You will explore the stages of the strategic management process in detail. This begins with understanding the mission of the organisation, which serves as the foundation for strategic decision-making. Next, you will analyze the organisation’s position in relation to its internal and external environments. In this analysis, you will examine the wider or macro-environment, focusing on broad societal factors such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal trends (PESTEL). You will also evaluate the industry or competitive environment, considering market forces and competitor positioning, as well as assess the organisation's competitive position in relation to its rivals. To complement this external analysis, you will investigate the organisation's internal resources and capabilities. This involves conducting a resource audit to evaluate both tangible and intangible resources. You will explore the value chain and value system to understand how value is created through internal activities and across the supply chain. Additionally, you will identify threshold and core competencies, focusing on the essential and unique capabilities that provide the organisation with a competitive edge. Finally, you will integrate these insights through a SWOT analysis to assess the organisation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You will then delve into strategy formulation and evaluation, learning how to develop and assess strategies to position the organisation effectively. This includes studying competitive and generic strategies such as cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies, as well as evaluating directions and methods of growth, including market penetration, product development, diversification, and strategic alliances. The next stage involves strategic implementation, where you will examine how strategies are implemented. This includes aligning organisational structure and resources to achieve strategic objectives and addressing the role of organisational culture while managing change effectively. You will also study the different approaches to strategic decision-making. In the planning school, you will explore a structured, systematic approach to strategy development, emphasising analysis and forecasting. In contrast, the emergent school will help you understand an adaptive approach where strategies evolve in response to changing circumstances and unforeseen opportunities. By engaging with these stages and approaches, you will understand how organisations design, implement, and adapt strategies to achieve their goals.