In the 1980s, the CEO’s strategic role started to fade and the role of the Top Management Team took center stage. Despite a large amount of research showing the strategic relevance of middle managers, the notion that success is directly correlated with the traits of the top management team persists. The strategist’s role in the process of creating a strategy is to “craft” it. The strategist is essential because strategic management demands thorough thought and effective planning.
Essential Functions of a Business Strategist
Strategists are essential participants in the strategic management process. They are the individuals or groups primarily responsible for strategy formulation, implementation, and evolution. They execute essential activities related to numerous facets of strategic management. various individuals in various key positions can play a significant role in an organization. All of these individuals, including board members, the chief executive officer, corporate planning employees, entrepreneurs, etc., are strategists and play the following roles:
Board of Directors’ Function
The board of directors is in charge of the organization’s governance. The people on a board of directors of a firm or organization are chosen either by election or appointment to oversee its operations. The council makes decisions on behalf of the shareholders. Above all, the board of directors must fairly reflect the interests of management and shareholders. The Board of Directors has a range of responsibilities in different kinds of corporations. Strategic planning is mostly responsible for ensuring that long-term goals are in line with the company’s aim. Among their crucial duties are:
- To guide senior management in establishing and attaining corporate goals
- To establish strategic direction and assess organizational performance
- To fulfill obligations toward the organization’s stakeholders and creditors.
- Determine strategic alternatives, select those to be pursued, and select the means to implement and support them.
- Identify the business strategies and plans that support the corporate strategy.
- Ensure that the organization’s organizational structure and capability are suitable for executing the selected strategies.
Function of the Chief Executive
The Chief Executive Officer has the most important position among strategists. In any organization, he is primarily responsible for the execution of the strategic function. The Chief Executive Officer is the highest-ranking officer in any organization. His primary responsibilities include developing and implementing high-level strategies, making major corporate decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of a company, and serving as the primary point of communication between the board of directors and the corporate operations. The Chief Executive Officer reports to the Board of Directors directly. He appoints other administrators and aids them in carrying out the organization’s responsibilities. Their primary responsibilities in strategic management include:
- Articulates a strategic vision and demonstrates
- Manages the process of strategic planning
- Communicates strategic activities and monitors them
- Inspires, directs, and mentors other strategists
Role of Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an initiator who provides a sense of direction and establishes the organization’s standards and goals. Entrepreneurs perform a crucial role in their respective businesses. The following are some of his primary responsibilities in strategic management:
- Develop a project by defining its purpose, scope, and resource and time requirements
- Proactive role in strategic management
- Perform all strategic duties concurrently
- Identify and monitor critical performance indicators and implement corrective measures
Function of Senior Leadership
The category of senior management is the pinnacle of the managerialhierarchy. They participate in numerous facets of strategic management. Strategic management is actually the highest level of management. It encompasses all management functions because it begins with planning activities such as environmental analysis and strategic selection, continues with organizing and leading in the implementation phase, and concludes with evaluating and controlling the results. Planning, organizing, leading, and regulating are the primary management functions performed by a manager. The position of senior management is crucial and of the uttermost significance. Their primary responsibilities in strategic management include:
- When a company advocates a partnership/new decision
- Chooses to pursue an expansion
- Performs additional vital actions
- Responsible for strategy implementation.
- Responsible for periodic performance evaluations.
- Play the main roles assigned to them in the formulation, execution, and evaluation of strategies.
Function of SBU Executives
Executives at the SBU level play a crucial role in the strategic administration of their unit. Formulation and implementation of SBU-level strategies are the primary responsibilities of SBU-level administrators. Their primary responsibilities in strategic management include:
- Articulates a strategic vision and demonstrates
- Manages the process of strategic planning
- Communicates strategic activities and monitors them
- Inspires and guides other strategists.
- Responsible for strategy implementation
- Responsible for periodic performance evaluation
- Carry out the numerous important responsibilities assigned to them in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of strategies
Function of Corporate Planning Personnel
Strategic management is facilitated by the corporate planning personnel. It aids management in formulating, implementing, and evaluating strategies. For instance, Essar Steel had a corporate planning cell that assists in planning and devising growth and diversification strategies. The corporate planning staff plays the following responsibilities in strategic management:
- Supporting role in strategic administration
- Contributes to every aspect of strategic formulation, execution, and evaluation
- Strategic plan formulation and dissemination
- Special research responsibilities for strategic planning
Function of Consultants
The management employs consultants as external planners. These consultants may be individuals, academics, or consulting firms with expertise in strategic management. There are numerous benefits to employing these consultants, including cost effectiveness, specialized services, and objective and impartial opinions. They fulfill the necessary strategic responsibilities to provide the services.
The function of mid-level managers
Middle managers have a limited strategic role and influence on organizational performance as a result of their participation in strategic planning processes. They do not actively participate in strategy formulation, but they play an important role in strategy execution. The following are some of their responsibilities in strategic management:
- Participates in the execution of functional strategy
- Contribute to the formulation of fundamental strategic concepts
- Develop prospective strategic alternatives
- Set objectives at departmental level
Executive Assistants’ Role
Executive assistants are those who aid principal executives in the execution of their responsibilities in various ways. Indirectly assisting chief executives, they perform various roles, including:
- Assist the chief executive in gathering and analyzing data
- Suggest alternatives when choices must be made
- Develop summaries for numerous proposals, initiatives, and reports
- Support in maintaining liaison and public relations
- Serve as a filter for information originating from diverse sources
Conclusion
Thus, strategic management is the art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its goals. As implied by this definition, strategic management emphasizes the integration of management, marketing, finance, production/operations, research/development, and computer information systems in order to achieve organizational success.
Strategic management is the process of guiding an organization in relation to environmental challenges and opportunities. Strategic management serves many purposes. To be successful in business, one must adopt a holistic perspective and be able to incorporate knowledge acquired in various functional areas of management. By having a generalist approach, senior management can comprehend the intricate interdependencies operating within the organization, and it should have a systematic approach to decision making in relation to environmental changes.