Strategic Management
Strategic Human Resources Management
June 18, 2013 Introduction
What is strategic management and why is it critical to the success of an organization in meeting its goals and mission? Strategic Management is essential for the success of any business. It is critical for any organization to properly plan and implement that plan that will align the organization’s strategy to key objectives. In a nutshell, strategic management can be defined as the process where an organization performs an analysis on what needs to happen in order to achieve and meet the objectives of the organization (Mello, 2011). In other words, it is the process utilized by top management in order to align the organization to the environment. The process of strategic management includes the organization’s mission statement, an analysis of the environment, the organization’s self-assessment, setting goals and objectives, and setting a strategy (Mello, 2012). Apple Inc. is a great example as to why strategic planning is critical for the success of any organization.
Background
What started at a family garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, is now a multibillion-dollar corporation. Back in the late 70s, Jobs and Wozniak built the very first Apple, a computer circuit board named Apple I. After several months, they sold 200 of them. Shortly after that, Jobs and Wozniak partnered with Mike Markkula, a 33 year old retired millionaire. Together with Markkula as the businessman and Wozniak as the technical expert, Jobs was ready to make his vision a reality, “to change the world though technology” (Slind & Yoffie, 2008).
Apple’s original mission statement, which still stands true today, was to “bring an easy-to-use computer to the market” (Slind & Yoffie, 2008). As a result, in 1978, the Apple II was created, a computer that people could start using right out of the box. In