STRATEGY AS PRACTISE

Strategy as practise

Strategy as Practice

Introduction

A number of organizations around the globe would aim to develop a well-defined and clear strategy that they could use to take their business forward and on the road to success. (Liedtka and Rosenblum 1996, pp. 141 )There are a number of things that have to be used to develop and implement a strategy in a company. Among those things, the most important thing is the concept of planning for a strategy. Planning is the most important tool for the development and implementation of a strategy in any company. Strategy is all about planning to accomplish a vision that would distinguish an organization from its rivals in a positive manner (Vogel and Patterson 1986, pp. 58). The development of a strategy covers the complete direction in addition to the numerous elaborated actions that usually occur in an organization (McGrath and MacMillan 1995, pp. 44). The success of a strategy usually depends on the planning that was made before the development and then implementation of the strategy. Planning enables the company to develop a pathway that could be used for implementing the strategy. (Alexander, Campbell, and Goold 1995, pp. 12)

A major case of the importance of planning in the implementation of a strategy could be found in the IT industry in which the companies have become efficient, like they were never before, and incurring less amount of money to generate huge amounts of profits (Stacey 1992, pp. 25). All this has been possible because of the planning that these companies perform before going for a strategy. (Birkinshaw 2000, pp. 47)The process of planning has enabled these companies to allocate their resources in the best possible way, and therefore, they have managed to implement different strategies regarding cost control and improving customer satisfaction. (Donaldson 1995, pp. 99)

Discussion

The process of planning is a tool by mangers to develop their strategies, i.e. it is a sort of management tool (Merten, Loffler, and Wiedmann 1987, pp. 77). Like a number of other management tools, managers for a number of different reasons utilize this tool, and the most important use of the tool of planning is to assist managers in performing their job in a better and improved way. (Akers 1995, pp. 24) The tool of planning helps the managers in making sure that employees under him are working towards the same set of objectives, and it helps managers to analyze and align the focus of their strategies in a turbulent environment (Stern and George 1998, pp. 58). The tool of planning can be described as a regimented attempt to reach some key decisions and actions, which would help in shaping and guiding the future of the organization, i.e. help in adjusting and aligning the strategy of the organization. (Baron 1995, pp. 73)

The process of strategy development and implementation is all about planning because this process involves the process of setting proper objectives for the company and formulating an approach that would help in achieving these objectives (Bate, and Pye 2000, pp. 197). The planning helps in raising a number of different questions, which would assist the strategists in examining and testing the different suppositions, collect and integrate information regarding the present scenario, and predict the environment, which the organization would have to face in the coming future. (Schoemaker 1995, 39)

A strategy happens

It is can be said that a strategy happens, it has to be implemented, and managers' have to make it happen (Mintzberg 1994, ...