♜Strategic Management: Mission (Definitions)

"A written summary describing why an organization exists." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"A brief declaration of why the organization, group, or department exists. It provides the foundation on which the entity will build its products and services and identifies to whom it will offer them." (Teri Lund & Susan Barksdale, "10 Steps to Successful Strategic Planning", 2006)

"A stated purpose, intent, or goal. In the Harmony/ESW process, several work activities have specific missions, including diagram creation and the microcycle." (Bruce P Douglass, "Real-Time Agility: The Harmony/ESW Method for Real-Time and Embedded Systems Development", 2009)

"A statement that describes an organization's purpose or reason for existence." (Bettina M Davis & Wendy L Combsand, "Demystifying Technical Training: Partnership, Strategy, and Execution", 2009)

"A written statement that describes the business’s purpose and provides a sense of direction for the business. It helps management to develop complementary strategies." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"Defines why an organization exists." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed", 2011)

"High-level declaration of the organization's purpose. (6, 622, 666)" (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management" 2nd Ed., 2011)

"Explains the fundamental purpose of the company or organization." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A statement that focuses on the present and identifies what an organization hopes to achieve and/or how it hopes to achieve it. In contrast, a vision statement focuses on the future." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"Short (preferably one or two sentences long) expression of an organization's services, its target market, and its competitive advantages." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"A brief description of a company’s fundamental purpose that articulates the company’s purpose both for those in the organization and for the public." (Jeffrey Magee, "The Managerial Leadership Bible", 2015)

"A statement of purpose for an organization." (Andrew Pham et al, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"A description of an organization or function’s business, its objectives, and its approach to reach those objectives." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People", 2017)

"An expression of the types of behaviour that an organisation sees as key to achieving its strategy, goals or vision. Generally expressed as a statement." (Duncan Angwin & Stephen Cummings, "The Strategy Pathfinder" 3rd Ed., 2017)

"An organization’s top-level requirements that must be satisfied and the properties with which they must be satisfied, including trustworthiness." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

"The stated reason for the existence of the organization. It is usually prepared by the CEO and key members of the executive team and succinctly states what they will achieve or accomplish. It typically is changed only when the organization decides to pursue a completely new market." (H James Harrington & William S Ruggles, "Project Management for Performance Improvement Teams", 2018)

"What an organization does, what its perceived mission or missions are, and what business processes are involved in fulfilling the mission(s)." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"Elements of organizations describing mission areas, common/shared business services, and organization-wide services. Mission/business segments can be identified with one or more information systems which collectively support a mission/business process." (CNSSI 4009-2015)

♜Strategic Management: Assumption (Definitions)

"When used in a Business Case, forecast, or other planning document, an assumption is a statement that relates to a potential future state or future situation." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"An influencer type (a kind of 'internal influencer') that is an assertion taken for granted or without proof." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"Hypothesis, belief, or conjecture made when something is not known with certainty. In cost accounting, assumptions exist for the various quantitative analysis techniques (e.g., CVP or regression analysis) and general quantitative decision rules (e.g., for product emphasis decisions). People also make assumptions to create cost accounting information (e.g., linear cost function). Poor quality assumptions lead to poor quality information and decisions. Failure to objectively analyze assumptions can lead to biased decisions." (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management" 2nd Ed., 2011)

"Assumptions are factors that, for planning purposes, are considered to be true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration." (Cynthia Stackpole, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummies", 2011)

"A condition that will affect the project, although the specifics of the condition are not yet known. For the purposes of planning, the specifics are assumed and called out as an assumption." (Bonnie Biafore & Teresa Stover, "Your Project Management Coach: Best Practices for Managing Projects in the Real World", 2012)

"Hypotheses regarding the conditions necessary for the realization of strategies over which the organization has no control. Assumptions represent the risks that you may not achieve desired outcomes. Any change to an assumption during the execution cycle should force a revision." (Paul C Dinsmore et al, "Enterprise Project Governance", 2012)

"Something that is taken for granted to be true." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A factor in the planning process that is considered to be true, real, or certain, without proof or demonstration." (For Dummies, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"Something presumed to be true. Assumptions are the basis of all statistical analysis. (It is important that the analyst choose methods based only on assumptions that are reasonable for the application.)" (Meta S Brown, "Data Mining For Dummies", 2014)

