Strategic Managemenmt Process

1.0 INTRODUCTION

According to Douglas Webster, (2004), Strategic management is an ongoing process of managing an organization strategically. This involves a set of management decisions and actions that result in formulating and implementing strategies that determine the performance and success of the organization. The focus is primarily on large-scale, future-oriented strategies that allow an organization to achieve its objectives, considering the environment in which it operates.

Wells, D., (1996), emphasized that strategic management requires good strategic thinking to be successful. Strategic management is a process that involves strategic planning and management into a single process. Strategy-making is an ongoing effort that proceeds on two fronts: one proactively through analysis and thought in advance, the other emerging and/or conceived in response to new developments, special opportunities, and experience with prior strategic actions

As we consider business cases, and actual strategic management situations, we are primarily trying to answer a framework of questions such as: What are the current purposes and strategy of the firm? What are its strengths and weaknesses? What are the major opportunities and threats in the firm's environment? And, how can those organizational capacities and industry opportunities be related effectively? A complementary perspective is that we are trying to answer three deceptively simple questions for each organization at a particular time: (1) where are we (the organization) now? (2) Where do we need to or want to be? (3) How do we get there?

In today’s highly competitive business environment, budget-oriented planning or forecast-based planning methods are insufficient for a large corporation to survive and prosper. The firm must engage in strategic planning that clearly defines objectives and assesses both the internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress and make...