Process of Strategic Management

Strategic Management Process

Describe the primary components of a strategic management process, and indicate why a strategic management process is needed for a company.

The process of strategic management, according to Alkhafaji (2013), is made up of four key components: environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and evaluation and control.

Environmental scanning, in the words of the author, "consists of analyzing internal and external factors that may affect the organization and its ability to pursue a given course of action" (Alkhafaji, 2013, p. 33). Of key importance here, therefore, is the collection, scrutiny, as well as provision of information for strategic reasons. Next is strategic formulation, which has got to do with the development of strategic decisions that concern not only an entity's policies, objectives, and mission, but also the approaches to be used in achieving the said objectives and policies (Alkhafaji, 2013). Strategy implementation, on the other hand, "is concerned with making a variety of managerial decisions such as the type of organizational structure, the type and source of information systems, leadership 'fit,' and the type of control mechanism that should be employed" (Alkhafaji, 2013, p. 33). It largely intimates ensuring that a strategy works or functions as intended. Lastly, we have strategy evaluation. In this case, the most relevant evaluation activities include, but they are not limited to, performance measurement and addressing deviations by taking corrective action.

The strategic management process, as Harrison and John (2013) point out, is of great relevance to modern organizations. This is more so the case given that it helps a company define its strategy in a systematic manner. Given the competitive nature of global business, organizations need to have in place a continuous process that not only helps in the assessment of the industry, but also in the evaluation of competitors so as to come up with the best set of strategies for survival. It is, therefore, not difficult to see why the relevance of the strategic management process cannot be overstated.

Research at least one company and describe the strategic management process that the company uses

The company that I will concern myself with in this section is Foot Locker, Inc., a company that describes itself as "a specialty athletic retailer that operates approximately 3,500 stores in 21 countries…" (Foot Locker, 2014). The company makes use of a strategic process incorporating most of the components highlighted above. Two years ago, the company launched an updated version of its strategic plan that is supposed to run through to the year 2016.