MGT499 CASE, SLP and Thread Discussion

Module 1 - Home

The Strategic Management Cycle

Modular Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this module, the student will be able to satisfy the following outcomes:

•Case ◦Evaluate the mission and vision of existing organizations as the mission and vision relate to organizational strategy.

•SLP ◦Evaluate the mission and vision of existing organizations as the mission and vision relate to organizational strategy.

•Discussion ◦Describe the strategic management cycle and how the annual cycle relates to the multi-year (typically 5-year) plan.

Module Overview

Welcome to MGT499, Strategic Management. This is an essential and interesting course in that we will be considering and learning about an aspect of management that is very important to organizational survival in today’s highly competitive business environment.

Strategic management deals with looking at the past, present and into the future in order to come up with an educated guess as to how the environment is likely to change. The more educated the guess, of course, the better! This is because companies must prepare themselves to quickly adjust to changes in the environment. The business environment can change rapidly. Happenings on the political front, for instance, can result in major changes within a given industry. Consider the adjustments the Healthcare and Health Insurance industries had to make in response to the changes in federal healthcare laws in the past several years!

Other environmental factors might include innovative competitors and new technologies. Consider how Kodak was impacted by the advent of digital photography. New, innovative entrants can turn an entire industry on its head. Another more recent example, and more relevant to the industry we’ll be considering in your case assignments, is Blockbuster.

The key point here, of course is that a lot of things in a given business environment can change, and they can change quite quickly. It is subsequently important to anticipate those changes and to be prepared to act quickly in responding so as to maintain a competitive edge or even gain a competitive advantage. What if Blockbuster would have been at the forefront of video streaming technology? …leading the change instead of reacting? Would the company have ended up in a better situation?

Blockbuster’s example exemplifies the importance of strategic management. It is important to anticipate the future and to prepare before it gets here. This is done through information gathering, analysis, and subsequent planning efforts.

Strategic management, of course, is a continuous process that requires constant scanning of the environment and making subsequent corrections necessary to maintain a competitive edge. That is to say, strategic management is not something that a company does once, or even every 5 years. It is important for companies to always be aware of changes in the environment in order to stay ahead of the game.

In this course we will be looking at the strategic management cycle from start to finish. That is to say, we’ll be looking at ways companies obtain and analyze useful information to facilitate the planning process. We’ll also be looking at how strategies are formulated and implemented by looking at some very well-known organizations.

In Module 1 we’ll be looking at some important foundational principles of strategic management and will consider the overall strategic management process from a 30,000 foot view. In later modules we’ll be focusing more on tools organizations use to understand the external environment and how they analyze their own strengths and weaknesses to identify strategies to survive and compete. We’ll also be considering the importance of planning and finally, how companies implement their strategic plans.