The strategic direction
Historical Evolution of Strategic Management
In the world there are many changes that have been generated over time, in the field of economics, the attempt to establish different economic models has been observed in order to respond to the crisis of the moment, so we have to From a feudal era, it was passed to a mercantile era that would later open the doors to the capitalist system as a consequence of industrialization. In this situation, companies have had to adapt to this environment, which tends to make complex and dynamic but necessary for the functioning of them.
For the 1950s, planning was introduced in the production departments of companies, this planning was planned in the short term and directed according to the needs of these departments, the purpose of this planning was to evaluate what had happened in the production processes and, in this way, rethink the policies and carry out the planning again, however, this way of carrying out the organization became increasingly insufficient, in an environment of continuous changes.
In the face of constant changes in the world, as a consequence of events such as: First and Second World War, post-industrial societies, financial capitalism, among others, it was necessary for companies to establish a new paradigm within their organization, and Thus, when the paradigm of business strategy emerged in the 1960s, Eduardo Campos et al. (1999) affirmed that the changes given in the era of industrialization, were influencing organizational thinking to generate the new approach called the strategic planning system. (p. 143), this system proposed establishing long-term objectives based on a planning tendency of the tasks to be completed, as well as the allocation of resources to achieve the goals, therefore, planning was no longer proposed by departments,It was made globally and in the long term, the decisions that were made were oriented more to what could happen and not to what had already happened, thus being able to foresee the future environment, and with it, long-term objectives are set, as well as the strategies for achieving them are defined.
Industrialization was a phenomenon that revolutionized the world, brought with it significant changes, both for society and for the economy, however in the late 1970s a new crisis entered, thereby creating the need to rethink the vision of the system strategic planning, Eduardo Campos and another (ibid.) Point out that as of 1980 Ansoff1 emerged, a new way of approaching strategic problems, now raised, not only in the long term but also in the short term, including the strategic approach In all management processes, from planning to control, as well as the organization and execution of activities, in this order of ideas, the field of strategic management begins, an approach capable of responding to complexities and dynamics of the business world and its environment.
The organizational environment in the Strategic Direction
When speaking of the organizational environment, it is to refer to everything that is outside the organization, companies owe their success, insofar as they are related to it, that is why, in this chapter it is considered important to analyze the environment and how this must be taken into account within the strategic direction, since the strategy is in constant relationship with the company and the environment.
Daft Richard (2007) defines the environment as "All those elements that exist outside the borders of the organization and that have the potential to affect it in whole or in part", in this sense, the results of companies, institutions and / or organizations depend of exogenous factors that are going to emanate opportunities or threats, and it is through the strategic direction where they are studied, to know and use them, in order to design the objectives.
Previously, it was discussed how the historical events that occurred in the world influenced the actions of companies, this is nothing more than the influence of the environment on the organization, an environment that has proven to be dynamic, complex and changing, thereby generating a climate of uncertainty to the people who run the company.
Gil María and Giner Fernando (2007) make an interesting approach to analyze regarding the dynamism or static of the environment, they state that the environment can be considered statically through sectors that are foreign to the company and that affect it, such as It can be: Technical progress, demand, competition and institutions, on the other hand, the dynamic environment which is determined by the relationships that the company maintains with the environment, analyzing it and determining the way in which it is affected. (p.136). It is important to highlight, when talking about affectation, it can be positive or negative, in other words, it can be seen as a threat or opportunity, the threat is one that will have a negative and unfavorable impact on the organization, including the objectives they may be affected,Now the opportunity gives the opposite effect, since it has a favorable impact, benefiting the objectives and goals of the organization, it is important within the strategic direction that threats become opportunities, which allows creating an environment of stability and progress. for the companies.
The dynamism or static of the environment, which Gil and Giner mentioned, are just types of environments, which are present in the open system of companies and in constant interaction, Daft Richard (2007) has typified the environments as follows form: task environment and general environment.
The task environment is one that includes sectors in which the organization interacts directly and has a direct impact on the organizational capacity to achieve the goals (ibid., P. 137), this type of environment is named by Gil and Giner (2007) the specific task environment, which affects organizations more directly, highlighting, for example, the specific environment of a classic industrial company where the components it influences are: consumer component, supplier component, competitor component, sociopolitical component and technological component.
Both authors agree on the direct impact that some sectors have on the organization, that although they are not part of the company, the type of relationships they maintain influence the objectives and goals, which is why, within the example that Gil and Giner we find consumer components, who are the people who will acquire or consume what the company produces, without them, the company would be affected by its sales and therefore its balance, the same happens in the case of supplier components, who supplies raw materials to organizations, therefore, when there is a threat in the supplier-company relationship, the same negative effect would occur as a consumer component, however, the effects can be adverse if the relationship is positive.
