STRATEGIC

DIRECTION
STRATEGIC DIRECTION

 Strategic direction is established and communicated

through tools such as visions, missions, and values.

 A course of action that leads to the achievement of the

goals of an organization’s strategy.
CREATING A STRATEGIC
DIRECTION

Senior managers are responsible for providing a long-term

direction for their organizations, while balancing the
competing interests of key stakeholders. To accomplish this
task, one of the most vital questions a manager can ask and
answer is “Who are we?” A clear understanding of the
business identity is the starting point of all strategic
planning and management.
CREATING A STRATEGIC DIRECTION
(CONT.)

It provides an anchor for evaluating the effects of planned

change and for planning the steps needed to move an
organization forward. Internally, a well-establish
organizational identity can provide guidance to managers
at all levels as they make strategic decisions.
Communicating strategic direction to potential external
partners can increase their understanding of the motives of
the organizational and my also facilitate alliance and joint
ventures, since potential partners have greater ability to
judge the existence of common goals.
CREATING A STRATEGIC DIRECTION
(CONT.)

There are no widely accepted guidelines managers use to

provide strategic direction. In some companies, little is
written down; in others, detailed statements exist. Some
companies mix and match labels and even confuse the
terms, calling a vision a mission and vice versa. Regardless
of the labels and the medium of communication, high-
performing companies tend to create an organizational
identity that is understood by both internal and external
stakeholders.
CREATING A STRATEGIC DIRECTION
(CONT.)

Begin with the current identity

When defining the current state of the business, the question “What
is our business?” should be answered from three perspectives:

1. Who is being satisfied?

2. What is being satisfied?
3. How are customer needs satisfied?

The first question refers to the markets that an organization serves,

the second question deals with the specific services and products
provided to the customers identified in question 1, and the third
question refers to the capabilities and technologies the firm uses to
provide the services identified in question 2.
MISSION STATEMENTS
 An organization’s mission statement is a brief statement
of the purpose of the organization that helps answer the
question “What are we here to do?”

 A mission statement provides an important vehicle for

communicating ideals and a sense of direction to internal
and external stakeholders. It can inspire employees and
managers. It can also help guide organizational managers
in resource-allocation decisions.

 A mission statement should help convey what the

organization does, how it does it, and for whom.
ORGANIZATIONAL VISION
 A vision is an ideal and unique image f the future. It is a forward-looking
statement that conveys a sense of possible.

 An organization with a vision has a definite sense of what it wants to be in

the future.

 A vision may be used to focus the efforts of the entire organization.

Starbucks’ vision is to “be the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the
world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.”

 A well-understood vision can help managers and employees believe that

their actions have meaning. Unfortunately, sometimes firms have a vision
but it produces no positive results, because it is not well understood by
members of the organization.
ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES
 A final but equally important aspect of strategic direction
is the establishment of organizational values.

 Values guide organizational decisions and behavior.

 The values of an organization are also a reflection of the

social groups from which managers and other employees
are drawn (which makes global management even more
challenging).
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Embedded within the concept of organizational values is the notion of
social responsibility. Social responsibility contains four major components:

1. Economic responsibilities, such as the obligation to be productive and

profitable and meet the consumers needs of society

2. Legal responsibilities, to achieve economic goals within the confines of

written law

3. Moral obligations, to abide by unwritten codes, norms, and values

implicitly derived from society

4. Discretionary responsibilities, that are volitional or philanthropic in

nature
GREEN INITIATIVES
Hotel companies are beginning to recognize that the
choices they make affect the impact their guests have on
the environment.