Strategic Planning vs. Strategic Management.

It is apparent that there is sometimes some confusion between strategic planning and management.

Strategic planning involves Strategy formulation which is a process that outlines a measurable and concrete course of action to achieve certain strategic objectives or overcome specific challenges. A mission and vision statement form part of Strategic Planning. Strategic plans are typically 3-5 year goals set in order to meet specific outcomes.

One can use a SWOT/TOWS matrix as well as Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Scorecard in order to help executives translate their corporate mission and strategy into tangible objectives and performance measures. There are four segments: learning and growth; internal business processes; the customer and financials. A needs analysis is also used in the planning phase: a needs assessment is a process for determining the needs, or "gaps," between a current and desired outcome. It's a part of strategic planning—a needs assessment is a process for determining the needs, or "gaps," between a current and desired outcome. It's a part of strategic planning—essentially, a needs assessment helps you pinpoint how you'll accomplish your strategic goals, and thus a "gap analysis" is analysed.

The organisation needs to develop and organise short-term business plans, be they marketing related, market growth, diversification and so on. This is preparing for the implementation stage and is cross-functional. "T" management is a useful management construct, where the vertical line represents the managers core competence, and the horizontal line represents the other key functions in an organisation - so there is a cross-pollination of ideas, creating synergy as opposed to entropy.

With strategic management, there is of course planning, analysis and assessment of resources. Inputs - Transformation process - Outputs. Disparate functions must always be cognisant of their mission and vision, and it is critical to keep pace with technological advances (Digital Business Transformation). Environmental scanning must be continually conducted (e.g. marketing), and there are external as well as internal challenges that must be navigated. Once the implementation stage has been finalised, it is imperative to monitor, analyse and evaluate KPIs and KPAs. Evaluation feedback loops are key.

There are of course advantages and disadvantages with planning and management:

Advantages:

1.) Discharges Board responsibilities;

2.) Provides a framework for decision making;

3.) Measurement of progress and

4.) Provides organisational perspective.

Disadvantages:

1.) Anticipating the future is not simple.

2.) There are as always costs involved.

3.) It is a complex process analysing internal and external resources effectively and

4.) Structure follows strategy is a business principle coined by A.D. Chandler in 1962 that states that the organizational structure of an organisation (the divisions, departments, teams, processes and technology) are designed to achieve a firm's strategy. This is not really a disadvantage, but an organisation must develop a strategy before it arranges its structure in line with an organogram, for example.

So, basically, Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals. Furthermore, it may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy. This incorporates a robust business plan.

Strategic Management is the continuous process of formulating, implementing, evaluating and modification (feedback loops)strategies to achieve organisational objectives and determine its long-term performance. It involves setting clear goals, making informed decisions, and aligning resources to drive long-term success and competitive advantage. Formulation is also closely tied to strategic planning however. Every function in an organisation should have its unique strategy that dovetails into the corporate strategy, i.e. marketing strategy, HR strategy and so on.

In strategic planning, if you decide to introduce a new product offering (preferably a nondisruptive creation), and examining the Ansoff matrix (somewhat outdated in many ways), your primary goal should be to work your way through each iteration cycle as fast as possible. That way, your offering will become enhanced, and that is the concept if iteration velocity. This could form part of a pivot strategy and the formulation stage prior to implementation and evaluation. So strategic management is the act of coordinating a group of people to achieve a specific goal while accounting for ever-present change and uncertainty. Remember that the environment in which your organisation operates is in fact the the structure in which a system operates, which impacts the system's flows or processes and thus changes the output of the system. In today's business arena, organisations and the "C" - suite need to navigate digital business transformation technology to enhance their business operations, culture, and customer experience (CRM and service delivery). So, explore the benefits, types, and driving forces of digital transformation, and how to develop and execute your own strategic planning.

Striving for quality is in essence "fitness for purpose", meaning: does the offer/new offering actually deliver the intended benefits, and as such is it suitable for use in the intended environment mentioned above. If one thinks about it, quality is often subjective, such as "does the consumer like the product"? Professor David A Garvin (HBS) used a framework used to define, measure and improve quality. There were 8 factors used:

1. Performance;
2. Features;
3. Reliability;
4. Conformance;
5. Durability;
6. Serviceability;
7. Aesthetics and
8. Perception.

So the above is simply a checklist of how to improve your offer over time (remember to distinguish between needs and wants).

Prof Rory Dunn.