Guidelines of the Strategic Management Process

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

“Strategic management is the process by which, managers act on behalf of owners in utilizing the resources so as to enhance performance of businesses in a given environment” (Dess, Lumpkin & Eisner, 2009). They decide on the source of resources, use and evaluation of the whole process to determine success or failure.

Corporate strategy refers to the direction/scope of corporation and the criteria by which, various operating departments work together to realize particular set goals. According to Dransfield (2001), different sections of the corporation have their own responsibilities, but at the end of it all, they strive to realize the common goal of the corporation as a whole.

The main objective is to deliver products and services in the way the stakeholders are expecting. The corporation where I belong has stated its strategy clearly on the mission statement. This defines how the mission would be easily implemented through coordination of departments.

The mission statement gives guidelines of the processes that are supposed to be done in order to achieve set goals. These guidelines are the ones that corporate strategy enforces and oversees their implementation.

A functional strategy simply refers to selecting the decision rules in every functional area and preferably presenting them in writing. These functional strategies include marketing strategy that defines how products and services would be made available to the customer, identify the customer, and make sure the customers are satisfied and maintained.

Financial strategy helps in identifying the main funding, e.g. investors, their own funding or through programs of debt financing. Giffler and Reymond (1992), explains that research and development strategy focuses on expansion whereas operational strategy deals with coordination of departments in their day to day operations.

Purchasing strategy provides resources in form of raw materials as well as assets to the corporation. Promotion and outsourcing of staff is done through human resource strategy. Strategy of information technology takes care of the need to be updated as far as technology is concerned.

The corporation where I belong uses this strategy in all its departments to fasten its decision making and enhance effective coordination. The strategy also simplifies control and promotes growth with stability while at the same time acting as a medium of authority delegation.

Competitive strategies can be well defined by understanding why the business is in operation, what its goals are, how competent it is and who it is operating with in the market segments. As suggested by Porter (2004), this understanding would identify barriers, which would require counter effect.

Offensive strategy is one method of competitive strategy where barriers are overcome by changing systemic process generating them. This strategy has the option of altering competitive structure in one’s industry, pressuring to realize change in competitive structure and exploiting this change before others realize it and extending corporation to markets which are more attractive.

Defensive strategy is another method where acceptance of competitive forces in the industry is done and the corporation organizes its defense. The business can harvest its business before it is attacked by the competitive forces. This will guard against being caught unexpectedly by market surprises caused by competitors.

The last method of competitive strategy is niche or guerrilla strategy. The strategy used at this juncture, is to do away with barriers by reducing the area of the battlefield. This is followed by taking both offensive and defensive positions on quite a smaller and attractive segment of the market.

Almost all corporations have a performing strategy of competing. Corporation where I am part have got long serving strategies, which by look of thing are implicit. These strategies lack focus and the decisions that come out of them are inconsistent and in-comprehensive. This brings about a great need for reforms.

These strategies when implemented on the right way can promise sustainability to a business and portray it as being resistant to external forces. Corporation should capitalize on these strategies instead of devoting all the energy and resources on profit generation only.

References

Dess, G., Lumpkin, G. T. & Eisner, A. (2009). Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages. Osborne: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Dransfield, R. (2001). Corporate strategy. Jordan Hill: Heinemann.

Giffler, J.K. & Reymond, D.A. (1992). Functional strategy: creating and sustaining superior performance in the 1990s. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management.

Porter, M.E. (2004). Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. Illinois: Free Press.

Click Here To Order Now!

Guidelines of the Strategic Management Process

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)