STRATEGIC CONTROL PROCESS
STRATEGIC CONTROL PROCESS
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With
the completion of the strategy implementation the organization looks forward to
achieving the desired goals and objectives. It is necessary, however, to
introduce the process of strategy evaluation and control in the early stages of
implementation to see whether the strategy is successful or not and to carry out
mid-course corrections wherever necessary. There are several reasons why a
strategy may not lead to desired results. The external environment may not actually
follow a trend as was expected at the time of planning the strategy. The
internal changes within the organization such as the organizational systems
consisting of structure, policies and procedures may not reflect harmony with
the strategy. After a while, the top management of even middle level managers
may find it difficult to exercise a substantial degree of control over operating
systems. The unexpected moves of the competitors might create major gaps in the
strategy. Thus the list of such factors will require a continuous evaluation
and control of strategy.
The
evaluation of the strategy of an organization can be done qualitatively as well
as quantitatively. The quantitative evaluation based on data and is possible
through post facto analysis to detect whether the content of strategy is
working or has worked. However, qualitative evaluation call also be done by
addressing the question: Will it work? The qualitative evaluation can thus be
done before activating plans of change. The qualitative evaluation and control
or strategy is a real time process. The performance of strategy is monitored
and corrective actions are taken. The basic aim of any organization is to
achieve its goals. But to achieve the goals, the organization faces lots of hurdles.
To overcome these hurdles, it is necessary for any organization to have a sound
strategic control process. The word meaning of 'control' itself means 'to
regulate' or 'to check'. This means that the top management needs to keep check
on how well the strategy is being implemented to achieve the objectives of the organization.
For example, if the business is not giving 1.esu1ts as expected, it may be necessary
to increase promotional efforts, or revise the product policy, or as a last
resort, the firm may pull out of a particular business.
The
strategic control process is closely related to strategic planning process.
Figure-1 represents the relationship between strategic planning and strategic
control process. The process consists of three phases, which are as follows:
- Evaluation criteria;
- Performance evaluation; and
- Feedback
