Business strategy

A business strategy can be seen as a plan, a set of activities, a position, a perspective, or an approach for an organization.

A business strategy usually aims for:

• supporting long-term goals
• allocating resources at a high level (”achieving desirable objectives with available funds”)
• achieving a competitive advantage

Strategy planning

A rational “top-down” view of strategy development / strategy planning is presented by Kotler (1997)

Ref: Kotler, Ph. (1997), Marketing management, New Jersey: Prentice Hall International, 9th edition

Strategy is often a reconstruction after it has emerged. That is, it is not a top-down construction. Instead, it arises (emerges) rather from below based on actual actions (Mintzberg, 1997).

The strategy can also be more implicit where a simple budget is used to control the business.

Ref: Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985). Of strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6, 257–272.

Strategy planning: SWOT

SWOT is a strategic planning method used to identify streghts, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for companies, departments, projects, products or people.