Strategic management process generally involves four steps:
1. Environmental Scanning
2. Strategy formulation
3. Strategy Implementation
4. Evaluation and control of strategy
1. Environmental Scanning:
Environmental scanning deals with finding out the opportunity and threats operating in the environment and analyzing the strength and weaknesses of an organization in order to create a match between them. It is the monitoring, evaluating and disseminating of information from the External and internal environment.
External environment consists of variables - OT, Opportunities and Threats which are outside the organization and beyond the control by top management. These factors directly affects the organization’s day to day performance. Internal environment consists of variables - SW, Strength and Weaknesses which are inside the organization and can be controlled to some by the top management in the long run.
Thus, Environmental scanning means screening of large amount of information to anticipate and intreprete changes in the environment.
2. Strategy Formulation:
Strategy formulation is the development of long range plans for the effective management of external opportunities and threats, in light of corporate strengths and weaknesses. It involves:
i) Defining corporate mission ii) Specifying achievable objectives iii) Developing strategies and iv) Setting policy guidelines
3. Strategy implementation:
After the formulation of strategy, managerial priority is the successful implementation of such strategy. Strategy implementation can be defined as a process where strategies and policies are put into action, through the development of program, budget , procedure, and structure. This process might involve changes within the overall