Mgt 498 - Strategic Management Process

Strategic Management Process

Evan Elliott

MGT/498

February 29, 2016

Dr. Judy Blando

Strategic Management Process

The strategic management process is the defining of the organization’s strategy. It can be defined as the process by which supervisors choose of a set of strategies for the business that will empower it to attain greater performance. Strategic management is an unceasing process that evaluates the company and industries that the organization is involved in. Next, it appraises the competition, and sets goals to exceed present and future competitors. Finally, it reassesses each strategy and begins again.

Environmental scanning is comprised of the observing, assessing, and distributing of data from internal and external locations to significant individuals inside the organization. The purpose of environmental scanning is to recognize strategic factors that can aid in the analysis in deciding the tactical choices of the company. The easiest method to conduct environmental scanning is through Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. This is important for a company as it outlines where to make changes to survive and thrive in the industry (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2015).

The internal locations contain variables (Strengths and Weaknesses) that are inside the company and are not normally in the control of upper management. Those variables are the setting in which work is completed. Those variables include the company’s culture, structure, and resources. The external locations contain variables (Opportunities and Threats) which are neither inside the company nor ordinarily in the short-run control of upper management. These variables are the context in which the company exists. These variables are what make up the industry in which the company is in. It is vital to a company to understand what aspects of the business are controllable (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2015).

Strategy formulation is the act of investigating, analyzing, and decision making which gives the corporation principles with which to attain a competitive advantage (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2015). This includes outlining the competitive benefits of the company, creating the company mission, postulating attainable goals, and setting policy guidelines. It is important for a business to have a game plan for long term success.

Strategy implementation is a procedure through which policies and strategies are set into action through the development of budgets, programs, and procedures (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2015). This procedure may include variations in the general structure, culture, or management system of the entire company. Occasionally mentioned to as operational planning, strategy implementation regularly consists of day-to-day decisions in resource distribution. This is important as it outlines daily operations and budgets.