Another type of environment, convenient to point out, is the general environment, which affects all organizations in a given society, in the words of Daft Richard (2007) the general environment involves sectors that may not have a direct impact on operations of a company but which are indirectly influenced by it (140), the sectors that tend to influence this type of environment are governmental, technological, among others, in the case of the State, a legal figure that establishes fiscal and monetary policies, It also develops the rules in which the company moves.
As for the approaches of Gil and Giner and Daft Richard, regarding the types of environments and how these influence within the organization, Menguzzato (1995) in his work the strategic direction of the company has called it strategic factors of the environment, which will have a significant impact on the development of the company's activities, as well as its results. These strategic factors have been categorized as follows:
- Legal political factors, sociological and cultural factors, technological factors, competitive economic factors.
All these factors are part of an environment that in some way or another will constantly influence the actions of companies, the authors also point out that these factors tend to interrelate and therefore their joint behavior will determine the different types of environment.
The Turbulent Environment
In one way or another, the environment, whether interpreted through types, or through strategic factors, is a fundamental element that must be analyzed in order to identify the opportunities and threats that affect the organization and thereby evaluate the impact that it generates both in profitability, growth, stability and everything that affects its performance, in the event of an unfavorable effect, they can be controlled in a timely manner.
The Strategic Attitude
To speak of strategic attitude is to speak of the behavior that an individual employs to conquer the future, analyzes and visualizes the unfolding of events, and in this way looks for actions that can generate the desired effect, in this order of ideas, the attitude within the Management is a key element in the management of the organization.
The author Marina Menguzatto (1995) points out the need for a change of attitude of the management, which allows the rapid adaptation of the company to a turbulent environment, where the management of the company moves from the internal sphere and efficiency until the company - environment relationships and effectiveness (p.76), the latter is considered by the author as the center of the strategic direction, however, the internal sphere remains relevant since if it is neglected a threat is generated, for not estimating weaknesses, not taking full advantage of strengths and therefore not generating opportunities, in other words, strategic management must focus on meeting objectives both efficiently and effectively.
On previous occasions, the complexity and dynamism of the political system has been commented, which has been a strategic factor within the environment that tends to influence organizations, and the importance of the rapid and continuous adaptation of companies to the environment, so that the effect tends to become more favorable, that due to the fact that companies are not isolated entities, hence the need to generate a response to the phenomena that arise or may arise in the future, for this the strategic attitude must generate the scenarios that allow an organization to maintain itself and advance towards its objectives. Menguzzato indicates that to achieve the adaptation, development and survival that the environment demands in some way, an active attitude is necessary,voluntarist but in addition to being a voluntarist, she must also be anticipatory, open to change, critical of her own conception and management practice, these types of attitudes to which the author refers are immersed today in the definitions of strategy, strategic planning and direction strategic,
Strategy
Talk about strategy in referring to a set of actions, that when executed, it is possible to meet the objectives set within an organization, in this way, the strategy allows generating projections of the organization in the future, hence the importance of objectives when it comes to being set within organizations. In the strategic management work presented by CEEI Galicia (2010), it is stated that when designing the objectives within the company, it must be done based on sustained growth and profitability, in this sense, the objectives must be set based on of: Diversifying risk, this means creating more alternatives; Make little progress through growth-related goals, but care must be taken that it is not ambitiously set;analyze the environment identifying the work environment which allows you to identify both limitations and alternatives; seek continuous improvement to maintain the client and position itself in the market; Manage to grow and thereby avoid stagnation, especially in a time when the social, economic and other fields are so dynamic and often complex. (p.17). In this order of idea, the clarity and agreement of the objectives is essential, since this represents the north of any company, institution or organization, depending on what you want to achieve, strategies are designed to achieve meet the challenges posed.Manage to grow and thereby avoid stagnation, especially in a time when the social, economic and other fields are so dynamic and often complex. (p.17). In this order of idea, the clarity and agreement of the objectives is essential, since this represents the north of any company, institution or organization, depending on what you want to achieve, strategies are designed to achieve meet the challenges posed.Manage to grow and thereby avoid stagnation, especially in a time when the social, economic and other fields are so dynamic and often complex. (p.17). In this order of idea, the clarity and agreement of the objectives is essential, since this represents the north of any company, institution or organization, depending on what you want to achieve, strategies are designed to achieve meet the challenges posed.strategies are designed to meet the challenges posed.strategies are designed to meet the challenges posed.
