Let's get one thing straight about 'Strategic Management' right off the bat. Strategy is NOT just for 'top-level' or 'long-term' decisions. Strategy exists at every level, both long-term and short-term, in every single decision and action of an organization.
Eli Goldratt, developer of The Theory of Constraints (TOC) posits strategy as an answer to the question 'what for?' (purpose / outcome) and tactics as an answer to the question 'how?' (process / operations). How wise.
The implications for management are huge. Mark Parker Follett (1868-1933) explained management as 'the art of getting things done through people'. How succinct.
And since nothing happens without people at ever level, strategy must be considered by every member of an organization to understand and fulfil the purpose and required outcome of their function. This empowers the organization towards greater effectiveness, efficiency and innovation.
Through this change in definitions of strategy, a more dynamic and Senior Move Management business fluid approach to management evolves. Old management will still try to hold onto its power however, propped up by traditional academics and the ego that comes with seats of power. Yet the pyramid of management power is reversing. Greater numbers exist at the bottom.
We still see narrow minded management seeking glory through short-term gains, whilst talking about customer value yet not really seeking maximum customer contribution. Traditional management's focus remains on efficiencies rather than effectiveness.
That old industrial paradigm is shifting. Six years of research (by James Collins and Jerry Porras) uncovered a key underlying principle behind the 19 successful companies that they studied:
Each of those companies supported an ideology that encourages staff to build a company that lasts. In Built To Last (1994) they showed how "short term profit goals, cost cutting, and restructuring will not stimulate dedicated employees to build a great company that will endure."
The Theory of Constraints, through it's definition of strategy and tactics, and its array of management tools, is providing the means to involve all staff in strategic management,