Strategic Management
“Strategy”, narrowly defined, means “the art of the general”. It was considered a military term and its principles included: the objective, the offensive, cooperation, mass, economy of force, maneuver, surprise, security and simplicity. Strategy is a set of key decision made to meet objectives based on a complex web of thoughts, ideas, insights, experience, goals, expertise, memories, perceptions, and expectations that provides general guidance for specific actions in pursuit of particular ends. Every firm competing in an industry has a strategy, because strategy refers to how a given objective will be achieved.
Strategy and tactics are distinct in terms of their dimensions. They are both concerned with formulating and then carrying out courses of action intended to attain particular objectives. However there are major differences. Strategy, for the most part, is concerned with deploying resources and tactics is concerned with employing them. Strategy deals with wide spaces, long periods of time, and large movements of forces, tactics deal with the opposite. Strategy is the prelude to action, and tactics the action itself. According to one expert, "Strategy is many things: plan, pattern, position, ploy and perspective."
Strategic decisions incorporate one or more of the elements: the long term direction, achieve some advantage, Major change in the scope of an organization's activities, matching of the activities of an organization to the operating environment, major financial or other resource implications, building on or stretching an organizations resources and competencies, major impact outside the organization, entails significant risks, affect operational decisions, raises issues of complexity and 'cross-cutting' interactions, and affected by the values and expectations of persons with power.
There are a number of schools of thought who see business strategy in different ways. Some of these schools are: the Design School; -Planning School; Positioning School; Entrepreneurial School; Cognitive School; Learning School; Power School; Cultural School; Environmental School, and Configuration School. These schools can be divided into two categories based on their approach to strategy. The prescriptive approach is a rational and linear process. Prescriptive strategy is one whose objective has been defined in advance and whose main elements have been developed before the strategy begins. The descriptive or emergent argue that strategy emerges, adapting to human need, and evolves over time. They deemphasize planning stress on the importance of learning and adaptability allowing for more experimentation and innovation.
Strategic Management starts where strategic thinking ends. Strategic Management applies strategic thinking to lead the organization to its vision. Strategic Management is iterative and on going, and includes three primary activities:
Strategic Analysis: Factors that impact strategic analysis are (a) Environmental Analysis External Environment - macro-economic, political, demographic and regulatory environment, etc.; competitive environment; the competitive position of the firm. Strategic Choice: In developing the criteria for decision making the following factors are important: (a) corporate purpose and aspirations, (b) the compatibility between corporate business unit strategies; (c) the internal strategic development options; and (d) external strategic development options
Strategy Implementation: Strategy implementation is concerned with the translation of strategy into action. It includes strategy evaluation, implementation and control.
The characteristics of Strategic Management are that it co-ordinates and integrates business activities; it strengthens the competitive position; it satisfies Customers; it works toward achieving Performance Targets, and it is adaptive.
Strategic thinking has become a critical requirement of the business process and is necessary requirement for the modern organization. Strategic thinking looks at the vision for the organization and then works backwards by focusing on how the business will able to reach this vision. In doing so, it improves the ability of the organization to make its business vision a reality. In strategic thinking, we first seek a clear understanding of the particular character of each element of a situation. Then we break it up into its constituent parts and reassemble the constituent parts in the desired pattern. This is not a step-by step methodology such as systems analysis. Rather, it is the ultimate nonlinear thinking tool - the human brain.
The characteristics of strategic thinking are: ability to see the 'whole picture', creativity scenario generation and evaluation, ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty, a identification of strategic issues.
Strategic thinking leads the organization to gain insight into the driving forces behind the new competitive paradigm; systematically develop a sustainable competitive advantage based on the organization's core competencies; create an infrastructure for the continuo review and redefinition of OUT strategic direction to maximize results, while minimizing the time spent on this process; and recognize and capitalize on new developments and opportunities in the market.
It must be remembered that there is a basic difference between Strategic Planning Strategic Thinking and Strategic Management. Strategic Planning is about planning, while strategic management is about management; and Strategic Management is about Strategic Thinking, while Strategic Planning is System Thinking.
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