Strategic Management

 Strategic Management is the process through which organizations define their direction, make decisions on allocating resources, and implement plans to achieve long-term goals. It involves the formulation and execution of major initiatives taken by top management on behalf of stakeholders, based on an assessment of internal and external environments.

The roots of strategic management can be traced back to military strategy and business policy models developed in the mid-20th century. In the 1960s and 1970s, business leaders and scholars began to formalize strategic thinking in management, incorporating analytical tools and long-term planning frameworks. Pioneers like Peter Drucker, Igor Ansoff, and Michael Porter laid the foundation for modern strategic management, introducing concepts such as competitive advantage, value chain analysis, and market positioning.

Strategic management differs from day-to-day operations management in that it focuses on the “big picture”—how the organization positions itself in a competitive environment and how it achieves sustainable success. It is concerned with aligning an organization’s mission, vision, and objectives with its internal capabilities and external opportunities.