The strategy for any organization can be set from the outside in, according to the school of positioning; according to this, the supply of products and / or services has to adapt to changes that occur in the environment. According to the movement schools of thought, a strategy can be set from the inside out in which case the organization influences the surroundings with its offer of products and / or services. Given the importance of weak signals in the definition of the strategy, the research goal is to treat the issue of pre-emptive strategy in the context of strategic decision making. An answer is provided for the following questions: (1) What is a weak signal? (2) How to tell if it is anticipative, relevant and useful for the decision makers? and (3) How to turn a weak signal in an effective anticipative clue? Based on investigator's experience in strategic consulting for small, medium and large companies, the weak and strong signals are explained and a set of criteria which are representative of their identification is presented.
TopIntroduction
Strategic decision-making based on information (weak signals and or strong) is increasingly complex, since the environment (local, regional, national and international) is complex and turbulent, where social phenomena are unpredictable. In addition, competition is intense and show great concern for achieving competitive edge.
Ansoff (1985) defines four approaches to strategic management in turbulent and complex immersive media: strategic management for control, by extrapolation, in advance and by real-time response. Strategic management for anticipation is supported in forward-looking information generated from weak signals and or strong.
In relation to weak and strong signals, especially those, several aspects need to be considered, such as how they are identified in the environment, the role they play in strategic decision making and management process. On the other hand, also organizations generate and disseminate weak and strong signals to the surroundings, which leads to the conclusion that the strategic management by anticipation aims not only to identify signals (weak and strong) of the surroundings, but also the emission of signals to the surroundings.
TopIn the global economy and interdependent world there are large flows of information, and the information is increasingly crucial in the strategy of the organization and countries for several reasons: to be important in strategic decision making; It is important to innovate products and higher added value services; to be relevant to the competitive advantage of a country; to be synergy factor within the organizations; to be influential on the behavior of individuals and groups within and outside of organizations.