Every strategic management process that is implemented in for-profit or non-profit companies has several stages which need a base to keep them cohesive and integrated; This base is made up of three elements: strategic attitude, strategic thinking, and strategic intention.
The strategic attitude
The author Marina Menguzatto points out the need for a change in the attitude of the management to enable the rapid adaptation of the company to an increasingly turbulent environment and emphasizes that the focus of the management should shift from the internal sphere of the company and efficiency, up to company environment relations and effectiveness. In the author's criteria, she states that the center of strategic direction is effectiveness; However, if a company neglects the internal aspect, it can be left at the mercy of threats if it does not notice an increase in weaknesses or if it does not exploit the strengths to the maximum to take advantage of opportunities, which is why management is considered strategic should focus on effectiveness, or what is the same,focus attention on achieving the fulfillment of strategic objectives with efficiency and effectiveness since both variables should not be seen as exclusive but complementary from a strategic point of view.
The challenge currently facing organizations is to be more efficient and effective every day in meeting the needs of the target audience to whom its activity is directed, then the strategic attitude must be in correspondence with this.
The essential elements of the strategic attitude are:
- Adaptability to the circumstance derived from the interaction of forces in the environment. This implies that companies assume a specific attitude to each phenomenon they face, depending on it, it enables, delays or prevents the fulfillment of the goals Voluntary attitude to achieve the conviction of all members of the organization that the effectiveness of the future performance of The company depends on the adequate use of strategic direction, rejecting passivity and neutrality, ensuring that changes are endogenous. Proactive nature, which implies anticipating phenomena that can impact the organization, as José Martí suggested, see later It is not worth it, what is worth is seeing first and being prepared. This implies not being surprised by changes or circumstances.It means avoiding inertia and looking for new solutions, avoiding routine, which implies not applying strategic direction as a formula Flexibility that allows introducing changes that strengthen the implementation of strategies and adapting them as competitors move to achieve sustainability of the competitive advantages of the company Integration of the soft (socio-psycho-cultural) and hard (technical economic) variables, in addition to taking into account all the endogenous and exogenous variables that can influence both positively and negatively in the process.The flexibility that allows introducing changes that strengthen the implementation of strategies and adapting them as competitors move to achieve sustainability of the company's competitive advantages Integration of the soft (socio-psycho-cultural) and hard (technical-economic) variables, also take into account all the variables, both endogenous and exogenous, that can influence both positively and negatively in the process.The flexibility that allows introducing changes that strengthen the implementation of strategies and adapting them as competitors move to achieve sustainability of the company's competitive advantages Integration of the soft (socio-psycho-cultural) and hard (technical-economic) variables, also take into account all the variables, both endogenous and exogenous, that can influence both positively and negatively in the process.
Strategic thinking
Thought manifests itself in man in an embryonic way from the first months of life. The improvement and development of this capacity takes place in relation to the life experience acquired in the course of man's life. Children between 11 and 12 years old already have the capacity for logical abstract thinking.
Taking into account the above, it can be clearly understood that a manager of any company has developed the capacity for thinking from childhood, but does this mean that he has developed strategic thinking? Many are the authors that in the last years have approached this subject; however, their conclusions remain at the theoretical level as they do not provide a reference on how to get there.
Thought according to SL Rubinstein is the process of reflection in man's consciousness of the essence of things, of the links and regular relationships between objects or phenomena of reality. The authors who approach strategic thinking tend to enunciate it as a continuum of the steps or procedures of strategic management, which distances it from the psychological formation of thought.
Thought, from the psychological point of view, has peculiarities that tend to hinder the development of strategic thinking, for example: the mediated character which means that when establishing the links between things, man tends to use obligatorily From the data of past experience, this implies that from the psychological point of view the leaders, faced with the need to solve the strategic problems of the company, tend to continue acting as they did routinely when resorting to their past management experiences.
It is based on the knowledge that man has about the general laws of nature and society. The man always uses knowledge already formed on the preceding practice. Decision-making leaders always tend to generalize past experiences, which can lead to the failure to take into account the traditional factors that hinder the logical follow-up of the implemented strategies.
The link with practical activity: this reflects the tendency of many leaders to keep operational decisions, which prevents the development of strategic projection.
V. Petrovsky argues that thought is the psychic process socially conditioned and indissolubly related to language, aimed at the search and discovery of something substantially new, that is, it is the process of indirect (mediated) and generalized reflection of objective reality through of analysis and synthesis operations. Thought arises based on the practical activity of sensible knowledge and considerably exceeds its limits.
If you go to a philosophical dictionary you will find that thinking is defined as the active process of the reflection of the objective world in judgments, concepts, theories, etc. linked to the solution of one or other problems; superior product of specially organized matter (the brain). And it states that the main characteristics of thought are:
- It arises in the process of the productive activity of men. It exists only in relation to the work activity and speech typical only of human society. The capacity of thought to reflect reality in a synthesized way is expressed in the capacity of man to form judgments and concepts.
Individual strategic thinking includes the application of experience-based judgment to determine future directions. Strategic business thinking is the coordination of creative minds within a common perspective that allows a business to move towards the future in a way that is satisfactory for all. The purpose of strategic thinking is to help you exploit the many challenges ahead, both foreseeable and unpredictable.
Strategic thinking incorporates values, mission, vision, and strategy that tend to be intuitive (feeling-based) rather than analytical (information-based) elements. Agreeing on these elements among members of your management team is an essential prerequisite for effective planning.
Strategic thinking deals with the values, the philosophical convictions of the executives in charge of guiding your company on a successful journey; mission, the general concept of your company; vision, how your company should be in the future, and strategy, the direction in which your company should move.
It has become increasingly apparent in recent years that to be successful every business needs the active engagement of all of its decision makers. While the formal process of strategic thinking typically begins with the CEO and senior management team and, to be effective, it must immediately transcend the rest of the company.
To achieve strategic thinking, it is necessary for leaders to be adequately trained and prepared to lead the entire process of implementing the strategic direction.
The strategic intention
The intention can be defined as the deliberate desire to do something, synonymous with will and instinct, then the strategic intention refers to the will and drive of the top management of an organization to commit at all levels to lead each step to develop a system management with new characteristics, contributes to maintaining and strengthening strategic thinking and strategic attitude. Without these three elements, although their essence may seem extremely subjective, no strategic management system will be sufficiently effective.
Bibliography
Menguzato and Renau., The strategic direction of the company an innovative approach to management. SPI, 427 pp..
Morrisey, George. Strategic thinking. Build the foundations of your planning. / Ed. Prentice Hall Hispanoamericana, Madrid, Spain. 119 pp.
Rubinstein, SL The development of Psychology. Principles and methods. / Ed. People and education. Havana Cuba. Pp 71-164.
