Strategists - Roles and Levels

Table of Contents

Strategists are individuals or groups who are primarily involved in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of Strategy.
In a limited sense, all managers are Strategists. But we may have outside agencies involved in various aspects of Strategic Management, who are also Strategists.

Board is an ultimate legal authority of an organisation.
Board is responsible to owners, share holders, government, controlling agencies, and financial institutes. They get elected and appointed by holding or parent company.
Board is requires to direct and is involved in reviewing and screening executive decisions in light of their environmental, business and organisational implications.
Role of Board of Directors is to guide the senior management in setting and accomplishing objectives, reviewing and evaluating organisational performance, and appointing senior executives.
Board is involved in setting strategic direction, establishing objectives & strategy, monitoring and reviewing achievement

is responsible for all aspects of strategic management from the formulation to evaluation of strategy.
CEO plays a pivotal role in setting mission, objectives and goals.
He formulates and implements strategy and ensures that organisation does not deviate from a predetermined path

is the person who starts a new business, is a venture capitalist.
He has to play a proactive role to provide sense of direction, set objectives and formulate strategies.
He is different from formal system and plays all strategic roles simultaneously.

consists of higher management level starting from CEO to functional managers and profit centre or SBU heads.
They are responsible for implementing the strategies and plans and for a periodic evaluation of their performance.
Organisationally they come together in the form of committees, task forces, work groups, think tanks and play a very important role in Strategic management.
SBU level Executives

SBUs are formed with each business having a clearly defined product – market segment and a unique strategy. They are CEOs for their SBUs and hence SBU level strategy formulation and implementation is their main role.

It assists management in all aspects of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation.
They are responsible for preparation and communication of strategic plans, provides administrative support and plays a measurement and controlling role.
They do not from strategy and do not initiate a process on their own.

in absence of a Corporate planning many organisation take an outside help in the form of a consultants or consulting companies.
Besides providing corporate strategy and strategic planning, they are specialist, knowledgeable, outsider, unbiased and provide objective evaluation.

E.g. AF Ferguson, PWC, KPMG, Mckinsey etc.

Strategists – Roles and Levels