Strategy: Strategy is a method or plan chosen to bring about the desired future, such as the achievement of a goal, objective, or solution to a problem. The strategy is the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of course of objectives and the allocation of resources necessary to carry out these goals and objectives. This is achieved by adopting and implementing strategies over a period of time.
A strategy is a plan of action to achieve an objective that is usually major, comprehensive and long-term (Higgins and Vincze, 1989).
Strategic planning: Strategic planning is a systematic process of envisioning a desired future, and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them. It is a disciplined effort that produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, who it serves, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future.
In contrast to long-term planning (which begins with the current status and lays down a path to meet estimated future needs), strategic planning begins with the desired-end and works backward to the current status.
- At every stage of long-range planning, the planner asks, “What must be done here to reach the next (higher) stage?”
- At every stage of strategic planning, the planner asks, “What must be done at the previous (lower) stage to-reach hare?”
