CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Economic environment is changing rapidly and this change is characterized by such phenomena as the globalization, changing customer and investor demands, ever-increasing product-market competition. To complete successfully in this environment, organizations continually need to improve their performance by reducing cost, innovating products and processes and improving quality, productivity and speed to market.

“Strategic management is an ongoing process that evaluates and controls the business and the industries in which the company is involved, assesses its competitors and set goals and strategies to meet all existing and potential competitors, and then reassess each strategy annually or quarterly (ie regularly) to determine how it has been implemented and whether it has succeeded or needs replacement by a new strategy to meet charged circumstances, new technology, new competitors, a new economic environment, or a new social, financial or political environment” (Lamb, 1984). Achieving a competitive advantage position and enhancing firm performance relative to their competitors are the main objectives that business organizations in particular should strive to attain. (Raduan, Jegak, Haslinda and Alimin, 2009). Strategic management can depend upon the size of an organization, and the proclivity to change of its business environment. Therefore, a global transnational organization may employ a more structured strategic management model, due to its size, scope of operations, and need to encompass stakeholder views and requirement.

The way and manner they face strategic issues can affect the overall growth and development of the organization. It goes without saying that the strategic framework must also address fundamental issues such as resource base, infrastructure constrains, appropriate level of technology and raw materials input.

Vision is a widely used term, but not well understood. Perhaps leaders don”t understand what vision is, or why it is important. One strategic leader is quoted as saying, "I”ve come to believe that we need a vision to guide us, but I can”t seem to get my hands on what “vision” is. I”ve heard lots of terms like mission, purpose, values, and strategic intent, but no-one has given me a satisfactory way of looking at vision that will help me sort out this morass of words. It”s really frustrating!" (Collins and Porras 1991). To understand vision, clarify what the term means.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Some Nigerian Business Organizations are without formal plans or where there are formal plans they do operate without adhering to them. Some argued that the market place changes so fast for a plan to be useful. All business organizations are heading somewhere but unfortunately some do not know where they are going, then any road will lead them there. This therefore emphasizes the need for organizations to utilize strategic planning concepts.

Strategic management implementation has been challenging to many organizations. They crunch vast amounts of consumer data, hold planning sessions frequently, and use various techniques to develop strategy. Still, they miss the mark a lot of the times. Some strategic management problems faced by organizations include;

•          Companies tend to ignore one complication along the way: They can”t develop models of the increasingly complex environment in which they operate. As a result, contemporary strategic-planning processes don”t help enterprises cope with the big problems they face.

•          Several Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) admit that they are confronted with issues that cannot be resolved merely by gathering additional data, defining issues more clearly, or breaking them down into small problems. Their planning techniques don”t generate fresh ideas, and implementing the solutions those processes come up with is fraught with political peril.

•          Most Organizations do not progress at all walloping in serious planning problems.

Therefore, there is need to investigate why the above problems persist and examine ways by which strategic planning could assist.

1.3   OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

This research aims at examining the impact of strategic management on the organizational performance. The specific objectives of the study include;

i.          To ascertain the important of strategic vision concepts and techniques as applied to organizations.

ii.         To determine the relationship between strategic vision and organizational management.

iii.        To ascertain the extent of strategic vision in organization”s success.

iv.        To examine the extent of influence of strategic vision ideas and skills on a time-saving manner.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions are pertinent to this work;

i.          To what extent does strategic vision affect managerial aspiration?

ii.         To what extent does strategic vision relate to managerial aspiration

iii.        Does strategic vision impact on organization success?

iv.        To what extent can organizations guidelines apply the strategic management ideas and skills, in a time saving manner?

1.5   RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the purpose of this study, it is necessary that working hypotheses be established. To this end, the following hypotheses were tested:

HYPOTHESIS ONE

Ho:   There is no significant relationship between Strategic vision and organizational management.

HYPOTHESIS TWO

Ho:  Acquiring strategic vision ideas/skills is not important for management aspiration for organization.

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this research work is to stimulate management”s awareness and it”s important of the strategic vision implication of management aspiration for an organization.

Strategy is needed to focus effort and promote coordination of activities. Without strategy an organization becomes bunch of individuals, hence strategy is required to ensure collective actions and concentration of efforts towards achieving organizational plans and objective

1.7     SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This project work examines the accessing the impact of strategic vision and its important for management aspiration for an organization.

Without doubt, strategic vision plays an integral role in the management of business organization. It is a managerial tool that cannot be overlooked.

1.8       LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This work recorded some limitation such as time and finance which explain below;

Time: it become obvious that one does not have all the time to a more elaborate work since it is part of requirement of academic programme.

Finance: lack of funds took its own roll on the overall task of producing this research work as it leads to preventing the work to be extensive. Higher cost of transport insufficient funds for the student or fund themselves as well as the general prices, increase of materials needed for the study constrained the researcher to strict conversation of almost everything at the expense of better presentation of this work.

1.9       DEFINITION OF TERMS

Management: this is a set of activities (including planning and decision making process, organizing, leading and controlling) directed at an organizations resources (human financial physical and information) with the aim of achieving organizational goals in an efficient and effective manner.

Business: this is an economic activity undertaking to produce goods and service that satisfy human want for the purpose of profit maximization.

Industry: this is the combination of different firm that produce likely product or brands of product for the purpose of profit maximization

Company: this is a corporate enterprise that has a legal identity separate from that of its members which operates as one single unit in the success of which all members participate.

Efficiency: the achievement of the end with least amount of resources the accomplishment of objectives at the least cost or other unsought.

Ethics: a set of formal principles or order used by organizations to itself and its employees, in all their business activities both internal and relations to the outside world.

Policy: policies are guide to carrying out an action. A business policy can be defined as management expressed or implied intended to govern action in the achievement of a company”s or organizations. It is a statement of conduct.

Strategic management: this is concerned primarily with the process directed by top management to determine the fundamental aims or goals of the organization and ensure a range of decision which allow for achievement of those aims or goals in the long term whilst providing for adaptive responses in the shorter term.

Strategy: refers to management action plans for achieving the chosen objectives. It specifies how organization will be operated and run and what entrepreneur, competitive and functional area approaches and actions will be taken to put organization into desired position.