Strategic Management

What is Strategic Management? Discus the need and characteristics of Strategic Management.

Strategic Management consists of analysis, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages. This definition captures two main elements that go to the heart of field of Strategic Management.

Definitions

Strategy is a central understanding of the strategic management process.

Strategy is the determination of basic long-term goals and objectives of an organisation.

Determining the courses of action to attain the predetermined goals and objectives.

Identify factors in the political and social environment that requires careful monitoring.

Allocating the necessary resources for implementing the course of action.

Set a clear direction.

Enterprise knows its strengths, and weakness compared with those of its competitors. 

The competitive firm should have a rational, clear-headed notion purged of wishful thinking of its mission, its external competitive environment, and its internal capabilities.


Needs 

To develop measures to judge whether a particular opportunity is a rare one or whether much better ones are likely to develop in the future.

To utilize the delay principles that is delay the commitment until and opportunity is on hand.

To have rules to guide the search for new opportunities both inside and outside of the firm.

To identify develop and exploit potential opportunities.

To save time, money and executive talent.

To have an assurance that the firm's overall resource allocation pattern is efficient. 

Characteristics 

Reference :Strategic management ensure that strategic is put into action,implementation is done through action plans. 

Long-term implication :Strategic management is not concerned with day-to-day operation.It has long-term implications.It deal with vision,mission and objective.

Uncertain :Strategic management deals with future-oriented non-routine situation.They create uncertainly.Managers are unaware about the consequences of their decisions.

Fundamental :Strategic management is fundamental for improving the long-term performance of the organization.

Complex :Uncertainly brings complexity for strategic management.Managers face environment which is difficult to comprehend.External and internal environment is analysed.