is a set of actions, decisions taken by management that lead to the development of specific strategies designed to achieve goals.

Strategic planning can be presented as a set of management functions, namely:

• resource allocation (in the form of company reorganization);
• adaptation to the external environment (using the example of Ford Motors);
• internal coordination;
• awareness of organizational strategy (thus, management needs to constantly learn from past experience and predict the future).

Strategy is a comprehensive, integrated plan designed to ensure that its objectives are implemented and achieved.

Key points of strategic planning:

• the strategy is developed by senior management;
• the strategic plan must be supported by research and evidence;
• strategic plans must be flexible to allow for change;
• planning should be beneficial and contribute to the success of the company. At the same time, the costs of implementing activities should be lower than the benefits from their implementation.

Strategic Planning Process

The following stages of strategic planning are distinguished:

- the overall primary purpose of the organization, the clearly expressed reason for its existence. The Burger King fast food restaurant chain provides people with inexpensive fast food. This is implemented in the company. For example, hamburgers should be sold not for 10, but for 1.5 dollars.

The mission statement can be based on the following questions:

• What business activity does the company engage in?
• What is the firm's external environment that determines its operating principles?
• What type of working climate within the company, what is the culture of the organization?

The mission helps create customers and satisfy their needs. The mission must be found in the environment. Reducing the mission of an enterprise to “making a profit” narrows the scope of its activities and limits the ability of management to explore alternatives for decision making. Profit is a necessary condition for existence, an internal need of the company.

Often, a mission statement answers two basic questions: Who are our customers and what needs of our customers can we satisfy?

The character of the leader leaves an imprint on the mission of the organization.

Goals- are developed on the basis of the mission and serve as criteria for the subsequent management decision-making process.

Target characteristics:

• must be specific and measurable;
• oriented in time (deadlines);
• must be achievable.

Assessment and analysis of the external environment. It is necessary to assess the impact of changes on the organization, threats and competition, and opportunities. There are factors at play here: economic, market, political, etc.

Management survey of the internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization. It is useful to focus on five functions for the survey: marketing, finance, operations (production), human resources, culture, and corporate image.

Exploring Strategic Alternatives. It should be emphasized that the company’s strategic planning scheme is closed. The mission and procedures of other stages should be constantly modified in accordance with the changing external and internal environment.

Basic strategies of the organization

Limited growth. Used in mature industries, when satisfied with the current state of the company, low risk.

Height. Consists of an annual significant increase in the indicators of the previous period. It is achieved through the introduction of new technologies, diversification (expanding the range) of goods, capturing new related industries and markets, and merging corporations.

Reduction. According to this strategy, a level is set below what was achieved in the past. Implementation options: liquidation (sale of assets and inventories), cutting off excess (sale of divisions), reduction and reorientation (reduce part of the activity).

Combination of the above strategies.

There are various methods for choosing strategies.

The BCG Matrix is ​​widely used (developed by Boston Consulting Group, 1973). With its help, you can determine the position of the company and its products, taking into account the capabilities of the industry (Fig. 6.1).

Rice. 6.1. BCG Matrix

The BCG matrix, developed by the consulting company of the same name, was already widely used in practice by 1970.

The main attention in this method is paid to cash flow, directed (consumed) in a separate business area of ​​the company. Moreover, it is assumed that at the stage of development and growth, any company absorbs cash (investments), and at the stage of maturity and the final stage, it brings (generates) positive cash flow. To be successful, the cash generated from a mature business must be invested in a growing business to continue making a profit.

The matrix is ​​based on the empirical assumption that the company that is larger is more profitable. The effect of lower unit costs as firm size increases is confirmed by many American companies. Analysis is carried out using the matrix portfolio(set) of manufactured products in order to develop a strategy for the future fate of the products.

BCG matrix structure. The x-axis shows the ratio of the sales volume (sometimes the value of assets) of the company in the corresponding business area to the total sales volume in this area of ​​its largest competitor (the leader in this business). If the company itself is a leader, then go to the first competitor that follows it. In the original, the scale is logarithmic from 0.1 to 10. Accordingly, weak (less than 1) and strong competitive positions of the company’s product are identified.

On the y-axis, the assessment is made for the last 2-3 years; you can take the weighted average value of production volumes per year. You also need to take inflation into account. Next, based on the strategy options, the direction for investing funds is selected.

"Stars". They bring high profits, but require large investments. Strategy: maintain or increase market share.

"Cash Cows". They generate a stable income, but the cash flow may suddenly end due to the “death” of the product. Does not require large investments. Strategy: maintain or increase market share.

"Question Marks". It is necessary to move them towards the “stars” if the amount of investment required for this is acceptable for the company. Strategy: maintaining or increasing or reducing market share.

"Dogs". They can be significant in the case of occupying a highly specialized niche in the market, otherwise they require investment to increase market share. It may be necessary to stop producing this product altogether. Strategy: be content with the situation or reduce or eliminate market share.

Conclusion: the BCG matrix allows you to position each type of product and adopt a specific strategy for them.

SWOT analysis

This method allows you to establish a connection between the strengths and weaknesses of the company and external threats and opportunities, that is, the connection between the internal and external environment of the company.

Strengths: competence, adequate financial resources, reputation, technology. Weaknesses: outdated equipment, low profitability, insufficient understanding of the market. Opportunities: entering new markets, expanding production, vertical integration, growing market. Threats: new competitors, substitute products, slowing market growth, changing customer tastes.

Opportunities can turn into threats (if a competitor uses your capabilities). A threat becomes an opportunity if competitors were unable to overcome the threat.

