Strategic planning is initiated by top management to think strategically and effectively respond to market changes, industry dynamics and competition for sustainable business growth and expansion. However, the strategic plans are integrated with inputs and suggestions of line and middle managers who are responsible for effective implementation and control of strategic process and value creation. Therefore, the strategic planning is an outcome of top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top interactions and information flows within an organizational setting. Nevertheless, the strategic planning is considered most effective in unstructured, uncertain, unpredictable and instable business environment because more frequent analyses and policy changes are required in complex conditions. A company uses strategic planning to create value for the organization through a comprehensive understanding of changing consumer preferences and desire for innovated and new products. In other words, an organization adds value by making change management, innovation and R&D the mandatory aspects of strategic plans to transform into a proactive firm concerned for serving consumers in a satisfactory and timely manner. Moreover, the value-addition is just not about offering products or services but also about fulfilling value propositions, building relationships, ensuring customer satisfaction, creating trust and loyalty in the market (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). For example, the global natural resources such as oil and gasoline stocks are reducing due to enormous consumption that has resulted in fuel price hikes. Considering above reality, the strategic planners of an automobile company creates value by offering customers substitute products such as fuel-efficient vehicles and hybrids to reduce monthly fuel budgets of customers coupled with reduction in aggregate consumption of oil.
Reference
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, D. J. (2010). Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy Achieving Sustainability. 12th edition
