To answer this problem please read the article below to get the context Question: Why do you feel strategist are ill-equipped for dealing with strategy as wicked Problem Article: Strategy as a wicked problem, John C. Camillus Harvard Business Review. May 2008, Vol. 86 Issue 5, p98-106. 9p. Wicked problems cant be solved, but they can be tamed. Increasingly, these are the problems strategists face and for which they are ill equipped. by John C. Camillus

OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS, Ive been studying how companies create strategy the most important responsibility of senior executives. Many corporations, I find, have replaced the annual top down planning ritual, based on macroeconomic forecasts, with more sophisticated processes. They crunch vast amounts of consumer data, hold planning sessions frequently, and use techniques such as competency modeling and real-options analysis to develop strategy. This type of approach is an improvement because it is customer- and capability-focused and enables companies to modify their strategies quickly, but it still misses the mark a lot of the time. Companies tend to ignore one complication along the way: They cant develop models of the increasingly complex environment in which they operate. As a result, contemporary strategic-planning processes dont help enterprises cope with the big problems they face. Several CEOs admit that they are confronted with issues that cannot be resolved merely by gathering additional data, defi ning issues more clearly, or breaking them down into small problems. Their planning techniques dont generate fresh ideas, and implementing the solutions those processes come up with is fraught with political peril. Thats because, I believe, many strategy issues arent just tough or persistent theyre wicked. Wickedness isnt a degree of difficulty. Wicked issues are different because traditional processes cant resolve them, according to Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, professors of design and urban planning at the University of California at Berkeley, who described them in a 1973 article in Policy Sciences magazine. A wicked problem has innumerable causes, is tough to describe, and doesnt have a right answer, as we will see in the next section. Environmental degradation, terrorism, and poverty these are classic examples of wicked problems. Theyre the opposite of hard but ordinary problems, which people can solve in a fi nite time period by applying standard techniques. Not only do conventional processes fail to tackle wicked problems, but they may exacerbate situations by generating undesirable consequences. In the areas of public policy, software development, and project design, experts such as Peter DeGrace, Leslie Hulet Stahl, and Jeff Conklin have developed ways of spotting wicked problems and coping with them. DeGrace and Stahl wrote Wicked Problems, Righteous Solutions: A Catalogue of Modern Software Engineering Paradigms (1990); Conklin authored Dialogue Mapping: Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems (2006). Policy makers, in particular, have put this powerful concept to good use, but it has been largely missing from strategy discussions. Although many of the problems companies face are intractable, they have been slow to acknowledge the wickedness of strategy issues. Between 1995 and 2005, I completed three research projects that provided insights into wicked strategy problems. First, as part of benchmarking projects that the APQC (formerly known as the American Productivity & Quality Center) and the Hong Kong Productivity Council conducted, I analyzed 22 North American, European, and Asian enterprises that use innovative strategic-planning techniques. They include ABB, Alcoa, Honeywell, John Deere, PPG Industries, Royal Dutch Shell, Siemens, Sprint, Whirlpool, and Xerox (China and USA). Second, I studied strategy implementation in depth at seven of these enterprises. Third, a colleague, Gaurab Bhardwaj, and I tracked DuPonts pharmaceuticals business to learn how companies draw up strategies when returns will accrue only in the long run and are highly uncertain. Based on these studies, Ill explore in the following pages how companies can tame since they cant solve such problems. Ill conclude by describing a planning process that helps PPG Industries tackle wicked issues.