1. Let's make a list of the organization's strengths and weaknesses.

2. Let's establish connections between them. SWOT Matrix.

At the intersection of four blocks, four fields are formed. All possible pairing combinations should be considered and those that should be taken into account when developing a strategy should be selected. Thus, for couples in the SIV field, a strategy should be developed to use the company's strengths to capitalize on the opportunities that have arisen in the external environment. For SLV - due to the opportunities to overcome weaknesses. For the SIS, it is to use forces to eliminate the threat. For a couple in the field, SLU is to get rid of a weakness while preventing a threat.

3. We build a matrix of opportunities to assess the degree of their importance and impact on the organization’s strategy.

We position each specific opportunity on the matrix. Horizontally we plot the degree of influence of the opportunity on the organization’s activities, and vertically we plot the likelihood that the company will take advantage of this opportunity. The opportunities that fall into the fields of BC, VT, SS are of great importance, they need to be used. Diagonally - only if additional resources are available.

4. We build a threat matrix (similar to step 3).

Threats that fall into the VR, VC, SR fields are a great danger, immediate elimination. Threats in the VT, SK, and HP fields are also eliminated immediately. NK, ST, VL - a careful approach to eliminating them. The remaining fields do not require immediate elimination.

Sometimes, instead of steps 3 and 4, an environmental profile is compiled (i.e., factors are ranked). Factors are threats and opportunities.

Importance for the industry: 3 - high, 2 - moderate, 1 - weak. Impact: 3 - strong, 2 - moderate, 1 - weak, 0 - absent. Direction of influence: +1 - positive, -1 - negative. Degree of importance - multiply the previous three indicators. Thus, we can conclude which factors are more important for the organization.

Implementation of the strategic plan

Strategic planning is only meaningful when it is implemented. Any strategy has certain goals. But they need to be implemented somehow. There are certain methods for this. To the question: “how to achieve the company’s goals?” This is exactly what strategy answers. At its core, it is a method of achieving a goal.

Tactics- this is a specific move. For example, an advertisement for Fotomat film, which is consistent with the company's strategy to promote 35mm film to the market.

There are problems with the implementation of rules and procedures. Conflict may arise over the methods of providing employees with information about new company policies. It is necessary not to force, but to convince the employee that the new rule will allow him to perform this work most effectively.

Methods for implementing the strategy: budgets and management by objectives.

Budgeting. Budget— plan for resource allocation for future periods. This method answers the questions of what tools are available and how to use them. The first step is to quantify the goals and the amount of resources. A. Meskon identifies 4 stages of budgeting: determining sales volume, operational estimates for departments and divisions, checking and adjusting operational estimates based on proposals from top management, drawing up a final budget for the items of receipt and use of resources.

Management by Objectives— MBO (Management by Objectives). This method was first used by Peter Drucker. McGregor spoke about the need to develop a system of benchmarks in order to then compare the performance of managers at all levels with these benchmarks.

Four stages of MBO:

• Developing clear, concisely formulated goals.
• Developing realistic plans to achieve them.
• Systematic control, measurement and evaluation of work and results.
• Corrective actions to achieve planned results.

The 4th stage is closed on the 1st.

Stage 1. Development of goals. The goals of a lower level in the company's structure are developed on the basis of a higher level, based on strategy. Everyone participates in setting goals. A two-way exchange of information is required.

Stage 2. Action planning. How to achieve your goals?

Stage 3. Testing and evaluation. After the period of time established in the plan, the following are determined: the degree of achievement of goals (deviations from control indicators), problems, obstacles in their implementation, reward for effective work (motivation).

Stage 4. Adjustment. We will determine which goals were not achieved and determine the reason for this. It is then decided what measures should be taken to correct the deviations. There are two ways: adjusting methods for achieving goals, adjusting goals.

The validity and effectiveness of MBO is demonstrated by the higher performance of people who have specific goals and information about their performance. The disadvantages of implementing MBO include a great emphasis on formulating goals.

Evaluating the Strategic Plan

Beautiful matrices and curves are not a guarantee of victory. Avoid focusing on immediate implementation of the strategy. Don't trust standard models too much!

Formal assessment is performed based on deviations from specified evaluation criteria. Quantitative (profitability, sales growth, earnings per share) and qualitative assessments (personnel qualifications). It is possible to answer a number of questions when evaluating a strategy. For example, is this strategy the best way to achieve a goal and use the company's resources?

The success of Japanese management lies in its commitment to long-term plans. USA - pressure on shareholders, demands for immediate results, which often leads to collapse.

Accuracy of measurements. Accounting methods for inflating income and profits. Enron Company. Standards need to be developed. It’s easier to face the truth.

Checking the consistency of the strategy structure. Strategy determines structure. You cannot impose a new strategy on the existing structure of the organization.

Strategic Market Planning

In solving the strategic problems of an organization, strategic planning plays a significant role, which means the process of developing and maintaining a strategic balance between an organization's goals and capabilities in changing market conditions. The purpose of strategic planning is to determine the most promising areas of the organization’s activities that ensure its growth and prosperity.

Interest in strategic management was due to the following reasons:

1. Awareness that any organization is an open system and that the main sources of success of the organization are in the external environment.
2. In conditions of intensified competition, the strategic orientation of an organization’s activities is one of the decisive factors for survival and prosperity.
3. Strategic planning allows you to adequately respond to the uncertainty and risk factors inherent in the external environment.
4. Since the future is almost impossible to predict and extrapolation used in long-term planning does not work, it is necessary to use scenario, situational approaches that fit well into the ideology of strategic management.
5. In order for an organization to best respond to the influence of the external environment, its management system must be built on principles different from those previously used.

Strategic planning aims to adapt the organization's activities to constantly changing environmental conditions and to capitalize on new opportunities.

In general, strategic planning is a symbiosis of intuition and the art of the organization’s top management in setting and achieving strategic goals, based on mastery of specific methods of pre-plan analysis and development of strategic plans.

