The new era Challenges in Strategic Management.

There are three challenges facing all strategists nowadays;

1) Deciding whether the process be more art or scientific.

This perspective contends that firms need to systematically assess their external and internal environments, conduct research, making evaluation, perform analyses and decide the action. Art process more likely crafting the artistic model, which suggests that strategic decision, could be based primarily on holistic thinking, intuition, creativity and imagination. Whereas scientific process rejected all strategies that emerge from emotion, hunch, creativity and politics. It insists on more formality and should be more deliberate process. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive, because of the livelihood of countless employees and shareholder may hinge on the effectiveness of strategic decision. It’s not wise for strategist to rely too much on ‘gut feeling’ and opinion instead of data, competitive intelligence and analysis in formulating the strategies.

2) Deciding whether strategies should be visible or hidden

Good reasons to keep the strategy process visible and open;
a) All stakeholders and employees can readily contribute to the process with excellent ideas.
b) Investor, creditors and stakeholder have greater basis for supporting a firm when they know what the firm is doing and where the firm is going.
c) Visibility promotes democracy.
d) Participation and openness enhance understanding, commitment and communication within the firm.

Good reasons to keep strategies hidden from all but top-level executives;
a) Free dissemination of a firm’s strategies may easily translate into competitive intelligence for rival firms who could exploit the firm given that information.
b) Secrecy limits critics, second guessing and hindsight.
c) Participant in a visible strategy process become more attractive to rival firms who may lure them away.
d) Secrecy limits rival firms from imitating or duplicating the firm’s strategies and undermining them.

3) Deciding whether to used top-down or bottom-up approach.

i) Top-down contend that top executive are taking responsibility to make key strategy decisions.
ii) Bottom-up advocates argue that lower and middle level managers and employees who will be implementing the strategies need to be actively involved in the process of formulating the strategies to ensure their support and commitment.
What ever decision is made, the real key to effective strategic management is to accept the premise that the planning process is important than the written plan, because strategy is a continuous process involving-planning, measuring and revising. In today rapid changes environment; business become more uncertainty and strategist should be more alert with the changes and act accordingly to them.