Learning Goal: I’m working on a business question and need guidance to help me learn.
This week’s readings covered numerous important concepts. I found learning more about strategic management and the various approaches to competitive advantage much more interesting. As per the readings, strategic management relates to the art or the science of formulating, implementing, and analyzing cross-functional decisions required to ensure organizations acquire their objectives (David, 2020). It was worthwhile noting that a company’s strategic plan is similar to its game plan; firms need to have great game plans to acquire their objectives. According to the readings, a strategic plan often results in hard-hitting managerial options among many valid options. It always signals a commitment to various markets, operations, policies, and procedures.
It was important to learn the various stages of strategic management. As per the readings, the stages of strategic management include strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. There are several decisions to make in each of these stages. For example, under the formulation strategy stage, one must determine the various businesses they need to get into, the businesses to leave, and how to avoid a hostile takeover in general.
An important term that I covered in the assigned readings is a competitive advantage. According to the readings, competitive advantage refers to activities organizations carry out the best when compared with rival firms (David, 2020). It could also refer to resources firms possess and which rival firms may desire. Firms must have a competitive advantage over their rivals to win market command.
Graduate-level Response
Question 1
This well-known comment by Deming underlines Deming’s belief in the need for data measurement to achieve better performance. This quote has helped professionals and specialists from various fields establish action plans based on data upkeep and acquisition. In the context of strategic management, this remark relates to the idea that only divine phenomena may be trusted without looking for facts, statistics, or logic to back it up. Every facet of our lives and every decision we make or must make must be supported by properly and meticulously gathered related facts in some cohesive and meaningful way. This phrase underlines the need to base strategic judgments on acquired and accumulated facts while building a strategic plan. That strategic planning and development should be done after gathering scientific facts and statistics and conducting surveys and research to obtain relevant data about our company. Demand predictions and budgets, analysis of the external and internal environment, research and surveys on shifting market trends, customer feedback, staff issues, and all other relevant data are all examples of this. The gist of this saying is to not make rash, impulsive decisions; rather, base your decisions on scientifically acquired data that aids in acquiring a clearer and larger image of what has to be done and how it should be done. That is the whole point of strategic management.
Question 2
This vision statement is rather broad; the book defines a vision statement as “what do we wish to become.” (2020, David) This statement is a mission statement rather than a vision statement because it does not inform us how they will care for the patient’s eyesight but rather who they are and who they wish to serve
