Because the business environment is always subject to change at any given time, organisations need to be ready to respond in order to survive or grow. Strategic management is an important and ongoing process of formulating and implementing strategies that help an organisation position itself optimally and so maintain a competitive advantage that results in profit. It creates harmony between any organisation, big or small, and its environment. The section on SWOT analysis has been expanded to include successes and failures (SWOTSF), and strategic management in the agricultural sector has also been added. The development of such a strategy in South Africa is challenging because this industry is influenced by so many uncontrollable factors, such as the impact of increased global competition, difficult economic conditions, lower predictability of results, and a rise in the negative effects of geopolitical factors.

The strategic management process: a South African perspective explains strategy in such a way that every reader will understand not only how vital the strategic management process is to any organisation but also exactly what it entails. The text follows an understandable and practical approach through the use of numerous figures and new “Strategy in action” case studies to support the theory.

The contents are divided into four parts:
• Strategic direction and environmental analysis
• Strategy formulation
• Strategy implementation
• Strategy control and evaluation

This book is aimed at students in strategic management as well as practitioners in all types of organisations, be they corporate, public or in the agricultural sector. The text is also applicable to companies with management training programmes, as well as small business ventures looking to gain a competitive advantage in a cutthroat environment.

Kobus Lazenby was an associate professor in the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State, specialising in strategic management and project management. Since his retirement in April 2017, he has applied strategic management principles in practice and consultations. The other contributors lecture in strategic management at various South African universities and/or apply the strategic management principles in practice and consultations.