Mission and Objectives

A mission defines the fundamental purpose of a business and is often driven by stakeholders. A mission statement is developed through a business’ values and vision.

Objectives are more specific and are goals set, that allow a business to achieve their mission.

Environmental, Internal, and External Analyses

An environmental scan can be used to analyse a company’s current position, while considering an audit of both internal and external factors.

An organisation can analyse the external business environment through a PEST analysis (explored in-depth later in this topic).

An internal analysis is essential for businesses to understand their current standing and the areas in which they need to improve.

A combined internal and external analysis is a SWOT analysis (explored in-depth later in this topic).

External analyses are necessary for an organisation to understand their industry and respond to any changes they face.

A business could use a SWOT analysis or Porter's Five Forces framework to analyse their external industry (explored in-depth later in this topic).

Strategic Formulation

Strategic formalisation (or formulation) is the process of writing and developing a strategic plan. This would involve noting policies, procedures, descriptions and more.

Strategic Implementation

This is the process of carrying out strategic plans and is where the plan is transformed into operational planning and action terms.

It tends to involve a five-step process:

1. Allocation of responsibilities – the leaders and managers assign tasks and delegate responsibilities

2. Detailed action plans – workers and managers develop a plan that details their course of action

3. Timelines – realistic deadlines are set, which also acts as a motivator

4. Allocation of resources – resources are assigned to respective tasks

5. Accountability – this involves people taking ownership of tasks

Evaluation and Control

Managers must control and evaluate the results of the strategic implementation, which was developed from the strategic plan.

Control involves measuring activities and resource consumption. It involves putting parameters, like standards and benchmarks, into place to ensure a business stays on course towards its desired state.

Evaluation involves reviewing the performance and providing feedback, which can be used in future strategic planning. It allows a business to evaluate if the business achieved what they hoped to achieve.