Making Strategic Decisions

Program Description

How do organizations make great decisions?

Organizations that are most effective at making wise strategic decisions do so often by following a structured roadmap inclusive of defining the organizational objectives, conducting internal and external analyses, engaging stakeholders, and formulating, prioritizing, implementing and evaluating strategic initiatives.

While there are numerous strategic frameworks to choose from, this program will focus on the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis as a tried and true tool used in strategy development to help organizations facing strategic challenges. The program will provide a comprehensive overview of the key concepts with detailed examples and help participants in mastering the SWOT analysis and understanding its utility and dependability for audit and analysis of the overall position of organizations.

SWOT framework can be applied to any business, industry, product, place, or person. Regardless of your prior background, this program will help you master the key fundamentals of the SWOT analysis in a supportive experiential environment – via readings, discussion, and group exercises. The strategic themes covered should point you in the direction of major initiatives to pursue.  As part of this program, you will be encouraged to work on real life scenarios that are relevant to your workplace.

Competencies

Participants will learn to:

• Operationalize SWOT analytical framework using strategic decision-making tools to assist in identifying future direction and how to close the strategic “gap,” in addressing issues faced by organizations
• Critically analyze and understand competitive advantage and market situations to create unique opportunities
• Evaluate the internal and external business/organizational environment
• Gain an understanding of competitive positioning and other business strategies as they relate to the SWOT

Required knowledge/pre-requisites

A basic working knowledge of PowerPoint is helpful to be successful in the program.