STRATEGIC

MANAGEMENT
 WHAT IS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT
• Strategic management is the ongoing planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all
necessities an organization needs to meet its goals and objectives. Changes in business
environments will require organizations to constantly assess their strategies for success. The
strategic management process helps organizations take stock of their present situation, chalk
out strategies, deploy them and analyze the effectiveness of the implemented management
strategies. Strategic management strategies consist of five basic strategies and can differ in
implementation depending on the surrounding environment. Strategic management applies
both to on-premise and mobile platforms.
 WHAT IS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT
• Strategic management is generally thought to have financial and nonfinancial benefits. A
strategic management process helps an organization and its leadership to think about and
plan for its future existence, fulfilling a chief responsibility of a board of directors. Strategic
management sets a direction for the organization and its employees. Unlike once-and-done
strategic plans, effective strategic management continuously plans, monitors and tests an
organization's activities, resulting in greater operational efficiency, market share and
profitability.
 WHY IS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
IMPORTANT
• There is a Japanese saying that goes, “When you’re dying of thirst, it is too late to think
about digging a well.” This saying exalts the importance of strategic management to success
in any endeavor. Planning is something that has become a habit for many, in one or more
areas of our lives. Whether you’re making a big move in your career or presenting an idea,
or anything else for that matter; planning is a part of nearly everything we do and many of
the steps we take in life require an enormous amount of planning. Of course, it’s possible to
do just about anything without first planning for it. However, most of the time when we do
things without planning we are taking huge risks, with results that often are discouraging or
unsatisfying, at best. In few areas is planning as important as it is in business. In fact, it is so
important that it has a unique title: strategic management.
 WHY IS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
IMPORTANT
• Strategic management, especially when done well, is important for a business' long-term
success. When we say that a business is carrying out strategic management, what is meant is
that "strategic management" defines a strategy for its business activities, with clear, well-
defined goals. The business will then create clear, well-defined plans that it will then put in
action to achieve its goals and to align its business activities, so that the business will be in
harmony with those goals. It also will allocate all of the necessary resources to achieve those
goals.
 WHY IS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
IMPORTANT
• A good strategic management plan goes beyond the improving a business' bottom line. A
good plan also gives the company a valid social license for operations. In today's
environment, this is becoming an ever-more important aspect for each business, because
businesses have multiple internal and external stakeholders. For example, consumers are
seeing an increase in their awareness of their products being sold by companies. They're also
becoming increasingly more interested, not only in the products a business produces, but
also in the way that a company conducts its business activities. This includes operations
from an environmental standpoint as well as from an ethical one. All of these aspects should
be considered in strategic management and should be included in the business' plans, which
should ensure that the business will survive in the long run.
 WHAT BUSINESS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IS
FOR A SMALL BUSINESS FIRM?

• Strategic Management is a concept that focuses on organisation’s ability to choose and implement strategic
options and actions so that it will successfully meet the challenges posed by the changing world, other
organisations and its own goals and objectives.

• In business, the term “strategic management” is often used as synonymous with “strategic planning”.
Strategic planning is an important component of strategic management in business organisations. But there
are other equally important components, and these include strategic human resource management , and
strategic marketing. Therefore, to be clear, strategic management for small businesses will involve a
combination of the above processes and activities.
• Strategic Management helps organisations to identify the goals and objectives they need to achieve and then
create strategies that will enable the organisation to actively achieve these goals and objectives. The term goal
refers to a specific result that management wants to achieve, whereas objective refers to a specific process
that management needs to incorporate into the organisation’s routine processes and activities, so that it will be
able to achieve the goals effectively.
 WHAT BUSINESS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IS
FOR A SMALL BUSINESS FIRM?

• So strategic management for small business will assist you to set well-defined goals and objectives, and tailor your existing processes and activities, as
well as introduce new processes and activities, to ensure that the business is in alignment with the goals and objectives.

• Before strategic management for small business can begin, the development of a strategic plan is necessary.

• The steps in the Strategic Management planning process are:

- The identification of the organisation’s goals and objectives.

- The analysis of the external environment, especially the business environment.
- The development of strategies that will enable the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives.
- The development of objectives that will enable the organisation to achieve its strategies.
- The development of tactics that will enable the organisation’s objectives to be achieved.
- The implementation and execution of the strategies and tactics that will enable the organisation to achieve its goals and objectives.
- The establishment of processes which will ensure that the business is in harmony with the external environments.
- The continuous assessment of the organisation’s strategies, objectives and plans to ensure that they are in line with the current external environment.
 WHAT CAN A ENTREPRENEUR DO TO INCREASE THE CHANCES
FOR A SELECTED STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTED.?

• Entrepreneurs can come from different backgrounds and utilize varying skillsets to achieve
their goals. However, a careful study of entrepreneurship shows there are a few shared
strategies that can help entrepreneurs succeed in the early stages of their career. Let’s take a
look at some of the strategies employed by the most successful entrepreneurs:
 WHAT CAN A ENTREPRENEUR DO TO INCREASE THE CHANCES
FOR A SELECTED STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTED.?

