Discuss the difference between the strategic management process and the day-to-day management of the organization.  

Q1.   Discuss the difference between the strategic management process and the day-to-day management of the organization.   Include specific examples to support your response.

Q2.   Discuss how a company’s internal environment might affect the development of the corporate strategy.

• Include product life cycle, personnel, and organizational structure in your discussion as these components must receive consideration for the success of any strategy.

Answer

Q1. The strategic management process is the overall process of making decisions about the direction and scope of an organization and allocating resources to pursue this direction. It is a continuous process that evaluates and adjusts an organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. It involves setting objectives, analyzing the competitive environment, analyzing the internal organization, evaluating alternative strategies, and implementing and monitoring strategies.

Day-to-day management of an organization, on the other hand, refers to the activities that are necessary to ensure that the organization is running smoothly and efficiently on a day-to-day basis. This includes tasks such as managing employees, setting schedules, monitoring budgets, and ensuring that operations are running smoothly.

For example, the strategic management process at a company might involve deciding to enter a new market, while the day-to-day management of the company might involve managing the production process to meet customer demand in that market.

Q2. A company’s internal environment can significantly affect the development of the corporate strategy. For example:

• Product life cycle: The stage of a product’s life cycle (e.g. introduction, growth, maturity, decline) can impact the types of strategies a company pursues. For example, a company selling a new product may focus on building brand awareness and establishing distribution channels, while a company selling a mature product may focus on cost cutting and differentiating its product from competitors.
• Personnel: The skills, experience, and motivation of a company’s employees can impact the strategies it pursues. For example, a company with a highly skilled and motivated workforce may be able to pursue more complex or innovative strategies, while a company with a less skilled or motivated workforce may need to focus on more straightforward strategies.
• Organizational structure: The way in which a company is organized can impact its ability to pursue certain strategies. For example, a highly centralized organizational structure may be better suited to implementing a top-down, directive strategy, while a decentralized structure may be better suited to pursuing a more collaborative, participative strategy.