Strategic management is the continuous process of planning, monitoring, assessment, and analysis of all the necessities involved in ensuring that an organization achieves its goals and objectives. On the other hand, strategic planning is the process of looking into future trends, dividing the organization into divisions, sections, units, and teams, and aligning its priorities based on such trends. Strategic planning involves the identification of challenges, understanding the key players, and devising the best mechanism to solve the challenges by providing amicable solutions. In a nutshell, a good strategy encompasses focus, accountability, and results (Nickols, 2016).
Both strategic management and planning are interrelated and vital aspects which, when used in tandem, produce comprehensive procedures that govern most business decisions. For instance, while strategic planning formulates the direction which the business will follow, strategic management determines how the direction and results will be achieved. One of the five stages of strategic management is goal setting, where the company sets both long- term and short- term goals to be achieved. In doing so, the firm can make predictions where it wants to reach in a specific amount of time.
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Strategic planning now uses five steps to evaluate whether the set goals are viable. The steps include determination of the company's current position, identifying what is most important, defining what must be achieved, determination of the responsible parties, and reviewing the work done (Nickols, 2016). Although the concepts are related and often used together, they often present some differences. Strategic planning is an analytical process that focuses on plans while strategic management, being action-oriented, focuses on results. In addition to that, strategic planning stresses on making decisions that are optimal while strategic management stresses producing strategic results such as new markets, technologies, and products. While strategic planning only identifies actions to be taken, strategic planning specializes in identifying actions as well as the means, individuals, and time to perform them.
References
Nickols, F. (2016). Strategy, Strategic Management, Strategic Planning and Strategic Thinking. Management Journal , 1 (1), 4-7.
