph it into Facebook open to everybody in the world. â€Å"Ironically, Facebook’s emphasis on connecting with existing and new friends is about as different as it could be from Zuckerberg’s original mean-spirited concept† (Ketchen and Short, 2013). It can be stated without doubt that the emergent and realized strategies used by Zuckerberg proved much nobler for him compared to the intended strategy with which he had originally started his entrepreneursh ip. A good example of intended approach to developing strategy is the intended strategy of General Electric (GE) in the later half of the 20th century, in the form of a direction from Jack Welch, the then CEO of the company, that all units of business were supposed to be number one or number two in their market or industry; or had a good