Complete Guide to Strategic Management Functions

Strategic management is a key area of work for leaders and managers. They focus on it as a large part of their roles in the organizations that they work for. There are many good strategic management courses in India which are very comprehensive in their coverage of what it entails and the kind of skills it needs. In terms of reference strategic management is a very broad area. There are sub-areas within it, which are functions that need to be carried out.

What is Strategic Management Functions?

Strategic management is a set of activities in a firm for decision making and organisational change strategies. It is based on the human resource and physical. Strategic management functions provide a way of organising, deciding and implementing strategies. They are mainly concerned with the strategic goals of the organizations.

How do Strategic Management Functions work?

Strategic management functions are concerned with the management of the functional areas that are involved in strategic planning. Implementation efforts are done at the operational, tactical and strategic levels. Strategic management provides a systematic approach to make a positive impact on the strategies of an organization. It defines all the functional areas. The job is then divided into different functions to be carried out by teams of employees. Strategic management functions do different jobs related to the strategies of the organizations. It is concerned with the decision making processes.

Strategic management in an organization is about the development of overall objectives and targets for the organization leading to the formulation of overall policies through formal decision making processes. It is also about the operationalisation of the policies and also the effective management of the various functions and departments involved in the process for the achievement of the desired objectives and targets set by the organization. Thus, strategic management is a very broad area and there are many sub-areas within it, which are functions that need to be carried out.

Some specific functions of Strategic management are decision making, implementation, resources management, communication, coordination, resource optimization, etc. These functional areas are based on the need for decisions, plans and the carrying out of the strategies. The effective functioning of the strategic management includes planning, planning implementation, analysing the result and taking appropriate decisions, all of which together make it an overall process. Strategic Management Functions are closely associated with the management of the different functional areas, which consists of the processes of planning implementation and control of operations of the firm.

What is Strategic Management Functions Definition?

Some of the main objectives of strategic management include the functional areas of the firm. The main goal of strategic management is to ensure that all functions of the organization are aligned with and tied down to the core objectives of the business. There are various functions that are included under strategic management. These number about 10, according to the CourseonRisk.com. These are:

• Strategical Planning Team
• Business planning
• Decision making
• Information and data
• Strategic planning
• Plan evaluation
• Capital management
• Organization structure
• Human resources planning
• Organizational review

What are the Strategic Management Functions?

Strategic Management functions are concerned with the management of the functional areas that are involved in strategic planning. Strategic management provides a systematic approach to make a positive impact on the strategies of an organization. These are the main functions of strategic management. There are many sub areas in strategic management.

1. Strategic planning- This is done by the strategic planning team? Its main task is to develop the overall business plan of the organization. The strategic management team can do without this function.
2. Business planning- This is one area of strategic management was created to assist the strategic planning teams. This team works directly with the strategic planning team. It develops business plans for the organization which is different from the overall strategic plan.
3. Decision making- This function is an important part of strategic management. It is done by the individual members of the strategic management team. Their role is to come together and make decisions. The decisions are taken in the meeting to be discussed. These are then brought to the strategic management team for consideration.
4. Information and data- Information comes to strategic management team by returns of the monthly budget analysis of the organization. Sometimes actual returns are brought to the strategic management team. All this data is valuable information to make the decisions. Strategic management is based on the available information at any time.
5. Strategic planning- This function enables strategic management to look into the future and prepare a definite plan of action. Strategic planning with the help of business planning it captures the needs of the market.
6. Evaluation of planning- planning evaluation gives details of the costs incurred and the benefits gained from the plans of strategic planning and business planning.
7. Capital management- This function is concerned with the allocation of capital in different parts of the organization. The decisions on investment of funds are considered.
8. Organizational review- It is done by the strategic management team and senior management of the organization. Infact this is done by the organization every few years. This procedure is known as the strategic review. The main aim of this function is to make sure that all the organization is run in a systematic manner.
9. Human resource planning- Human resource planning is a component of the strategic management function. It covers all the problems the organization is facing regarding its human resources. It deals with recruitment, training and development.
10. Plan evaluation- This is the second part of strategic management. It is also a important part of strategic management functions. This function evaluates all the decisions made by the strategic management team. Management is responsible for this function. This is done to see whether the decisions taken are effective or not.

Need for Strategic Management Functions?

The need for Strategic Management functions is based on the need to ensure the efficiency of various processes within an organization. Strategic Management Functions ensures a strategic approach towards any decision making as well as an understanding of the different aspects of internal and external environment. There are three levels of Strategic processes that are used for a decision making.

1. Implicit- This is the first level that a decision is made. This level involves decision making which is mostly done by humans.
2. Formal- This involves a formal decision making process and involves various aspects of decision making.
3. Informal- This is the third level of decision making. Strategic Management Functions are closely associated with all these levels of decision making. Strategic management thus provides a basis for the procedures to be followed in decision making.

Conclusion

Interesting facts about Strategic Management Functions

There are a number of interesting facts about managerial functions. They are as follows:

1. All strategic Management functions cannot be done by a single manager.
2. For managers the most crucial part of strategic management functions should be Information and data.
3. Human resource planning is one of the most important functions of strategic management. Strategic Management Functions include information and data, the need is to ensure that the managers of the organization have good human resources.
4. Strategic management is a set of a few separate functions which are important for the survival of an organization. Strategic management is applicable to various types of organizations.