Strategic control is the process of monitoring and evaluating an organization's progress towards its strategic objectives, and making adjustments as necessary to ensure that the organization remains on track to achieve its desired outcomes. It involves regularly assessing the organization's performance, identifying any deviations from the planned strategy, and implementing corrective actions to realign the organization with its strategic goals.
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Strategic control is essential for ensuring that an organization's strategy remains relevant and effective in the face of changing market conditions and competitive pressures.
Effective strategic control requires the use of a variety of performance measurement tools, such as balanced scorecards, key performance indicators (KPIs), and benchmarking.
Strategic control involves both monitoring the organization's progress towards its strategic objectives and making adjustments to the strategy as needed.
The timing and frequency of strategic control activities can vary depending on the organization's industry, size, and the complexity of its operations.
Strategic control is a continuous process that requires ongoing vigilance and adaptability to ensure that the organization remains on track and responsive to changing circumstances.
Review Questions
Explain the role of strategic control in ensuring the successful implementation of an organization's strategy.
Strategic control plays a critical role in ensuring the successful implementation of an organization's strategy. By regularly monitoring and evaluating the organization's progress towards its strategic objectives, strategic control allows managers to identify any deviations from the planned course of action and implement corrective measures to realign the organization with its desired outcomes. This ongoing assessment and adjustment process helps to ensure that the organization's strategy remains relevant and effective in the face of changing market conditions and competitive pressures, ultimately increasing the likelihood of achieving its strategic goals.
Describe the key components of an effective strategic control system.
An effective strategic control system typically includes the following key components: 1) Performance measurement tools, such as balanced scorecards and KPIs, to track the organization's progress towards its strategic objectives; 2) Feedback loops that enable the organization to gather and analyze information about its performance and make informed decisions about future actions; 3) Corrective action processes that allow the organization to implement changes or adjustments to its strategy or operations in response to any deviations from the planned course of action; and 4) Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the organization's performance to ensure that it remains on track and responsive to changing circumstances.
Analyze the importance of strategic control in the context of an organization's overall strategic management process.
Strategic control is a critical component of an organization's overall strategic management process, as it enables the organization to continuously assess and refine its strategy to ensure its ongoing relevance and effectiveness. By regularly monitoring and evaluating the organization's progress towards its strategic objectives, strategic control allows managers to identify any gaps or weaknesses in the organization's strategy and implement corrective actions to address them. This iterative process of strategy formulation, implementation, and control is essential for an organization to adapt to changing market conditions, stay ahead of its competitors, and ultimately achieve its long-term strategic goals. Without effective strategic control, an organization's strategy may become outdated or misaligned with its operational realities, jeopardizing its overall success and competitiveness.
Related terms
Strategic Performance Measurement: The process of developing and using metrics to track an organization's progress towards its strategic objectives, and to identify areas that require improvement or adjustment.
The process of gathering information about an organization's performance and using that information to make informed decisions about future actions and strategies.
Corrective Action: The process of implementing changes or adjustments to an organization's strategy or operations in order to address any deviations from the planned course of action.