"An assumption is something that is taken for granted or unquestionably accepted as true." (Ken Sylvester, "Negotiating in the Leadership Zone", 2015)

"Unproven business supposition used to make rapid progress toward a conclusion." (Pamela Schure & Brian Lawley, "Product Management For Dummies", 2017)

♜Strategic Management: Capability (Definitions)

"Within the context of this book, a capability refers to the knowledge, skills, experience, and overall abilities of cross-functional product team members. In this light, each team member must be able to understand, and be able to fulfill their commitments to the team. Therefore, a capability is the proven ability of an individual or group to perform a specific type of work." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"A quality, ability, or feature that has the potential to be used or developed." (Bettina M Davis & Wendy L Combsand, "Demystifying Technical Training: Partnership, Strategy, and Execution", 2009)

"A thing that an organization, person, or system is able to do. Capabilities are typically very coarse-grained and may bring together a combination of people, processes, and technology." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"A Capability is a specific competency that must exist in an organization to execute project management processes and deliver project management services and products. Capabilities are incremental steps leading up to one or more Best Practices." (Project Management Institute, "Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3)" 3rd Ed, 2013)

"A specific competency that an organization needs to have in order to implement and sustain OPM." (PMI, "Implementing Organizational Project Management: A Practice Guide", 2014)

"Designates the aptitude of an organization or a system to provide a given product or service; materialized by a series of elements (business, organizational, technical) that contribute to the realization of these products or services to the required level of quality." (Gilbert Raymond & Philippe Desfray, "Modeling Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF", 2014)

"Capability is a function of the affordances offered by an organizing system and the possible interactions they imply." (Robert J Glushko, "The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition" 4th Ed., 2016)

"A combination of working knowledge about a particular process or domain, and the capacity to apply that knowledge through action." (Gregory Lampshire, "The Data and Analytics Playbook", 2016)

"A measurable capacity to use resources that an organization needs to deliver to its strategy and achieve its agreed outcomes. It includes elements of people, process, information, and technology." (Kevin J Sweeney, "Re-Imagining Data Governance", 2018)

"More precisely referred to as organizational capability, is an organization’s capacity to perform a particular task or function." (Robert M Grant, "Contemporary Strategy Analysis" 10th Ed., 2018)

"A Capability is a higher-level solution behavior that typically spans multiple ARTs. Capabilities are sized and split into multiple features to facilitate their implementation in a single PI." (Dean Leffingwell, "SAFe 4.5 Reference Guide: Scaled Agile Framework for Lean Enterprises" 2nd Ed, 2018)

"The ability to carry out an activity" (ITIL)

♜Strategic Management: Management (Definitions)

"To manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, co-ordinate and to control." (Henri Fayol, 1916)

"Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organising, actuating and controlling; utilising in each both science and art, and followed in order to accomplish pre-determined objectives." (George R Terry, "Principles of Management", 1960)

"Management is defined here as the accomplishment of desired objectives by establishing an environment favorable to performance by people operating in organized groups." (Harold Koontz, "Principles of Management", 1968)

"Management can be defined as the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling organizational resources." (Richard L Daft, "The Leadership Experience" 4th Ed., 2008)

"Either the process of supervision, control, and co-ordination of productive activity in industrial and other formal organizations, or the persons performing these functions." (Kathryn J Hayes, "Triple Helix Organisations, Communities of Practice and Time", 2011)

"Activities for controlling and leveraging the limited amount of available resources (material, financial and human) aimed at the best possible way of achieving system performance objectives." (Alexander Kolker, "Management Science for Healthcare Applications", Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and Optimization, 2014)

"The art of planning, organizing, leading, coordinating and controlling resources of the organization toward accomplishment of common goal." (Mladen Čudanov & Jovan Krivokapić, "Organizational and Management Aspects of Cloud Computing Application in Scientific Research", 2014)

"The planning, organizing, leading and controlling of different resources to achieve company goals." (Irem Tukel & Deniz Z Celikdemir, "Integrating Ethics into Management: Why Is It Important?", 2015)

