Question

Compare and contrast strategic planning and strategic management. Discuss what you think are the three most significant reasons why organizations do not actively engage in strategic planning.

Answer 1

Step 1: Compare and contrast Strategic planning and Strategic management:
Decision making and action taking are involved in strategic planning which is helpful for the achievement of organizational goals. The setting of overall goals, values, and direction of the organization are involved in strategic management.
Comparison on the basis of importance-
Priorities of strategic planning and strategic management are determined among top management in the organization. There are some executives who have a tendency to create a strategy and its proper implementation. Execution of a strategy becomes more difficult and sometimes executives lose their interest in the strategy which results in losing long term focus.
Comparison on the basis of implementation-
The routines which are meant for implementation of strategic plans and achieving strategic goals are evaluated. The teamwork did between the planning of strategy and its execution can prevent and remedy the arising problems or conflicts.
Contrast regarding competition-
Strategic planning is used to define the actions and tactics taken against competitors. Strategies in the marketplace can be more effective with the knowledge of your competition by giving an edge to the organization and prevention competitors from copying the strategies planned by you. By contrast, strategic management helps in positioning the organization in relation to competitors. Strategic management defines how the trends of a business intend to stand out as a leader in its industry.
Contrast regarding change-
Strategic plans allow for changing the external influences by building more flexibility, it impacts the execution of plans. There is less influence of external forces in strategic management where strategies are designed for the whole organization are designed for longer-term as part of the core of an organization.

Step 2- There are some organizations that do not engage in strategic planning because an organization is always a firefighter which means that is busy in the internal problems, top management does not have time or energy to get engaged in strategic management.