ACCA SBL Syllabus C. Strategy - Strategic Choice - Notes ^{7 / 10}

Strategic Choice (Courses of Action)

• Understanding how strategy options are generated

• Understanding how the options are evaluated

Identifying the bases

• Look at stakeholder influence

• Look at the competitive advantages

Generating options

• 3 options:

  1. Which geographical areas to concentrate upon?

  2. How to structure the business?

  3. Organic or acquisition growth?

The key point here is that the most obvious ‘next step’ for a business might not necessarily be the best and so creating options is worthwhile

Evaluating the options

• Which builds on STRENGTHS?

  Which overcomes WEAKNESSES?

  Which takes advantage of OPPORTUNITIES while minimising THREATS

  Does it “fit” the current environment?

  Can resources be ‘stretched’ for the new option?

  Acceptable to stakeholders?

• Ultimately there is unlikely to be a clear winner and so much judgement is required. 

  Neither is the process likely to be totally objective with manager managers having vested interests