The Strategic Management Process

Explain the role of mission in the strategic management process.

A mission statement describes what an organization actually does- what its business is- and why it does it.

Stategic planning

A rational, top-down process through which management can program future success; typically concentrates strategic intelligence and decision-making responsibilities in the office of the CEO.

Explain the role of vision in the strategic management process.

A vision captures an organization's aspirations. An effective vision inspires members of the organization.

Emergent strategy

Any unplanned stategic initiative undertaken by mid-level employees of their own volition.

Realized Strategy

Combination of intended and emergent strategy

Distinguish between customer-oriented and product-oriented missions and identify strategic implications.

Customer- oriented missions define business in terms of providing solutions to customer needs. Product- oriented missions define a business in terms of a good or service provided.

Mission

Description of what an organization actually does- what its business is- and why it does it; can be customer-oriented or product-oriented.

Success is created twice.

First, by creating a mental model of what the firm wants to accomplish. Second, by formulating and implementing a strategy that makes this vision a reality.

Explain why anchoring a firm in ethical values is essential for long-term success.

Focus! Ethical core values enable employees to make day to day decisions that are guided by correct principles. Strong ethical values are the guardrails that help keep the company on track when pursuing its mission and its quest for competitive advantage.

Critically evaluate the relationship between mission statements and competitive advantage.

Focus! Mission statements can help a firm achieve superior performance, but mission statements by themselves do not directly affect firm performance. To be effective, mission statements need to be backed up by hard to reverse commitments.

Unrealized Strategy

Part or all of a firm's strategic plan that falls by the wayside due to unexpected events

Describe and evaluate the role of strategic intent in achieving long-term goals.

Strategic intent finds its expression in stretch goals that exceed the firms' existing resources and capabilities by a large margin. Effective use of strategic intent creates at all levels of the organization an obsession with winning that can help companies ascend to global leadership.

Compare and contrast strategic planning, scenario planning, and strategy as planned emergence, and discuss strategic implications.

Strategic intiatives can be the result of top down planning by executives or can emerge through a bottom-up process from deep within the organization. A firms realized strategy is generally a combination of its tip down intended strategy and bottom up emergent strategy, resulting in planned emergence.

Scenario Planning

Strategy planning activity in which managers envision different what-if scenarios to anticipate plausible futures.

Intended Strategy

The outcome of a rational and structured top-down strategic plan

Dominant strategic plan

The strategy option that managers think most closely matches reality at a given point in time.

Customer-oriented missions provide managers with more strategic flexibility than product-oriented missions.

True

Explain the role of values in the strategic management process.

Values define the ethical standards and norms that should govern the behavior of individuals within the firm.

Vision

a picture of what the firm wants to be and, in broad terms, what it wants to ultimately achieve; It captures the company's aspiration.

Strategic Commitments

actions that are costly long term oriented and difficult to reverse

Strategic initiative

any activity a firm pursues to explore and develop new products and processes, new markets, or new ventures

Organizational Values

ethical standards and norms that govern the behavior of individuals within a firm or organization

Strategic Intent

focuses and applies organizational energies on a unifying and compelling goal.

Strategic Intent

the staking out of a desired leadership position that far exceeds a company's current resources and capabilities

Compare and contrast strategic planning, scenario planning, and strategy as planned emergence, and discuss strategic implications.

Focus! Top down strategic planning works reasonably well when the environment does not change much. In scenario planning, managers envision different what-if scenarios and prepare contingency plans that can be called upon when necessary. Strategic intiatives can be the result of top down planning by executives or can emerge through a bottom-up process from deep within the organization. A firms realized strategy is generally a combination of its tip down intended strategy and bottom up emergent strategy, resulting in planned emergence.

Strategic Management Process

Method by which managers conceive of and implement a strategy that can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage.