Bryson (1989), Stoner (1994) and Viljoen (1995) argue that strategic planning assists in providing direction so
organization members know where the organization is heading and where to expend their major efforts. It guides
in defining the business the firm is in, the ends it seeks and the means it will use to accomplish those ends.
McCarthy and Minichiello (1996), note that a company’s strategy provides a central purpose and direction to the
activities of the organization and to the people who work in it. Adding to this argument, Kotter (1996) contends
that the primary goal of strategic planning is to guide the organization in setting out its strategic intent and
priorities and refocus itself towards realizing the same. David (1997) argues that strategic planning allows an
organization to be more proactive than reactive in shaping its own future, initiate and influence (rather than just
respond to) activities, and thus to exert control over its destiny. It assists in highlighting areas requiring attention
or innovation.
The process of strategic planning shapes a company’s strategy choice. It reveals and clarifies future opportunities
and threats and provides a framework for decision making throughout a company. It helps organizations to make
better strategies through the use of more systematic, logical and rational approach to strategic choice. Steiner
(1979) noted that strategic planning stimulates the future on paper and it encourages and permits a manager to see,
evaluate and accept or discard a far greater number of alternative courses of action than he might otherwise
consider