Since strategic planning is primarily associated with production organizations, it is necessary to distinguish different levels of management of such organizations: the organization as a whole (corporate level), the level of areas of production and economic activity (divisional, departmental level), the level of specific areas of production and economic activity (level of individual types of business), level of individual products. The management of the corporation is responsible for developing a strategic plan for the corporation as a whole, for investing in those areas of activity that have a future. It also decides to open new businesses. Each division (department) develops a divisional plan in which resources are distributed between the individual types of business of this department. A strategic plan is also developed for each business unit. Finally, at the product level, within each business unit, a plan is formed to achieve the goals of producing and marketing individual products in specific markets.

For competent implementation of strategic planning, organizations must clearly identify their areas of production and economic activity, in other terminology - strategic economic units (SHE), strategic business units (SBU).

It is believed that the allocation of CXE must satisfy the following three criteria:

1. SHE must serve a market external to the organization, and not satisfy the needs of other divisions of the organization.

2. It must have its own, distinct from others, consumers and competitors.

3. SHE management must control all the key factors that determine success in the market. Thus, CHEs can represent a single company, a division of a company, a product line, or even a single product.

In strategic planning and marketing, several analytical approaches have been developed that make it possible to solve the problems of assessing the current state of a business and the prospects for its development. The most important of them are the following:

1. Analysis of business and product portfolios.
2. Situational analysis.
3. Analysis of the impact of the chosen strategy on the level of profitability and the ability to generate cash (PIMS - the Profit of Market Strategy).

Assessing the degree of attractiveness of an organization's various identified CXEs is usually carried out along two dimensions: the attractiveness of the market or industry to which the CXE belongs, and the strength of the position of the given CXE in that market or industry. The first, most widely used method of CXE analysis is based on the use of the “market growth rate - market share” matrix (Boston Consulting Group matrix - BCG); the second is on the CXE planning grid (General Electric Corporation matrix, or Mag-Kinzy). The "market growth rate - market share" matrix is ​​designed to classify a CXE organization using two parameters: relative market share, which characterizes the strength of CXE's position in the market, and market growth rate, which characterizes its attractiveness.

A larger market share makes it possible to earn greater profits and have a stronger position in the competition. However, here it should immediately be noted that such a strict correlation between market share and profit does not always exist; sometimes this correlation is much softer.

The role of marketing in strategic planning

There are many points of intersection between strategies for the organization as a whole and marketing strategies. Marketing studies the needs of consumers and the organization's ability to satisfy them. These same factors determine the mission and strategic goals of the organization. When developing a strategic plan, they operate with marketing concepts: “market share”, “market development” and
etc. Therefore, it is very difficult to separate strategic planning from marketing. In a number of foreign companies, strategic planning is called strategic marketing planning.

The role of marketing is manifested at all three levels of management: corporate, CXE and at the market level of a particular product. At the corporate level, managers coordinate the activities of the organization as a whole to achieve its goals in the interests of pressure groups. At this level, two main sets of problems are solved. The first is what activities should be undertaken to satisfy the needs of important customer groups. The second is how to rationally distribute the organization's resources among these activities to achieve the organization's goals. The role of marketing at the corporate level is to identify those important environmental factors (unmet needs, changes in the competitive environment, etc.) that should be taken into account when making strategic decisions.

At the individual CHE level, management is more focused on making decisions for the specific industry in which the business competes. At this level, marketing provides a detailed understanding of market demands and the selection of the means by which these requests can best be satisfied in a specific competitive environment. A search is being carried out for both external and internal sources of achieving competitive advantages.

Managing the market for a specific product focuses on making rational decisions about the marketing mix.

Choosing a strategy

After analyzing the strategic state of the organization and the necessary adjustments to its mission, you can move on to analyzing strategic alternatives and choosing a strategy.

Typically, an organization chooses a strategy from several possible options.

There are four basic strategies:

• limited growth;
• height;
• reduction;
• combination.

Limited growth(several percent per year). This strategy is the least risky and can be effective in industries with stable technology. It involves defining goals based on the level achieved.

Height(measured in tens of percent per year) is a strategy typical for dynamically developing industries, with rapidly changing technologies, as well as for new organizations that, regardless of their field of activity, strive to quickly take a leading position. It is characterized by the establishment of an annual significant excess of the level of development over the level of the previous year.

This is the most risky strategy, i.e. As a result of its implementation, you may suffer material and other losses. However, this strategy can also be identified with perceived luck, a favorable outcome.

Reduction. It assumes the establishment of a level below that achieved in the previous (base) period. This strategy can be used in conditions when the company's performance indicators acquire a steady tendency to deteriorate.

Combination(combined strategy). Involves a combination of the alternatives discussed above. This strategy is typical for large firms operating in several industries.

Classification and types of strategies:

Global:

• minimizing costs;
• differentiation;
• focusing;
• innovation;
• prompt response;

Corporate

• related diversification strategy;
• unrelated diversification strategy;
• capital pumping and liquidation strategy;
• change course and restructuring strategy;
• international diversification strategy;

Functional

• offensive and defensive;
• vertical integration;
• strategies of organizations occupying various industry positions;
• competitive strategies at various stages of the life cycle.

Cost minimization strategy consists in establishing the optimal value of production volume (use), promotion and sales (use of marketing economies of scale).

Differentiation strategy is based on the production of a wide range of goods of one functional purpose and allows the organization to serve a large number of consumers with different needs.

By producing goods of various modifications, the company increases the circle of potential consumers, i.e. increases sales volume. In this case, horizontal and vertical differentiation are distinguished.

Horizontal differentiation assumes that the price of various types of products and the average income of consumers remain the same.

Vertical implies different prices and income levels of consumers, which provides the company with access to different market segments.

The use of this strategy leads to an increase in production costs, so it is most effective when demand is price inelastic.

