Strategic Management and Business Policy Concepts

Introduction

The strategy is an appropriate plan which was designed to accomplish the desired outcome, such as attaining a solution to the problem or goal. Very often, the resources are never enough. Limitation in resources forces the organization to develop a strategy. Therefore, a strategy is important when planning ways of utilizing the resources. The top management of an organization has the burden of determining a strategy to be adopted by the business (Grant 2010). The strategy decided upon will act as a pattern of shaping the organization in a way that will allow the long-term goals to be achieved. “A strategy describes how the ends (goals) will be achieved by a number of means (resources)” (Zott, Amit & Massa 2011, p. 1010).

Components of a strategy

The appropriate strategy has various underlying structures. It is divided into three parts. These are:

1. Diagnosis – diagnosis entails establishing and defining challenges that the organization is facing. This stage is important because no solution can be arrived at without determination of the problem.
2. Guiding policy –this part involves coming up with various solutions to the problem.
3. Coherent action – the function of coherent action is to help in the implementation of guiding policy (Wheelen & Hunger 2011).

Types of strategy

There are a number of strategies that can be applied by the company. The strategy adopted depends on the current situation in the organization. An organization that has established itself will have a different strategy compared to one that is being formed. There are five types of strategies commonly applied by organizations. These are:

1. Strategy as a plan – this is a strategy that organizations use to achieve certain goals. The goals achieved will ensure the success of the organization. This type of strategy is almost similar to strategic planning.
2. Strategy as a pattern – “this is a consistent pattern of the past behaviour, where a strategy is realized over time rather than planned or intended” (Dwyer & Tanner 2002, p. 223). In certain situations, the realized pattern differs from the intended. In this type of situation, the strategy is known as emergent.
3. Strategy as position –“this strategy is essential when it comes to locating brands, products, or companies within the market, based on the conceptual framework of consumers or other stakeholders” (Johnson, Whittington & Pyle 2011, p. 123). The strategy is determined by macro-environmental factors. Macro-environmental factors are factors existing outside the firm.
4. Strategy as a ploy – some organizations employ maneuvers. The maneuvers are employed as a means of achieving some goals. This strategy is essential in a situation where a business is planning to confuse competitors. The competitors will not be aware of the organization’s plans since the main plan is not clearly shown.
5. Strategy as perspective – “strategy as perspective is executing a strategy based on a theory of the business, natural extension of the mindset, or ideological perspective of the organization” (Nagle, Hogan & Zale 2011, p. 324).

Conclusion

A properly designed strategy acts as a guiding factor in the organization. It gives the organizations a path to follow. Goals will be achieved once the path is properly followed. Resources are usually scarce. Without proper planning, the organization will not accomplish its plan.

References

Dwyer, FR, & Tanner, JF, 2002, Business marketing: Connecting strategy, relationships, and learning, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Grant, RM, 2010, Contemporary strategy analysis and cases: text and cases, John Wiley & Sons, Indianapolis, IN.

Johnson, G, Whittington, R, & Pyle, S, 2011, Exploring strategy: text & cases, Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N J.

Nagle, TT, Hogan, JE, & Zale, J, 2011, The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitably, Pearson, London, UK.

Wheelen, TL, & Hunger, JD, 2011, Concepts in strategic management and business policy, Pearson, London, UK.

Zott, C, Amit, R, & Massa, L, 2011, ‘The business model: recent developments and future research’, Journal of management, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 1019-1042.