The Strategic Management Process: Step 1

The Process

  1. establish the mission, vision, and values statements
  2. assess the current reality
  3. formulate corporate, business, and functional strategies
  4. execute the strategies
  5. maintain strategic control
  6. feedback

Step 1: Establishing The Mission Statement

  • does your company’s mission statement answer these questions:

  

  1. Who are your customers?
  2. What are our major products or services?
  3. In what geographical areas do we compete?
  4. What is our basic technology?
  5. What is our commitment to economic objectives?
  6. What are = our basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and philosophical priorities?
  7. What are our major strengths and competitive advantages?
  8. What are our public responsibilities, and what image do we wish to project?
  9. What is our attitude toward our employees?

Step 2: Establishing The Vision Statement

  • does your company’s vision statement answer these questions:

  

  1. Is it appropriate for the organization and for the times?
  2. Does it set standards of excellece and reflect high ideals?
  3. Does it clarify purpose and direction?
  4. Does it inspire enthusiasm and encourage commitment?
  5. It is well articulated and easily understood?
  6. Does it reflect the uniqueness of the organization, its distinctive competence, what it stands for, and what it’s able to achieve?
  7. Is it ambitious? Does it push the organization and employees to achieve a desired future state that appears beyond its reach?

Step 1: Establishing The Value’s Statement

  • does your company’s values statement answer these questions:

  

  1. Does it express the company’s distinctiveness, its view of the world?
  2. It it intended to guide all the organization’s actions, including how you treat employees, customers, etc.?
  3. Is it tough, serving as the foundation on which difficult company decisions can be made?
  4. Will it be unchanging, as valid 100 years from now as it is today?
  5. Does it reflect the beliefs of those who truly care about the organization rather than respresent a consensus of all employees?
  6. Are the values expressed in the statement limited (five or so) and easy to remember, so that employees will have them top-of-mind when making decisions?
  7. Would you want the organization to continue to hold these values, even if at some point they become a competitive disadvantage?