Focus strategy involves serving a relatively narrow segment of consumers who have special needs.

It is effective primarily for firms that have relatively few resources, which does not allow them to serve large groups of consumers with relatively standard needs.

Innovation strategy provides for the acquisition of competitive advantages through the creation of fundamentally new products or technologies. In this case, it becomes possible to significantly increase sales profitability or create a new consumer segment.

Rapid response strategy involves achieving success through rapid response to changes in the external environment. This makes it possible to gain additional profit due to the temporary absence of competitors for the new product.

Among corporate strategies, strategies of related and unrelated diversification stand out.

Related diversification strategy assumes that there are significant strategic fits between business areas.

Strategic fits presuppose the emergence of so-called synergistic effects.

Strategic correspondences are identified: production (single production facilities); marketing (similar brands, common sales channels, etc.); managerial (unified personnel training system, etc.).

Unrelated Diversification Strategy assumes that the business areas in their portfolio have weak strategic fits.

However, firms that adhere to this strategy can acquire special stability due to the fact that downturns in some industries can be compensated by upturns in others.

Among functional strategies distinguished primarily offensive and defensive.

Offensive strategies include a set of measures to retain and acquire competitive advantages of a proactive nature: attacking the strengths or weaknesses of a competitor; multi-pronged offensive, etc.

Defensive strategies include measures that are reactionary in nature.

The strategic planning process in a company consists of several stages:

1. Defining the mission and goals of the organization.
2. Environmental analysis, which includes collecting information, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as its potential capabilities based on available external and internal information.
3. Choice of strategy.
4. Execution of strategy.
5. Evaluation and control of implementation.

Defining the mission and goals of the organization

“The target function begins with establishing the mission of the enterprise, expressing the philosophy and meaning of its existence.”

“A mission is a conceptual intention to move in a certain direction.” Typically, it details the status of the enterprise, describes the basic principles of its operation, the actual intentions of management, and also defines the most important economic characteristics of the enterprise.

The mission expresses aspirations for the future, shows where the organization’s efforts will be directed, and what values ​​will be a priority. Therefore, the mission should not depend on the current state of the enterprise, it should not be affected by financial problems, etc. It is not customary in the mission to indicate making a profit as the main goal of creating an organization, although making a profit is the most important factor in the functioning of the enterprise.

“Goals are a specification of the mission of the organization in a form accessible to manage the process of their implementation.”

The main characteristics of the goal are as follows:

• clear orientation to a certain time interval;
• specificity and measurability;
• consistency and consistency with other missions and resources;
• targeting and controllability.

Based on the mission and goals of the organization's existence, development strategies are built and the organization's policies are determined.

Concept of strategic analysis

Strategic analysis, or as it is also called “portfolio analysis,” is the main element of strategic planning. “The literature notes that portfolio analysis acts as a strategic management tool, with the help of which enterprise management identifies and evaluates its activities in order to invest funds in its most profitable and promising areas.”

Strategic analysis originated in the late 60s. At this time, large firms and most medium-sized ones turned into complexes that combined the production of diverse products and entered many product markets. However, growth did not continue in all markets, and some of them were not even promising. This discrepancy has arisen due to differences in demand saturation, changing economic, political and social conditions, growing competition and the rapid pace of technological innovation.

It became clear that moving into new industries would not help the company solve its strategic problems or realize its full potential. The situation required managers to radically change their perspective. In such conditions, extrapolation was replaced by strategic planning and portfolio analysis.

The unit of portfolio analysis is the “strategic management zone” (SZH). SZH represents any market into which the company has or is trying to find an exit. Each agricultural sector is characterized by a certain type of demand, as well as a certain technology. As soon as one technology is replaced by another, the problem of technology correlation becomes a strategic choice for the company. During portfolio analysis, a company evaluates the prospects of a particular line of business.

The main method of portfolio analysis is the construction of two-dimensional matrices. With the help of such matrices, production, divisions, processes, and products are compared according to relevant criteria.

There are three approaches to forming matrices:

1. A tabular approach in which the values ​​of varying parameters increase as the names of these parameters move away from the column. In this case, the portfolio analysis is carried out from the upper left corner to the lower right.
2. A coordinate approach in which the values ​​of varied parameters increase with distance from the coordinate intersection point. The portfolio analysis here is carried out from the lower left corner to the upper right.
3. A logical approach in which the portfolio analysis is carried out from the lower right corner to the upper left. This approach has become most widespread in foreign practice.

Environmental analysis is necessary when carrying out strategic analysis, because its result is the receipt of information on the basis of which assessments are made regarding the current position of the enterprise in the market.

Environmental analysis involves the study of its three components:

• external environment;
• immediate environment;
• internal environment of the organization.

Analysis of the external environment includes the study of the influence of the economy, legal regulation and management, political processes, natural environment and resources, social and cultural components of society, scientific, technical and technological development of society, infrastructure, etc.

Environmental analysis is the process by which strategic planners monitor factors external to the organization to determine opportunities and threats to the firm.

Analysis of the external environment helps to obtain important results. It gives the organization time to forecast opportunities, time to create a contingency plan, time to develop an early warning system against possible threats, and time to develop strategies that can turn previous threats into any profitable opportunities.

“In terms of assessing these threats and opportunities, the role of environmental analysis in the strategic planning process is essentially to answer three specific questions:

1. Where is the organization now?
2. Where does senior management think the organization should be in the future?
3. What must management do to move the organization from where it is now to where management wants it to be?”

The threats and opportunities facing an organization can generally be categorized into seven areas. These areas are economics, politics, markets, technology, competition, international affairs and social behavior.

