Strategy and strategic management

Strategic management is a deliberate attempt to steer an organisation in a particular direction. Many approaches, processes and techniques are associated with it. Strategy, therefore, is about the big picture, about long (or at least longer) term goals and about pulling everybody in the same direction. As a result, strategy often incorporates topics such as managing change, building and selling a vision. This chapter explores the various concepts of strategy and its role in making successful organisations, including understanding how decision makers anticipate the future, engage
stakeholders, and look for creative and innovative solutions. The chapter explores the importance of the environment, the strategic choices that organisations can make, and the different types of processes (rational and emergent) that they use. It also identifies the increasing focus on looking to the longer- term future when developing strategies in line with attempts to make public service organisations more sustainable and adaptable.