It is argued that Strategic Management is concerned with ‘The Whole Organization’. The whole organization includes
four main functional areas, which are marketing, operations management, finance and human resource management.
Each functional area requires strategic thinking, which is thinking for the future. What a whole organization needs is to
make strategic decisions and put the strategy into action. According to the sixth edition of ‘Exploring Corporate
Strategy’ (2002), it says a strategy is ‘the long-term direction of an organization’. This essay is concerned with the
strategic management of a whole organization, the relationships of different functional areas and the implementation of
the strategy in an organization.
Keywords: Integrated, Interact, Strategic, Change, Innovation, NPD
Introduction
Every single organization is working properly with the basic and necessary departments. There exist many arguments
about which functional area would be the most important one for the long-term development for an organization.
Normally, there are four main functional areas in an organization, involving marketing, human resource, operations and
finance. They are working as a whole, and they are interrelated and interacted during the course of the operation of an
organization.
1. The whole organization
1.1 Marketing – the most important part of an organization
There are many arguments with respect to how different functional areas might drive each other. While some people
believe human resource management drives the whole organization, others think marketing should be the most essential
area of the whole organization.
For example, Armstrong, M. (1987) says human resources are the most important assets of an organization and their
effective management is the key to the success. In contrast, Claire Capon (2000) says Marketing is the first department
of the whole organization to be considered.
In fact, it is hard to say which functional area is the most important part of a whole organization. They always work
together and interact with each other. Accordingly, the four main functional areas are integrated and interrelated.
Marketing, which is an essential department of an organization can affect on the business very deeply. Relatively
speaking, marketing which is concerned with identifying customers’ needs and wants drives the whole organization.
The marketing department is an internal area with regard to research, analysis, supervision and so on. Furthermore, it is
related to the external environments as well. Thus, the marketing department plays important roles in both external and
internal environments. What the marketing department is supposed to do is to notice every change with regard to the
outside world and predict the kinds of products or services the clients may want. Moreover, marketing also has to cope
with other departments of the organization with the aim to get them realized the objectives of an entire organization.
four main functional areas, which are marketing, operations management, finance and human resource management.
Each functional area requires strategic thinking, which is thinking for the future. What a whole organization needs is to
make strategic decisions and put the strategy into action. According to the sixth edition of ‘Exploring Corporate
Strategy’ (2002), it says a strategy is ‘the long-term direction of an organization’. This essay is concerned with the
strategic management of a whole organization, the relationships of different functional areas and the implementation of
the strategy in an organization.
Keywords: Integrated, Interact, Strategic, Change, Innovation, NPD
Introduction
Every single organization is working properly with the basic and necessary departments. There exist many arguments
about which functional area would be the most important one for the long-term development for an organization.
Normally, there are four main functional areas in an organization, involving marketing, human resource, operations and
finance. They are working as a whole, and they are interrelated and interacted during the course of the operation of an
organization.
1. The whole organization
1.1 Marketing – the most important part of an organization
There are many arguments with respect to how different functional areas might drive each other. While some people
believe human resource management drives the whole organization, others think marketing should be the most essential
area of the whole organization.
For example, Armstrong, M. (1987) says human resources are the most important assets of an organization and their
effective management is the key to the success. In contrast, Claire Capon (2000) says Marketing is the first department
of the whole organization to be considered.
In fact, it is hard to say which functional area is the most important part of a whole organization. They always work
together and interact with each other. Accordingly, the four main functional areas are integrated and interrelated.
Marketing, which is an essential department of an organization can affect on the business very deeply. Relatively
speaking, marketing which is concerned with identifying customers’ needs and wants drives the whole organization.
The marketing department is an internal area with regard to research, analysis, supervision and so on. Furthermore, it is
related to the external environments as well. Thus, the marketing department plays important roles in both external and
internal environments. What the marketing department is supposed to do is to notice every change with regard to the
outside world and predict the kinds of products or services the clients may want. Moreover, marketing also has to cope
with other departments of the organization with the aim to get them realized the objectives of an entire organization.