Economic forces. The current and projected state of the economy can have a dramatic impact on an organization's goals. Certain factors in the economic environment must be continually diagnosed and assessed. “Studying the economic component of the macroenvironment allows us to understand how resources are formed and distributed. This is clearly vital to the organization as access to resources greatly determines the entry status of the organization.

The study of economics involves the analysis of a number of indicators: GNP, inflation rates, unemployment rates, interest rates, labor productivity, taxation standards, balance of payments, savings rates, etc. When studying the economic component, it is important to pay attention to such factors as the general level of economic development, extracted natural resources, climate, type and level of development of competitive relations, population structure, level of education of the workforce and wages.

For strategic management, when studying the listed indicators and factors, what is of interest is not the values ​​of the indicators as such, but, first of all, what opportunities this provides for doing business.

Also within the scope of interest of strategic management is the identification of potential threats to the company, which are contained in individual components of the economic component. It often happens that opportunities and threats come in close conjunction.”

“The analysis of the economic component should in no case be reduced to the analysis of its individual components. It should be aimed at a comprehensive assessment of her condition. First of all, this is fixing the level of risk, the degree of competition intensity and the level of business attractiveness.”

Market factors. The changing external market environment is an area of ​​constant concern for organizations. Market environment analysis includes numerous factors that can have a direct impact on the success and failure of an organization.

International factors. Threats and opportunities may arise from ease of access to raw materials, the activities of foreign cartels (eg OPEC), changes in exchange rates and political decisions in countries acting as investment sites or markets.

By analyzing the external environment, an organization can create an inventory of the threats and opportunities it faces in that environment.

The immediate environment is analyzed according to the following main components: buyers, suppliers, competitors, labor market. Analysis of the internal environment reveals those opportunities, the potential that a company can count on in competition in the process of achieving its goals.

“The internal environment is analyzed in the following areas:

• personnel of the company, their potential, qualifications, interests, etc.;
• management organization;
• production, including organizational, operational and technical and technological characteristics and research and development;
• company finances;
• marketing;
• organizational culture."

Selecting a strategy in accordance with the results of strategic analysis

Strategy is a long-term, qualitatively defined direction of development of an organization, relating to the scope, means and form of its activities, the system of relationships within the organization, as well as the position of the organization in the environment, leading the organization to its goals.

The strategy is selected taking into account:

• the competitive position of the company in a given strategic economic zone;
• prospects for the development of the most strategic management zone;
• in some cases, taking into account the technology that the company has.

The technological factor must be present when choosing a strategy for an enterprise that operates in an industry where this factor is critical and technology is changing rapidly.

There are four main types of strategies:

1. Concentrated growth strategies – strategy for strengthening market positions, market development strategy, product development strategy.
2. Integrated growth strategies – backward vertical integration strategy, forward vertical integration strategy.
3. Diversification growth strategies – centered diversification strategy, horizontal diversification strategy.
4. Reduction strategies – elimination strategy, harvesting strategy, reduction strategy, cost cutting strategy.

Evaluation of the chosen strategy

The assessment of the chosen strategy consists in answering the question: will the chosen strategy lead the company to achieve its goals?

If the strategy meets the company’s goals, then its further assessment is carried out in the following areas:

• compliance of the chosen strategy with the state and requirements of the environment;
• compliance of the chosen strategy with the potential and capabilities of the company;
• acceptability of the risk inherent in the strategy.

Execution and control of strategy

I. Ansoff in his book “Strategic Management” formulates the following principles of strategic control:

1. Due to uncertainty and inaccurate calculations, a strategic project can easily turn into a fool's errand. This cannot be allowed; expenses must lead to the planned results. But unlike normal production control practices, the focus should be on cost recovery rather than budget control.
2. At each control point, it is necessary to assess the cost recovery during the life cycle of the new product. As long as the payback exceeds the control level, the project should continue. When it falls below this level, other options should be considered, including terminating the project.

Top management functions:

1. In-depth study of the state of the environment, goals and strategy development: a final understanding of the essence of certain goals and a broader communication of the ideas of strategies and the meaning of goals to employees of the company.
2. Making decisions on the efficiency of using the company's resources.
3. Decisions about organizational structure.
4. Carrying out the necessary changes in the company.
5. Reviewing the strategy execution plan in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Changes that are carried out in the process of implementing strategies are called strategic changes. Organizational restructuring can come in forms such as radical change, moderate change, routine change, and minor change.

Types of organizational structures: elementary, functional, divisional, SEB structure, matrix. The choice of organizational structure depends on the size and degree of diversity of activities, the geographical location of the organization, technology, the attitude towards the organization on the part of the organization's managers and employees, the dynamism of the external environment and the strategy implemented by the organization.

To carry out changes, you need to uncover, analyze and predict what resistance can be encountered when planning changes, reduce this resistance to the possible minimum and establish the status quo of a new state. Styles of change: competitive, self-elimination, compromise, adaptation, cooperation. The task of control is to determine whether the implementation of the strategy will lead to the realization of goals.

Main questions:

The essence of strategic planning and its typology

The strategic planning process and its stages

Strategic plan and its structure

1. The essence of strategic planning and its typology

Strategic planning (SP) is the most important function of strategic management. There are several definitions strategic planning:

A tool with the help of which a system of goals for the functioning of an enterprise is formed and the efforts of the entire team are combined to achieve it (A.I. Ilyin). This definition reflects the purpose of the joint venture, and not its essence;

This is a set of actions and decisions taken by the company’s management in order to develop functional strategies and assist the company in solving the problems of its development (L.P. Vladimirova). There is also no distinction made here between joint ventures and strategic management in general;

This is a set of decisions and actions to develop a strategy necessary to achieve the goals of the organization (L.E. Basovsky). In this definition, the plan was equated with strategy, which is not the same thing;

A set of specific goals that must be achieved by a certain period. They cover the most general problems of production development and resource distribution for many years to come and are developed independently in various areas, but at the same time they are subject to a certain hierarchy (V.R. Vesnin). Here the planning process is identified with its result.

