Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment

Citation

Ramsey, R.D. and Duhe, S.J. (2010), "Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment", International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 188-189. https://doi.org/10.1108/10569211011057281

Strategic management has become a necessity rather than an advantage. Increased dynamics and globalization of the business environment favor firms that plan and manage strategically. This book is a great tool for anyone in a managerial role. In this text, Alkhafaji covers the entire framework of strategic management including environmental scanning, strategy formulation, implementation, control, and evaluation.

Abbass Alkhafaji was a Professor in the Business School at the Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. Before his 2007 death at age 59, he had become one of the world most productive scholars in the study of strategic management and international business. Alkhafaji received many awards for his research and writing. He founded the International Academy of Business Disciplines. As one of his last books, Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment gives a mature explanation and analysis of every aspect of strategic management and planning.

This book has ten chapters, organized into four parts: Environmental Scanning, Strategy Formulation, Implementation, and Control. Part 1 comprises Chapters 1 and 2, which constitute a comprehensive introduction, and Chapter 3, titled “Assessing the Environment.” Alkhafaji emphasizes how globalization has added to the complexity of organizational environments. He defines a dynamic environment as one that is constantly changing – and likewise obliging organizations constantly to change. He discusses, in depth, the aspects environments which are external to an organization as well as those which are internal. He discusses the costs, benefits, and techniques of environmental scanning, the astute manager's practice of reading the environmental signals.

Part 2, Strategy Formulation, is Chapters 4 through 6. Chapter 4, “Corporate Strategy,” treats the importance of a long‐term corporate strategy. Alkhafaji discusses strategies such as specialization, diversification, and entrenchment. Chapter 5, “Business and Functional Strategies,” covers strategic management on the functional level of a firm and the formulation of a business strategy. Chapter 6, “Strategic Management in the International Environment,” touches on the trends and advantages of internationalization. Alkhafaji goes into detail about the complexity of international strategic management and the need for a systematic approach to entering foreign markets.

Chapters 7 and 8 make up Part 3, Implementation. In Chapter 7, “Corporate Structure and Implementation,” Alkhafaji explains the process of putting a management strategy into action. He also discusses the roles of managers in implementation such as resource management and establishment of an organization‐wide commitment to the strategic plan. Chapter 8, “Corporate Culture, the General Manager, and Implementation,” mainly covers the implementation of internal support systems and leadership.

Part 4, Evaluation and Control, is wholly composed of Chapter 9, “The Control Function.” This chapter identifies the purpose of control, which is to measure outcomes and outputs to see whether they are in line with the strategic plan. Alkhafaji also identifies and explains different levels and measurement methods of control and evaluation.

The book has three important strengths: its structure, emphasis on the subject's importance, and cases. Alkhafaji organized this text well, so that it is easy to follow. He takes the reader step‐by‐step through the phases of strategic management from introduction to evaluation. He also does a great job of emphasizing why strategic management is a topic worth studying. The introduction of the book especially convinces readers that strategic planning and management are necessary for businesses today. Alkhafaji refers to many other studies and authors throughout this book; his eclecticism gives readers the opportunity to see various viewpoints and also gives readers of various backgrounds points of relationship to the subject of strategic management. Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment contains 21 cases, giving readers real‐world examples of the book's concepts. These cases are about well‐known corporations like Nike and Microsoft, and they reinforce the points made by the author in the text. A remaining point is that the book is rigorously researched and referenced – an exceptional example of scholarship combined with business applications.

The one weakness of Alkhafaji's book is in the area of international strategic management. Although the book does emphasize this topic in Chapter 3, it could be explained more thoroughly. Possibly Alkhafaji was relying on reader access to his numerous publications on international aspects of strategic management and consequently chose not to repeat himself here.

Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment is interesting and well written. Alkhafaji's experience in the subject comes through, as well as the reasons for the esteem in which he is held in the academic community. Alkhafaji comprehensively covers the increasingly important realm of strategic management. This book is highly recommended to managers at any point in their careers as well as to any individual interested in strategic management.

Corresponding author

Richard David Ramsey can be contacted at: Dave.Ramsey@selu.edu