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ACCA Strategic Professional · Strategic Business Leader · Concepts of strategy

Tessaro Group operates in a fast-changing, technology-driven market. The chairman wants a rigid ten-year plan with annual targets cascaded to every unit. A director argues the firm should instead rely mainly on learning from experiments by managers. Which statement best evaluates this debate using the deliberate/emergent perspective?

Emergent approaches suit unpredictable, fast-changing environments because they enable adaptation and learning from experience, but they can leave the organisation without clear direction or control. Rigid deliberate plans risk becoming outdated when assumptions fail. In practice, most strategies blend both, with leadership setting direction and recognising useful emerging patterns.

  1. AEmergent approaches suit unpredictable environments because they allow adaptation and learning, though they risk lack of overall direction and controlCorrect
  2. BDeliberate planning is superior in all environments because it guarantees that realised strategy equals intended strategy
  3. CEmergent strategy removes the need for any strategic leadership since patterns form on their own
  4. DA rigid plan is ideal in volatile markets because it reduces the need to interpret environmental change

Explanation

Emergent strategy allows learning and flexibility in volatile conditions, but the drawbacks are potential lack of coherence, control and direction. Rigid planning risks irrelevance when assumptions fail. Options claiming universal superiority or no need for leadership misstate the model, since most real strategies combine both, with management setting direction and recognising useful patterns.

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