Analyzing Strategic Management Concepts

The assignment requires students to analyze and summarize strategic management concepts, including corporate strategy, competitive environment, and growth. It involves reading and analyzing research papers and articles from 2012 to 2018, providing specific details about the content of each paper. The objective is to understand and summarize key concepts related to strategic management.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT
Strategic Management Assignment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
In the contemporary global business scenario, with the increasing expansion and
cognition of the business activities, proper management of business resources and operational
framework of the companies have been becoming increasingly crucial for the companies to
sustain in the market and to increase their prospects and sustainability. This has resulted in the
increasing implementation of the strategic management frameworks in these companies. The
term “Strategic Management” refers to a set of actions, tools and decision making process which
the managers of the business institutions develop and implement in order to run their
organizations effectively and to use their scarce resources efficiently, such that they enjoy
competitive and productive advantages over their competitors. The concept of strategic
management has considerably developed over past six decades, much of which can be attributed
to the changing patterns of businesses as well as the demands and preferences of the clientele.
Since the time of its origin the concept of strategic management has experienced considerable
changes and modifications, with new ideas and models coming into existence. Taking this into
consideration, the concerned report tries to conduct an extensive review of the existing scholarly
evidences and literary works, critically evaluating them with the intention of exploring the
different concepts, ideas, importance and implications of the same in the contemporary business
scenario.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................4
Strategic Management.................................................................................................................4
Strategic Management: Historical Evolution...............................................................................7
Roles and Importance of Strategic Management in Business.....................................................8
Strategic Management: Development and New Ideas...............................................................10
Advantages of New strategies over Old ones............................................................................15
Flaws in Strategic Management Models....................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17

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Introduction
Over the last few decades, the business framework in the global scenario has undergone
considerable changes and modifications much of which can be attributed to the changing
demands of the customers across the world as well as to the changes in the supply side scenarios
in almost all the industries. The global phenomena like that of globalization as well as
liberalizations of different economies have contributed in making the business environment more
integrated and internationally inclusive with different commercial institutions expanding their
operational activities across different geographical domains as well as in different markets
(Ferraro & Briody, 2017). This in turn has resulted in an increase in the number of players in the
supply side of the industries, with the inclusion of international suppliers along with increased
domestic suppliers.
This increase in the supply side dynamics along with the consistently changing
preference patterns of the customers have resulted in increasing levels of competitions among the
different business organizations. With time, these commercial organizations have felt the need to
keep on modifying the changing their operational structures and to keep on investing in
innovation, not only in their production process but also in their overall thought process, so as to
stay ahead of their competitors. With the increase of such needs, has developed the concept of
“Strategic Management” in the business scenarios across the world (Verbeke, 2013).
The concept of “Strategic Management” in general deals with the techniques and
processes which the managers of the contemporary business organizations implement so as to
contribute to the efficiency in the production process of the organization as well as in the overall
operational structure of the same, to earn long term prospects, profitability and sustainability in

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the market. With time, this concept of strategic management of commercial institutions has also
undergone considerable dynamics with many modifications and inclusions being incorporated,
with the continuously changing demands in their operational framework, such that they stay
afloat in the increasing competition (Grant, 2016). There are substantial scholarly evidences and
literary works in this aspect, which explores the different aspects of strategic management and
the new ideas and models developing in this field. Keeping this into consideration, an extensive
review of the existing literatures regarding the concept of strategic management and its need,
implications as well as the new thinking and development of ideas in this respect is conducted in
the following section of the report. The report tries to critically analyze and evaluate these
literary evidences and also tries to find the gaps present in the existing literary frameworks.
Literature Review
There have been considerable literary works across the world in the field of strategic
management in the commercial scenarios, with the increase in the importance of the same given
the consistently rising competition and operational dynamics in almost all the commercial fields
across the globe.
Strategic Management
The term “Strategic Management” being multidimensional and broad, incorporating
different aspects of the business structures, different scholars have tried to define the same from
various perspectives. In this aspect, one of the most comprehensive and inclusive definition of
this concept is provided by (Slack, 2015), in his elaborate work on the different operational
strategies of the commercial organizations. The author defines the concept of Strategic
Management to be the framework which deals with the identification and implementation of

