Individuals with strategic management jobs often are concerned with big picture ideas. In other words, they are the professionals who help to design strategies for an organization's future growth, determine which kind of public image an organization might have, and implement large scale structural changes that affect nearly every aspect of daily operations. Some of the most common kinds of strategic management jobs are information technology (IT) managers, marketing managers, and financial managers. Most professionals in these roles have years of experience in their industries and have successfully performed lower level management tasks in their respective fields. While many strategic managers are full time in-house employees, some strategic managers also work for firms that are contracted by outside businesses.
Professionals who have strategic management jobs in IT usually are responsible for designing and overseeing all communications and intelligence systems used within an organization. These systems might be used by employees who communicate with one another by sharing data, setting meetings, and participating in regular workflow. These systems can also be used by workers communicating with clients, shareholders, and other outside parties who have an interest in a business.
Individuals who have IT strategic management jobs keep up with the latest developments in hardware and software and choose products that improve an organization's ability to access and share information. They must choose products that are not in danger of becoming quickly dated. It is also important that they choose the most cost effective products that promise to make an organization more profitable in the long term.
People with marketing strategic management jobs often play a very big part in determining how the public views an organization. They might mine data from various regions and markets to learn what their consumers like about similar companies and how they can compete with these businesses. Strategic marketing managers inform the work performed by graphics designers, advertisers, and lower level marketing professionals. They might also impact the ways in which employees of an organization see their own company.
Professionals with strategic management jobs in finance oversee all functions performed by accounting and finance departments. They commonly are responsible for setting realistic budgets based on economic indicators and market projections. These professionals also play a large part in long term business strategy. They might investigate new markets and develop plans for growth.
While different strategic management jobs require different skills sets and areas of concentration, it is common for these professionals to work together. For example, a marketing manager might make decisions about marketing campaigns based on a financial manager's plans to move into a new market. An IT specialist, on the other hand, develops technological solutions based on the needs of other departments in an organization.
