Strategic Management

Strategic management is about taking "strategic decisions" of an organization, those that define the way an organization functions. In practice, strategic management has three main components:

1.    Strategic Analysis

2.    Strategic Choice

3.    Strategy Implementation

Strategic Analysis

It is about analyzing the strengths of a business and understanding the external factors that influence it. The process of Strategic Analysis can be assisted by a number of tools, including:

PEST Analysis - a technique where the political, economic, social and technological analysis of a business’s environment is done

Scenario Planning - a technique which builds various possible views of the future of a business

Five Forces Analysis - a technique which analyses the five forces pertaining to a business, its market and its competition

Market Segmentation - a technique which identifies similarities and differences between groups of customers

Directional Policy Matrix - a technique which summarizes the competitive strength of a business’s operations in specific markets

Critical Success Factor Analysis - a technique which identifies areas in which a business must outperform the competition for achieving success

SWOT Analysis - a technique which summarizes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to a business.

Strategic Choice

This process involves the understanding of stakeholder expectations, identifying strategic options, and evaluating and selecting the right strategic option.

Strategy Implementation

Quite often the hardest part, after all possible strategies has been analyzed and the right one selected, the task is then to implement it into organizational action.