ABSTRACT
Managers need to know about strategy and planning. The huge volume of published literature on strategic management indicates the significance attached to the subject not only by the academics and consultants who write this material but also by the students and practitioners who buy it. Surveys of senior managers and analyses of job advertisements invariably identify strategy or planning among their most important responsibilities, yet there are still those who are not convinced that the topic deserves their time and attention, particularly in a situation where the pace of change threatens to overtake plans before they are fully formulated (never mind implemented). It is worth exploring further the purposes and benefits of adopting a formalised or organised method of planning as an understanding of the fundamental issues surrounding the strategic planning process enables a more informed view of how to go about it. This chapter also relates the history and concepts of strategic management to contemporary thinking on information strategy and knowledge management.