What Is a Wicked Problem? There are several ways to define a wicked problem, but according to Rittel and Webber, it has some or all of 10 characteristics. (See the sidebar The 10 Properties of Wicked Problems.) Caveat: The criteria are not a set of tests that mechanically determine wickedness; rather, they provide insights that help you judge whether a problem is wicked. Wicked problems often crop up when organizations have to face constant change or unprecedented challenges. They occur in a social context; the greater the disagreement among stakeholders, the more wicked the problem. In fact, its the social complexity of wicked problems as much as their technical difficulties that make them tough to manage. Not all problems are wicked; confusion, discord, and lack of progress are telltale signs that an issue might be wicked. In my consulting work, Ive found that when fi ve characteristics are present in a strategy-related issue, executives agree they have a wicked problem on their hands. Ill list the key criteria below and use them to show how the challenge of growth that Wal-Mart faces today may well be wicked. The problem involves many stakeholders with different values and priorities. As Wal-Mart tries to grow faster, numerous stakeholders are watching nervously: employees and trade unions; shareholders, investors, and creditors; suppliers and joint venture partners; the governments of the U.S. and other nations where the retailer operates; and customers. Thats not all; many nongovernmental organizations, particularly in countries where the retailer buys products, are closely monitoring it. Wal-Marts stakeholders have different interests, and not all of them share the companys goals. Each group possesses the capacity, in varying degrees, to influence the companys choices and results. That wasnt the case in 1962, when Sam Walton set up his first store in Rogers, Arkansas. The issues roots are complex and tangled. Wal-Marts slowing growth in the U.S. is a consequence of, among other things, a saturated market, its customers limited disposable incomes, and intense competition from rivals such as Target and Costco. Wal-Mart also faces resistance to imports, criticism about the wages and benefits it offers employees, and charges that illegal aliens work in its stores. All this has generated unfavorable publicity and strengthened peoples opposition to Wal-Marts opening stores in urban areas. Compounding the challenge, some of the companys advantages have turned into disadvantages. For instance, Wal-Marts large market share in some product categories makes it tough to grow same-store sales rapidly. Its low-cost sourcing practices have rendered it vulnerable to the health and safety concerns that surround products made in China. Its supply chain expertise doesnt help in the case of fashion and organic products, and its low-price image hurts its ability to sell upscale products. Moreover, Wal-Marts deep roots in rural America are of little use in overseas markets. The problem is difficult to come to grips with and changes with every attempt to address it. Wal-Mart has several options. It can try to boost revenues and profits by increasing sales from existing stores or raising prices, by expanding into urban markets in the U.S., by entering emerging economies, by diversifying into upscale product lines and creating new store brands, by forecasting better, or by cutting suppliers margins. These strategies demand different capabilities, are risky, and sometimes conflict with one another. Consider two of the least complex options before Wal-Mart. It could boost profits by hiking prices, but until now, everyday low prices have helped the company fend off rivals. If consumers resist higher prices, the retailers sales will fall and profits will drop. To prevent that, Wal-Mart must first modify its value proposition, stock some upscale products, and develop a brand persona that warrants higher prices challenges that have little to do with boosting profits immediately. Alternatively, Wal-Mart could enter a fast-growing emerging market, as it has done in India. It has found the going tough there, however. In India, local laws dont allow foreign companies to operate multibrand retail outlets, so Wal-Mart has had to develop a special business model: cash-and-carry wholesale stores for local retailers. Besides being unfamiliar, the strategy contains the nucleus of another problem. When Indias laws change and allow Wal-Mart to sell to consumers, it will have to compete with the retailers it supplies. The challenge has no precedent. The two strategies we just discussed pose completely new challenges for the company. For instance, Wal-Mart would have to alter its brand image for the first time in its 46-year history to justify higher prices. Its recent foray into higher-priced garments is an experiment and doesnt appear to have worked. Similarly, Wal-Marts India strategy differs from the M&A strategy it has used to enter other developing countries. Wal-Mart is a novice at managing partnerships, but it has had to team up with an Indian conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. The group, whose primary business is telecommunications, wants to tap Wal-Marts expertise to set up a supply chain to get Indian produce onto Western tables! Wal-Mart will have to work with Indias bureaucracy to build the infrastructure that will support its operations, but in the past, dealing with governments hasnt been the companys strong suit. Theres nothing to indicate the right answer to the problem. In Wal-Marts case, going upmarket could boost profits, but it isnt easy for a discount chain to develop a relationship with higher-income shoppers. Moreover, the retailer cannot ignore its existing consumers, who shop at Wal-Mart for inexpensive products. How much of a focus on higher-margin products and higher-income customers is appropriate? The company has no way of knowing that in the beginning. In like vein, Wal-Marts India strategy may be an effective way to enter a number of rapidly developing economies. However, the company will lose some of its competitive advantage when it shares expertise with local partners. Whats the optimal level of knowledge transfer? Thats impossible to estimate; Wal-Mart will find out only after it has shared best practices and possibly created new rivals. Growth is a hard problem for many companies, but it may not always be wicked. In Wal-Marts case, as we have just seen, the challenge bears all the signs of wickedness. Managing the Wickedness of Strategy Its impossible to find solutions to wicked strategy problems, but companies can learn to cope with them. In accordance with Occams razor, the simplest techniques are often the best. Involve stakeholders, document opinions, and communicate. Companies can manage strategys wickedness not by being more systematic but by using social-planning processes. They should organize brainstorming sessions to identify the various aspects of a wicked problem; hold retreats to encourage executives and stakeholders to share their perspectives; run focus groups to better understand stakeholders viewpoints; involve stakeholders in developing future scenarios; and organize design charrettes to develop and gain acceptance for possible strategies. The aim should be to create a shared understanding of the problem and foster a joint commitment to possible ways of resolving it. Not everyone will agree on what the problem is, but stakeholders should be able to understand one anothers positions well enough to discuss different interpretations of the problem and work together to tackle it. Companies must go beyond obtaining facts and opinions from stakeholders; they should involve them in finding ways to manage the problem. Getting a variety of opinions helps companies develop novel