Strategy Making Process
Strategy Making Process
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Introduction
Strategy making process refers to a set of actions or activities carried out by managers to enhance the performance of their organizations and achieve competitive edge. Chapter 6 of the MGMT, 7th Edition, a book written by Williams (2014), describes several aspects of the strategy making process. The purpose of this paper is to analyze various aspects of strategy making process described in the book.
Strategy Making Process
As explained by Williams (2014), the strategy-making process takes three main steps. The first step in the process is to asses the internal and external environments of an organization in order to determine whether there is need for change. At this point, organizational managers should assess aspects such as the performance history of the organization, organizational culture and changes in the external environment. However, as Williams (2014) explains, the assessment process is not easy since there is high level of uncertainty in the external environment. Top managers in an organization should be keen to recognize the need for strategic change. This can be achieved through avoiding being affected by competitive inertia. Awareness of strategic dissonance is also important.
The second step in the strategy-making process is situational analysis. Situational analysis involves assessing an organization’s strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats. Organizational managers should asses issues related to organizational assets and operations and internal stakeholders. Assessing organizational performance over time is also important (Williams, 2014). Managers should note any aspects affecting the performance of the workers and the organization from the internal and external environments and available opportunities for improvement. The managers should also asses the competitors and determine whether there is something that the organization can do better than the competitors. Environmental scanning of the external environment should also focus on aspects such changes in technology, pricing and consumer tastes and preferences. The managers should evaluate secondary and core firms. As well, the managers should asses the core capabilities of the organization and the possibility of applying them to achieve competitive advantage over the competitors (Williams, 2014).
Lastly, organizational managers should come up with strategic alternatives to implement. The managers should asses both the risk-taking and risk avoiding strategies that can be adopted. Every strategic alternative should be assessed and evaluated closely. After weighing the benefits of each strategy against the cost, the managers should select the best strategy. The managers should then make achievable strategic goals (Williams, 2014). For instance, the managers should asses the suitability of stability strategies, retrenchment strategies and stability strategies. Any strategy taken should be focus on enabling an organization to achieve competitive edge. The process of assessing the external environment may require the managers to apply models such as the Porter’s Five Forces and Value Chain Analysis. Essentially, the managers should come up with positioning and adaptive strategies (Williams, 2014). A good strategy-making process should support an organization to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Williams (2014) gives a comprehensive overview of the strategy-making process. As explained in the book, the process of strategy-making in an organization should start with assessment of the need or strategic change. The second step involves conducting a situational analysis of both the in internal and external environments of an organization. Lastly, the top managers should evaluate the possible strategic alternatives for change. A good strategy making process should enhance the competitive advantage of an organization in the long-run.
References
Williams, C. (2014). MGMT 7, 7th Edition. New York, NY: Cengage Learning,
