What is business strategy?
A short course of study into this subject seems to be necessary. In fact, “strategy” is one of the four strategic management disciplines, along with marketing, organization and technology. “Strategy” means the process of formulating a long-term business plan that will guide a company’s strategy and guide decisions. “Business” is another business term meaning the process of planning, organizing, and controlling a company.
Let’s briefly define what business strategy is and what it is not:
A “business plan”
A business plan is a document used by an individual or company to document plans for future business activities. It includes the identification of market needs and strengths, the plan for meeting market needs, and an outline of the proposed activities. A “business plan” for a firm is also known as a “strategic business plan” and it should be created early in the planning process and should contain long-term as well as shorter-term goals. A detailed, well-written business plan usually serves as the central document that leads a firm’s strategy and guides its activities.
A “business plan” for an individual is a short document which states the goal for the next 3 to 5 years or more. For example, it might outline a college career plan or a career plan for retirement. These are often very formal and do not have a very detailed focus.
Business strategy:
However, a business strategy is the long-term plan for a company or business. Therefore, it is the long-term, long-term plan and it is the strategic plan that is often not detailed. When a business is planning its activities and strategies, it usually focuses on what it wants to accomplish in the short-term and perhaps long-term. A long-term strategy document is often used by an individual when planning for retirement or planning a life career plan for school or college. A business strategy is the plan that an individual creates when planning to retire from work or when planning the next job. A business strategy is often one of the first documents that will be created when an individual applies for a job. Many firms will ask questions such as, “What is your long-term business plan?”.
A firm’s vision statement. A vision statement is an organization’s statement of what the organization is all about. A vision statement defines the purpose of the organization and is the first step in developing the long-term plan of the organization. Often the vision is written in “wishful thinking” or just a slogan such as “To be the best company we can be!” Such a statement tells the organization what it hopes to accomplish, but not how it will do it.