What Is Strategic Management?

Management takes many different forms.

Choosing the right one for yourself and your company can be challenging. Many individuals find that strategic management is a good option for them.

But what exactly is strategic management? What are its benefits, and what could it mean for you and your business?

What Is Strategy?

Strategy is a term that was initially used to describe military maneuvers and troop deployment.

Nowadays, the use of the term has spread into the mainstream, and the meaning of the word varies depending on why it is being used.

In the business world, rather than referring to the deployment of troops, strategy refers to resources and how they are used.

Generally, a strategy is a long-term plan which looks at how best to use resources to achieve positive results.

When a company sets a goal or a target, a strategy will also be created. This strategy is essentially the plan which will lead to achieving the goal.

There can be many factors and stages within a strategy that considers each stage of a project or task.

Some strategies will also include contingency plans in case of challenges or obstacles.

What Is Strategic Management?

Within the business world, strategic management is used to help managers and business owners implement plans for their companies.

Although the plans will need to be implemented by senior members of a company, any member of staff can devise ideas as to how to improve management and the steps which can be taken.

The implementation of strategies can help to redirect resources to grow and achieve goals.

Depending on the company’s needs, there are two types of strategic management that are commonly used.

What Is a Resource?

In business terms, a resource is anything that can be used to achieve a goal. This can be products, materials or even people.

Prescriptive Strategies

The process of developing strategies that deal with issues before they happen.

Descriptive Strategies

The process of developing strategies that deal with issues after they have already occurred.

How Does Strategic Management Work?

For strategic management to work, it is important to be thorough in your approach before creating the strategy.

Vision

It’s important to have a vision as to how you would like your business to grow.

This will help you to clarify what it is that you hope to achieve through your strategy, what the goals are and how to go about it.

Your vision and goals should be realistic to make them achievable.

When necessary, a large goal should be broken down into smaller sections so that they are easier to attain.

This will help to keep individuals motivated towards accomplishing their task.

Analyze Data

When you have established what your vision is and what you hope to achieve, the next step is to gather and analyze data.

This can be in the form of customer surveys, sales records, staffing information or any other information which can help you to establish how to achieve your goals.

This information will help you to understand where the company is currently and the potential for growth alongside any risk factors which may occur.

Being armed with as much information as possible before creating and implementing a strategy can greatly increase the chance of success.

Create A Strategy

Once you have all of the available data and are able to evaluate it, you can create a strategy.

The data you have analyzed will inform you of the available resources as well as the potential for success.

It will also help you to know whether or not you will need to access external resources.

Next, you should compile a list of the most important issues affecting your business. They should be listed in order of priority.

Knowing which issue is the most important, as well as the resources that you have available, will help you to develop a strategy to achieve your goals.

When creating your strategy, it is important to remember that situations change all of the time.

This is especially relevant in the business world, where outside influences can significantly impact a strategy.

Because of this, you should have alternative plans which allow for every stage of a plan.

Implement The Strategy

This is the action stage of your strategic management process.

At this point, you should have secured any funding and resources you require and be in a position to implement your strategy.

As long as your strategic plan thoroughly considers every step of the process, everyone involved will understand what it is that they need to do as well as the results they should hope to achieve.

Evaluate

Throughout the implementation process, you should aim to continuously evaluate the strategy's performance.

By measuring and evaluating the progress, you will be in a position to understand how well your strategy is working and whether or not changes need to be made.

After your goal has been achieved, you should also undertake a thorough evaluation process.

This will help you to understand what worked well, what didn’t and what should be done differently next time.

Examples of Strategic Management

Example One

When a company wants to increase their customer base, they may choose to use a strategic management plan to do this.

They would start by considering their vision, what type of customer they hope to attract and the possible ways of doing this. Many companies will have a vision of what their ideal customer looks like.

When they have established what this vision looks like, they will gather data relating to existing customers as well as existing stock levels, the capacity to hold new stock and the potential for increased productivity.

All of this information will help to create a strategy that makes the most of existing resources and highlights whether further resources are needed.

Once these details have been established, the company might decide to run a social media or advertising campaign to attract new customers while making the most of the resources that they have available to them.

After implementing the marketing strategy, the company will monitor customer numbers as well as details such as staff productivity and stock levels.

This means that they are able to evaluate how well the strategy is working and whether or not further changes need to be made, such as hiring more staff.

Example Two

If a company wants to decrease wastage, then a strategic management plan can help with this.

This would start with managers setting a target for how much they would like to reduce their wastage by. They would consider factors such as necessary waste, energy use and recyclables.

Looking at the current figures for waste as well as those of competitors can help to understand what the potential for change could be as well as assisting in formulating a plan for improvements.

After all of the details have been considered, a strategy can be put into place.

This could include factors such as energy-saving lightbulbs, recycling stations for paper or transferring client statements and invoices to paperless methods.

Once the plan has been implemented, then progress should be monitored to establish how well the strategy is working and whether further changes can, or should, be made.

What Are the Benefits of Strategic Management?

Advantage Over Competitors

When a company is always acting to make improvements, it can mean that they are able to hold an advantage over their competitors. This is because they are always in a position to act on changes within their markets and adapt as necessary.

Accomplishing Goals

Using strategic management techniques can help when a company has goals to achieve.

When a strategy is in place, it enables staff to understand what they need to do and allows managers to see the bigger picture.

Plans are able to be put into place for every step of a project to break it into more manageable chunks.

It also offers the opportunity to plan for a variety of eventualities. All of these things help to make goals more achievable.

Growth

Strategic management techniques have been shown to increase efficiency and organization within a business.

These are key for the attainment of goals. When companies are able to achieve their goals and plan ways to make progress, they are able to grow in a way whithatch is sustainable.

Managerial Awareness

One of the most important factors for successful strategic management is an awareness of every aspect of a business.

This is because to implement an effective strategy, it is vital to evaluate as much data as possible and continuously evaluate progress.

Having this knowledge means that managers are aware of changes as they occur and are able to lead more efficiently.

A Cohesive System

When implemented properly, strategic management offers a cohesive system that runs smoothly and helps to ensure the long-term growth of a company.

This is because everyone is aware of what the goals are and how they are to be achieved.

All employees will know what it is that they need to do and what their role is within the strategy.

Making the Most of Opportunities

Because a strategic management plan prepares for contingencies, it is possible to make the most of every opportunity as it happens. Companies are prepared for issues that can occur and are able to implement strategies that cater for these.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Strategic management is an incredibly useful tool within a constantly changing workplace. When implemented effectively, it can provide the tools needed to adapt to change while continually evaluating and adapting.

The most important thing to consider within a strategic management strategy is the importance of a robust evaluation system.

As long as this is in place, businesses are able to stay abreast of the latest data from relevant markets to benefit from it.