Strategic Management in Practice

[Suraya Yasmen]

Strategic Management in Practice

Making companies able to compete is the purpose of strategic management. To that end, putting strategic management plans into practice is the most important aspect of the planning itself. Plans in practice involve identifying benchmarks, realigning resources – financial and human – and putting leadership resources in place to oversee the creation, sale, and deployment of products and services. Strategic management extends to internal and external communication practices as well as tracking to ensure that the company meets goals as defined in its strategic management plan.

For example, a for-profit technical college wishes to increase enrollment of new students and graduation of enrolled students over the next three years. The purpose is to make the college known as the best buy for a student's money among five for-profit technical colleges in the region, with a goal of increasing revenue. In this case, strategic management means ensuring that the school has funds to create high-tech classrooms and hire the most qualified instructors. The college also invests in marketing and recruitment and implements student retention strategies. The college's leadership assesses whether its goals have been achieved on a periodic basis.

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