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different strategies by the management of the commercial organizations, which help the same in
carrying out their activities related to production and business more efficiently, thereby
increasing their efficiency and improving their performances. According to him, the
implementation of proper strategic management framework in the business organizations helps
the same to gain competitive advantages over their rivals in terms of higher profitability and
sustainability in the long run. However, the definition provided by him, was not wholesome and
had several gaps, which were filled by the ideas put forward by different authors.
The assertions of the previous author regarding the concept of strategic management is
augmented by (Hitt, et al., 2012), who defines the same as the bundle of decisions, which not
only involve the management of the business organizations but also the employees in every strata
of the same, which are taken for the increased welfare of the organizations as well as the
members of the same. These strategies and decisions, according to the authors, not only require a
thorough knowledge about the concerned organization and its operational structure, but also
require credible information about the overall business environment in which the organization
operates. These external business environments include the presence of competitors, the inherent
strengths and weaknesses of the organization as well as that of its competitors, the opportunities
and threats present in the markets and other similar factors.
(Rothaermel, 2015), in this context, summarizes the entire notion of strategic
management in the contemporary commercial scenario, to be the set of strategies and decisions
taken by the management of the commercial institutions, in the aspects of running the operations
and managing the scarce resources of production efficiently, such that the concerned companies
can achieve their objectives of profit maximization and expansion effectively. According to him,

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the decisions are not always planned and are often taken impromptu for tackling both predictable
and also the unfeasible contingencies which arise in the operational framework of the companies.
The different elements of the framework of Strategic Management can be
comprehensively shown with the help of the following figure:
Figure 1: Components of Strategic Management
(Ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk, 2017)
The concept of strategic management, though being a comparatively new concept in
commercial framework, in the global scenario, has its roots in the commercial operations of
decades ago. This is discussed in the following section.

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Strategic Management: Historical Evolution
(Eden & Ackermann, 2013), in their working paper, try to develop the timeline of the
journey of development of strategic management as a concept and the path of its evolution with
the changing global commercial scenario. According to them, the notion of strategic
management, as a proper discipline in the contemporary business scenario, evolved in the 1950s
and 1960s with the global business environment becoming more integrated, cognitive and
competitive.
However, the authors, in spite of providing authentic information regarding origin and
evolution of the concept and discipline of strategic management in the global framework,
however fails to provide the reasons behind the need for such a framework in the businesses in
the contemporary period. In this context, some productive works can be seen to be done in the
paper of (Hair, 2015). Hair, in his paper, tracks down the need for the origin of the conceptual
framework of strategic management and its implementation in the global business scenario. As
per the assertions of the author, prior to the emergence of the notion of strategic business
management, the different functions in the operational structures of the businesses worldwide,
used to perform separately by separate departments within the businesses, with little coordination
among these activities. This in turn led to discrepancies and inefficient information flow among
the different related departments, thereby leading to lack of synchronization among the activities,
which in turn resulted in efficient usage of the scarce resources and untimely actions, thereby
creating negative implications on the businesses in the long run (Nooraie, 2012).
This problem went on increasing with the increasing complexities and dimensions of the
businesses and with more businesses increasing their domain of operations in new geographical
areas as well as in different products and services markets. (Joyce, 2015), in this context, also

