Decisions are made from developing and analyzing alternatives and making a choice. Through a series of decisions or choices, executives can define, develop plans, goals and objectives, and set a desired course for the future of an organization. In the article, A four-cycle approach to strategy development and implementation, by William Finnie, strategy is defined as the management of change or adaptation of external circumstances and the creation of a desired future. Every organization has some kind of strategy in place, but through the development of an effectively implemented strategic plan a company can more readily meet the requirements of it customers.
             The four cycles that Finnie describes are strategy development, management review of changes and finalization of strategies and objectives, functional goals and action plans, and budgeting and resource allocation. In the first step of the cycle, strategy development, an organization would perform situation analysis, define the business, identify objectives, develop a generic strategy, establish customer-oriented strategies, and establish competitor-oriented strategies. From these steps, a basic strategy is developed.
             In the first step a company would review its environment or the external factors that would affect the business. By identifying threats and opportunities from the external factors, management can identify pending weaknesses. Management will then define its business which is an important step as the way the company is defined is a strategy in itself. Management will then define a strategic objective of the company's long-terms goals in areas of quality or customer satisfaction and market share. From there the company's generic strategy is developed. Finnie describes a generic strategy as "a broad strategic approach to creating a defensible position in the industry – identifying a competitive advantage". The final steps in the first cycle are cust...