"The process of administering, coordinating and controlling the activities of the organization in order to achieve defined objectives, irrespective of its nature, type, structure, and size." (Chiraz Touil & Souhaila Kammoun, "Intellectual Property Management by Innovative Firms: Evidence From Tunisia", Intellectual Property Rights and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge, 2020)

"The process of using financial resources, tools, materials and time factor in a coherent and effective manner in order to achieve certain objectives." (M Hanefi Calp, "The Role of Artificial Intelligence Within the Scope of Digital Transformation in Enterprises", 2020)

"The term management is used to refer to the set of actions, or procedures that allow the realization of any activity or desire. In other words, a management refers to all those procedures that are carried out in order to resolve a situation or materialize a project." (Mayra A V Londoño, Success Factors in the Pedagogical Management of the English Language Teaching Managers, 2020)

♜Strategic Management: Asset (Definitions)

 "Item that appears on the balance sheet of a company that represents something owned by the company or something owed to the company by someone else. Bank loans are assets from the bank’s point of view because they are owed to the bank." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" 2nd Ed., 2002)

"On the Balance Sheet, an asset is something owned that has value, including cash, marketable securities, accounts receivable, plant and equipment, and inventory." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"Items of value owned by a business, including real estate, equipment, cash, and other items that can be sold for cash. Some intangible items, such as a well-known logo or trade name, can also be considered assets." (Sue Johnson & Gwen Moran, "The Complete Idiot's Guide® To Business Plans", 2010)

"1.Generally, something that has value or produces benefit. 2.In accounting, something of value on a balance sheet." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Resource with recognized value that is under control of an individual or organization." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A resource: (a) controlled by an entity as a result of past events; and (b) from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity." (Project Management Institute, "The Standard for Program Management" 3rd Ed..", 2013)

"Any item of value that should be protected. Can be physical or electronic, or even non-tangible (like reputation)." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"Items of economic value created by a team through the application of competencies and tools. Within a business-analytics context they are normally intangible in nature and often include models, processes, and electronic documentation." (Evan Stubbs, "Delivering Business Analytics: Practical Guidelines for Best Practice", 2013)

"A resource or information that is to be protected." (Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"Any economic resource that is owned by a company that can be used to generate value for the business." (DK, "The Business Book", 2014)

"Property, plant, and equipment used to generate profit." (Paul H Barshop, "Capital Projects", 2016)

"Data contained in an information system; or a service provided by a system; or a system capability, such as processing power or communication bandwidth; or an item of system equipment (that is, a system component—hardware, firmware, software, or documentation); or a facility that houses system operations and equipment." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"Any item that has value to the organisation." (ISO/IEC 27000:2012)

♜Strategic Management: Strategic Planning (Definition)

"[…] strategic planning […] is the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial (risk-taking) decisions systematically and with the greatest knowledge of their futurity; organizing systematically the efforts needed to carry out these decisions; and measuring the results of these decisions against the expectations through organized, systematic feedback." (Peter F Drucker, "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices", 1973)

"The process of determining how a problem or opportunity may be responded to. Involves identifying problems or opportunities, analyzing relevant characteristics of the circumstances, organizing the formal response, deputizing a leader to head the response effort, and supervising the person(s) selected." (Robert McCrie, "Security Operations Management" 2nd Ed., 2006)

"Written record of a strategic plan, usually consisting of an overview, strategy charter, description of the current environment, research findings, tactics, roles and accountabilities, key performance indicators, and recommended next steps." (Teri Lund & Susan Barksdale, "10 Steps to Successful Strategic Planning", 2006)

"The implementation of an organization's objectives. Strategic planning decisions will have long-term impacts on the organization while operational decisions are day-to-day in nature." (Jae K Shim & Joel G Siegel, "Budgeting Basics and Beyond", 2008)

"The selection of short- and long-term objectives and the drawing up of tactical and strategic plans to achieve those objectives. After deciding on a set of strategies to be followed, the organization needs more specific plans, such as locations, methods of financing, and hours of operation. As these plans are made, they will be communicated throughout the organization. When implemented, the plans will serve to coordinate the efforts of all parts of the organization toward the company's objectives." (Jae K Shim & Joel G Siegel, "Budgeting Basics and Beyond", 2008)