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pointed out that with the increase in the number of external as well as internal factors affecting
the businesses, it became crucial for the managers of such organizations to develop a robust
strategic framework to cohesively deal with all the factors such that the business operations of
their organizations could be run in an efficient and timely manner. The strategic management
framework, according to the author, originated from the perception of the need of decision
making structures, able enough to deal with any anticipated as well as unprecedented situations
arising in the business activities.
Roles and Importance of Strategic Management in Business
Strategic management, as a discipline, has developed, over the years, as one of the most
crucial components of businesses of all size and natures, in the contemporary period. There are
various reasons behind the rising importance of the same, as has been stated by many scholars
across the world, over the years. The primary roles of the strategic management framework in
the contemporary business scenarios are as follows:
a) Definition of identity of the company- One of the foremost roles of the strategic
management framework in a company is to define the identity and purpose of the company
primarily (Dspace.elib.ntt.edu.vn., 2012). By definition of identity of a company, the unique
capabilities and the goals of the same are meant along with the formulation of the mission
statement and reason for the purpose of existence of the same in the competitive framework.
b) Formulation of strategies and decisions- Another role of the strategic management, which
augments the previous one is that of the formulation of a working framework of relevant
strategies and actions based on the mission and vision of the company as stated by (Hill, et al.,
2014). Filling the gap left by the previous literary work regarding the expansion and dimensions

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in the domain of strategic management in businesses, the authors argue that it is one of the
crucial responsibilities under the domain of strategic management of businesses, to develop a
course of practical actions and decisional frameworks relevant to the mission and objectives of
the organizations. For the formulation of the same, detailed study of the internal traits as well as
the external influencing factors affecting the activities and profitability of the firms is required.
These activities also fall under the domain of strategic management framework.
c) Strategic segmentation- The above discussed literatures do not highlight the roles played by
the strategic management framework in the aspects other than production operations. This is
highlighted by (Chernev, 2018), who emphasizes on the client side activities under this
framework. According to their assertions, one of the roles of the strategic management in the
business organizations is to develop plans in order to reach to maximum number of existing as
well as potential customers. For this purpose, it is important to take into account the natures and
types of customers, their preferences and the continuous dynamics in the same.
These, along with the other responsibilities falling under the strategic management
framework of the companies, makes the concept of strategic management and its presence
extremely crucial in the contemporary business organizations, in order to augment the domain of
operations of the same, their efficiencies in production, resource management and client
handling. A robust strategic management construct in a company is expected to contribute
positively in the short term as well as long term profitability, prospects, clientele and
sustainability of the same, by helping the company to gain a competitive edge over its rivals
(Goetsch & Davis, 2014).

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Strategic Management: Development and New Ideas
Since the origin of the concept of strategic management in the global commercial
scenario, the framework of the same has undergone considerable changes and inclusions, in
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers as well as the increasing competitions
among the supply side providers of almost all the industries. There are substantial literary works
which discuss about the different models and innovations in this aspect, which is discussed in
this section of the literature review.
(Afonina & Chalupský, 2012), in their working paper elaborate about the existing models
prevailing in the domain of strategic management in the contemporary global business situations.
The different popularly used models used in this aspect, as highlighted by the authors and their
purposes are discussed as follows:
a) Balanced Scorecard- One of the most easily comprehensive and popular framework of
strategic management used by the contemporary business organizations in their operational
activities is the balanced scorecard method. Devised by David Norton and Robert Kaplan, the
primary components of this method includes the objectives or goals of the organization, the
measures which help to understand the objectives of the firms and the initiatives and actions
taken by the management of the company in order to achieve the goals of the company.
b) Strategy Map- This is more of a visual tool which facilitates formation and communication
of the long term strategic plans designed to achieve the business goals (Cheng & Humpareys,
2012). An example of such a framework is as follows:

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Figure 2: Components of strategy map
(CGMA, 2013)
However, both the BSC and strategy map methods of strategic management constricts the
actions to that of planning and structuring the actions of the companies and do not help in
identifying the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company and the possible opportunities
and threats faced by the same.
c) SWOT Model- Keeping the limitations discussed above in consideration, another method has
been developed in the contemporary strategic management framework, known as the SWOT

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Model, which tries to analyze the internal strengths, weaknesses of the companies, the
opportunities or competitive advantages they enjoy and the possible threats which they can face
in their operational framework. The detailed and analytical framework of this model makes it an
effective and widely popular one in the strategic management scenario (Yuan, 2013).
d) PESTLE Analysis- (Yüksel, 2012), indicates towards the role of the strategic management
framework in studying the external factors and their implications on the businesses, which is
efficiently done by the PESTLE analysis, which emphasize on the political, economic, legal,
social, technological and environmental aspects which affects the businesses.
e) Porter’s Five Forces Model- This model takes the internal as well as external factor together,
thereby making the strategic management framework more effective and inclusive:
Figure 3: Porter’s Five Forces Model
(Lee, et al., 2012)

