Introduction
Strategic planning and management are appropriate for comparatively uncomplicated and steady conditions because such conditions are based on evaluation and predictions. Yet, with the advancing socio-economic structure, the business conditions are getting more and more complicated and unpredictable which brings in contradictions that make strategic management and planning be seen by some people as somehow irrelevant. However, this is not true. The importance of strategic management should be well-thought-out dialectically and the best way is to look out for strategies that are flexible to put into consideration the issue of uncertainty (Qiyang, n.d.).
Importance of Strategic Planning and Management
According to Qiyang (n.d.), there are two conflicting views about strategic planning and management. ‘Deliberate strategies approach’ looks at strategy as balanced planning to be formulated before being put in use. On the other hand ‘Emergent strategies Approach’ looks at strategy as a model in the stream of managerial actions and takes the view that strategies can come up from inside the organization with no well-structured plan. According to Qiyang (n.d.), it is argued that strategies could come up from the workers of the organization, and only in retrospect is the organization’s strategy recognized from the model of the measures put in use. He goes ahead to put across another argument that the organization is supposed to come up with several contingency plans that can be implemented with speed when the environmental conditions get altered suddenly without being expected.
The importance of both strategic planning and management is that they are the fundamental methods of obtaining some advantage for the organization over the competition. Strategic planning and management are at times looked at as they search for the effectual positioning of the organization over the competitors to acquire a competitive advantage. These tools concern the range of the activities of the organization that is basic to strategy.
Another importance is that both strategic planning and management are the vital development of harmonizing the organization’s resources and activities to the environment. It would be regarded as very important to obtain the right organization’s positioning in regard of the far it meets identified market needs. These tools play a major part in identifying opportunities in the business setting and adapting resources and competences so as to take advantage of these.
More so, strategic planning and management are the effectual way to capitalize on or extend the organization’s competences to create opportunities. Competition in any business environment is based on advantages. Setting up strategy and improving on them by stretch is the influence of the resources and central competences of an organization to afford competitive advantage and create fresh opportunities (Qiyang, n.d.).
Functions of Management in Relation to Creating and implementing a Strategic Plan: A case of a candy store
According to Smith (2008), the functions of management are very important in coming up and maintaining an effectual and efficient culture of the organization. These functions include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Planning function may come in various ways since all sectors of the candy shop needs some sort of planning so as to hold on to the plan. In the first place, we have financial planning. The finances are always limited. Therefore strategies are supposed to be laid down in order to use the available finances to serve the customers in the best way possible in order to win a competitive advantage. For instance, the manager for this store may seek to establish a one-stop candy store in order to make it more convenient for the customers while purchasing these commodities. Adequate research should be carried out in order to identify the weaknesses of the competitors and capitalize on them by coming up with the most convenient plan. The manager of this business should as well try to create new opportunities through seeking to identify the customers’ needs that may not have been satisfied by the competitors who have been in the business. But in order for this business to realize its goals, a proper plan should also be laid down in regard to taking care of the benefits, compensations and salaries of the employees of the business. A plan should also be made in order to recruit the employees who are well suited for their respective responsibilities in the business in order to make fulfillment of the business’s mission be realized.
After carrying out strategic planning, the manager of this business should organize how this plan is supposed to be implemented by trying to identify in the business who is supposed to perform which task and how. For instance, the manager should organize on how to obtain supplies of the commodities that satisfy best the customer needs and where he or she can obtain them in most economically favorable way. He should organize on how the employees can best serve the customers.
After carrying out strategic planning, the manager seeks to see the outcome of this plan in order to find out whether the goals have been met. Since the business is operating in a changing environment, the responsibility of the manager here is to be on the look out to come up with strategies that can help in dealing with these changes in the business environment. Whenever there are variations in the outcome from what was expected, the causes of these are sought to be identified in order to come up with the new strategic plan to counter this.
Leadership focuses on the influence of the employees’ conduct towards obtaining the objectives of the business. However, leadership might not come from managers only but can as well come from individuals from within the business who can give information and opinions on how the business can move on in order to succeed. Therefore this business should encourage the appropriate employees to participate in setting up the strategic plans as they may be having various ideas that can lead to the success of this business. However, at the center of the decision making process is the manager who may take in all the ideas and come up with the appropriate plan (Thompson, Gamble & Strickland, 2006). These employees might be having the firsthand information about what this candy store can offer to the customers and in which way they can be served best.
Reference
Qiyang, W. (n.d.). Flexible Strategy under Uncertainty. 2009. Web.
Smith, R. (2008). Four Functions of Management. Web.
Thompson, A. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland, A. J. (2006). Strategy: Winning in the marketplace: Core concepts, analytical tools, cases (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Pp. 822. Web.