Strategic management is about managing the ship. Hold your staff responsible, make a plan and focus on the company's mission statement and goals.
While some people may know what strategic management is, others may not necessarily understand the steps involved or the process that takes place in this particular type of environment.
Strategic management is about managing the ship
Strategic management is when a company works to strategize or really, really work hard and make sure that they're doing the best in every area as it relates to:
- Marketing
- accounts payable
- accounts receivable
- production
- sales
- human resources
- and other departments
If you want to increase your clients, and other areas that they may be focused on in your business, then that means you need to supervise every area and aspect and focus on what they are doing.
Hold your staff responsible
There are several different ways that a company can strategize in this manner. A lot of it involves meeting with the teams that they are working with. They want to help to ensure that they come up with the goals for their particular projects.
You have to make a plan
For example, when a company like McDonald's started they didn't just say okay we're going to make burgers and fries for 1 million people. They had to start out with a menu. After they made the menu, then they decided how they were going to feed people. After they came up with packaging then they came up with a marketing plan. That’s when they decided to use Ronald McDonald for entertainment to get kids into their restaurants. That’s strategic, too, you know! Next, they had to think about uniforms and oh, don't forget about that great big ‘M’ that hangs over all of their fast food restaurants. That’s part of their image branding that no other company can duplicate.
Strategic management also helps to ensure that a company has specific goals that they can follow. These goals may be reached over a day to day basis, weekly, monthly and even yearly. They set goals so they can project far in advance what they should be doing different projects. They also want to define what they are working towards.
Ways that they can do this include:
- coming up with a mission statement
- setting goals for the organization
- creating a logo
- building team spirit, working on morale and encouraging staff through common goals
- and even strategic points so they can work to ensure all of the staff are aware of the common goals and always keep them in mind
Best cup of coffee
For example, did you know that the mission statement for Starbucks is not ‘One expensive cup of coffee every day’? It actually reads ‘Our Mission: To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.’
That's just part of their mission statement. They actually go more in-depth into their values. They want their employees to know what they stand for and represent, as well.
You have to keep in mind that when a company is trying to grow itself, it has to be strategic. The ways that they can do this include looking at different areas of the company. They want a different area in their company to expand and be socially responsible. That means that they may want to ensure that they're:
- protecting the environment
- using recyclable materials and working on go-green initiatives
- hiring employees in an honest manner
- paying their employees a competitive salary
- offering them benefits and working to help the environment
Your strategy
Now as it relates to you, we know you want to use strategic management in everything you do. That might mean that for yourself you're going to make a plan. You're also going to have a mission statement. You might say what you're going to do for the next year, or for the next 10 years. Maybe your goal and your mission statement is that you want to inspire and encourage people through the arts. You may want to be the best student that you can and these are all great ways that you can come up with a mission statement.
Watch the money going in and out
There are other things that you have to keep in mind as it relates to a company and strategic management. These include keeping track of how much money they're making and what they're spending your money on. Usually, there are bigger words used here like qualitative and quantitative analysis. In a nutshell, that means there are a lot of reports that are circulated between managers to help:
- make sure the company is making money
- make sure that they're not wasting money
- grow and expand in the right areas
They may ask themselves questions in various types of meetings. They want to know whether or not they're still on track to meet their goals. They also might ask if they are still following the guidelines in the mission statement. The reason that they do this is their mission statement does not change.
The almighty mission statement and goals
A mission statement might be updated if a company goes from being a small mom and pop to a global conglomerate (big corporation). Ultimately the goal is that with your mission statement, as you are working in a strategic management capacity. You want to always make sure you're following it and that your employees are doing that, as well.
What that means for you is if you're planning on making a strategic management move with your life over the next few years, your mission statement has to be something that will not change. You might say that you're going to be the best that you can be. And that may be your mission statement, ‘Be the best that I can be’. Because it's a broad scale, that means it can cover a lot of different areas. If you find that your first project failed, or you got a bad grade in a class, that doesn't matter because you gave it your best.
What matters is that you look at your mission statement. Focus on that and see how you can fix it to better yourself the next time. That way you have the opportunity to be the best that you can be!
Monitoring accounts and people
Because strategic management is about getting results, there is a lot of monitoring for different accounts. They work to ensure that every department that they work with is producing what they should. Managers and owners may focus on marketing, for example. They want to ensure that they have enough ads that are generating revenue (money) or enough sales people that are meeting with their clients. They may look at accounts receivable or accounts payable. They want to make sure that they don't have clients and customers that are falling behind on payments. They also want to make sure that money is consistently coming in.
Ultimately the goal with strategic management and what you should take away from this is that it's something where you have to be the captain of the ship. You also have to supervise everyone. You want to make sure that you supervise all areas. Next, be sure to monitor all the departments that you work with. Then, make sure that everyone is accountable. Lastly, focus on that mission statement so you can keep everyone on track. You want to be the best that you can be whether you’re selling a cup of coffee or burgers and fries!