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f) Ansoff Matrix- This method helps in analyzing the opportunities of the companies in terms of
markets and products as can be shown in the following figure:
Figure 4: Components of Ansoff Matrix
(Hussain, et al., 2013)
These models, try to take into account the broad aspects of production and sales related
activities in the companies. However, with time, the strategic management framework has also
experienced development of models which are more targeted and which deal with prevention and
management of specific issues. Some of these are as follows:
f) Business Canvas Model- This tool of strategic management provides a template for
documentation of the existing business attributes and development of new models, by providing

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the visual chart representation of the different elements of a company, including proposition,
customers, infrastructures and finances (Joyce & Paquin, 2016).
g) War gaming model- This is one of the newest forms of strategic management model which
uses the concept of military simulation war games. In this case, a simulation of business
conditions and challenges are set for the managers to develop strategies to combat these
contingencies, which in turn help in combating the unanticipated challenges in business
framework (Hitt, et al., 2012).
h) VRIO Framework- This new model relates to the vision statement of the company, including
the value, imitability, rarity and organizational aspects of the organizations, thereby emphasizing
on increase in the competitive advantage of the same in the industrial scenario. This, again is a
targeted and specific tool of strategic management.
i) Blue Ocean Strategy- One of the most recent inclusions in the strategic management
framework is the Blue Ocean Strategy, which is a collusion of 150 strategic moves, devised to
incorporate and handle any situation arising in the business framework of the companies. The
strategy deals with identification of raising the factors relevant, the elimination of the areas
where the company can reduce or eliminate operations and costs in order to venture in new
markets, the areas where the usage of certain materials can be reduced and the possibility of the
company to stay innovating to facilitate creation od new products (Lindič, et al., 2012). The main
objective of the strategy is to create uncontested position for itself in the market in the long run
and to get the strategies set to expand its boundaries.

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Advantages of New strategies over Old ones
As can be seen from the above discussion, the new strategies designed and implemented
in the domain of strategic management in the commercial scenario, are emphasizing more on
wholesome coverage of all the operational activities of the firms rather than making one
particular construct for all the contingencies. This is where strategies like Blue Ocean and War
Game Simulation differ from the old ones like SWOT, PESTLE and Porter’s Five Forces. The
new ones help the management to get a clear view of all the aspects of businesses and also helps
them in making arrangements for anticipated as well as unanticipated contingencies and also in
expanding their prospects in a highly competitive framework (Dehkordi, et al., 2012). The
complex and innovative frameworks of the new strategies also help in taking into account greater
number of problems and in finding the effective solutions to the same, thereby increasing the
efficiency of the commercial organizations.
Flaws in Strategic Management Models
However, these frameworks, in spite of being inclusive of many factors are still found to
be fundamental and the major problem of these methods is that they are useful mostly for long
term and anticipated situations, which are observed with the help of the structures of the models
as asserted by (Taneja, et al., 2013). However, there remain many factors and situations which
cannot be measured cardinally or in ordinal ways and which crops up unprecedentedly. Keeping
this into consideration, several changes are being made in this framework, as can be seen from
the VRIO or War Gaming Model.

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Conclusion
From the above literature review, it can be asserted that strategic management has been
becoming one of the primary components in the contemporary business framework in the global
scenario. With the increase in the importance of more efficiency and effectiveness of the
operational structure, in the increasingly competition in every industrial aspects, it becomes
crucial to develop new and cognitive ideas in the strategic management framework of the
companies. The methods have changed over the years, becoming more efficient, ordinal and
multidimensional in order to cater to the changing needs. However, as can be seen from existing
literatures, there still remain several gaps and limitations in the aspect of construction of one
wholesome strategic management method, which can help the companies to combat any
anticipated as well as unanticipated changes in the market and to stay ahead of their competitors.

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References
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