The Design School is the most influential school in the process of strategy formulation. It views strategic formulation as a design process that matches an organization's internal aspects to the external environment. The key premises of the Design School are that strategy formation should be a deliberate, conscious process led by the CEO, and strategies are unique designs. Tools include SWOT analysis and the Ashridge Mission Model. Critiques are that it promotes thought over action and can lead to inflexibility. The Design School model is best applied during major shifts or for new organizations to provide clear direction. Its major contribution is developing vocabulary around grand strategy and the fit between opportunities and capabilities.

1. THE DESIGN
SCHOOL
H . M I N T Z B E R G ’ S T E N S C H O O L S O F
T H O U G H T
BA 190 - Strategic Management
University of the Philippines Baguio
Prof. Mita Angela M.Dimasalanta
J O S H U A N E I L V .
B A N Z O N
J A N N Y A N N A .
R E Y E S

2. THE DESIGN SCHOOL
• The most influential school in the process of strategy formulation
• Strategic formulation as a design process that matches the
internal aspects of an organization with the external environment

3. THE DESIGN SCHOOL MODEL

4. PREMISES OF THE DESIGN
SCHOOL
• Strategy formation should be a deliberate process of conscious
thought.
• Responsibility for that control and consciousness must rest with
the chief executive officer: that person is the strategist.
• The model of strategy formation must be kept simple and
informal.
• Strategies should be one of a kind: the best ones result from a
process of individualized design.
• The design process is complete when strategies appear fully
formulated as perspective.
• These strategies should be explicit, so they have to be kept

5. TOOLS OF THE DESIGN
SCHOOL
• Strength, Weakness, Opportunities Threats (SWOT) Analysis

6. TOOLS OF THE DESIGN
SCHOOL
• Ashridge Mission Model

7. CRITIQUE OF THE
DESIGN SCHOOL
• The school’s promotion of thought independent of action, strategy
formation above all as a process of conception rather than one of
learning.
• The school promotes that structure should be determined by
strategy, but the past counts! It must be an integrated system.
• Explicit strategies are binders designed to focus direction and so
to block out peripheral vision; it promotes inflexibility.
• The school promotes the formulation-implementation dichotomy
and encourages leaders to oversimplify strategy.

8. APPLICATION OF THE
DESIGN SCHOOL
• Design school model may best be applied at the intersection of a
huge shift for an organization, coming out of a period of changing
circumstances and into a stable circumstance.
• The model is applicable in a new organization. It will set a clear
sense of direction for it to compete against its more established
competitors.

9. The design school’s major contribution is that
it has developed an important vocabulary by
which to discuss grand strategy and has
provided the central notion that strategy
represents a fundamental fit between
external opportunity and internal capability;
an “informing idea”.
Reference : Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. (1998). Strategy safari : a guided tour through the
wilds of strategic management. New York: The Free Press.