International marketing management - Essay Example

is report aims at understanding the various definitions that have been set down by the various authors in the past and to analyse whether the statement by Markides (1999) has significance in the true sense. The following section will deal with the various definitions that have been developed over the years. Strategy includes a number of different aspects that it is associated with. Firstly, a strategy is normally long planned. This is in a hierarchical system of goals and objectives. A strategy is a combined effort to create a blend between the external environment, internal resources and the capabilities of the resources within the business (Bernus, et.al, 2003). “Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2006, p. 9). According to Johnson et.al, (2006), there are six major elements that strategic decisions are made out off.

It is essential to understand that strategic decisions are normally long term directions of organisations, which include the scope of the organisation. Also this includes to a great extent gaining advantage over the competitors and addresses the changes that happen within the business environment. Strategies that are developed, try to develop the resources and try to improve the capabilities of the people within the organisation. These strategies are also expected to be based on the values and expectations of the stakeholder.

According to George Steiner, strategy has become a part of the management literature as a mode to compare and counter the competitor’s actual or possible moves. He also highlights in his works that there is very little people who agree to the meaning of strategy in the real business world. He uses a few different definitions to explain strategy: According to Henry Mintzberg, strategy can be