Strategic Management Case Study

Strategic Management

The strategic management process goes beyond a series of regulations to abide by (Kotler & Keller , 2012). It is a philosophical approach to business (Boundless, 2013). The highest level of a firm’s manager must be able to first strategically plan, then put that plan into action. The strategic management process is best achieved when everyone within the firm comprehends the firm’s strategy. Strategic management analyzes the major goals of the firm; it includes abilities and achievements in the firm’s external environments, that a firm’s upper level manages bears for the sake of the firm’s owners (Kotler & Keller , 2012). The strategic management process includes identifying the firms mission, its vision, and the firm’s

(Schilder, 1997), What resources does the firm have available to work with? (Schilder, 1997), Where does the firm want to go in the future? (Schilder, 1997), and how does the firm plan on getting there? (Schilder, 1997). The article that Diane wrote for Harvard is not in agreement with what the textbook defines as setting goals for the firm or the first phase in the strategic management process. Diane’s article explains that the first step in the process is to establish what the questions are that need to be asked (Schilder, 1997). Diane then goes on to explain that the second step in the strategic management process is goal setting (Schilder, 1997). Schilder believes that goal setting is a vital part of the planning process but it is done after the questions are decided upon (Schilder, 1997). The textbook by Kotler and Keller disagree. Kotler explains that the goals and objectives of the firm are both done during the goal setting phase instead of adding in the additional step (Kotler & Keller ,

Giles and Williams agree with Kolemuller that SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT is a tool that is used because it is easy to understand by executives who are using this technique (Giles, 1989). SWOT also is an excellent tool that will help executives decipher ideas about the firms future as well as how to profit from it according to Giles and Williams. Giles and Williams feel that SWOTS can be used incorrectly and can become sloppy or unclear if not completed properly (Giles, 1989). Williams suggests that the more due diligence that is used when determining the firm’s goals and objectives the more beneficial the analysis will be (Giles, 1989). Giles feels that SWOT analysis is the best technique to use when teams or groups of executives are planning together (Giles, 1989). Giles and Williams note that a major issue that arises often is that executives claim that strength can be viewed as a weakness (Giles, 1989). In most cases, Giles suggests that this issue be resolved by going deeper into the analysis phase of the strategic management process and by clarifying the actual goals and objectives the firm is working