"A deliberative, disciplined approach to producing fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization (or other entity) is, what it does, and why it does it.” (John M Bryson, 2011)

"A long-range plan that serves as a business’s road map for the future. It includes the product lines and services, the number of employees, technology requirements, industry trends, competitor analysis, revenue and profitability goals, types of customers, and long-range marketing plans." (Gina Abudi & Brandon Toropov, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Best Practices for Small Business", 2011)

"A series of processes in which an organization selects and arranges its businesses or services to keep the organization viable even when unexpected events distrupt one or more of its business's markets, products, or services." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A high-level document that explains the organization's vision and mission, plus the approach that will be adopted to achieve this mission and vision, including the specific goals and objectives to be achieved during the period covered by the document." (Project Management Institute, "The Standard for Portfolio Management" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"The process by which an organization envisions its future and develops the necessary goals and procedures to achieve that vision." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A systematic process of envisioning a desired future and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"The process by which organizations identify a desired outcome, the resources required to support that outcome, and the plan to achieve the outcome. Typically, strategic planning is an important step in identifying the creation of new competitive advantages." (Evan Stubbs, "Big Data, Big Innovation", 2014)

"A process of selecting from alternative courses of action, matching that with the available resources, and combining these in a way that will most effectively achieve the objective; Intended action toward an organizational goal or objective." (Ken Sylvester, "Negotiating in the Leadership Zone", 2015)

"A formalised step-by-step set of procedures for coordinating the strategy process." (Duncan Angwin & Stephen Cummings, "The Strategy Pathfinder" 3rd Ed., 2017)

"A document used to communicate with the organization the organization’s goals, the actions needed to achieve those goals, and all the other critical elements developed during the planning exercise." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

♜Strategic Management: Vision (Definitions)

"A written summary describing why an organization exists." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"A brief declaration of why the organization, group, or department exists. It provides the foundation on which the entity will build its products and services and identifies to whom it will offer them." (Teri Lund & Susan Barksdale, "10 Steps to Successful Strategic Planning", 2006)

"The envisioned end state or optimal future situation. A product leader envisions a product's position in the market at a point in the future. The product leader's vision provides essential guidance to a team as strategies are formulated." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"A statement about an organization that presents an aspiring view of the future and asserts what the organization is best at or seeks to achieve." (Bettina M Davis & Wendy L Combsand, "Demystifying Technical Training: Partnership, Strategy, and Execution", 2009)

"A statement that describes an organization's purpose or reason for existence." (Bettina M Davis & Wendy L Combsand, "Demystifying Technical Training: Partnership, Strategy, and Execution", 2009)

"A description of a desired future state of the enterprise, without regard to how it is to be achieved." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"An organization's picture of where it wants to be in the future." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"High-level declaration of the organization's purpose." (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management 2nd Ed", 2011)

"Defines why an organization exists." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"Theoretical description of what the organization should become." (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management" 2nd Ed, 2011)

"a company document that takes a mission statement to the next level by outlining what the organization wants to be; it focuses on the future and serves as a source of inspiration for employees." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed, 2012)

"explains the fundamental purpose of the company or organization." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook, 3rd Ed", 2012)

"A statement that defines where an organization wants to be in the future." (Sally-Anne Pitt, "Internal Audit Quality", 2014)

"A statement that describes where an organization wants to be or what it wants to achieve at some point in the future. It is normally a single sentence and provides inspiration to employees to help the organization achieve it. In contrast, a mission statement focuses on the present." (Darril Gibson, "Effective Help Desk Specialist Skills", 2014)

"A brief description of a company’s fundamental purpose that articulates the company’s purpose both for those in the organization and for the public." (Jeffrey Magee, "The Managerial Leadership Bible", 2015)

"An aspirational description of the achievements an organization aims to accomplish in the mid-to-long term." (Andrew Pham et al, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"A description of an organization or function’s business, its objectives, and its approach to reach those objectives." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People: Learn How Successful Organizations Use Workforce Analytics To Improve Business Performance", 2017)

"A description of the desired future impact of your function on the organization." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People", 2017)

