Strategy, Strategic Management, Levels of Strategy and Opportunity Assessment

Subject: International Business

Overview

A strategy is a long-term plan that an organization develops to turn its objectives into practical actions. Every level of the organization needs strategy. Any successful corporation must have it; else, the organization would fail in the business world.

Strategy

Peter Drucker asserts that "management is a function, a discipline, and a task to be accomplished, and managers practice this discipline, perform these functions, and complete these tasks." When strategy is taken into account, the management process sees the biggest improvement.

Strategy in this context refers to a long-term plan for putting ideas into practice. It is necessary for the long-term, medium-term, and short-term. Analytical thinking, resource commitment, and planning are all terms used to describe strategy. It is a series of deliberate measures used by managers to maximize the firm's assets and core skills in order to seize competitive advantages. It is focused with assessing the company's capabilities that keep it unique and distinct from its rivals.

Strategic management

Strategic Management

Source:www.hmicenter.com

Now, strategic management refers to the procedure of developing a vision, establishing goals, formulating a plan of action, carrying it out, and then starting changes to meet the goals. It is also referred to as the art and science of developing, putting into practice, and assessing cross-functional decisions that will help an organization achieve its goals. In other words, strategic management in this context refers to the analysis, choices, and actions a business does to establish and maintain competitive advantages. It established the long-term aims and goal.

  • For an organization to formulate a mission that serves society, government, and the community, strategic management is required.
  • It is used to create a company profile that displays the health and capability of the internal operations.
  • Evaluation of the internal environment of the organization.
  • Future environmental forecasting and environment adoption.
  • Developing inside the organization the suitable procedure.
  • Choosing the greatest options for decision-making.

The three components of strategic management are

  • Strategic analysis
  • Strategic choice
  • Strategic implementation

Strategic management is the result of these elements.

Levels of strategy

There are three strategic levels in organization

  • Organization level: Here, corporate level executives' responsibility is to supervise the creation of organizational-wide strategy. The chief executive officer (CEO), additional senior executives, the board of directors, and corporate personnel make up the corporate level of management. The responsibility of corporate level managers is to supervise the creation of organizational-wide strategy in collaboration with other senior executives. The long-term profitability of the company is the goal of the corporate level strategy. For instance, keeping the capital structure at the lowest cost to maximize shareholder returns
    At the business level, analysis and management choices have certain characteristics.
    • Compared to decisions made at the company level or functional level, corporate level analyses and conclusions are typically more value-oriented, conceptual, and abstract.
    • Larger risk, cost, and profit potential, as well as longer time planning and greater needs for flexibility, are characteristics of this level analysis and decisions.
    • The degree of business choice, dividend policy, the source of long-term finance, and growth priorities are a few examples of company level analysis.
  • Business level: Here, general managers at the business level are focused on strategies unique to a given industry. The division's leader is an executive at the business level or a manager at the business level. The overall statements of direction and intent that originate from the corporate level are translated into specific business plans by managers as part of their strategic responsibility. A company might position itself using this tactic to get an advantage over rivals in its industry. Examples of company level strategies include cost leadership, service network leadership, focusing on a specific customer segment, or a mix of these.
    At the company level, analysis and management choices have particular features.
    • Decisions taken at the business level bridge the corporate and functional levels.
    • Analysis and decisions made at the business level are more expensive, riskier, and possibly profitable than those made at the corporate level but less expensive, dangerous, and profitable than those made at the functional level.
    • Plant location, marketing segmentation, geographic coverage, and distribution methods are all decisions made at the business level.
  • Functional level: The specific business operations (marketing, finance, production, HR, and accounting) carried out by a firm or one of its decisions are the responsibility of functional level managers. Here, functional managers create regionally-specific functional plans that support the achievement of the corporate and business-level strategic goals. Decisions at the functional level are typically based on operational, action-oriented problems. These choices, which are made on a regular basis, result in the direct implementation of a specific aspect of the overall corporate and company strategy. In other words, it is impossible to apply strategy and practice strategic management without first assessing the functional area.
    For instance, the marketing functions depend on financial backing, and they also have financial repercussions. When making capital budgeting decisions, the costs of human resources are considered, and good financial management depends on effective HR. Similarly, the capital budgeting manager analyzes an investment option using the sales department's revenue estimate as well as the production department's volume and expenses.

Opportunity assessment

Opportunities are the favourable circumstances in the environment outside the organization. As some examples are shown below, the company is utilizing its advantages over rivals.

  • Expanding into new places of the world
  • Expand the company's horizons
  • Purchasing rivals
  • Utilize modern technology
  • Boost your main business

An idea, concept, or opportunity is evaluated to see if there is enough strategic, market, and financial worth for further evaluation and potential improvement into a product or goods. This process is known as opportunity assessment. An unbiased, targeted investigation of an innovative opportunity is provided through opportunity assessment. It significantly reduces the uncertainty surrounding the idea and enables you to decide whether to invest further by looking at the intersection of the idea with pertinent technologies, industries, and markets at a high level. It is an evaluation of a company's logistics operations using information, meetings, data collection and analysis, and execution benchmarking. The examination is concluded with the identification of evidence and prioritization of options for taking action to increase execution while reducing speculative and operational costs.

Global market opportunity is a fortunate confluence of events, place, or timing that presents opportunities for exporting, investing, sourcing, or forming partnerships in the international market.

To seize global chances, international managers must look for the most pertinent data, expertise, or information. He or she is responsible for organizing global production, marketing, and other value-adding activities.

References

Johnson G., Scholes K., Whittington R. (2008). Exploring corporate strategy (8thed.). Pearson:Edinburgh Gate, Prentice hall:

Pearce, J.A., & Robinson, R.B. (2012).Strategic management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control.New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin

Things to remember

 

  • A long-term plan for putting ideas into action is known as a strategy. It is necessary for the long-term, medium-term, and short-term.
  • In order to maximize the firm's resources and core capabilities and gain a competitive edge, managers deploy a planned set of actions.
  • The term "strategic management" refers to the process of developing a vision, establishing goals, formulating a plan of action, carrying it out, and making adjustments as necessary to realize the goals.
  • Strategic analysis, decision-making, and implementation are the three pillars of strategic management.

 

 

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