Strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance
See also
Business driver Proactive strategy Strategic agility Strategy of the organization Strategic decision making Strategic management tools Strategic plan Changes over time Business drivers

Strategy maintenance is a process of aligning existing strategies with the current business environment. It involves evaluating the effectiveness of the existing strategies and making necessary changes to ensure they remain relevant and effective. It includes monitoring the external environment for any changes that could affect the organization, such as changes in customer needs, competitive activity, or market conditions. It also involves analyzing the organization’s internal environment to identify any changes that could affect the effectiveness of existing strategies. Based on this analysis, strategy maintenance may involve adjusting existing strategies, such as introducing new products, expanding into new markets, or adjusting pricing. It may also involve developing and implementing new strategies.

Example of strategy maintenance

• A company that sells automotive parts may decide to review its strategy in light of changing customer needs. The company could analyze customer feedback and industry trends to identify gaps in its current product offerings. Based on this analysis, the company could introduce new products to meet customer needs or discontinue products that are no longer in demand.
• A technology company may use strategy maintenance to ensure its strategies remain competitive. The company could monitor the competitive landscape to identify new products and services that competitors are offering. The company could also review its existing product lineup to identify any weaknesses. Based on this analysis, the company could develop and implement new strategies to stay ahead of the competition.
• A retail company may use strategy maintenance to adjust its strategies in response to changes in the economic environment. The company could monitor macroeconomic indicators such as unemployment rates, consumer spending, and inflation. Based on this analysis, the company could adjust its pricing strategy, product lineup, or promotional activities to remain competitive and profitable.

When to use strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance should be used when the external business environment has changed and existing strategies are no longer effective. It is also important to maintain strategies when there are internal changes, such as changes in the organization’s resources or personnel. Specific uses of strategy maintenance can include:

• Evaluating the effectiveness of existing strategies and making necessary changes to ensure they remain relevant and effective.
• Monitoring the external environment for any changes that could affect the organization.
• Analyzing the organization’s internal environment to identify any changes that could affect the effectiveness of existing strategies.
• Adjusting existing strategies, such as introducing new products, expanding into new markets, or adjusting pricing.
• Developing and implementing new strategies.

Types of strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance is a process of aligning existing strategies with the current business environment. It involves evaluating the effectiveness of the existing strategies and making necessary changes to ensure they remain relevant and effective. Types of strategy maintenance include:

• Adaptive Strategy Maintenance: This involves regularly monitoring the external environment for any changes that could affect the organization, such as changes in customer needs, competitive activity, or market conditions. It also involves analyzing the organization’s internal environment to identify any changes that could affect the effectiveness of existing strategies. Based on this analysis, changes can be made to existing strategies.
• Innovative Strategy Maintenance: This involves developing and implementing new strategies that take advantage of opportunities available in the market. This could involve introducing new products, expanding into new markets, or adjusting pricing.
• Defensive Strategy Maintenance: This involves anticipating potential risks and threats and devising strategies to protect the organization against them. This could involve diversifying the organization’s product portfolio, or entering into strategic partnerships.
• Strategic Review: This involves periodically evaluating the effectiveness of an organization’s strategies and making changes as needed to ensure they remain relevant and effective in the current business environment.

Steps of strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance is a process of aligning existing strategies with the current business environment. It involves evaluating the effectiveness of existing strategies and making necessary changes to ensure they remain relevant and effective. The following are steps of strategy maintenance:

• Identifying strategic objectives: This involves understanding the organization’s mission, key objectives and goals, and how they are connected to the current business environment. This helps to identify areas that may need to be addressed in order to reach the desired objectives.
• Monitoring the external environment: This involves monitoring the external environment for any changes that could affect the organization, such as changes in customer needs, competitive activity, or market conditions. This helps to identify any potential threats or opportunities that may need to be addressed.
• Analyzing internal environment: This involves analyzing the organization’s internal environment to identify any changes that could affect the effectiveness of existing strategies. This includes evaluating the organization’s resources, processes, and personnel.
• Developing and implementing new strategies: This involves developing and implementing new strategies based on the analysis of the external and internal environments. This may include introducing new products, expanding into new markets, or adjusting pricing.
• Evaluating strategies: This involves regularly evaluating the effectiveness of existing strategies and making necessary changes to ensure they remain relevant and effective. This includes assessing the impact of any changes and determining if any adjustments are needed to reach the desired objectives.

Advantages of strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance is a valuable and essential process for any organization. It is important for organizations to continually evaluate their strategies and make necessary changes to ensure their strategies remain relevant and effective. Some of the advantages of strategy maintenance include:

• Improved efficiency: By regularly evaluating strategies and making necessary changes, organizations can ensure that their strategies are aligned with their goals and objectives and are as efficient as possible.
• Increased competitiveness: By adapting their strategies to the changing environment, organizations can stay ahead of the competition and maintain a competitive edge.
• Flexibility: By regularly evaluating their strategies, organizations can identify opportunities and threats in the environment and adjust their strategies accordingly, making them more flexible and adaptable.
• Improved customer satisfaction: By aligning strategies with customer needs, organizations can ensure their products and services are up to date and meet customer needs.
• Improved organizational performance: By ensuring strategies are up to date and aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives, organizations can improve their overall performance and profitability.

Limitations of strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance is an important process that helps organizations stay competitive, but it also has some limitations. These include:

• Unforeseen events: External events such as natural disasters or economic downturns can occur, making it difficult to predict the impact of strategic changes.
• Time and resources: Developing and implementing new strategies can take a considerable amount of time and resources.
• Lack of consensus: It can be difficult to achieve consensus among decision makers on the most appropriate strategies, especially when there are competing objectives and interests.
• Resistance to change: People may be resistant to changes that involve new strategies and may not be willing to adopt them.
• Implementation difficulties: Even with the best plans, implementation can be difficult due to a lack of resources or other factors.
• False assumptions: Strategic plans may be based on false assumptions or outdated data, leading to poor decision making.
• Inaccurate forecasting: Planning for the future can be difficult due to the uncertainty of the external environment.

Other approaches related to strategy maintenance

Strategy maintenance is a process of aligning existing strategies with the current business environment. Other approaches related to strategy maintenance include:

• Active Monitoring: This involves monitoring and evaluating external and internal factors to identify any changes that could affect the organization’s existing strategies.
• Strategic Analysis: This involves analyzing competitors, customer needs, market trends, and other factors to identify new opportunities or threats.
• Strategic Planning: This involves developing and implementing a plan to achieve organizational goals. It includes setting objectives, identifying strategies to achieve those objectives, and evaluating the effectiveness of those strategies.
• Resource Allocation: This involves allocating and managing resources to support the organization’s strategies.

In summary, strategy maintenance is an important process for organizations to ensure their strategies remain effective and relevant in the ever-changing business environment. It involves monitoring external and internal factors, analyzing competitors and customer needs, developing and implementing strategies, and allocating resources to support those strategies.

Suggested literature

• Rastegari, A., & Salonen, A. (2015). Strategic maintenance management: Formulating maintenance strategy. International journal of COMADEM, 18(1), 5-14.
• Salonen, A., & Bengtsson, M. (2011). The potential in strategic maintenance development. Journal of quality in Maintenance Engineering, 17(4), 337-350.