What are Mintzberg’s Five Configuration of Strategic Management? 

Henry Mintzberg proposed that any organization can be broken down into five core elements or parts. 

• Operating Core
• Strategic Apex
• Middle-Level Managers
• Technostructure
• Support Staff

The interactions between these parts determine the strategy of the organization.

Back to: STRATEGY & PLANNING

What is the Operating Core?

The Operating Core is made up of this who work on creating and delivering the core value proposition of the business. That is, the output of this operating core is linked to the goods or serviced delivered by the firm. 

What is the Strategic Apex? 

The Strategic Apex is composed of senior managers who provide the vision, mission, and sense of purpose to the organization. 

What are Middle-Level Managers?

Middle Level Managers are those who supervise and manage the operating core and report to the strategic apex. 

What is the Technostructure? 

The Technostructure is composed of planners, analysts, and trainers who perform intellectual and skilled technical work. Generally, the output of this group is advisory to the strategic apex, middle-level managers, and operating cores. 

What is the Support Staff? 

The Support Staff performs supporting roles for the other units and exists as specialized functions that are responsible for the peripheral services in the organization.

How is the Five Configurations Used? 

The Five Configurations model can be used to predict the organizational structure of any organization and used to model the strategy that the organization follows as a result of the interaction between these parts.

That is, it gives us a useful model to describe how the organizational structure affects strategy. It focuses on how internal organization and dynamics affect the strategy of the firm. 

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