Strategic analysis
Introduction
Strategic planning is a systematic process through which an organization defines its direction and decides how to allocate its resources to achieve long-term objectives. It involves formulating, implementing and evaluating strategies that guide the organization's key decisions and actions within a changing environment.[1].
In the field of business and business administration, strategic planning allows providing general direction to the company, integrating financial, marketing, organizational development, innovation and information technology strategies. The process includes the development of a vision and mission, the definition of objectives, the formulation of corporate strategies and the allocation of resources for their execution.
Unlike operational planning"), which addresses the short term, strategic planning is oriented towards the long term, the analysis of the environment and the creation of competitive advantage. It also incorporates strategic foresight tools to anticipate scenarios and prepare the organization in the face of uncertain contexts.
Although it is mainly applied in the business field, strategic planning is also used in defense (where it takes the form of military strategy), politics (in electoral campaigns) and in social, educational or cultural sectors. It has even extended to recreational areas, such as strategy games or chess.
Nature
Strategic planning is a management tool that allows establishing what to do and the path that organizations must follow to achieve the planned goals, taking into account changes and demands.
Strategic planning must be of vital importance for organizations since its purposes, objectives, and action mechanisms summarize the course and guideline that the entire organization must follow, having as its final objective, achieving the set goals, which translate into economic, human or technological growth.
The purposes and objectives consist of identifying how to eliminate deficiencies that may arise in any of the processes. Some writers distinguish between purposes (which are formulated inexactly and with little specification) and objectives (which are formulated exactly and quantitatively, such as time frame and effect magnitude). Not all authors make this distinction, preferring to use the two terms interchangeably. When purposes are used in finance, they are often called objectives.