Business Strategy

Business Strategy by Gordon Petten

Developing a strong business strategy may be the only way to become (or stay) competitive in a global economy. Regardless of your industry, the global market you currently compete in will force you to be more efficient, more in-tune with your clients and customers, and more flexible �" or you won't survive. Developing a business strategy requires outlining the company's goals, the steps needed to achieve the goals, as well as policies and procedures that help the company adhere to the business strategy. The business strategy is usually developed by the top-level management of the company, and provides the guide by which the day-to-day decisions about the management of the company are made.

A business strategy, once it has been developed, is not a static thing. As the economy changes, as competition changes, and the global environment changes, the business strategy must also be updated. A business strategy can even be influenced by changes in technology or politics.

There are steps one must follow to successfully design a business strategy. The first step is to analyze everything. The business strategy cannot be made without knowing how the company is functioning internally, how the industry as a whole is functioning (SWOT analysis) and how the company relates to and compares to the industry, how the economy and political situation affect the business. The next step of developing a business strategy requires writing goals. The business strategy should include both long and short term goals as well as an open minded look at what obstacles might remain in the way of achieving the goals. The goals you develop will suggest a business strategy, which can then be formalized and shared with management.

There is no point in developing a business strategy if you are not going to implement it. Implementing your business strategy requires you to share your key goals (long and short term) with your management team and your employees. By having everyone on board, it will be much easier to achieve the goals outlined in your business strategy.

The final step in developing a business strategy is to determine if it was successful. You do this by conducting an evaluation. This may mean conducting another SWOT analysis to determine the changes, or it could be determining whether or not your goals were met. Requesting feedback from employees can sometimes help determine whether or not the business strategy was successful as well.

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Expense Management

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=802813