“Strategic management” can be defined as the art and science of formulating,
implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization
to achieve its objectives.” It is defined as the process by which managers of the firm analyse the internal and external environments for the purpose of formulating strategies and allocating resources to develop a competitive advantage in an industry that allows for the
successful achievement of organizational goals.
The general purpose of doing it is to combine the energy of organization’s functional
areas into one focused effort to achieve superior performance. It is usually done
through the many steps of the process.
In essence, it answers the following 3 questions:
• Where the organization is at the moment?
• Where does it want to go?
• How it will get there?
Strategic management is not about predicting the future, but about preparing for it
and knowing what exact steps the organisation will have to take to implement its
strategic plan and achieve a competitive advantage.
This module has been put together to assist Heads of Department and senior officials
to formulate a workable strategic management plan for the organisation.