Organizations are facing exciting and dynamic challenges in the 21st century.
Introduction
Organizations are facing exciting
and dynamic challenges in the 21st century. In the gloabalized business,
companies require strategic thinking and only by evolving good corporate
strategies can they become strategically competitive. A sustained or
sustainable competitive advan-tage occurs when firm implements a value –
creating strategy of which other companies are unable to duplicate the benefits
or find it too costly to initiate. Corporate strategy includes the commitments,
decisions and actions required for a firm to achieve strategic competitiveness
and earn above average returns. The goals of corporate strategy are challenging
not only for large firms like Microsoft but also for small local computer
retail outlets or even dry cleaners. Table 1.1 lists the top ten strategists in
India in 2005.
What is strategy?
Strategy”, narrowly defined,
means “the art of the general” (the Greek stratos, meaning ‘field, spread out
as in ‘structure’; and agos, meaning ‘leader’). The term first gained currency
at the end of the 18th century, and had to do with stratagems by which a
general sought to deceive an enemy, with plans the general made for a campaign,
and with the way the general moved and disposed his forces in war. Also was the
first to focus on the fact that strategy of war was a means to enforce policy
and not an end in itself. Strategy is a set of key decisions made to meet
objectives. A strategy of a business organization is a comprehensive master
plan stating how the organization will achieve its mission and objectives.
Here are
some definitions of strategy.
Mintzberg has identified the 5 P’s of strategy. Strategy could be a plan, a pattern, a position, a ploy, or a perspective.
1.
A plan, a “how do I get there”
2.
A pattern, in consistent actions over time
3.
A position that is, it reflects the decision of the firm to offer par-ticular products or services in particular markets.
4.
A ploy, a maneuver intended to outwit a competitor
5. A perspective that is, a vision and direction, a view of what the company or organization is to become.
Tags : Strategic Management - Concept Of Corporate Strategy
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