Why is Strategic Management Important?

Strategic Management is the reflection of the company policy, in other words: before we start a Businesses we should know where we go, what is our purpose, target, business plan, and with all those elements and more strategies should be set to reflect the company policy, strategy must be also questioned and reviewed periodically and addressed in the right way and according to the new changes

Alfred Chandler defines strategy as ‘..the determination of the long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resource necessary for carrying out these goals’ while Michael Porter points out that a ‘Competitive strategy is about being different.
It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value’, the recent shift to globalisation have made it more difficult for organisations to compete and the need to create a competitive advantage will require the company to adopt certain strategies to achieve this advantage over competition.
Running your business without a clear strategy is just like driving a bus with a destination, but the bus driver is blind!

In simple words, it provides options to play around with resources available to evaluate its impact and opt for the most suitable mix and match of the resources available to get the best result.
Thus one forms strategy as to when and how much to use the resources available to have an effective outcome to achieve the set goal.

Strategic management is important because is helps in setting detailed goals, analysing all our internal and external resources, analysing our external environment, as well as stakeholder views.
Good corporate governance needs an efficient strategic management process.

Because strategic management forms the Road Map that will allow you define where are you going to, how will you get there, what do you need to get there and when you will get there.

It will help you define your mission, vision, long-term objectives, short-term objectives, policies, procedures, plans, ....

1- It results in higher organizational performance.

2- It requires that managers examine and adapt to business environment changes.

3- It coordinates diverse organizational units, helping them focus on organizational goals.

4- It is very much involved in the managerial decision-making process.

Strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by a company's top management on behalf of owners, based on consideration of resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments in which the organization competes.

for the same reason you need light to see in the dark; strategy is for seeing forward  

Actually, the question should be rephrased as why is strategic management one of THE MOST IMPORTANT aspects of any organization.
Many scholars, academicians and consultants have written entire books to stress the importance of the same and it has even developed as a separate discipline over the years.
It is the heart and soul of any business and no organization can compete or survive without a strong strategy in place.
A firm cannot afford to follow intuitive strategies once it becomes large, has layers of management, or its environment changes substantially.
As the world’s environment becomes increasingly complex and changing, strategic management is used by today’s corporations as one way to make the environment more manageable.
Strategic management is what managers do to develop the organization's strategies.
It is an important task involving all the basic management functions—planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Strategic management isn’t a sprint, but a marathon.
Its about achieving the organization's long term goals.
It often takes years before your process is fine-tuned and you reap significant strategic results.
There are three reasons as to why strategic management is important.
1) The most significant one is that it can make a difference in how well an organization performs.
Generally, there is a positive relationship between strategic planning and performance.
Generally, organizations that use strategic management have higher levels of performance.
2) Another reason it is important has to do with the fact that managers in organizations of all types and sizes face continually changing situations.
They cope with this uncertainty by using the strategic management process to examine relevant factors and decide what actions to take.
3) Finally, strategic management is important because organizations are complex and diverse.
Each part needs to work together toward achieving the organization's goals; strategic management helps do this.
Also, as important as strategic management is the importance of staying informed on demographic, cultural, and political changes that affect a corporation’s business around the world.
This is a very important step that can make or break an organization.
In a nutshell, 1.Strategic management involves adapting the organization to its business environment.
2.Strategic management is fluid and complex.
Change creates novel combinations of circumstances requiring unstructured non-repetitive responses.
3.Strategic management affects the entire organization by providing direction.
4.Strategic management involves both strategy formation (content) and also strategy implementation (process).
5.Strategic management is partially planned and partially unplanned.
6.Strategic management is done at several levels: overall corporate strategy, and individual business strategies.
7.Strategic management involves both conceptual and analytical thought processes.
Hope this answers your question.

Because it simply allows the company to become organised and run according to rules which are: - Set a goal which matches the duly considered expectations.
- Work out a feasible strategy to achieve that goal - Put in place an organisation which can carry out the strategy and attain the goal.
- Set up a control and reporting function to permit management to drive the organisation effectively and make necessary adjustments to the strategy or even the goal.

Strategic management is an ongoing process of formulating strategies for the organization that bring profit to the organization and create harmony between organization and its environment.
According to Hunger & Wheelen, “Organizations that engage in strategic management generally outperform those that do not.
The attainment of an appropriate match or fit between an organization’s environment and its strategy, structure, and processes has positive effects on the organization’s performance.
A firm cannot afford to follow intuitive strategies once it becomes large, has layers of management, or its environment changes substantially.
As the world’s environment becomes increasingly complex and changing, strategic management is used by today’s corporations as one way to make the environment more manageable.” Consistent with the importance of strategic management is the importance of staying informed on demographic, cultural, and political changes that affect a corporation’s business around the world.
  In order to properly formulate strategy, it is essential to have information on the important variables in both the external and internal environments of the corporation.
This includes general forces in the natural and societal environment as well as the more easy-to-identify groups, such as customers and competitors in the task environment.
A corporation needs to have this information in order to identify a need it can fulfill via its corporate mission.
It is also important to have information on the corporation’s structure, culture, and resources.
A corporation needs to have this information in order to assess its capabilities to satisfy a customer’s need by making and/or distributing a product or service.
Information on both the internal and external environments can also help a corporation to predict likely opportunities and threats.
Long-term strategies can be designed with these in mind.