A short discussion on strategy.

1. Strategy

2. What is “strategy”?
A strategy is a plan of action designed to
achieve a vision. It derives from the Greek
"στρατηγία" (strategia), “command".
People use strategy in many different areas of
life, from business to warfare; and there are
many games that people play to practice
strategy.

3. Opening Discussion
• What are some ways that you get the things
that you want?
• Can you remember something that someone
did that you think was a good strategy? What
are some smart things you have seen people
do?

4. Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue
desired strategic goals. When this term first appeared in use during the 18th
century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general" 'the art of
arrangement' of troops. Military strategy deals with the planning and conduct of
campaigns, the movement and disposition of forces, and the deception of the
enemy.

5. Business Strategy
Strategic planning is an organization's process
of defining its strategy, or direction, and
making decisions on allocating its resources to
pursue this strategy. In order to determine the
direction of the organization, it is necessary to
understand its current position and the
possible avenues through which it can pursue
a particular course of action. Generally,
strategic planning deals with at least one of
three key questions:
1. "What do we do?"
2. "For whom do we do it?"
3. "How do we excel?"

6. Game Theory
Game theory is a method of studying strategic
decision making. More formally, it is "the
study of mathematical models of conflict and
cooperation between intelligent rational
decision-makers." An alternative term is
“interactive decision theory”. Game theory is
mainly used in economics, political science,
and psychology, and other sciences, like logic
and biology. The subject first addressed zero-
sum games, such that one person's gains
exactly equal net losses of the other
participant(s). Today, however, game theory
applies to a wide range of interactions, and
has developed into an umbrella term for the
logical side of science, to include both human
and non-humans, like computers.

7. What do you think?
• Do you know of a great military strategy from
history?
• What do you think are some good strategies
for a successful business?
• Have you ever heard of “Game Theory”? Do
you think it is possible to turn making good
decisions into a science?

8. Risk
Risk is a strategic board game, that
was invented by French film director
Albert Lamorisse and originally
released in 1957. Risk is a turn-based
game for two to six players. The
standard version is played on a board
depicting a political map of the Earth,
divided into forty-two territories,
which are grouped into six continents.
The primary object of the game is
"world domination," or "to occupy
every territory on the board and in so
doing, eliminate all other players."
Players control armies with which they
attempt to capture territories from
other players, with results determined
by dice rolls.

9. StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time
strategy video game developed by Blizzard
Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft
series was released for Microsoft Windows on
31 March 1998. With more than 11 million
copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it
is one of the best-selling games for the
personal computer. Many of the industry's
journalists have praised StarCraft as one of
the best and most important video games of
all time.
In StarCraft, each player controls a whole army, and is able to tell each soldier what to
do and where to go. Play usually ends when all of one player’s army has been
eliminated. StarCraft is particularly popular in South Korea, where players and teams
participate in professional competitions, earn sponsorships, and compete in televised
tournaments.

10. Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played
on a chessboard, a square-checkered
board with 64 squares arranged in an
eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the
world's most popular games, played by
millions of people worldwide.
Chess is played with many different
pieces, but the most important piece is
the king. When one player captures the
other’s king, they win the game. This is
called “checkmate”.
Originally from India, Chess is
considered a classic game of strategy. In
English, people often use metaphors
from chess, such as “I’m just a pawn.”

11. What do you think?
• Do you like to play strategy games? Which
game do you like the best?
• Can you play chess? How about Chinese chess
(Xiangqi)?
• What do you think of people who watch video
games on television?
• Do you think “world domination” is a good
goal for a game, or should people pursue
more peaceful goals?