Being the strategy the means by which a company manages to achieve the proposed goal, it must be made up of the vision and mission of the organization, understanding that the mission is the one that defines the organization, that is, it supports its existence, this being the starting point for strategy, on the other hand, the vision of the company raises the future situation to which it wishes to reach, therefore, the vision is intended to control and guide the organization to achieve the desired state.
The business strategy will always be in search of an action plan that allows developing all the possible advantages for the company, for this it is important to evaluate the strengths and opportunities that allow it to position itself in the market, in addition to consolidating the achievement of goals and objectives determined.
But beyond the definitions, it is important to understand the meaning of the strategy within organizations. In this regard, a work by Juan Carrion Moroto Strategy from vision to action (2007) was approached, which offers a global vision of the strategy, especially for those people who are faced with managerial tasks, thus an interesting position is observed when it states that when talking about strategy, reference is made to the elaboration of a plan that allows reaching the goals, but in addition to this, " It is the intended direction of change to achieve competitive advantages in the different businesses of the company”(Page 26), one more element is added when talking about strategy, and this is the search for change through finding competitive advantages. To do this, you must take into account what kind of business the company is in, the which, the author has called the field of activity, in addition to what kind of company it is, this being defined by its mission and vision. Another element that the author points out regarding the definition of the strategy is the long-term time, which is necessary, since the company must define the period of strategic planning, the allocation of both tangible and intangible resources that the A company efficiently achieving its objectives is also considered within the strategy, since it must be aware of the resources available, including those that are not available.Kluyver quoted by Moroto points out:
“Strategy has to position an organization to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. This implies deciding which are the industries in which we want to participate, which are the products and services that we want to offer and how to allocate corporate resources to achieve a competitive advantage, its main objective is to create value for the shareholder and other interested parties ”
This concept includes the elements to which Moroto originally referred to positioning, competitive advantage, resource allocation and field of activity, incorporating a new element such as shareholder and customer value, thus, the strategy should Being seen in a more comprehensive way and not only as an element that allows us to generate a plan to achieve objectives, is certainly part of its essence, however, the vision of seeing the strategy as a formal planning process is part of the vision. classic of it.
Although it is true, the studies about the strategy have been diverse and since it began it has traveled through time, thereby generating some changes Moroto (2007) exposes it in the following way: from the 1960s to the 1980s it has very marked phases
- In the 1960s there was talk of corporate planning, it was thought that the environment was more stable and much importance was given to the organizational structure. The strategy sought to establish the purpose of the organization 1965-1975 changes occur in the way of conceiving the strategy, this as a consequence of changes in the environment, the field of strategic planning began, understanding the strategy as a long-term process and determine the competitive field of the company. 1975 - 1980 the environment gains great relevance, as a consequence of the great changes already experienced in the business environment, causing the search for more dynamic approaches, we start talking about Strategic Management in response to opportunities and threats from the environment against the strengths and weaknesses of the company,with the aim of obtaining competitive advantages.
This last vision of the 80s regarding competitive advantages is part of the positioning that a company must have in the market, Porter Michael in his article What is strategy ?, describes three key principles in the strategic positioning of the company:
- The strategy lies in the creation of a unique and valuable position, which involves the management of a set of significant activities. The strategic position emerges from three different sources:
- Satisfy few needs to a large number of customers.Satisfy a wide range of needs to a few customers.Satisfy a wide range of needs to many customers in a niche market.
Within the strategic direction it is relevant to know not only the needs of the organization, but also the needs of customers and potential customers, in this way there will be clarity in the actions to be carried out, including managing a more comprehensive knowledge, that is, not only the needs of customers, but the environment and everything that affects the company in some way or another, this will allow us to make better decisions, which Porter shows us in the second principle a good judgment to compete, but in addition to competing a good judgment to direct the internal processes of the company, as it was said previously, the internal scope of the organization should not be neglected, in the words of Porterthe interaction of the processes is essential otherwise, some of them could fail and with it the possible decline of the company.
Bibliography
- Field E.; Reneau J.: Dalmau J. (1993). Theoretical foundations of strategic management. Mexico: Real economic society friends of the country Daft Richard (2007). Organizational Theory and Design (9ed). Mexico: Cengage Learning Editores SAGil María and Giner Fernando (2007). How to create and operate a business? (7 ed). Madrid: EsicMartina Menguzzato, Juan José Renau, Juan José Renau Piqueras (1991), The strategic direction of the company an innovative approach to management. (Sl): Ariel.
Notes: 1. Igor Ansoff, considered by many authors as the godfather of business strategy, created the language and processes that modern companies used for the first time to address the deeper questions of business strategy.
