Page 85 - PRAGMATIC STRATEGY
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Summary

                  Strategic Management is concerned with:

                  •  strategic analysis - consisting of internal analysis of the organisation's goals and
                      objectives, current strategy resources, competences, activities, products structure and
                      culture and external analysis of the macro and micro (competitive) environment in
                      which the firm operates

                  •  strategy development -  consideration of the alternative ways in which the organisation
                      can deploy its bundle of resources and competences to achieve its goals and how it
                      chooses between them;

                  •  implementation and review of strategy and management of change - consideration
                      of the methods by which the organisation seeks to put its chosen strategy into effect and
                      adjusts it to changing circumstances;

                  •  strategic issues - exploration internal and external issues facing the firm which must be
                      considered when seeking to achieve competitive advantage.

                  Management decisions are made at strategic, tactical and operational levels which differ
                  from each other in terms of: the focus of the decision; the level at which they are made in
                  the organisation; the scope of the decision; the time horizon at which they are aimed; the
                  degree of certainty or uncertainty of the information upon which they are based; the
                  complexity of the decision.

                  Terms introduced in this Topic

                   A strategy is the means (plans, policies and actions) by which an organisation seeks to
                   achieve its goals.
                   Strategic decisions  are concerned with the acquisition of sustainable competitive
                   advantage.
                   Tactical decisions are concerned with how corporate objectives are to be met and how
                   strategies are implemented.
                   Operational decisions  are concerned with the shorter term objectives of the business and
                   with its day to day management.

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                      the concepts.
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