Strategic Choice Theory
Strategic Choice Theory
Article Review and Essay
Zhaoling Zhu
AD655 International Business, Economics and Cultures
Instructor: Dr. Jung Wan Lee 02/29/2012
Introduction
Strategies are specific rules or actions for choosing actions in a contradictory situation; for some strategies are the long-term or high-level planning. The essential of a firm or a government’s strategy is to make the right choice. They cannot afford to try all the strategies with their limited resources and abilities. The Strategic Choice Theory was first proposed by Kochan (Kochan, et.al, 1984) and his colleagues in the mid 1980s attempting to explain the transformation of the U.S. industrial relations when all other contemporary theories failed to. For example, in 1960s and 1970s the Dunlop’s systems theory (Dunlop, 1958) was widely accepted whereas some anomalies happened in it. First, the theory could not predict the union membership fell into a decline while traditional theories including Dunlop's theory presumed that labor unions would never change their employment relationships in that time. Second, based on the traditional theories, we could not know whether or not managerial values, behaviors in industrial relations could change. Third, the conventional industrial relations theories treated managements as reacting initiatives and changes that affected the transformation in U.S. industrial relations.
One of the major reasons why Kochan and his colleagues were successful was because the theory they established was successful in understanding the anomalies when traditional industrial relations theories could not provide a good explanation. Meanwhile, this theory paid great attention to the dynamic process while other theories were too much static. For example, when the major theories at that time primarily considered the environmental conditions, the Strategic Choice Theory posed the concept of decision-making level factor. This made it different from
Article Review and Essay
Zhaoling Zhu
AD655 International Business, Economics and Cultures
Instructor: Dr. Jung Wan Lee 02/29/2012
Introduction
Strategies are specific rules or actions for choosing actions in a contradictory situation; for some strategies are the long-term or high-level planning. The essential of a firm or a government’s strategy is to make the right choice. They cannot afford to try all the strategies with their limited resources and abilities. The Strategic Choice Theory was first proposed by Kochan (Kochan, et.al, 1984) and his colleagues in the mid 1980s attempting to explain the transformation of the U.S. industrial relations when all other contemporary theories failed to. For example, in 1960s and 1970s the Dunlop’s systems theory (Dunlop, 1958) was widely accepted whereas some anomalies happened in it. First, the theory could not predict the union membership fell into a decline while traditional theories including Dunlop's theory presumed that labor unions would never change their employment relationships in that time. Second, based on the traditional theories, we could not know whether or not managerial values, behaviors in industrial relations could change. Third, the conventional industrial relations theories treated managements as reacting initiatives and changes that affected the transformation in U.S. industrial relations.
One of the major reasons why Kochan and his colleagues were successful was because the theory they established was successful in understanding the anomalies when traditional industrial relations theories could not provide a good explanation. Meanwhile, this theory paid great attention to the dynamic process while other theories were too much static. For example, when the major theories at that time primarily considered the environmental conditions, the Strategic Choice Theory posed the concept of decision-making level factor. This made it different from
References: Horn, C. H., Cotanda, F. C., & Pichler, W. A. (2009). John T. dunlop e os 50 anos do industrial relations systems. Dados, 52(4), 1047-1070. Kochan, T. A., McKersie, R. B., & Cappelli, P. (1984). Strategic choice and industrial relations theory. Industrial Relations, 23(1) Koklic, M. K., & Vida, I. (2011). Consumer strategic decision making and choice process: Prefabricated house purchase. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 35(6), 634-643. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00953.x NUTT, P. C. (2002). Making strategic choices. Journal of Management Studies, 39(1), 67-96. Wüstenhagen, R., & Menichetti, E. (2012). Strategic choices for renewable energy investment: Conceptual framework and opportunities for further research. Energy Policy, 40, 1-10. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.06.050