LESSON 1: Introduction.

Strategic management is the process of guiding an organization’s direction, achieving its objectives, and gaining a competitive advantage. The process involves setting goals, analyzing the situation, formulating strategies, implementing a course of action, and monitoring and modifying the strategy.

Welcome to the Basics of Strategic Management!
Strategic management is the process of making decisions that will shape the future of a company. It’s all about setting goals and then figuring out the best way to achieve them.

Strategic management is a critical function in any organization. Without it, organizations would be unable to make decisions about their long-term goals or allocate resources effectively. Additionally, they would be at a competitive disadvantage relative to organizations that do have a strategic management process in place.

This online course on strategic management will provide you with the tools and knowledge you need to make sound strategic decisions for your organization. You will learn about the different components of strategic management, including goal setting, planning, implementation, and evaluation. You will also learn to use the most popular strategic management tools, methods, and techniques.

There are many reasons why strategic management matters. In this course, we will show you that strategic management helps organizations to…

• Clarify their purpose: What is the organization trying to achieve? What are its core values? What does it stand for? Strategic management is the process that helps organizations to find answers to these questions.
• Set direction: Once an organization knows its purpose and values, it can begin to set direction. What are the organization’s goals? What are the steps that it will take to achieve these goals? What are the priorities? Strategic management is the process that helps organizations to set a clear direction for the future.
• Allocate resources: Once an organization has set direction, it must allocate resources accordingly. What are the organization’s most important priorities? What are the resources that are required to achieve these priorities? How should these resources be allocated? Strategic management is the process that helps organizations to allocate resources in a way that is aligned with their goals.
• Implement plans: Once an organization has set direction and allocated resources, it must implement plans to achieve its goals. What are the specific steps that need to be taken? Who is responsible for each step? What are the timelines? What are the risks and potential challenges? Strategic management is the process that helps organizations to implement plans that are aligned with their goals.
• Monitor and adjust plans: Even the best-laid plans can go off track. That’s why it’s important for organizations to monitor their progress and make adjustments to their plans as needed. Strategic management is the process that helps organizations to do this.