Empowered to formulate

Strategic management involves decision making , formulation# and implementation of plans and carrying out actions towards achieving the objectives as changes are brought forth in the business environment and complexity of the equines. It is a continuous, long term process that requires strategic foresight and consists of risk.The strategic management is empowered to formulate policies regarding capital investment, mergers, expansion and so on. Some of the areas looked at under this management: Operations; decisions pertaining to production scheduling, inventory levels, pricing, marketing strategy, etc. These are often repetitive in nature, decentralized and at a the functional level Administrative; changes in organization triggered by strategic and operating problems. #Strategy formulation: SOOT Analysis: Strength- Weaknesses of the firm-opportunities-Threats. The four conditions will indicate the portfolio strategy and other strategies it should pursue.It presents itself as a system atic approach. Strength: strong brand name, quality products, state of the art tech, strong R&D support, good human resource management, good industrial relations, good reserves and high credit rating, efficient board of directors Weaknesses: poor sales force, weak distribution, poor inventory management, high costs, poor human resources, poor morale, low credit rating and inefficient managers. Opportunities: regulation, import liberalizing, economic boom, favorable change in customer behavior, consumerism Threats: political instability, recession, lower income and reduction in population.TOES Matrix: strategy- formulation tool based on internal(s; w) and external factors(o; t) SO strategy; maximize strength, maximize opportunity WOW strategy: minimize weakness, maximize opportunity SST strategy: maximize strength, min threat WIT strategy: min weakness, min threat. Strategic management has its downside too; it requires highly experienced or qualified members making it a costly affai r. Even good strategies lacking implementation may not yield the expected result thus causing frustration. The environment can be highly unpredictable bringing risks and a MIS-timed strategy can result in heavy losses.