Define Strategic management and mention its importance.

Strategic management is the continuous planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all that is
necessary for an organization to meet its goals and objectives. Fast-paced innovation, emerging
technologies and customer expectations force organizations to think and make decisions strategically to
remain successful. The strategic management process helps company leaders assess their company's
present situation, chalk out strategies, deploy them and analyze the effectiveness of the implemented
strategies. The strategic management process involves analyzing cross-functional business decisions
prior to implementing them. Strategic management typically involves:

 Analyzing internal and external strengths and weaknesses.

 Formulating action plans.
 Executing action plans.
 Evaluating to what degree action plans have been successful and making changes when desired
results are not being produced.

Importance of strategic management

Strategic management necessitates a commitment to strategic planning, which represents an

organization's ability to set both short- and long-term goals, then determining the decisions and actions
that need to be taken to reach those goals.

B-What are the different phases of Strategic management.

Formulating a Plan

Formulation is the process of choosing the most profitable course of action for success. This is the phase
for setting objectives and identifying the ways and means of achieving them. An analysis of corporate
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats reveals critical areas surrounding the products and
services that need attention.

Take, for example, a company's objective to expand sales into the internet market. If research shows
that competitors in that market are not seeing a return on their investment, company decision-makers
may explore other alternatives. By contrast, if competitors are seeing increased sales, the business may
decide to launch its online store and start a social media marketing campaign to drive traffic to the
website.
Implementation of Strategies

Implementation is the execution of the necessary strategies to meet the objectives that have been set.
To ensure success, all employees should understand their roles and responsibilities. Appropriate activity
measures provide necessary feedback with facts that identify positive impacts and areas for change.

In this phase, companies pay attention to details and monitor processes to implement quick changes as
required. For example, if a common customer complaint is that products take too long to arrive, an
analysis of the shipping process may reveal ways to expedite delivery, such as using pre-printed shipping
levels to streamline packaging and carrier pickup of shipments at the store.

Evaluating the Strategy's Results

Evaluating strategies used in the implementation phase serve as performance feedback. Some
companies use a gap analysis to compare how the company performed to set goals. Analyzing present
state compared to desired future state identifies the need for new products or additions to existing
products. One example is a company comparing its anticipated consumer purchase response with the
actual number of sales or comparing old shipping times to the delivery timeframe after new procedures
were implemented.

Modification and Amplification

The modification phase is essential in correcting any weaknesses or failures found during evaluation.
Strengths identified can lead to implementation in other areas. One example is a strategy to sell a
selected number of products on the internet and sales data shows a significant profit. A decision to add
more products and refine the process can result in a new lucrative endeavor. An amplified marketing
plan including search engine ads may also be examined to draw additional customers to the website.