STRATEGIC PLANNING: EXAM REVISION 2016
Learning unit 1
Introduction to strategic management
Define the concept of strategy and briefly explain its relationship to strategic
management. TB p9 /SGp4
Strategy:
- Its generally seen as the result or outcome of fundamentally important pre-emptive,
innovative management decisions about an organisation‘s strategic direction and strategic
action plans to attain a sustainable competitive advantage and achieve its long-term
objectives in rapidly changing and competitive external business
- is the direction provided by the actions and decisions of strategists in pursuit of
organisational goals.
-a deliberate choice of activities
-coherent narrative about the future direction of the organisation
-provides members of the organisation with a framework to guide their decision making
-the verbalisation of the organisation‘s aspirations and can inspire, unite and motivate
members of the organisation
Explain what is meant by strategic management and discuss the dynamic nature of
the traditional strategic management process. /Define strategy, strategic planning and
strategic management/ Illustrate and explain the strategic management process TB
p3/ SG p6
Strategic management: is a rational approach that organisations use to achieve strategic
competitiveness and competitive advantage. Traditional it draws on the perspective that the
management tasks consists of planning, organising, leading and controlling. Building on this
view, the strategic tasks of top management consist of formulation strategy (planning),
implementing strategy (organising and leading) and control
Strategic management can be looked at from a traditional perspective and in a new
perspective (strategy-as-practice)
The traditional perspective is structured and a process as explained below:
1 Strategy Planning/Formulation-The planning and thinking phase ,where top
management:
Decides on the organisation‘s strategic direction and its long-term
objectives(usually found in the vision and mission statement)
RORA TUTORIALS MNG3701-EXAM PACK 2016 Page 2
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Analyses the organisation‘s external (to identify opportunities and threats )and
internal environments(to identify best resources and capabilities and the
organisation‘s strength and weaknesses)
Selects appropriate competitive strategies strategic choice such as focus,
differentiation or best cost
2 Strategy Implementation/Execution- its the doing part where both human and non-
human factors in the organisation are applied to ensure that the strategy is executed
in line with the devised plans. These are the key elements to be considered:
Leadership and culture- a strategic leader must ensure that the culture of the
organisation is aligned with strategic choice
Implementation competencies- The organisation must ensure that individuals
have the right mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes to support the strategy
Learning organisation-The organisation must be a learning organisation
through its staff and be willing to share knowledge
Systems, policies and procedures- There must be systems such as reward
systems in place to support strategic direction
Organisational architecture and structure- the organisation needs appropriate
structure to successfully execute the strategy
3 Strategic Control
Control measures ensuring that strategies are on track
It reviews and provides feedback to the formulation and implementation
phases
Explain the rationale for new perspectives on strategy/Explain the strategy-as-
practice approach and how it differs from the process approach to strategic
management/Explain strategy-as-practice as an effective approach to managing new
strategic realities.SG p9/TB p7
The new perspective (strategy-as-practice)
Drivers of strategy-as-practice approach have been as follows:
(1) The rise in so-called ‗‗emergent strategies’’, as opposed to the more traditional,
deliberate strategies of organisations, also stemming from rapidly changing business
environments,
(2) The increasing involvement in strategising of people from all levels in the organisation.
Strategies are complex and really address an uncertain future in the sense that
environments are dynamic and changing. Human behaviour also has to be considered.
Apart from new insights and changing environmental conditions, what was actually taught in
strategy did not reflect the realities of business, and this mainly gave rise to the following
realisations about strategy:
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