Strategic Thinking

Question 1

What is Strategic Management

Answer 1

Analyzing the Environment
Assessing strengths and weaknesses
Identifying Profit-Making Opportunities

Question 2

Process

Answer 2

Identify the current mission
Analyse Environment
Note threats and opportunities
Analyse resources
Note weaknesses and Strengths
Formula Strategies 
Implementing Strategies
Evaluate Results

Question 3

Implementation

3 key Prerequisites

Answer 3

Commitment - leadership sees the plan through to completion
Communication - at every step in the process to key constituencies
Contribution - every individual in the organization understands their role (timelines)

Question 4

Critical Success Factors for Strategic Plan Implementation

Answer 4

Make the planning process a way of managing, not an annual episode.

Hold people accountable for results they agreed to.
If you need to divide responsibility for a strategy, rethink the organizational structure.

Think in terms of cause and effect relationships - this is key to developing strategy

Make decisions based on accurate and complete information

Provide adequate staff work and tools to support strategies

Set up milestones and control points for monitoring progress.

Keep the people who created the vision and goals involved in the follow-through.

Question 5

Grand Strategies

Answer 5

Stability
Growth
Retrenchment
Combination

Question 6

Porter’s Competitive Strategies

Answer 6

Cost Leadership
Differentiation
Focus
“Stuck in the middle”

Question 7

Current Trends and Issues

Answer 7

Globalization
Blockchain
Workforce Diversity
Information Technology
Continuous Learning
Dismantling the Hierarchy
Ethics and Trust