What is Strategy?

WHAT IS STRATEGY?
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What is Strategy?
Strategy is developing a broad working formula for how an activity will compete to determine the primary long-term goals and objectives with allocating the necessary resources. Similarly, it is a deliberate and selective action that analyses options available to an individual or organization to address the fundamental issues facing them. Its original meaning is derived from the ancient Greek word "strategos," which meant victory in the military considering its careful thought in conducting wars (Management Study Guide, 2021). Therefore, it is simply a skill of carrying out plans to achieve something. A good strategy has various attributes, specific approaches, levels to be undertaken, advantages and disadvantages.
Being a general direction set by an individual or organization to achieve a desired state in the future, integrating the activities to be undertaken, and utilizing and allocating scarce resources within the environment is very fundamental (Nickols, 2012). People should note that decisions in coming up with strategies are not rushed or taken in a vacuum. Any action is likely to affect you or others, directly or indirectly. Therefore, it is crucial to have in mind some knowledge be it economic, physical, or social, about the expected implications and the contribution it plans to make to the owner, market, and society at large.
Attributes of a Good Strategy
Firstly, the strategy should be objective situational. It is vital first to understand the purpose of the system of the situation at hand. A good look at what is happening externally and internally should be taken to give the strategy the attention it deserves according to the needs and realizations (Bottary, 2011). Moreover, a system should be clear and realistic because it is impossible to reach a destination on the wrong path. Thus, clear and practical strategic initiatives fuel the focus to sustain a successful goal achievement.
Secondly, the sense of urgency is also vital for an effective strategy. Without a sense of urgency, it is very likely to postpone plans which could have acted on as soon as possible. Urgency goes hand in hand with determination and understanding what is to be done based on priorities and values while stimulating progress. In addition to that, coming up with a strategy also means understanding your culture. It is easier to work with your culture than go a long way towards achieving a goal by either fighting your culture or wasting time learning others.
Furthermore, a good strategy is always accompanied by a good leader. Leaders guide it by being at the frontline with commitment as this will inspire those following in the plans into moving forward with the leadership. In conjunction with that, transparency is a crucial factor in strategies (Bottary, 2011). People must embrace the project as their own or ask them to commit to the leader's terms other than theirs. Good leadership should make people see how it benefits them all in the end, or else it will be almost impossible to accomplish stated objectives.
Approach the Right Strategy
Prompted by the increasingly diverse and uncertain activities, it has never been more crucial to choose the best approach to strategy for the right situation. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find the perfect method nowadays not because we lack potent ways of approaching but because we lack the robust forms of selecting the right ones. An approach can be valid in only one area, paralyzing the whole or remaining part of the job.
During a strategy approach, many factors are laid down for consideration. Firstly, whether the environment is conducive for the expected returns, this is because there tends to be a mismatch with various disruptions that hinder the strategy from effectively taking place (Reeves et al., 2012). Adaptive environments are therefore experimental because methods seldom work in rapid changes or unpredictability. Subsequently, assessing the competitive advantage concerning the strategy's capability is vital to achieving a winning-position advantage during strategy approaches.
Thinking before planning out the right strategy is also an integral approach. It all starts with a vision. Then the planning comes second after a correct assessment of how the process will come about (McKeown, 2019). The thinking part is often given priority because strategists do not think they are just planners. After all, it is serious work and has to get things done practically.
Strategic Approaches
Bottom-Up Approach; is an initiative in making strategies taken by various units then passed to higher companies for aggregation. The setback is that corporate strategy may end up incoherent, and they merely reflect the objectives. The Top-Down Approach; is taken in upper-level executives who formulate the goals with advice from the low-level managers to evaluate the performance of each unit. Interactive Approach; is a compromise between bottom-up and top-down approaches linking broader corporate objectives and knowledge of certain situations. The dual-Level Approach; is solely formulated at the corporate and business levels. All units form strategies that are continuous and prioritize the firm's various departments.
Levels of Strategy Making
It involves identifying appropriate mechanisms to achieve the activity's performance targets, competitive advantage, and long-term survival. It is critical to note that the strategy-making should consider its long-term nature, its comprehension in covering vast areas, its integrated guide, and the boundaries set for proper decision making. The four levels of strategy making include:
* Corporate level strategy
It is a level of strategy that defines the markets of the activity involved. It is usually formulated by the top management and determines the overall direction the organization is heading (Everything Strategy 2021). Generally, it affects everything involved and is a long-term objective. Moreover, it is a set of alternatives from which one is chosen to manage simultaneous actions.
* Business level strategy
It is a strategy that defines how a firm will compete and is formulated by the seniors in operation. It emphasizes strength in the firm's competition and how the management addresses multiple issues effectively to survive in the marketplace (Everything Strategy, 2021). Such will help the firm focus on its agenda in a targeted fashion....