CHAPTER ONE
AN OVERVIEW OF
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Contents
1. Definitions of Strategy
2. Difference & similarity B/t public and private sector
SM
3. Evolution of strategic management
4. Levels of Strategy (briefly)
5. Characteristics of Strategic decisions
6. Advantages and challenges of Strategic
Management
7. Strategic Management Process Model
Unit Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this unit, students are
expected to:
Define strategy and strategic management;
Describe the different levels of strategy and
their importance;
Discuss the nature and values of strategic
management; and
Explain the strategic management process.
Reflection
What does strategy
mean?
How do you explain
strategic management?
1.1 Definition of Strategy
Strategy refers to the formulation of
basic organizational mission,
purpose, policy and program
strategies to achieve organizational
goals.
A more comprehensive definition of strategy
(Quinn, 1980)
Strategy as a pattern or plan to integrate
the organization’s major goals, policies,
and action sequences into a cohesive
whole
Strategy as a tool to organize and
allocate an organization’s resources in a
viable way based on its internal
competencies and shortcomings,
anticipated changes in the environment,
and contingent moves by intelligent
opponents
Definitions of Strategic Management
Strategic management
the art and science of formulating, implementing, and
evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an
organization to achieve its objectives
Strategic Mgt. represents the management
responsibility for defining the organization’s
mission, formulating strategies, and guiding long-
term organizational activities consistent with
internal & external conditions.
Definition Cont’d …
St. Mgt. is the decision that aligns the
organization’s internal capability with the
opportunities and threats it faces in its
environment.
St. Mgt. is concerned with deciding on
strategy & planning how that strategy is
to be put into effect via: strategic
analysis, strategic choice, & strategic
implementation.
According to Pearce II & Robinson
St. Mgt. is defined as the set of decisions &
actions that result the formulation &
implementation of plans designed to
achieve organization’s objectives.
Sometimes the term strategic management
is used to refer to strategy formulation,
implementation, and evaluation, with
strategic planning referring only to strategy
formulation.
Pearce II & Robinson Cont’d …
It comprises nine critical tasks:
1. Formulate the organization’s mission,
including broad statements about its
purposes, philosophy, & goals;
2. Develop an organizational profile that
reflects its internal conditions and
capabilities;
3. Assess the organization’s external
environment, including both the competitive
& general contextual factors;
Pearce II & Robinson Cont’d …
4. Analyze the organization’s options by matching its
resources with the external environment;
5. Identify the most desirable options by evaluating
each option in light of the organization’s mission;
6. Select a set of long-term objectives & grand
strategies that will achieve the most desirable
options;
7. Develop annual objectives & short-term strategies
that are compatible with the selected set of long-
term objectives & grand strategies;
Pearce II & Robinson Cont’d …
8. Implement the strategic choices by
means of budgeted resource allocations
in which the matching of tasks, people,
structures, technologies, & reward
systems is emphasized;
9. Evaluate the success of the strategic
process as an input to decision making.
Differences and similarities between
private and public sector?
Similarities:
– Managers are concerned with the issues related to
organisation‘s creation, development and
strengthening
– Management, planning and rational allocation of
resources
– Selection, training and qualification development of
personnel
Differences:
–Objective and evaluation of activity
– Decision-making.
– Publicity and transparency.
Stages of Strategic Management
Contd.
1. Strategy Formulation
includes developing a vision and mission,
identifying an organization’s external
opportunities and threats, determining
internal strengths and weaknesses,
establishing long-term objectives, generating
alternative strategies, and choosing particular
strategies to pursue
Strategy Formulation contd.
Deciding what new businesses to enter,
What businesses to abandon,
How to allocate resources,
Whether to expand operations or
diversify,
Whether to enter international markets,
Whether to merge or form a joint venture,
How to avoid a hostile takeover.
2. Strategy Implementation
Requires a firm to establish annual
objectives, devise policies, motivate
employees, and allocate resources so that
formulated strategies can be executed
Often called the action stage
3. Strategy Evaluation
Reviewing external and internal factors that
are the bases for current strategies,
measuring performance, and taking
corrective actions
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Competitive Strategists
advantage the individuals
anything that a who are most
firm does responsible for the
especially well success or failure
compared to rival of an organization
firms
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Vision statement
answers the question “What do we want to
become?”
often considered the first step in strategic
planning
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Mission statements
enduring statements of purpose that
distinguish one business from other similar
firms
identifies the scope of a firm’s operations in
product and market terms
addresses the basic question that faces all
strategists: “What is our business?”
Key Terms in Strategic Management
External opportunities and external
threats
refer to economic, social, cultural,
demographic, environmental, political, legal,
governmental, technological, and competitive
trends and events that could significantly
benefit or harm an organization in the future
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Internal strengths and internal
weaknesses
an organization’s controllable activities that
are performed especially well or poorly
determined relative to competitors
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Objectives
specific results that an organization seeks to
achieve in pursuing its basic mission
long-term means more than one year
should be challenging, measurable,
consistent, reasonable, and clear
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Strategies
the means by which long-term objectives will
be achieved
may include geographic expansion,
diversification, acquisition, product
development, market penetration,
retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation, and
joint ventures
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Annual objectives
short-term milestones that organizations
must achieve to reach long-term objectives
should be measurable, quantitative,
challenging, realistic, consistent, and
prioritized
should be established at the corporate,
divisional, and functional levels in a large
organization
Key Terms in Strategic Management
Policies
the means by which annual objectives will be
achieved
include guidelines, rules, and procedures
established to support efforts to achieve
stated objectives
guides to decision making and address
repetitive or recurring situations
A Comprehensive Strategic-
Management Model
Why Some Firms Do No
Strategic Planning
Lack of knowledge in strategic planning
Poor reward structures
Firefighting
Waste of time
Too expensive
Laziness
Content with success
Why Some Firms Do No
Strategic Planning
Fear of failure
Overconfidence
Prior bad experience
Self-interest
Fear of the unknown
Honest difference of opinion
Suspicion
1.2 Levels of Strategy
Reflection
What are levels of
strategy?