The most correct definition is E.A. Utkina: “ SP is a special type of practical activity of people - planned work, consisting of the development of strategic decisions (in the form of forecasts, programs and plans), providing for the promotion of such goals and strategies for the behavior of relevant management objects, the implementation of which ensures their effective functioning in the long term, rapid adaptation to changing environmental conditions».

The difference between joint venture and strategic management is as follows (Table 1).

Table 1

Differences between strategic planning and strategic management

The main task of the joint venture is to ensure flexibility and innovation in the organization’s activities necessary to achieve its goals in a changing external and internal environment.

Strategic planning is characterized by:

Degree of uncertainty;

Time orientation of the planning process;

A certain planning horizon.

Depending on the degree of uncertainty planning systems in an organization can be divided into two types:

Those that operate in a completely predictable environment and do not lack information. In such systems, you can give a 100% guarantee that if an event occurs A, then it will be followed by the event IN. This type of planning system is called deterministic. In practice, such systems do not exist at the level of the entire enterprise, but at the level of current planning of the activities of individual divisions it is quite predictable.

Planning systems that assume a lack of certainty in the external environment and a lack of information. Such systems are called probabilistic.

Options for probabilistic planning systems are:

Planning based on a system of strict obligations (for example, a contract with a proven partner, when only force majeure circumstances can change the plan). This type of planning is suitable for situations in which there is a high degree of certainty about the outcome of events.

Planning under personal responsibility. Such planning is acceptable in a situation of complete uncertainty. It is typical for small business organizations that do not have the necessary knowledge of the environment and do not have established connections with their counterparties.

Planning adapted to random circumstances. This is an intermediate type of planning: on the one hand, there is constant uncertainty in the company’s activities, and on the other, possible options for action in an uncertain environment are taken into account. In practice, there are no more than three or four main options for the possible development of events.

Depending from time orientation planning Ackoff distinguishes four types of planning:

Reactive planning (return to the past) - is based on an analysis of previous experience and relies on old organizational forms and established traditions. This planning is carried out from the bottom up. First, the needs of the departments are identified and plans are developed for them. These plans are passed up the hierarchy chain for clarification, adjustment and preparation of a consolidated project.

Inactive planning (inertia). The main goal is survival and stability of production. It is focused on the present and does not contribute to economic growth and development of the organization. When making decisions, bureaucracy and red tape dominate. Most of the time in planning is spent collecting facts and their primary processing.

Proactive planning (anticipation) is focused on future changes. It relies on all the achievements of science and technology, widely uses experiment and forecasting, but does not take into account accumulated experience. Planning is carried out from top to bottom; Top managers formulate goals and strategies, and then determine lower-level goals and action programs.

Interactive planning is about designing the desired future and finding ways to build it. The purpose of such planning is to maximize your ability to learn, adapt and develop.

In table 2 presents the main advantages and disadvantages of these types of planning.

The implementation of business development projects in itself does not indicate extensive and developed strategic management at the enterprise. However, in a systematically surviving and prospering company, project portfolios are implemented in accordance with strategic action plans that are a consequence of higher-level processes. Strategic planning occupies a central place in the processes of strategic management and implements, perhaps, the most difficult part of the work of planning the activities of a modern enterprise.

Essential aspects of strategic planning

Ancient Greek philosophers considered strategy “the art of generals.” Metaphorically, modern business strategy can be viewed as “the great path to wealth.” As an applied phenomenon, a company's strategy should be considered in a broad and narrow sense. In a broad sense, it refers to the special skill of the general manager in the long term to anticipate and accept external and internal challenges.

In a narrow sense, a strategy is a plan for the long-term development of a company with an established planning horizon that can lead the business to significant success. By such success we understand a qualitatively new state of business regarding its role and place in the balance of industry forces. Narrowing the concept of strategy even more, we state that this is a document, and this form of displaying a long-term plan is becoming increasingly important in the modern world. Let us note several criteria for a good strategy that are discovered when examining the document:

• gives rise to a sense of pride of the owner for the future materialized appearance of his business;
• paints a picture of the growth of the owners' wealth;
• creates an image of ensuring the company’s competitiveness in the short and long term;
• creates satisfaction among the company's key personnel.

Strategic planning, as a concept significantly more specific than the organization's strategy itself, is perceived more clearly and simply. Firstly, the level of formalization of planning is much higher. Secondly, the composition of the resulting documents is obvious. By this type of planning we will understand a systematized procedure for developing a set of long-term measures for running and developing a business. This complex must guarantee the creation of profit by obtaining and maintaining competitive advantages in the long term.

The essence of strategic planning consists of several key aspects of the business strategy itself.

1. First, the planning process deployed is designed to eliminate the cause of the root problem of the business. Problems are almost always present within the company’s management system and do not allow it to properly accept and reflect external market challenges and internal threats.
2. Secondly, strategic planning at an enterprise is an important procedure for creating a correspondence between its long-term goals, chances and possibilities for minimizing risk situations in the future.
3. Thirdly, the essence and functions of strategic planning reproduce the modeling of the company's future based on the developed goals and the concept of long-term development.
4. Finally, fourthly, strategic planning is a procedure for regularly adapting and adjusting the plans themselves as the situation changes, while maintaining the same vision, mission, values ​​and long-term goals.

The relationship between strategic planning and management

The concept of a functional layout of management procedures, in which one of the functions is planning, is widespread. The process of strategic planning is part of strategic management as the supreme element of the management system. Only the breadth of this planning is specific.

The peculiarities of strategic planning make it difficult to draw a dividing line between planning, analysis and organization. This system regularly reproduces a set of formalized results from the concept of the company's strategic development to the plan of strategic initiatives, which are then converted into projects. The process of creating system outputs includes the following basic steps.

