Strategic management is defined as a process in which managers determine goals and make decisions on strategies for the company to achieve their goals and improve company performance (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). The process of strategic management is comprised of analyzing the situation, forming a strategy, implementing that strategy, and evaluating the strategy. By following these steps, a company is putting themselves in position to create a successful strategic management plan. The first step in in the strategic management process is analyzing the situation. This step is used to give management the proper information to be used to create a mission statement for the company. Forming a strategy is the next step of strategic management. This is where the company designs and develops its strategy. Normally this is divided into three different organizational groups. These groups are operational, competitive, and corporate. Operational strategies are known to be short term and are normally tied to many operational divisions of the company. The competitive group deals with just that. Competing in the industry for customers. This step is where you get familiar with the competition and learn about their strengths and weaknesses. At this point the company is coming up with a plan of how to gain an advantage over the competition. Corporate strategies tend to deal with the company for the long term. This is when the company is deciding where they are going to be heading in the future. Implementing the strategy is when the strategy is actually being put into play. Lastly, the company has to evaluate the strategy. This is where you can see if milestones are being met, if your plan is actually working, and if not where you can start making the necessary changes in order to get them working.
AT&T’s strategic plan