How do you distinguish/
characterize different levels
of strategy?
Corporate strategy
It is also called portfolio-level
strategy & primarily concerned with
top management, chief executive or
board level decisions for
acquisitions, mergers, major
expansions, & divestitures that add
or reduce product line.
Corporate strategy cont’d …
It identifies the businesses that the
organization is taking and should take,
and attempts to determine the roles each
business activity is playing and should
play in the organization.
At this level; only the global objectives that
are likely to be growth, stability or
retrenchment (defense); & strategic
orientation in order to achieve them are
clearly defined.
Business strategy
It is found in the middle of the decision
making hierarchy and composed mainly
of business & corporate managers.
It is concerned with a single strategic
business unit (SUB) and how each
business attempts to achieve its mission
within its chosen area of activity.
Business strategy cont’d …
Managers at this level translate the
statements of direction and intent
generated at the corporate level into
concrete objectives & strategies for
individual SUBs.
The strategy is directed towards identifying
products that should be developed and offered
to selected markets; and taking care of
meeting the customer’s needs while
achieving the objectives of the organization.
Functional strategy
It is found at the bottom of the decision making
hierarchy composed of mainly of managers of
product, geographic and functional areas.
This strategy is implemented in order to support
the business strategy by each functional area.
Functional level decisions are concerned with how
to implement new technologies, develop new
products, open new markets, expand new facilities,
and institute new human resource programs.
1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF
STRATEGIC DECISIONS
CORPORATE-LEVEL DECISION:
As we move from corporate to functional level
strategies, the decisions become more detailed &
specific
The decisions at corporate level tend to be more value
oriented, conceptual, & less concrete
Corporate level decisions are characterized by greater
risk, cost of risk, profit potential, greater need of
flexibility & longer time horizons
Such decisions include the choice of businesses,
dividend policies, sources of long-term financing, &
priorities of growth
CHARACTERISTICS Cont’d …
BUSINESS-LEVEL DECISION:
Helps to bridge decisions at corporate &
functional levels
Common business level decisions include
plant location, market segmentation,
geographic coverage, & distribution
channels
CHARACTERISTICS Cont’d …
FUNCTIONAL-LEVEL DECISION:
Implement the overall strategy formulated at
the corporate & business levels
Involves action-oriented operational issues,
relatively short range & low risk
Incurs modest costs because it depends on
available resources
Critically analyzed because it is relatively
concrete & quantifiable
1.4 Benefits and Challenges
of Strategic Management
Reflection
What are the benefits as
well as challenges of
Strategic Management?
Advantages & Challenges of St. Mgt
Advantages:
Prevent or mitigate the effects of risks
Helps the managers to discharge their
responsibilities since they know what is
expected of them
Encourages & permits to evaluate alternative
courses of action
It reveals & clarifies the SWOT analysis
Advantages Cont’d …
It provides an overall framework for decision
making & resource allocation effectively
Serves as a means of communicating objectives,
strategies, & detailed operating plans
It helps managers' master change
It develops attitudes, perspectives, ways of
thinking, decision-making habits, & planning
philosophy that will produce better decisions
Advantages Cont’d …
It provides a basis for measuring qualitative
performance – creativity, innovation,
imagination, motivation
It keeps the org. invariably tied with its
customers & stakeholders and provide
relevant service to the society it stands for
It makes the organization a learning-
organization whereby others consider it as a
model to be followed
Constraints/ Challenges
The difficulties of forecasting the uncertain
future accurately
The complexity of the environment to be
forecasted and the complex relations
involved between environmental variables
The limitations of the data available & the distrust
of mgt. techniques applied such as forecasting,
modeling, cost analysis & operational research
Constraints Cont’d …
The costly endeavor of the St. mgt process that
entails the use of specialists, taking up mgt. time,
requiring the support of many individuals and even
other orgs.
The rapidity and novelty of environmental change
(the main leading forces of change are
globalization, resource scarcity, & technological
revolution).
Hence, the survival & success of organizations can
be guaranteed with new creativity & innovation
1.5 The framework for Strategic
Management
Involves a nine-step process:
1. Creating a vision for the organization
2. Outlining the missions & legal mandates
that define the organization
3. Examining internal factors that influence
its performance
4. Examining external factors that influence
its performance
CONT’D …
5. Examining the trends & potential futures of the
organization
6. Setting goals for improving organizational
performance over a specified period
7. Designing a strategic plan for reaching the
goals set
8. Implementing or operationalizing the strategic
plan
9. Evaluating both ongoing activities & the final
outcomes
Analysis of the Strategic Management
Process
Vision
Mission/Mandate
Internal Analysis
Eternal Analysis
Trend Analysis
Goal Setting based on Vision
Strategic Planning
Implementation / Operational Mgt
Evaluation
THE END!!!