Operational Research Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access toJournal of the Operational Research Society.

www.jstor.org®

J. Opl Res. Soc. Vol. 31, pp. 453 to 456 Pergamon Press Ltd 1980. Printed in Great Britain Operational Research Society Ltd

Book Selection Edited by JOHN HOUGH

H. IGOR ANSOFF: Strategic Management 453 PATRICK O'SuLLIVAN, GARY D. HoLTZCLAW & GERALD BARBER: Transport

Network Planning 454 S. A. LIPPMAN & J. J. McCALL (Editors): Studies in the Economics of Search 454 E. 1. ELTON & M. 1. GRUBER (Editors): Portfolio Theory, 25 Years After 455 PETER B. KENEN: A Model of the US Balance of Payments 456

Strategic Management

H. IGOR ANSOFF

Macmillan, U.K. 1979. 236 pp. £12.00 The last statement in the book is "Brethren, ye who have persevered with me, I salute your patience!" and, having read it, I can understand why. Although it is only 225 pages long, it sometimes seemed of Biblical proportions, as it discussed the behaviour of Environment Serving Organisations (ESOs), the author's term for both business firms, and not-for-profit organisations.

According to the introduction, his previous book "Corporate Strategy" (1965) was about how business firms should logically think through their adaptation to the environ-ment. The aim of "Strategic Management" is to present a theory for predicting the conditions where the methods proposed there will work, when they will fail and, against. which, various aspects of strategic management can be tested.

The early part considers the objectives of ESOs and assumes that "many firms and all non-profits do not seek to optimize their economic efficiency". Also, they only concern themselves with the customer's welfare when it serves their economic aims. Next the environment- from the Industrial Revolution, through the mass production and mass marketing eras, to the transition to the post-industrial age (this last being from the mid 50's)--which he concludes has become more turbulent, with events becoming more novel, more costly to deal with, and more difficult to anticipate.

The book continues with discussions of budgeting behaviour, environmental turbu-lence, strategic capability (a measure of an ESOs effectiveness in supporting a given strategy), power in organisations, the effects of aspirations and culture, and strategic leadership, and suggests that ESOs will do best when there is a match between the various dimensions. These parts are wide-ranging, with rather more emphasis on United States examples then European ones.

Some mathematics are introduced in a discussion of models of strategic choice and transition behaviour. The final chapter is an almost philosophical one which considers various methods of comprehending complexity. These include scientific methods and the ways in which various scientific disciplines have partitioned reality, and onto systems thinking with its aims of introducing the inter-relationships between various sub-systems. Theory-building, the method adopted in the book, is proposed as an approach which can usefully supplement these other approaches.

I found the ending unsatisfactory, with the final chapter branching off at a tangent and then suddenly stopping in mid-stream. Although it is not specified, I guess that the book is aimed at high level management, but I doubt whether the approach would appeal to many of them. O.R. is mentioned once, but the book is of interest to O.R. people, especially in suggesting areas where O.R. methods could be useful. Weak signal analysis to detect signs of change in the environment is one example. But brethren, you will need patience.

MICHAEL COLCLOUGH

453