The document discusses the importance of creating a strategy for an organization. It defines strategy as the direction and scope of an organization to achieve long-term advantage through its resources within its environment to meet market needs and fulfill stakeholder expectations. The document outlines the fundamentals of strategy, describes strategy at different levels (corporate, business unit, operational), discusses the impact of strategy in an organization, and identifies key stakeholders and their roles in the strategic process.

1. Importance of Creating
Strategy for Your
OrganizationBY
Angela Ihunweze(Mrs)
+234 080 33 28 03 53

2. Table of contents
 What exactly is strategy?
 Fundamentals of strategy
 Strategy at Different Levels of a
Business
 The impact of strategy in the
organization
 Key Stakeholders and Participants in the
Strategic Process
 Key Stakeholders and Participants in the
Strategic Process part 2
 Exercise for you

3. What exactly is strategy?
According to Johnson and
Scholes in their description of
strategy in their publication
(Exploring Corporate Strategy)
it is defined as follows:
“The direction and scope of an
organisation over the long-
term: which achieves advantage
for the organisation through
its configuration of resources
within a challenging
environment, to meet the needs
of markets and to fulfill
stakeholder expectations"

4. Fundamentals of strategy
Strategy addresses the following fundamentals:
 Where is the business trying to get to in the long-term
(direction)
 Which markets should the business compete in and what kind
of activities are involved in such markets? (markets;
scope)
 How can the business perform better than the competition
in those markets? (advantage)?
 What resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships,
technical competence, facilities) are required in order to
be able to compete? (resources)?
 What external, environmental factors affect the
businesses' ability to compete? (environment)?
 What are the values and expectations of those who have
power in and around the business? (stakeholders)

5. Strategy at Different Levels of a Business
Strategies exist at several levels in any
organization - ranging from the overall
business (or group of businesses) through to
individuals working in it.
 Corporate Strategy - is concerned with the
overall purpose and scope of the business to
meet stakeholder expectations. This is a
crucial level since it is heavily influenced by
investors in the business and acts to guide
strategic decision-making throughout the
business. Corporate strategy is often stated
explicitly in a "mission statement".
 Business Unit Strategy - is concerned more with
how a business competes successfully in a
particular market. It concerns strategic
decisions about choice of products, meeting
needs of customers, gaining advantage over
competitors, exploiting or creating new
opportunities etc.
 Operational Strategy - is concerned with how
each part of the business is organized to
deliver the corporate and business-unit level
strategic direction. Operational strategy
therefore focuses on issues of resources,
processes, people etc.

6. The impact of strategy in the organization
 leads to action
 builds a shared vision that is values-based
 is an inclusive, participatory process in
which board and staff take on a shared
ownership
 accepts accountability to the community
 is externally focused and sensitive to the
organization's environment
 is based on quality data
 requires an openness to questioning the
status quo
 is a key part of effective management.

7. Key Stakeholders and Participants in the
Strategic Process
Strategic planning phase
Who should be involved?
 Planning the process; The
management team of the
project or organization.
 Understanding the context;
All staff and Board
members: Administrative
staff should be involved
if it is important for
them to understand the
organization's issues and
problems.

8. Key Stakeholders and
Participants in the Strategic
Process part 2
 Vision, values and mission discussion; All staff and Board
members. It is very important to involve all staff, including
administrative staff in this discussion as it is likely to
provide a set of
operating principles – in other words, to
make it clear why people who work in
the project or organization are expected to work and behave
in a certain way.
 Review of strengths and weaknesses opportunities and threats;
Programme or professional staff for the whole of this
process; include administrative staff in the discussions
around internal strengths and weaknesses. Discussion of
strategic options and
goals. Professional staff and Board members.
 Organizational structure; The management team with input from
the rest of the staff

9. Exercise for you
What is your contribution
in creating strategy
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Send it to me
angelaitambo74@yahoo.com