1. Formation of the AS-IS model. Situational analysis of the external environment and resource potential of the company.
2. Start of work on the AS-TO-BE model. Clarification of vision and mission. Finding the root problem. Development of long-term goals of the company and conceptual decoding of the plan for their implementation. Transformation of qualitative goals into quantitative ones. Profit models.
3. Development of a basic strategy based on selected alternatives and adopted development and growth strategies. Building a top-level company.
4. Development of business strategy, functional, product and regional strategies.
5. Development of a plan for strategic initiatives and an enlarged model of the stages of strategy implementation.

The purpose of planning is to make fundamental and optimal decisions of a long-term nature, while strategic management is focused on achieving the results laid down in the strategy. Results may mean: market share, new products, markets, technologies, etc. When we talk about strategic management, we mean, first of all, organizational actions that take planning results as a basis. In turn, strategic planning is an analytical and planning process.

Model for incorporating strategic planning into strategic management

Above is a model of the strategic management process. On it we see a planning block highlighted in blue, which captures the stage of implementation and implementation of the strategy through the development of a plan for strategic initiatives. Next, the process seems to bifurcate (this is not shown in the diagram). On the one hand, it descends to the level of tactics, where a corporate portfolio of development projects is formed from the position of investment strategy. On the other hand, taking into account the main goal of strategic management, thanks to strategic controlling activities, the company's management maintains its focus on object-time results.

Goals and objectives of strategy planning

Strategic planning of an enterprise's activities takes place at the initiative of its owners. Sooner or later, depending on the stage of the life cycle of a commercial organization, its organizational and legal form (PJSC, NJSC, LLC), shareholders and owners of the enterprise withdraw themselves from the operational management of the business or are removed by law. A contract is concluded with the general director of the company, the key points of which must be built in accordance with the strategy, which serves as the basis for transferring responsibility for the result to him.

Essentially, a “documented boundary” is drawn between the business owners and the CEO in the form of a strategy. This is where the competencies and powers of the owners represented by the board of directors end, and the rights and responsibilities of the General Director begin. The role of strategic planning is to act as an instrument for such a transfer of responsibility, which simultaneously opens up carte blanche for management actions over the long period of the contract. Taking into account the remarks presented above, we will outline the main planning goals at the strategic level.

1. Form an image of the organization’s future state that corresponds to the vision, mission and challenges of its operating environment.
2. Formulate the list of tasks for the general manager for the period of his management of the company under the contract.

Model of target orientation of strategic planning of a company

We can expand the identified goals into strategic planning tasks, also using the model presented above. It should be remembered that in the implementation of past, modern and future strategies there are internal blocking points that are in the nature of problems that must be diagnosed and a way to eliminate them must be found. Among the planning tasks in strategic management, the following stand out:

• perform a dynamic analysis of the company’s development and implementation of the current strategy;
• conduct an analysis of the external environment and internal state of the company at the current moment (AS-IS);
• identify the root problem of business management and approve a way to eliminate it;
• clarify the company's vision and mission;
• formulate business development goals;
• develop a strategic concept for the company’s development;
• make fundamental and optimal decisions on the ways, means and means of the company’s transition to the TO-BE state;
• develop a plan for strategic initiatives;
• clarify policies arising from the main functional strategies: financial, marketing, personnel, investments, etc.

Types and functions of strategy planning

In the modern world, event flows are accelerating. Is there a limit to this? What to rely on and within what time frame? It seems to me that the acceleration is artificial. In a company whose management respects the paradigm of regular management, there must be four unshakable things even in conditions of instability. According to the degree of immutability, they are arranged from top to bottom, and the third and fourth positions can change places depending on the situation.

1. Vision.
2. Mission.
3. Politicians.
4. Strategic goals.

Goals predetermine action programs for implementing the strategy, which, depending on the dynamics of the situation, may undergo changes. This circumstance is due to the variability of the composition of the focuses that management should pay attention to when moving towards business goals. The external environment is constantly transforming, the resource composition of the company is changing, and irreversible acts of force majeure arise. This, one way or another, forms species differences and the specific content of planning activities at the highest level of the hierarchy.

The following types of strategic planning are distinguished in the literature:

• long-term;
• mid-term;
• short-term;
• operational planning.

On the one hand, we can agree that, based on the principles of planning, a hierarchical approach can take place. But it seems to me that this is somewhat stretched, because if long-term planning somewhere intersects with strategic planning, then other types, even in their organizational nature, differ greatly from activities related to strategy. Another issue is that the dichotomous process of strategic planning of an organization can be implemented with the allocation of a management-strategic function or without the creation of a separate unit.

In addition, strategic planning at an enterprise in business management policy must be initiated at a given frequency or must begin when significant changes occur in the external environment. Based on these suggested comments, I would highlight the relevant types of planning. However, the lack of in-depth methodological study of the classes of this type of activity only indicates that the development of strategic management in Russia has not yet passed the “youth” stage. The specific division of activities is also determined by the sector of the economy in which the business operates and the functional content of the planning process. Traditionally, strategic planning performs the following four functions.

1. Function of mobilization and internal coordination of company management.
2. An adaptation function that ensures the company’s adaptation to changing business conditions.
3. The function of distributing existing and future business resources.
4. Function of developing systemic managerial thinking.

Basic strategy planning methodologies

The methodology of strategic planning in the history of world management thought originates at Harvard. A business school known for its ideas in the field of SWOT analysis, it was a scientific center in which the theory of the strategic planning model was developed, which later became a classic one. The diagram of this model is presented to your attention below.

