Crafting and Executing Strategy

Assume that you are a business owner or business professional, in a company and industry of your choice, responsible for creating and executing the company's strategic plan.

1. Develop an argument supporting the importance of a strategic plan for the success of the defined business.

In today's difficult environment, organizations must deal with a broad range of environmental and market pressures. These stresses include competitive threats, production deadlines, quality control improvements, board development, customer service, employee issues, fundraising, pleasing key stakeholders, etc. In order to succeed in such environment, employers must learn and utilize established business management techniques; otherwise the organization may not survive. One of these recognized business management techniques is called Strategic Planning. However Strategic planning is part of an overall philosophy and values of business management called Strategic Management. I have come to learn that strategic management approach takes into consideration the realities of the market and the overall business operations and management which help business owner to tailor or design approaches and strategies specific to their type of business. In addition strategic plan provides the means to identify and prepare for risks, market changes and opportunities that are likely to be encountered. It also helps to better understand the profession in which you practice, key players of the industry, the workplace environment and the market trend for the success of the business.

Strategic plan Practice It is imperative in the competitive business environment to keep well-informed of experiences and understandings regarding best management performance and adapt and apply those that are relevant in my particular industry. An anticipation of planning allow business owner to pay specific attention to the strategy, marketing, information system, operational, project, financial, people and board aspects of management.

In many occasions among other reasons most failures of businesses are subjected to poor strategic plans and continuously the expressed word in such circumstance is "the failure was foreseeable because they did not have a clear and solid strategic business plan". In addition to that the request of any loan from a financial institution for business purpose must be supported by a business plan. So what is strategic planning? Strategic planning is a disciplined process for making decisions and taking actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it wishes to do, and how it intends to do it. Many people, particularly small business owners, have mistaken by thinking that strategic planning only applied to larger organizations, however I really believe that a well-developed strategic planning can be used for any type of business structure because when properly implemented it may offer a