The Company did not have a consistent thinking and planning process in place and the quality of strategy differed dramatically across the organization. Desire was to create a uniform strategic thinking and planning process for the organization while at the same time, build the strategic thinking skills of its mid- and senior level managers.

The Needs analysis:

• Create a strategic thinking & planning process that can be used year round.
• Build an organizational competency in strategic thinking.
• Develop middle and senior managers strategy skills to help them proactively
• Set strategic direction and successfully execute strategic initiatives.

Strategy implementation outcomes

Double-digit percentage increase in revenue and single-digit increase in profit after year one of implementation.

Organization developed and tailored the five-phase strategy development process to fit their needs, giving them a proven process to use in the years to come.

Senior leaders reported greater confidence in the organizations strategic direction after going through a comprehensive and methodical process to help them think through all of their possible options.

"I appreciated your ability to teach/facilitate/moderate and move us through the strategy development process in a productive fashion. Your modular and highly tailored approach of the process to our business fit our needs nicely. One year later, your work had a dramatically positive impact on our business. In addition to the strong strategic plan we developed, you infused a new mind set into our organization

that has created the strategic discipline to make important trade-offs and has unleashed a powerful energy of confidence. You've truly made a difference to our business."

Rich does an excellent job in assisting individuals throughout various levels of an organization understand that while strategy is a somewhat abstract and intangible concept, there are a variety of tools and methods available to practically apply it to their business. His presentations and workbooks are thoughtfully constructed, understandable and useful in leading a group through a comprehensive and objective analysis of their business that ultimately results in action plans focused on differentiating themselves from the competition. His grasp of the topic of strategy along with a comfortable and upbeat presentation style is effective in facilitating strategic thinking and strategy skills development.

1. What are the forces that design the Strategic Management systems? [15]
2. Discuss the various grand strategies at the corporate level i.e. Stability, Growth, & Retrenchment. [15]
3. Discuss the following factors affecting Strategic Choices in brief: [20]

• Nature of environment stable
• Companys internal realities
• Ambition of CEO/ owners
• Company culture
• Companys capacity to execute the strategy
• Resource allocation