• 1. Learn from prior work experience. Many entrepreneurs don’t become successful
overnight: they often begin at the bottom of a traditional corporate totem pole. Starting out
as an employee, rather than an entrepreneur, is an opportunity to learn how organizations
work. Use your early job roles to observe how management teams make strategic decisions
and to develop the humility, resilience, and competitiveness you will need as a leader of a
startup business.
 WHAT CAN A ENTREPRENEUR DO TO INCREASE THE CHANCES
FOR A SELECTED STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTED.?

• 2. Develop a diverse set of skills. In many ways, an entrepreneur is a full-time problem-

solver first and foremost. Therefore, it’s important for an entrepreneur to develop a wide
skill set in various fields so that they are prepared to tackle different types of problems in
their eventual leadership roles. Start by analyzing your own strengths and weaknesses, and
seek to fortify your knowledge base in areas that you’re unfamiliar with. For instance, if you
are great at coming up with innovative ideas but lack a fundamental understanding of
business administration, try shadowing someone who works in that field to learn from them.
 WHAT CAN A ENTREPRENEUR DO TO INCREASE THE CHANCES
FOR A SELECTED STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTED.?

• 3. Identify a problem that needs solving, then solve it. The best entrepreneurs build their
businesses by surveying the landscape, identifying a problem, and then constructing a
business idea that seeks to solve that problem. For instance, Amazon recognized that online
shopping was complicated and non-intuitive, and solved that problem by creating a
streamlined interface with a vast inventory.
 WHAT CAN A ENTREPRENEUR DO TO INCREASE THE CHANCES
FOR A SELECTED STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTED.?

• 4. Surround yourself with people you trust. Your primary job as an entrepreneur and
leader is to build a team of people with diverse experiences and expertise but like-minded
values. Seek to recruit candidates with two essential characteristics: domain expertise in a
skill base beyond your own, and a value system in alignment with your own.
 WHAT CAN A ENTREPRENEUR DO TO INCREASE THE CHANCES
FOR A SELECTED STRATEGY TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
IMPLEMENTED.?

• 5. Remain curious. Curiosity is one of the most important traits for entrepreneurs of every
age. To constantly learn and maintain your competitive edge, you must always seek out new
people and new experiences. Never lose the curiosity to see around corners.
 HIGHLIGHT AND CRITIQUE THE BUSINESS ISSUES
OF TODAY THAT MAKE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE A MUST FOR CONTEMPORARY
ENTREPRENEUR.
• The below four reasons emphasise why strategic management is crucially important to businesses.

• 1. Environmental awareness
The strategic planning process involved in strategic management is all but invaluable to a business because it forces top-level management to be aware of changing business environments.

Our world today is fast paced and dynamic, and in a business sense this results in tangible changes like saturated markets full of expanding competition, consumer changes in both morality, taste and
preference, i.e sustainability, and also technological advancements such as automation.

Such fast paced and significant changes do two things: Firstly, they open the business to new opportunities if it is well placed to take advantage of these, but secondly they also open the business up to new
threats which could damage the business if it has underprepared. Either option leads to potential ramifications if the business has not assessed the environment, nor prepared accordingly.

Using strategic management however, the strategic planning process focuses the businesses attention to the new opportunities and threats and prepares the business to pivot to these by asking fundamental
questions such as:

• What are the weaknesses of our organisation?

• What are our company’s competitors currently doing and what are they likely to do?
• Will any of our company’s products require changing?
• What is the cash flow of our organisation?
• What are the capital needs of our organisation?
• Do we possess an acceptable share of the market?
• Is our organisation moving in the right direction?
 HIGHLIGHT AND CRITIQUE THE BUSINESS ISSUES
OF TODAY THAT MAKE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE A MUST FOR CONTEMPORARY
ENTREPRENEUR.
• 2. Mission definition
Strategic management also helps to identify the overall mission of the business, something of utter importance to all organisations.

A business mission defines what an organisation is, why it exists, and what its purpose is. In that purpose a mission could relate to either the function,
the competitive advantages or the USPs of the business. A mission drives a business, and gives it something to build goals and objectives around.
 
Comprehensive understanding of an organisation’s mission also enables senior management to be better equipped to deal with an array of fundamental
strategic issues stemming from the following questions:
• In what competitive area is our organisation based?
• What are our requirements for success within our competitive environment?
• Is the size of the organisation optimal for achieving success?
• What are our businesses strengths and weaknesses in our basic areas?
• Is our mission appropriate when considering our capabilities, desires and opportunities?
• How can our organisation capture consumer confidence?
• What is our organisation’s ethical posture concerning our consumers, suppliers, employees and creditors?
 HIGHLIGHT AND CRITIQUE THE BUSINESS ISSUES
OF TODAY THAT MAKE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE A MUST FOR CONTEMPORARY
ENTREPRENEUR.
• 3. Creates long-range objectives
A third reason that strategic management is so important to businesses is its ability to formulate
long term objectives specific to the business.

