Week 1 Discussion
Do you think it is easier to plan a strategy or achieve it? What else has to happen for managers to implement a corporate strategy successfully? In this discussion, you will examine the strategic planning process more closely.
Please respond to all of the following prompts in the class discussion section of your online course:
In your own words, how would you distinguish between competitive advantage and strategic management as they relate to strategic planning? Which are you more interested in and why?
Strategic management focuses on the process of how to improve a company while competitive advantage generally means a company has already created a successful process and is a leader in their industry. While the idea of being part of a leading company sounds great, I think it would be even more interesting and rewarding to be part of a team that developed the process which makes a company successful.
Create and post a mnemonic that will help you remember the five steps of the strategic planning process.
“Get everything I select introduced”
G – Select company mission and goals
E – Analyze external environment and look for threats
I – Analyze internal environment and look for weaknesses
S – Select strategies that build on strengths and correct weakness based on mission and goals
I - Implement
Select at least two components of the strategic planning process to examine more closely. What interests you about each? What challenges are associated with each component?
I think what can often be the most challenging of any process is the starting place – developing a company mission and goals. It requires a look at current market needs and trends while also looking at the past for guidance the future for a path. The mission and goals determine how a company is run, which in turn affects every other decision made. So making sure the mission and goals are clear and well developed is very important.
The other step to the planning process I looked at was the last step –
Please respond to all of the following prompts in the class discussion section of your online course:
In your own words, how would you distinguish between competitive advantage and strategic management as they relate to strategic planning? Which are you more interested in and why?
Strategic management focuses on the process of how to improve a company while competitive advantage generally means a company has already created a successful process and is a leader in their industry. While the idea of being part of a leading company sounds great, I think it would be even more interesting and rewarding to be part of a team that developed the process which makes a company successful.
Create and post a mnemonic that will help you remember the five steps of the strategic planning process.
“Get everything I select introduced”
G – Select company mission and goals
E – Analyze external environment and look for threats
I – Analyze internal environment and look for weaknesses
S – Select strategies that build on strengths and correct weakness based on mission and goals
I - Implement
Select at least two components of the strategic planning process to examine more closely. What interests you about each? What challenges are associated with each component?
I think what can often be the most challenging of any process is the starting place – developing a company mission and goals. It requires a look at current market needs and trends while also looking at the past for guidance the future for a path. The mission and goals determine how a company is run, which in turn affects every other decision made. So making sure the mission and goals are clear and well developed is very important.
The other step to the planning process I looked at was the last step –