“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 analyze 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 the 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 organization will have to take to implement its strategic plan and achieve a competitive advantage. This module has been put together to assist Heads of the Department and senior officials to formulate a workable strategic management plan for the organization.