Business Policy and Strategic Management

Contents: I. 1. Business policy and strategy. 2. Strategic management: conceptual framework. II. 3. Establishing strategic intent: vision, mission, objectives and goals. 4. Environmental appraisal. 5. Organisational appraisal (internal environment). 6. Corporate-level strategies (For developing strategic alternatives). 7. Business unit-level strategies (For developing strategic alternatives). 8. Strategic choice: analysis and decision-making. III. 9. Strategy implementation: concept and major issues. 10. Structural implementation. 11. Behavioural implementation (different issues).12. Functional implementation (Policies and plans). IV. 13. Strategy evaluation and control. 14. Strategic issues in non-profit organisations. V. 1. Case method and analysis: need and approaches. ii. Case Study 1 to 4. "The book presents the Fundamentals of Strategic Management in comprehensive manner and relates its concepts and techniques to the Indian context. The ideas are basically inspired from the writings of several luminaries in the field. The book exhibits a balanced combination of theory and application. For this purpose, its deals with five themes taken up separately in five different parts. The first four parts systematically cover the various aspects related to strategic management process. The fifth part deals with the application devoting entirely to case studies. This book is designed to support and enhance both learning and teaching. An important aspect of the style adopted for this book is the use of exhibits, presenting a vast gamut of information regarding special theoretical matter. Chapter 1 present the course on business policy and strategy. Students can directly relate to the objectives and see how they benefit by learning. This course of study, Chapter 2, addresses the main theme of this book, namely, the conceptual frame-work of strategic management phases of its development and the entire process. Chapter 3, comprehensively deals with the elements of vision, mission, objectives and goals. Chapter 4 and 5, are devoted to the technique central to strategy formulation. Here the learners get the knowledge about external and internal organisational analysis so as to decide on the means to achieve strategic advantage. This is the basic objective of strategic management. Chapter 6 and 7, describe about the corporate and business level strategies so as to develop strategic alternatives for the organisation to choose from. Chapter 8, deals with strategic choice analysis for decision-making. The four-chapter series from 9 to 12, deal with the various aspects of strategy implementation; such as major issues like structural implementation, behavioural implementation, and functional implementation. The fourth part (Chapter 13) deals with strategy evaluation and control. It deals with control problems, its participants, process and techniques of evaluation. Part V of this book is devoted to explain the case method of learning strategic management. There are short and long cases from different industries, so that the users may conveniently exercise from among the cases for purposive analysis and discussion. At the end of every chapter, references of several contributors in the field of strategic management have been given for detailed studies by the learners. Questions are also given at the end of every chapter that should serve as a means to help students to attempt questions well in examinations."