By Professor Chin Yew Sin

The term "strategy" originated from the Greek word "strategos"
which denotes a general set of manoeuvres conducted to defeat an
enemy.

Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2003) defined strategy as an
integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions
designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive
advantage.

In addition, strategy is the direction and scope of an
organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage for
the organisation through its configuration of resources within a
changing environment and to fulfill stakeholder expectations
(Johnson & Scholes, 2002).

A strategy specifies a pre-commitment to a particular course of
action.

Hence, selecting a strategy means optimising a set of specified
alternatives on the basis of an evaluation of their relative
value and the probability of their possible consequences.

Strategic management is defined as a way of regenerating an
organisation through continuous attention to a vision of what
people who make up an organisation wish to do (Eden &Ackerman,
1998).

As such, strategic management involves more than strategic
planning: It includes a wide range of management processes
comprising implementation and supervision as well as the
definition of goals and objectives.

Strategic Management Theories

According to David (2002), strategic management is the art and
science of formulating, implementing and evaluating
cross-functional decisions that enable an organisation to
achieve its objectives.

Strategic management includes understanding the strategic
position of an organisation, strategic choices for the future
and turning strategy into action (Johnson & Scholes, 2002).

Furthermore, strategic management is a process that needs to be
understood more than as a discipline that can be taught.

It is the process by which organisations determine their
purpose, objectives and desired levels of attainment; decide on
actions for achieving these objectives in an appropriate
timescale (more frequently in a greater changing environment);
implement the actions; and assess progress and results.

Whenever and wherever necessary, these actions may be changed or
modified.

The magnitude of these changes can be dramatic and
revolutionary, or more gradual and evolutionary (Thompson,
1997).

On the other hand, according to Rowe et al, the function of
strategic management is to align the internal operation of an
organisation, including the allocation of human, physical and
financial resources to achieve optimal interactions with the
external environment and strategic management, based on the
organisation's operational values - its fundamental beliefs
about how the business should be conducted.

In addition, the strategic management process is defined as
being the full set of commitments, decisions, and actions
required for a firm to achieve strategic competitiveness and
earn above-average returns (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2003).

Strategic Management Trends

There appears to be no consensus on when strategic management
actually commenced and who started it.

Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that strategic management
began with merely strategic planning in the beginning, which
then progressed on to strategic management.

Earlier thinking on strategy did not clearly demonstrate whether
strategy had to be premeditated or it could just emerge.

There are two major fundamental views on strategy.

One view is related to the "planning mode", which defines
strategy as a plan or implicit set of guidelines developed
beforehand.

This view prevailed for quite some time until another
perspective recently emerged.

The more recent view pertains to an "evolutionary mode", which
implies that strategy need not be a well-considered and
systematic plan.

In fact, strategy evolves over time or is incremental as a
paradigm in the decision making process.

In the 1960s, Alfred Chandler studied approximately 100 of
America's largest corporations, tracing their development from
1909 to 1959 to determine the effects of strategy on structure.

Chandler found that changes in corporate strategy preceded and
led to changes in an organization's structure.

Subsequently, Miles and Snow carried out esearch on the
relationship between strategy and structure in organisations.

Michael Porter's study of competitive strategy also establishes
the direct bearing strategy as on structure.

Eventually, Danny Miller developed an integrative framework that
assists to synthesise strategy terminology and evaluate its
impact structural design.

Miles and Snow's research led to the classication of
organisations based on the rate at which they change their
products or markets. Porter's view is that no firm can perform
well by attempting to be all things to all people.

Therefore, he strongly believes that management must choose a
strategy that will render the organisation a competitive
advantage. In this era of both complex and rapidly changing
business environment, it is important that business
organisations must respond fast to swiftly changing conditions
if they want to be a few steps ahead of their competitors.

The pressure exerted on organisations for such quick responses
has rendered strategic management even more critical.

According to Johnson (2003), the top management will have to
watch out for the following three aspects, which will have great
percussions to their organisations:

o There will be less direction and planning per se but there
will be more envisioning, sensing and the creation of content
for effective performance;

· There will be less detailed control and ore coaching as well
as identifying of simple rules for companies to follow; and

· There will be greater emphasis on effiency, fostering ideas as
well as tolerating errors.

______________________________________________________________________________

The author is a Malaysian who is a visiting professor of
Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, China and the CEO of Oriental
Strategy Research Centre. He can be contacted at
yschin@mailcity.com