ABSTRACT
Introduction to the Concepts Henry Mintzberg has been described as 'Canada's best-known guru of man agement' (Foster, 1989). This followed a speech to members of the Strategic Planning Society in London, where the main thrust of his address, was that the true purposes of strategic planning are frequently misunderstood, par ticularly by those in business organisations who use the process of strategic planning professionally. He was in fact attacking the basic assumption that all organisations develop best if they proceed along paths determined entirely by rational analysis. The frequent 'buffeting by the wind' that external events often (and internal initiatives sometimes) cause, brings about the inevitable need for adaptations, which in some cases are themselves the immediate source of a further strategy. In other words, to assume that action always follows deliberate intention in human affairs is a fallacy.