"The stated reason for the existence of the organization. It is usually prepared by the CEO and key members of the executive team and succinctly states what they will achieve or accomplish. It typically is changed only when the organization decides to pursue a completely new market." (H James Harrington & William S Ruggles, "Project Management for Performance Improvement Teams", 2018)

"The Vision is a description of the future state of the Solution under development. It reflects Customer and stakeholder needs, as well as the Feature and Capabilities proposed to meet those needs." (Dean Leffingwell, "SAFe 4.5 Reference Guide: Scaled Agile Framework for Lean Enterprises" 2nd Ed, 2018)

 "A concise statement defining an organization’s long-term direction, the vision is a summary statement of what the organization ultimately intends to become five, 10 or even 15 years into the future. It is the organization’s long-term 'dream' , what it constantly strives to achieve. A powerful vision provides everyone in the organization with a shared mental framework that helps give shape to its abstract future." (Intrafocus) 

♜Strategic Management: Tactics (definitions)

"Actions that will lead to specific desired results or outcomes." (Teri Lund & Susan Barksdale, "10 Steps to Successful Strategic Planning", 2006)

"A course of action that represents one or more details of a strategy. A strategy, then, may be implemented by one or more tactics. In general, strategies address goals, and tactics address objectives." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"Tools for how to achieve one’s objective." (Ken Sylvester, "Negotiating in the Leadership Zone", 2015)

♜Strategic Management: Principles (Definitions)

[Administrative principles:] "A subfield of the classical management perspective that focuses on the total organization rather than the individual worker, delineating the management functions of planning, controlling, organizing, commanding, and coordinating." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"A general, instructive, concise, and memorable statement that suggests a way of reasoning or acting that is effective and proven to reach a certain goal within an organizational context." (Martin J Eppler, "Managing Information Quality" 2nd Ed., 2006)

"Defines the underlying general rules that an organization uses to utilize and deploy all business and IT resources and assets across the enterprise." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"A basic statement of truth, especially with respect to a goal or intent. " (Bruce P Douglass, "Real-Time Agility", 2009)

"Formally, a fundamental law, doctrine, premise, or assumption. Informally, a rule or code of conduct." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Organizing principles are directives for the design or arrangement of a collection of resources that are ideally expressed in a way that does not assume any particular implementation or realization." (Robert J Glushko, "The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition" 4th Ed, 2016)

♜Strategic Management: Objectives (Definitions)

"A statement of an attainable, time-targeted, and measurable desired result the enterprise seeks to meet to achieve its goals." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"Building blocks of strategy. They set out what the business is trying to achieve. They are action-oriented statements that define the continuous improvement activities that must be done to be successful." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed. , 2011)

"Something toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, or a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed." (Cynthia Stackpole, "PMP® Certification All-in-One For Dummies®", 2011)

"Specific goals that managers choose to measure and monitor, to motivate employees to carry out organizational strategies." (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management 2nd Ed", 2011)

"The definition of an organization's intended achievements in terms of business results interpreted from various perspectives financial, customer, infrastructure, products and services, or by cultural outcomes that are measurable." (Project Management Institute, "The Standard for Portfolio Management" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"The goal broken down into manageable tasks so that you can carry them out and measure for success. It is more precise and capable of both attainment and measurement." (Paul C Dinsmore et al, "Enterprise Project Governance", 2012)

"These set out the measures of success that you will apply to achieving your goal - typically in terms of time, cost (or budget or resources) and quality standards." (Mike Clayton, "Brilliant Project Leader", 2012)

"Something toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed." (For Dummies, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A result to be achieved" (David Sutton, "Information Risk Management: A practitioner’s guide", 2014)

"Step in time used to demonstrate the progress made toward reaching a goal (e.g., “increase capability usage by 30% by the end of 2014 in order to support the expected increase in market share")." (Gilbert Raymond & Philippe Desfray, "Modeling Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF", 2014)

"A set of goals. Used as part of an assessment to determine what needs to be accomplished to validate a control." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"Something toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed." (Project Management Institute, "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)", 2017)

