Strategic Management Process: Meaning & Steps

Strategic management definition is stated as a field of management that deals with an organisation’s strategic goals. Strategic management’s meaning can extend to creating an organisation’s vision, defining its operational goals, and developing and putting into practise the organisation’s strategy. You can leverage the knowledge of a strategic management course to help advance your career. 

Strategic management Meaning

Strategic management meaning is easy – it is the management of an organisation’s resources to accomplish its goals and objectives. Setting goals, assessing the external and internal environments of the firm, reviewing strategies, and ensuring that the management implements strategies across the organisation, are all part of strategic management.

Importance of Strategic Management

Through a process of assessment, evaluation, and development that can help define new business goals, create appropriate and achievable objectives, and help the organisation regain a competitive advantage, strategic management strategies assist businesses in finding direction. Strategic planning thus is the life force of a business.

What is Strategic Management Process?

The strategic management process means defining the organization’s strategy & implementing it.  In simple terms, a strategic management process involves analyzing current circumstances of a business, developing a plan to reach important goals, and executing that plan. 

A company implements a constant culture of evaluation as part of its strategic management process to surpass competition. Despite how straightforward it may seem; this is a difficult process that includes developing the institution’s broad vision for its current and long-term goals.

Why is Strategic Management Process Important?

The Primary goal of a strategic management process is to help organization to achieve a sustainable strategic competition in the market. Utilizing the strategic management steps as given below, businesses can examine their existing situation, develop and implement strategies, and then evaluate the effectiveness and success of those initiatives. Even during a slump, company development is possible with the right knowledge gained through a strategic management course. Understand why Strategic Management Process in important:

1. Helping the organization for any major decisions.
2. Guiding organizations in fixing realistic and achievable goals, and align them with the company vision.
3. Assisting the business to analyze the competitor’s actions with the help of market trends and guide then succeed in the business goal
4. Preparing the business for any potential challenges and help them copes with the competition in a dynamic environment.
5. Ensuring that the organizations copes with the competition in a dynamic environment and survives in an uncertain market.

Steps of Strategic Management Process

Now you know why strategic management is so important, let’s look at the 5 essential steps in the strategic management process: 

The steps in the strategic management process include the following. The impact of strategic planning on the growth of a business is possible once you are clear on the most basic strategic management steps.

1. Goal Setting 

   Making a road map to assist you in achieving your vision is the central focus of the strategic management process. Therefore, you must be clear about the goals your firm has before moving forward. A vision statement is a common first step in the strategic management process for businesses. Your future goals are expressed in your vision statement. Although it differs from your company’s mission statement, which explains why it exists, both statements should guide your strategic plan.

2. Analysis 

   Analysis is the next important strategic management step. Knowing your existing position is absolutely necessary before defining strategy and other actions. This encompasses both internal and external factors, including your location, structure, and talent that are internal factors, as well as external factors like your competition and market forces. 

3. Strategy Formulation

   Utilizing the knowledge readily at hand, the process of developing a strategy include noting the predicted trajectory of a business and the practical steps to meet its goals. This procedure is used to allocate resources, set priorities, align the entire organisation, and validate business objectives.

4. Strategy Implementation

   Strategy implementation is the process of setting plans into action to obtain a desired result. In essence, it’s the art of accomplishing things. Every organisation’s ability to make choices and carry out crucial procedures effectively, consistently, and efficiently determines how successful it will be.

5. Strategy, Evaluation and Control

   The process by which management determines whether a given strategy has been successfully implemented is known as strategy evaluation. Simply expressed, assessing and evaluating the strategy implementation process and gauging organisational effectiveness constitute strategy evaluation.

Formulation of Strategic Management in Companies 

Another excellent example of strategy formulation is Apple’s process for developing its legendary Macintosh computers in the 1980s. By utilising a gap in the IT market that no one else was familiar with at the time, Apple crafted a strategy to herald in a new phase with the Macintosh series. They executed their plan after research and were immensely successful.

How does technology impact the strategic management process?

Utilising technology as a fundamental business strategy enables you to allocate funds for disaster planning and recovery, security enhancements, and employee training. It enables you to create security plans for staff members across all levels and departments.

Examples of Strategy Management Process:

A simple way to understand strategy management would be with examples:

Example 1: Chrysler Group suffered significant losses in 2000 as a result of issues with performance, the recession, increased costs, and invasive imports. It happened when the automaker chose to group all strategy-related tasks into a single unit of operation. It also established the Office of Strategy Management as part of this. It helped in the administration of business plans. Additionally, it aided business units in the creation of new products.

Employees and management worked together to develop the fundamental competencies needed to meet organisational objectives. Despite a weak domestic market, the car company successfully introduced a number of new cars in 2004 and achieved a $1.2 billion profit.

Example 2: In order to expand his limited furniture business, Alex plans to add a new product category that includes all home decor items. He is doubtful, though, of how his brand would do because it took him years to build up his furniture company because he was slow to recognise the drawbacks. He performs a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) study as part of the strategic management in order to minimise risk this time.

He identifies the advantages and disadvantages of doing business. In accordance with the present market trend, he also assesses possible opportunities and dangers. As a result, he plans and strategies the procedures, from manufacturing to advertising, making sure to give the proper resources to the appropriate locations.

Conclusion

Strategy management in India has a great impact on companies. They provide financial as well as non-financial benefits that can help your business boom. It requires a lot of research and time but also offers significant results. Refer to the process of strategic management to give your business an edge.