Introduction
Globalization, improved technology, and increased labour mobility among other factors have led to increased competition in the business world. Further, consumers have become more knowledgeable. This has led to the change of their tastes and preferences for different products. Increased competition over time has made many companies to rethink over various strategies that can make them gain a competitive advantage in the market. Strategic management refers to the decisions and actions that managers take in the course of business. This paper seeks to discuss about strategic management in general and its importance to performance management.
Strategic management
Strategic management refers to the actions and decisions made by the top level managers in a business entity. These decisions are essential since they are used to determine essential factors such as the vision, mission, objectives, and values of an entity. Moreover, decisions made by strategic managers are essential since they determine whether a firm will gain competitive advantage in the market or not. As such, it is essential for strategic managers to carry out a crucial analysis of the market and the organization at large. Additionally, strategic managers are tasked with the responsibility of carrying out a SWOT analysis in order to verify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that exist within the business environment. There are various strategies that can be employed in a firm. These include innovative strategies and strategic human resource management. Other essential components of strategic management include strategic planning, formulation, implementation, evaluation, leadership, and environmental scanning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, strategic management refers to a continuous process that is aimed at setting strategies that can be employed in an organization. All in all, strategic management aims at managing the existing resources well in order to achieve the set objectives.
Bibliography
Aguinis, H. (2008). Performance Management (2, Illustrated ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. D. (2010). Marketing Strategy. New York: Cengage Learning.
Lucas, M. (2008). Understanding Business Environments (Revised ed.). London: Routledge.
