A strategy is a consistent, relatively enduring approach to achieve a goal or objective; a type of plan that provides a set of guidelines or a line of attack for an organisation to move from where it is today to a desired state sometime in the future. Strategic management provides the tools for organisational leaders to think through changes taking place in their industry. Many ways are possible to think about strategic management in organisations. These approaches can be broadly grouped into two distinct views those that assume that with proper analysis a workable strategy can be prescribed in advance, then carried out, versus those with the underlying assumption that too much complexity and change exists for a complete and viable plan to be worked out in advance, thus the strategy will emerge over time. These two fundamental views of strategic management are referred to as the analytical or rational approach and the emergent approach. Strategic thinking generates ideas about the future of an organisation and ways to make it more relevant more in tune with the world. Strategic thinking assesses the changing needs of the organisations stakeholders and the changing technological, social and demographic, economic, legislative/political, and competitive demands of the world. In that assessment, strategic thinking includes and employs several types of thinking or framing perspectives, including thinking that is systems oriented, critical or logical, innovative, creative, transformative, divergent, and visionary. Strategic thinking is very much a leadership activity Questions: 1.1 Discuss why strategic management is crucial in the business environment. (10) 1.2 Compare and contrast the analytical model of strategic management with the emergent learning model. (6) 1.3 Evaluate the following statement: Strategic thinking is very much a leadership activity. (14