Plan and execute a strategic approach to management

Strategic planning makes you think about where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and how/whether they can be leveraged to develop competitive advantage (where you are better than others in the same/similar markets). Alongside this, as a long-term plan, it also acknowledges where you may need to consider skill or competence development. Strategic planning is about having the ability to look at the long-term view of the business and where you want to be. 

Thinking strategically will be more important, the higher up an organisation you are but also if you are a business owner or entrepreneur. Only looking at the immediate future can be very short sighted, this course will give you the tools you need to avoid this. 

This course will be particularly relevant to:

• Business or departmental managers working to achieve objectives
• Business owners who want to make changes to their business e.g., expansion, with sustainable growth
• Team leaders or supervisors who are responsible for allocation of resources used in strategic planning
• Those working in business where knowledge and skills in strategic management will be useful

So, if you're looking to make a positive change within your business, or one that you work in, enrol now and see your ideas flourish!

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Nature and Scope of Strategic Management
   • What is the Difference between Strategy & Strategic Management?
   • The Importance Of Strategic Planning
   • Mintzberg’s Five P’s
   • How can you Use Mintzberg’s Approach?
   • What Strategies Are There?
   • Views of Strategy
   • Levels of Decisions
   • Strategic (Corporate) Level Decisions
   • Tactical (Business) Level Decisions
   • Operational (Functional) Level Decisions
   • Where Do You Start?
   • Analysis of your external environment and resource capabilities.
   • Identify your mission statement.
   • Identify a vision for the future.
   • What are your core values and guiding principles?
   • What are your long term goals and SMART objectives?
   • An action plan with timelines.
   • Develop a communication plan.
   • Develop and implementation and monitoring plan.
2. The External Environment
   • Introduction
   • Why Analyse the External Environment?
   • Tools of Analysis – Macro Environment
   • Pestle Analysis
   • Political
   • Economic
   • Socio-Cultural
   • Technological
   • Legal
   • Environmental
   • Porter’s Five Forces
   • Bargaining Power of Suppliers
   • Bargaining Power of Buyers
   • Threat Of Potential New Entrants
   • Threat Of Substitutes
   • Extent Of Competitive Rivalry
   • Competitors Review
   • Competitor Profiling
   • Tools of Analysis – Micro Environment
   • SWOT Analysis
3. The Internal Environment
   • Purpose of Analysing the Internal Environment
   • Internal Analysis Tools
   • VRIO
   • McKinsey 7S Framework
   • Using and Applying McKinsey’s Model
   • Value Chain
   • Portfolio Analysis
   • Competitive Advantage
4. Strategic Management of Human Resources
   • Human Resources
   • Staff and Strategic Planning
   • What is an HR Audit?
   • Components of an HR audit
   • Organisational Structure & Strategy
   • Hierarchal
   • Functional
   • Horizontal (also known as Flat)
   • Divisional
   • Matrix
   • Team Based
   • Network
   • Process
   • Succession Planning
   • Organisational Culture
   • Adhocracy
   • Clan
   • Hierarchy
   • Market
5. Developing a Strategic Plan
   • Business Level Versus Corporate Level Strategy
   • Developing a Strategy
   • What Focus are you Wanting to Achieve?
   • Strategy Mapping
   • Finances
   • Customers
   • Processes
   • Learning/Growth
   • Choosing the Right Strategy
   • Consistency
   • Suitability
   • Validity
   • Feasibility
   • Business Risk
   • Attractiveness to Stakeholders
   • Strategic Plan Document
   • Foundation
   • Competitive Advantages
   • Vision
   • Strategic Objectives and Organisational Goals
   • Key Performance Indicators
   • Resource Implications
   • Implementation
   • Strategy Timeline
   • Evaluation before implementation
6. Some Initial Checks
   • Resource Allocation
   • Who Allocates Resources?
   • Gaps In Resources
   • Balanced Scorecard & Strategy Implementation
   • The four perspectives
   • Implementing the BSC
   • Communicating the Implementation
   • Evaluation
   • Who Evaluates?
   • What Are You Evaluating?
   • What Happens After Evaluation?
   • Strategy Monitoring & Control
   • Creating A Control System
   • Types of Control
7. Green Strategy and Sustainability
   • Sustainability
   • What is a Green Strategy?
   • What do Companies Need to Consider?
   • Creating a more Sustainable Business Strategy
   • Assess the problem and define the objectives
   • What is the organisation’s mission?
   • Identify the available options
   • Implementation
   • Sustainability and Strategy - Areas for Concern
   • Management Buy-In
   • Stakeholder Engagement
   • Goal Type
   • Poor Monitoring
   • Lack Of Investment
   • Not Aligning Strategies
   • Loss Of Innovation
   • Missed Cost Savings
   • Negative Perception
8. Managing Strategic Change
   • What is Strategic Change?
   • Why do we need Strategic Change?
   • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Change
   • Impacts of Strategic Change
   • What Causes the Need for Strategic Change?
   • Approaches To Managing Strategic Change – Emergent and Prescriptive Tools
   • Developing A Strategic Change Plan
   • Sustainable Change
   • Pillars of Sustainable Change
   • Leadership
   • Strategy
   • Culture
   • Structure
   • Systems
   • A Model for Sustainable Change
   • The Prerequisite Approach
   • Building Awareness
   • Levels Of Motivation and Desire
   • Assess Abilities
   • Creating Opportunities
   • Feedback
9. Leading Strategic Change
   • Leading Strategic Change
   • What is Strategic Leadership?
   • Leadership and Management
   • Leadership Styles
   • Situational Leadership Theory
   • Life Cycle of Leadership
   • Contingency Theories
   • Fielder
   • Style Theories
   • The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid
   • Informal Leadership
   • Inspirational Theories
   • Path Goal Theory
   • Instrumental Theories
   • Four Framework Leadership Model
   • Limitations of Leadership Theories
   • Leading Strategic Planning and Change
   • Tools