Harvard Business School Strategic Planning Framework

Based on the opportunities in the market environment and using its strengths, the company begins to formulate a strategy. The strategic planning process uses, on the one hand, success factors found at the intersection of opportunities and threats emanating from the environment. From another perspective, a company's willingness to address its weaknesses and capitalize on its strengths helps create and sustain unique, strategic-level competitive advantages. The methodology developed at the Harvard School prescribes the use of special principles of strategic planning, among which the following are the main ones.

1. The principle of assigning responsibility for developing a strategy to the hired head of the company. The strategic plan should be developed by the person who will implement it, and adopted by the board of directors authorized by the owners.
2. The principle of systematic and logically structured thinking about a strategy, excluding the suddenness and spontaneous nature of its formulation.
3. The principle of information content. The content of strategic planning procedures should be accessible, simple and at the same time concentratedly informative.
4. The principle of uniqueness and creativity in project strategy development.
5. The principle of product completeness of the strategic planning process implies the finiteness of the optimal choice of strategy among possible alternatives.
6. The principle of brevity and ease of perception of the strategy text.
7. The principle of feasibility of the formulated strategy.

The principles of strategic planning formulated for the Harvard methodology are fully suitable for all subsequent models, which are essentially its schematic interpretation. Another traditional development is considered to be the model of Igor Ansoff. The features of strategic planning according to Ansoff consist in the use of the most formalized procedures for forming a strategy at the level of a fairly detailed and rigid flow chart, in replacing the value plan of business management with a clear setting of goals. Among other things, the American scientist introduced numerous feedbacks into the model, which made it possible to significantly develop the principle of interactivity and continuity of the planning process. A simplified model by I. Ansoff is presented below.

Simplified strategic planning scheme by I. Ansoff

Instrumental content of the methodology

The essence of strategic planning is manifested through the outline of its phased implementation. The quantitative composition of these stages and their content varies widely, depending on factors such as:

• form of ownership of the enterprise;
• industry;
• stage of the company's life cycle;
• scale of activity;
• level of differentiation of activities;
• type of business management system.

Generalized diagram of strategic planning technology in a company

In general, modern strategy planning technology is built into a specific technological chain, which is summarized in the diagram above. We will not touch upon the issue of mission development in our article; we will immediately move on to the general strategy, which includes the following elements of strategic planning:

• development strategies;
• growth strategies;
• corporate strategy;
• competitive strategy.

These are the four main strategies. And if the first three relate to the long term, then, starting with the competitive strategy, plans are made for the medium term closer to the present moment in time. Regarding corporate strategy, it should be noted that this is not a company strategy as such, and not every company has one, since only multi-disciplinary, diversified businesses need it. In other words, corporate strategy is portfolio in nature and is not required if the business is monolithic in nature.

The development of a competitive strategy is based on a deep analytical study of the operating environment and the state of the company. Numerous strategic planning tools are used for analysis. Among them, the types of analyzes and models known in theory and practice are noted, which are presented for each substantive element of the strategic analysis system in the diagram below. All of the presented methods of strategic planning, of course, are not mandatory for use in the specific development of a plan, but serve as powerful auxiliary resources, the choice of which depends on managerial experience and skill.

Scheme of compliance of the tools used at the stage of developing a competitive strategy

After the procedure for selecting strategic alternatives, the development of functional strategies follows: sales development, production, R&D, finance, personnel, marketing, etc. Strategic planning at each iteration ends with the adoption and approval of a document called the “company strategic plan,” which serves as a target for making tactical decisions and for operational management for at least several years. A summary of this document is presented below.

Problems of strategic planning

Unfortunately, we have to admit that the modern system of strategic planning, which has developed in many companies, causes a certain nihilism among top management. A natural question arises: has strategic management passed its peak of popularity and has it actually happened? It appears that hopes for a “golden formula” strategy have not materialized to a large extent, and there are several reasons for this. In this regard, let us consider some of the problems that have led many business leaders to understand the current situation with the development of this management component.

1. The most important reason, in my opinion, lies in the fact that the procedures for linking well-formulated strategies with grassroots projects and processes through the same BSC turned out to be extremely cumbersome. At the same time, the dynamics of real events require regular adjustment of the same corporate maps, for which there are simply no resources, and this is simply unprofitable.
2. Modern models of long-term planning suffer from excessive mechanism and lack of flexibility, which is important today. Almost always, at intermediate moments, these models turn out to be somewhat irrelevant. The output can be achieved by scenario modeling with the elaboration of various business development options. However, this is also quite an expensive exercise, which requires the separation of the strategy planning function with the emergence of a separate structural unit.
3. The third problem has a purely Russian specific flavor and is associated with targeting the strategy at increasing business capitalization. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this position. This is a very worthy goal for any owner. However, in domestic practice, the share of speculative investors is often many times greater than the number of “strategic” shareholders. The positions of the two types of shareholders regarding strategy are often opposite. The former are always aimed at increasing capitalization, because they are focused on selling their stake in the end. Strategies developed with such an unspoken message from owners, to a certain extent, devalue the very idea of ​​forward planning.

Does everything described above mean that there are no prospects for strategic planning in domestic business? Not at all. I would even say that, on the contrary, there are prospects, and they lie in the plane of one’s own scientific research and the development of alternative models, and not in the blind translation of the methodology of the best examples of the Western school. As the supreme component of management, strategy gravitates toward the ideological aspect of doing business. In other words, the ideology of the main business owners is important to her, but not only that.

Modern companies are in an open system of a global nature, but Russian business is very specific, and it seems to me that in the coming decades its national features will only strengthen. This means that a new productive concept of strategic planning can be built based on state ideology and business development strategy. Some progress is being made in this direction, but not enough. I believe that if the state, taking into account world experience, found an opportunity to order applied science a new paradigm of strategic management, the breakthrough of Russian companies into international markets would become more likely and successful over time.