Statements such as “Our objective is to make a profit” are too generalised, and do not provide a
specific enough direction for a businesses activities when compared to objectives such as
achieving a 10% return on net capital.

In the strategic management planning process, specific objectives can be defined for sales
figures, profit margins, share of market percentages, return on investments, and numerous other
factors that top-level management can implement to effectively measure progress.
 HIGHLIGHT AND CRITIQUE THE BUSINESS ISSUES
OF TODAY THAT MAKE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE A MUST FOR CONTEMPORARY
ENTREPRENEUR.
• 4. Specifies policies and strategies
Strategic management also helps businesses in specifying important policies and strategies which can
make a difference to the deployment of business resources.

Policies and strategies provide a framework, mostly for managers, in which senior management
decisions can be made in consistent accordance with the identified mission, defined purpose, and
objectives of the organisation.

The significance of specifying the overall master policy or strategy is that it provides an actionable
roadmap that senior management can follow in order to continuously survey the business environment,
determine the nature of the business, work toward achievable goals and to devise and deploy strategies
that achieve sub-objectives that continually achieve organisational purposes.
 THE TOTAL PROCESS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT OF SAMSUNG

• The Samsung Group specializing in electronics originated in Asia. It started off as an

electronics consumer goods manufacturing concern in Korea in 1938. The operations began
on March 1, 1938 under the supervision of the then chairman, Byung-Chull Lee, in Taegu,
Korea. (Samsung Group Timeline and History 2007). According to Edwards (2003), the
organization grew and opened subsidiaries worldwide. The manufacturing concern launched
different categories of products over the years. Edwards (2003) stated that the company
shifted its focus from the selling concept to the marketing concept. A few years ago, the
company embarked on strategic branding policies and brand management.
 THE TOTAL PROCESS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT OF SAMSUNG

• Nystedt (2007) wrote in his article that the Samsung Mobile segment of the Samsung Group
received much recognition and became a major source of its revenue. The progress in the
cellular technology and industry worldwide allowed the business of Samsung Mobile to
prosper.

• Today, the mobile phone and devices utilizing cellular technology are being used individuals
from all walks of life. According to Nystedt (2007), these users not only include high-profile
business personnel but also students and housewives. He further asserted that life without
cellular technology is unthinkable in Europe and North America in modern times. Fast,
reliable and easy communication is fast becoming a necessity.
 THE TOTAL PROCESS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT OF SAMSUNG

• Nystedt (2007) stated that the Samsung Mobile’s strategic management understood and
realized this need of its consumers. Various beneficial mobile devices and phones using
powerful branding strategies were introduced. Strong sales and distribution networks were
set up by the company. The writer believed that the pace at which the organization is
progressing, it may even stand as the top mobile phone and related accessories company in
the world.
 THE TOTAL PROCESS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT OF SAMSUNG

• According to Nystedt (2007), Samsung Mobile is about to launch mobile television keeping
in view the growing demands of the consumers. This would be a truly digital TV operated
by latest technology by the name of Advanced VSB (A-VSB). The company claims itself to
be a pioneer in launching electronic goods using the new technology. The author remarked
that it prides itself in being amongst the few companies in the world which have introduced
novelty technology products. (Nystedt 2007),
 THE TOTAL PROCESS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT OF SAMSUNG

• According to Kim (2006), Samsung Mobile has global strategic policies in place. The tactics
used to achieve competitive advantage and boost brand power remain the same worldwide.
Nonetheless, the researcher asserts that slight variations in functional policies and strategies
do exist in some countries in order to meet the local demands, and use available resources
efficiently.
 THE TOTAL PROCESS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT OF SAMSUNG

• Kim (2006) believes that it is because of the innovative technologies, various product
categories and powerful branding strategies that Samsung Mobile has reached the position of
being among the top multinational mobile phone and related accessories companies in the
world. The intellectual and human capital owned by the company is truly remarkable.

• The researcher learnt a little known secret of Samsung’s success. The company does not
market itself as a Korean brand. Neither does the Samsung relate to its country of origin
when penetrating new markets and launching new products. This prevents the organization
from being affected by the low image of the country.
 CONCLUSION

• Strategic management is crucially important to businesses because it equips them with an

incredibly useful tool: Adaptability.
 CONCLUSION

• In strategic management processes organisations are encouraged to trial new things, to

develop strategies in line with updated or changed business objectives, and most importantly
to pivot the business in order to meet these changes. There is no harm or weakness in
admitting when something is not working and changing it so that it does, and strategic
management benefits businesses with this opportunity so that they can not only survive in
their sector, but thrive and most importantly: Grow.