Strategic management - the art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives .Strategic management is used synonymously with the term strategic planning.
Sometimes the term strategic management is used to refer to strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation, with strategic planning referring only to strategy formulation.
Defining Strategic Management- A strategic plan is a company’s game plan. A strategic plan results from tough managerial choices among numerous good alternatives, and it signals commitment to specific markets, policies, procedures, and operations.
Stages of Strategic Management = (strategy formulation, strategy implementation, Strategy Evaluations)
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
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
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
Some Opportunities and Threats
Computer hacker problems are increasing Intense price competition is plaguing most firms Unemployment and underemployment rates remain high.
Interest rates are rising Product life cycles are becoming shorter. State and local governments are financially weak.
Internal strengths and internal weaknesses
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