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Why Is Strategy Important to Business

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Unit Two Assignment – Why is Strategy Important to Business?
John Rapier
Kaplan University
School of Business and Management
MT460-01 Management Policy and Strategy
Dr. Carrie A. O’Hare
July 11, 2012

Unit Two Assignment – Why is Strategy Important to Business? While it could be argued that as students while we may not view the path we are following as a strategy, in truth we are, even if we haven’t codified it as such and if asked if we were ever involved strategic planning, may very well say no. In reality though we have, even though it may not be on a grand scale, it is the plan for our direction and future. This action is at the core of strategic management and strategy. It is this planning for the future of a business, its growth, development and direction which are the very core of growing a successful business over time, just as the selections we make for ourselves will determine our direction in the future and indeed contribute to our eventual development and success.
What is Strategic Management? Although a variety of considerations are involved in Strategic Management, it can be summed up simply as preparing for the future and following a planned path to a goal rather than leaving things to chance and just taking things as they come. Strategic Management provides a comprehensive picture of where a company is, what it hopes to achieve and how it is going to reach its goals. Before we can make plans for the future, we need to know where we are going. The first step that a company must do is to have a vision or plan for the future. Without this vision trying to develop a plan to develop our business is sort of like packing up our car and heading somewhere. We may not really have an idea of where we are headed or how to get there, but we’re going somewhere. Once a company develops a vision or goal for

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