Blog 1 Literature Review

Strategic Management involves the “ongoing process companies use to form a vision, analyse their external environment and their internal environment, and select one or more strategies to use to create value for the customers and other stakeholders, especially shareholders (Foundations of strategic management 2013). Some key characteristics of strategic management include;

-          Performance orientated

-          Ongoing in nature

-          Dynamic rather than static

-          Orientated to the present and future

-          Concerned with conditions both outside and inside the firm

-          Concerned with performing well and satisfying stakeholders

Moodle 2013: Foundations of strategic Management

The initial task of strategic management is the compilation of the vision and mission statements. Essentially this allows the organisation to determine where they want to go and what market they wish to serve. A SWOT analyses is also a critical part of the process, as this allows an organisation to assess their strengths, weaknesses, opportunity’s and threats. Typically, a strategic Management Plan is working towards a vision, and a SWOT analyses allows for an organisation to assess its mission, goals and strengths (Nag et al. 2007).

Furthermore, there are a number of ideas and theories regarding the Strategic Management model. Some include;

-          Situation Analysis

-          Environmental Determinism

-          Principal of Enactment

-          Deliberate Strategy

-          Emergent Strategy

-          Resource- Based Review

-          Stakeholder Management

Moodle 2013:The Strategic Management Process

Different firms may implement a number of strategies, depending on what they want to achieve. For example, stakeholder management focuses on benefiting those who have input into the organisations (have a stake), whereas environmental determinism involves a strategy that will benefit environmental, technical and human resources.

Moreover, deliberate strategies involve a set plan, which managers intend on carrying out to reach a particular goal, whereas an emergent strategy is not planned or intended but identifying an opportunity and reacting quickly to it.

 Moodle2013: The Strategic Management Process