BASIC CONCEPTS IN BUSINESS

POLICY AND STRATEGIC

MANAGEMENT

by Ms. Blessa D. Camacho

MGT 406
Strategic management is a set of
managerial decisions and actions
that determines the long-run
performance of a corporation. It
includes environmental scanning
(both external and internal),
strategy formulation (strategic or
long-range planning), strategy
implementation, and evaluation
and control.
The study of strategic management,
therefore, emphasizes the monitoring
and evaluating of external
opportunities and threats in light of a
corporation’s strengths and
weaknesses. Originally called business
policy, strategic management
incorporates such topics as strategic
planning, environmental scanning,
and industry analysis.
Phase 1—Basic financial planning

Seeking better operational control

by trying to meet the annual budget

Phase 2—Forecast-based planning

Seeking more effective planning for

growth by trying to predict the
future beyond the next year.
Phase 3—Externally oriented (strategic)
planning
Seeking increased responsiveness to
markets and competition by trying
to think strategically

Phase 4—Strategic management

Seeking a competitive advantage by
considering implementation and
evaluation and control when
formulating a strategy
BENEFITS OF STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT
Strategic management emphasizes long-term performance. Many
companies can manage short-term bursts of high performance, but
only a few can sustain them over a longer period. Research reveals
that organizations that engage in strategic management generally
outperform those that do not. The attainment of an appropriate
match, or “fit,” between an organization’s environment and its
strategy, structure, and processes has positive effects on the
organization’s performance.
A survey of nearly 50 corporations in a variety of
countries and industries found the three most highly
rated benefits of strategic management to be:

a. Clearer sense of strategic vision for the firm.

b. Sharper focus on what is strategically important.
c. An Improved understanding of a rapidly changing
environment.
 CREATING A LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
Strategic management has now
evolved to the point that its primary
value is in helping an organization
operate successfully in a dynamic,
complex environment. To be
competitive in dynamic
environments, corporations are
becoming less bureaucratic and
more flexible. Strategic flexibility—
the ability to shift from one
dominant strategy to another.
Strategic flexibility demands a long-
term commitment to the development
and nurturing of critical resources. It
also demands that the company
become a learning organization—an
organization skilled at creating,
acquiring, and transferring knowledge
and at modifying its behavior to reflect
new knowledge and insights.
Organizational learning is a critical
component of competitiveness in a
dynamic environment.
Learning organizations are skilled at four main
activities:

a.Solving problems systematically

b.Experimenting with new approaches
c.Learning from their own experiences and history as
well as from the experiences of others
d.Transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently
throughout the organization
WHAT MAKES A DECISION
STRATEGIC?
Unlike many other decisions, strategic decisions deal with the long-
run future of an entire organization and have three characteristics:

1. Rare: Strategic decisions are unusual and typically have no

precedent to follow.
2. Consequential: Strategic decisions commit substantial resources
and demand a great deal of commitment from people at all levels.
3. Directive: Strategic decisions set precedents for lesser decisions
and future actions throughout an organization.
MINTZBERG’S MODES OF
STRATEGIC DECISION
MAKING
According to Henry Mintzberg, the three most typical
approaches, or modes, of strategic decision-making
are entrepreneurial, adaptive, and planning (a fourth
mode, logical incrementalism, was added later by
Quinn)

a. Entrepreneurial mode: Strategy is made by one

powerful individual. The focus is on opportunities;
problems are secondary. Strategy is guided by the
founder’s vision of direction and is exemplified by
large, bold decisions.
MINTZBERG’S MODES OF
STRATEGIC DECISION
MAKING
b. Adaptive mode: Sometimes referred to as
“muddling through,” this decision-making mode is
characterized by reactive solutions to existing problems,
rather than a proactive search for new opportunities.

c. Planning mode: This decision-making mode

involves the systematic gathering of appropriate
information for situation analysis, the generation of
feasible alternative strategies, and the rational selection
of the most appropriate strategy. It includes both the
proactive search for new opportunities and the reactive
solution to existing problems.
MINTZBERG’S MODES OF
STRATEGIC DECISION
MAKING
d. Logical incrementalism: A fourth decision-
making mode can be viewed as a synthesis of the
planning, adaptive, and, to a lesser extent,
entrepreneurial modes. In this mode, top
management has a reasonably clear idea of the
corporation’s mission and objectives, but, in its
development of strategies, it chooses to use “an
interactive process in which the organization probes
the future, experiments and learns from a series of
partial (incremental) commitments rather than
through global formulations of total strategies.”
STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: AID TO BETTER DECISIONS

1. Evaluate current performance results in terms of (a) return on investment,

profitability, and so forth, and (b) the current mission, objectives, strategies, and
policies.

2. Review corporate governance—that is, the performance of the firm’s board of

directors and top management.

3. Scan and assess the external environment to determine the strategic factors that
pose Opportunities and Threats.
STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: AID TO BETTER DECISIONS
4. Scan and assess the internal corporate environment to determine the strategic factors
that are Strengths (especially core competencies) and Weaknesses.

5. Analyze strategic (SWOT) factors to (a) pinpoint problem areas and (b) review and
revise the corporate mission and objectives, as necessary.

6. Generate, evaluate, and select the best alternative strategy in light of the analysis
conducted in step 5.

7. Implement selected strategies via programs, budgets, and procedures.

8. Evaluate implemented strategies via feedback systems, and the control of activities to
ensure their minimum deviation from plans
CHALLENGES TO STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Globalization, the integrated internationalization of markets and
corporations, has changed the way modern corporations do business. As
Thomas Friedman points out in The World Is Flat, jobs, knowledge, and
capital are now able to move across borders with far greater speed and far
less friction than was possible only a few years ago.

Environmental sustainability refers to the use of business practices to

reduce a company’s impact on the natural, and physical environment.
Climate change is playing a growing role in business decisions.
The effects of climate change on industries and companies throughout the world
can be grouped into six categories of risks: regulatory, supply chain, product, and
technology, litigation, reputational, and physical.

1.Regulatory Risk: Companies in much of the world are already subject to the Kyoto
Protocol, -with notes
2. Supply Chain Risk: Suppliers will be increasingly vulnerable to government regulations
— leading to higher component and energy costs as they pass along increasing carbon-
related costs to their customers. Global supply chains will be at risk from an increasing
intensity of major storms and flooding. Higher sea levels resulting from the melting of
polar ice will create problems for seaports.
3.Product and Technology Risk: Environmental sustainability can be a prerequisite to
profitable growth. For example, worldwide investments in sustainable energy (including
wind, solar, and water power)
The effects of climate change on industries and companies throughout the world
can be grouped into six categories of risks: regulatory, supply chain, product, and
technology, litigation, reputational, and physical.

4. Litigation Risk: Companies that generate significant carbon emissions face the threat
of lawsuits similar to those in the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and building supplies (e.g.,
asbestos)
5. Reputational Risk: A company’s impact on the environment can heavily affect its
overall reputation. a company with a good record of environmental sustainability may
create a competitive advantage in terms of attracting and keeping loyal consumers,
employees, and investors.
6. Physical Risk: The direct risk posed by climate change includes the physical effects of
droughts, floods, storms, and rising sea levels.
THANK YOU!