STRATEGY

STRATEGY:
The word strategy originates from the greek word "strategos",meaning "general".
An elaborate and systematic plan of action intended to achieve a specific goal is called as strategy.(or)
The art or skill of using stratagems in endeavours such as business and politics.
In war,a strategy is a plan to gain advantage over the enemy.According to Effy Oz, Business people must devise decisive courses of action to win just as generals do.In business,a strategy is a plan designed to help an organisation outperform its competitors.
Strategies tend to fall in some categories such as developing a new product,identifying an unmet consumer need,changing a service to entice more customers or retain existing clients or taking other action that increases the organisation's value through improved performance.
A company achieves strategic advantage by using strategy to maximize its strengths,resulting in a competitive advantage.
The Case study of Walmart and The Albertons:
The Alberton's were th elargest super-market chain in the west before the establishment of Walmart.Walmart was launched with huge investments and they launched very large super markes and aslo the prices are low when compared to that of The Aberton's.They get their products directly from the manufacturer and they have their own transportation which made them huge profits and the Alberton's insured heavy losses.
After few years the Alberton's approached some KM consultancies.The Alberton's reduced the prices of their products just to get into market but also they advertised that their shops are compact and the customer can find the products easily.But Walmart launched some mini super markets like Asda and more to retrieve their position.Walmart's goal is to capture the market and to sweep the customes off their feet.They used different strategies which change from time to time depending upon the situation,market fluctuations and competition.Thus they now expanded their market to Russia,China,Argentina,Brazil,Canada and most of the Europe.

James Brian Quinn in The Strategy process:concepts and contexts,indicated "A strategy is a plan or pattern that integrates an organisation's major goals,policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole.
(cohesive-holding the particles of a homogeneous body together)
An effective business strategy should include three elements:
1.A clear and decisive statement of the primary goals and objectives that are to be achieved.
2.An analysis of companies limitations and guidelines.
3.A record of companies resources to achieve the desired goal.

Strategy cannot be always standard even till the goal is reached.Strategies can be changed or deffer ed due to the fluctuations in the market,competition,resources,etc...
For an organisation or even for a individual,there should be a plan of action or a path which one has to follow to achieve a goal is called strategy.

A small example would be to win a game of cricket.Cricket is a big game known for the best strategies adopted. The strategy will be designed by the Coach and captain of the team and may be the senior most player.These strategies changes from minute to minute.Before designing the strategies they need to know the resources they have ie:opening batsmen,middle order and the bowlers.They keep shifting the places of players such as one down,second down,etc..depending on the runs scored and the overs remaining.When the team was fielding there will be different fielding and bowling strategies for different players.These are desinged by observing the weakness of the players from past matches.
The importance of strategy and the people invoving in planning it can be seen in a live example.The INDIAN cricket teams new coach Gary kristen and captain M.S.Dhoni designed the best strategies ever which made INDIAN team win 9 matches in a row which is a world record and which took them from 6th position in the ICC world rankings to the 1st.
Desiging a strategy is the first step and managing is the second and vital step.

Knowledge Management Strategies:
According to Nonaka,(2005), "The consulting business employs two different knowledge management strategies.In some companies knowledge centers in the computer.The knowledge is codified and is stored in databases,where it can be used and accessed from the computer easily by any employee of the company.We call this CODIFICATION STRATEGY.
In some companies knowledge is closely tied to the person who developed it and is shared through person to person contact.The purpose is to help people communicate knowledge,not to store it.we call it PERSONALIZATION STRATEGY."
The choice of the strategy depends on the way the company serves its clients,the economics of the business and the people it hires.Trying the wrong one or emphasising on both resluts in undermining the company.
Some companies also design their own Knowledge management strategies.But they focus and invest more on KM.
REFERENCES:
Effy Oz.2002."Strategic Uses of Information Systems:Management Information systems,third edition.
Quinn.J.B. and Mintzberg.H.1992."The Strategy Process:Concepts,contexts,cases,Fourth edition.
Ikujiro.n.2005."Knowledge Management:Critical Perspectives on Business and Management".