1.5 Strategic Management

One of the most important responsibilities of top management teams is to develop and execute plans to align the internal environment with the external environment in a way that will provide a competitive advantage. In order to achieve this objective, managers follow a process of developing and implementing a competitive strategy. The strategic management process consists of the following:

• Crafting the principal mission of the organization.

• Evaluating the internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization.

• Analyzing the opportunities and threats in the external environment.

• Developing the plans that the organization should implement that will enable it to best compete in the changing environment.

• Executing an action plan that will achieve organizational goals.