Aims

• Discuss the nature and scope of Strategic Management in organisations
• Analyse the external environment that affects an organisation’s operations
• Determine potential applications of strategic management to human resources in an organisation
• Determine how to develop a strategic plan
  • Recommend the implementation of components of a strategic plan
• Develop socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable approaches within a strategic plan
• Explain how to manage strategic change
• Explain how to lead or facilitate strategic change

What Levels of Decision Making are Involved?

Strategic (Corporate) Level Decisions

The focus at this level is the ability to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, this is the level at which long term objectives are developed and the strategies that will be selected (and later monitored) in order to achieve them. These types of decisions are made by the more senior people within the business e.g., directors, and often affect the whole organisation (or a substantial part of it). These are decisions which are developed to focus on the medium to long term (so a number of years rather than months) and can be very complex. Once these decisions are made, it is unlikely that changes are made in the short term.

Those making these decisions need to have the ability to consider the impacts of internal and external influences on the business, and thus be able to see how the strategy can be adjusted in order to take this in to account. Examples of these type of decisions could include:

• Technological changes e.g., a move to automation of an assembly line or warehouse picking system.
• Capacity.
• Facilities – choice of location, changing the layout of a warehouse.
• Investments/take overs.
• New product development.

Tactical (Business) Level Decisions

The focus at this level is to ensure that the strategic level objectives are met, and how this is to be done. It focuses on how the strategies are going to be implemented, which can involve making adjustments. These decisions are usually made at the departmental area level and only have an impact on parts of the business rather than all of it. The timescale is medium term, there may be some uncertainty and can be semi-complex but less so than at the strategic level. Examples of these type of decisions could include:

• Marketing and promotion – identifying where and when to advertise a product.
• Maintenance programs.
• Pricing adjustments.

Operational (Functional) Level Decisions

As the name suggests this is about the day-to-day decisions, therefore focusing on the shorter-term objectives (up to 1 year) which depend on strategy and tactics. There is much less complexity and a higher sense of certainty in terms of the outcome of decisions being made. This means that the decisions can be made at lower level or supervisory level. Examples of these type of decisions could include:

• Quality specifications.
• Targets for responding to customer queries.
• Maintain staff training levels.

WHY STUDY WITH ACS?

There are lots of reasons why you should sign up to do this course with us, including:

• The course is detailed to ensure that you have the level of knowledge required to apply the practices in the work place, improving the way in which it operates
• Within each lesson you have the opportunity to apply your learning to activities which enables you to practice different concepts and expand your own research in areas of interest
• Knowledge of these key areas will enable you to stand out from other applicants when it comes to applying for jobs, it will also give you greater confidence
• Having the knowledge of strategic management models and practices will enable you to work in many different sectors and business types, giving you flexibility now and in the future
• Our subject specialist tutors will be there to support you throughout your course, they are only too happy to share their industry knowledge and experience with you
• When studying with us you set your own deadlines, meaning you study at your own pace enabling it to fit around other commitments

TAKE THE NEXT STEP AND ENROL NOW!

You can enrol on the course now, but if you have any questions about the content of the course or studying with ACS, then please get in touch with us today - use our FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE to get in touch with our expert tutors. They will be pleased to help you!