Strategic management important

Strategic Management is an important concept for managers, decision makers and business owners alike, and entails the action-oriented and results-driven evaluation of business goals, objectives and plans for the future, as well as a concrete strategy for addressing them.

Every business owner wants to make the right decisions for their growing companies, but most are at a loss of where to begin. Identifying a problem within the company is only half the battle, but how do decision makers go about solving them?

A strategic management process is most often comprised of five distinct stages:

Goal setting

A company can’t decide on a good course of action without first knowing where it wants to get to – which makes goal setting a crucial initial step in the strategic management process. Goal setting is a perfect opportunity to assess and evaluate the mission or vision of your business.

Analysis

This is the point where businesses gather as much information as they can on what it will take to accomplish their vision. Strategists need to take stock of any internal and external factors that might get in the way, and identify projects that may help it come closer to its goals.

Strategy formulation

Having considered the information gathered, it is time to form a strategy. To determine the best way to spend a company’s resources on its pressing issues, it is a good idea to prioritise them based on their importance to the organisation’s success.

Strategy implementation

Now that the master-plan is in place, attention needs to be turned to making it happen. Every person within the organisation must be informed of their responsibilities and duties when it comes to taking action to implement the strategy and achieve the business’s goals.

Evaluation and control

This is the final step of the strategic management process, where an organisation determines whether their chosen strategy is bearing fruit. It is a good idea to include a third party, such as a business coach, in the evaluation to ensure an objective opinion, and solid experience and knowledge to draw upon. Performance needs to be measured, and remedial or corrective action needs to be taken if aspects of the strategy are not working as well as expected.

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