"A concise statement describing specific, critical, actionable and measurable things an organization must do in order to effectively execute its strategy and achieve its mission and vision. Objectives often begin with action verbs such as increase, reduce, improve, achieve, etc. Whereas the vision and mission statements provide an organizing and mobilizing 'rallying cry', objectives translate the vision and mission into measurable and actionable operational terms." (Intrafocus) 

♜Strategic Management: Goals (Definitions)

"[long-term goals] Plans that managers intend to achieve over a long time period (longer than one year); used to monitor long-term organizational performance." (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management" 2nd Ed., 2011)

"Targets established by management for variables that are critical to success. Progress is monitored and reported through diagnostic control systems. Also see strategic objectives." (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management 2nd Ed", 2011)

"A statement that qualifies desired results. It is the end toward which efforts are directed. It is normally general and timeless, yet attainable." (Paul C Dinsmore et al, "Enterprise Project Governance", 2012)

"States the over arching purpose of the project - what you seek to achieve. Also known as 'aim'." (Mike Clayton, "Brilliant Project Leader", 2012)

"The definition of an organization's intended achievements in terms of business results may be interpreted from various perspectives - financial, customer, infrastructure, products and services, or by cultural outcomes that are measurable." (Project Management Institute, "Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3)" 3rd Ed. , 2013)

"High-level declaration of the intent or direction of an organization; translated into objectives." (Gilbert Raymond & Philippe Desfray, "Modeling Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF", 2014)

"A desired state or result of an undertaken. Goals should be measurable and defined in time so that the progress can be monitored." (IQBBA)

"An observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed time-frame." (Intrafocus) 

♜Strategic Management: Strategy Map (Definitions)

"A strategy map is a tool that enables an organization to articulate its strategy through a series of cross-functional cause-and-effect relationships." (Ralph F Smith, "Business Process Management and the Balanced Scorecard: Using Processes as Strategic Drivers", 2007)

"A specific version of a strategy plan that adheres to the Balanced Scorecard methodology. Strategy maps depict objectives in multiple perspectives with corresponding cause and effect linkages." (Intrafocus)

"A strategy map is a visual representation of an organization’s overall objectives and how they relate to one another. The map is created during the strategic planning process and is used as a primary reference material during periodic strategy check-in and review meetings." (ClearPoint Strategy) [source]

"A Strategy Map provides a visual representation of the organization’s strategy. It is a powerful communication tool that enables employees to understand the company’s strategy and translate it into actions they can take, to ensure the achievement of strategic objectives." (The KPI Institute) [source] 

♜Strategic Management: Gap Analysis (Definitions)

"In the managerial planning process, this is the analysis taken following an exercise to determine what improvements in the process are required." (Robert McCrie, "Security Operations Management 2nd Ed.", 2006)

"An assessment of a system in comparison with another system or a set of requirements, listing those items that are not common between them." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A technique to evaluate the current portfolio mix of components and determine changes needed so components may be added, changed, or terminated to rebalance the portfolio." (Project Management Institute, "The Standard for Portfolio Management" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"Describes the difference between current results and consequences and desired results and consequences." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement 3rd Ed", 2012)

"A formal analysis of the differences between what the policy or regulation requires and what’s actually being done in the organization. Used to generate a list of action items required to become compliant with the policy or regulation." (Mark Rhodes-Ousley, "Information Security: The Complete Reference" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A comparison between the actual outcome and the desired outcome." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

♜Strategic Management: Competitive Advantage (Definitions)

"The relative advantage that one product or product line has over those products offered by other companies." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"An advantage a company has over its competitors, which is gained by providing consumers with greater value through product or service offerings." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management 8th Ed", 2011)

"A strategic advantage held by one organization that cannot be matched by its competitors. This advantage may or may not be sustainable and, if not, may eventually be replicated by its competitors." (Evan Stubbs, "Big Data, Big Innovation", 2014)

"A strategy whereby companies position themselves ahead of competitors either by charging less or by differentiating their services or products from those of their rivals. " (DK, "The Business Book", 2014)

"The characteristics of an organization that differentiate it from other organizations in the same sector and that cannot easily be replicated. This differentiation may potentially provide the basis for competitive advantage. From a strategic management perspective it is the differentiated competences that are significant because they can be most easily managed strategically through training and development. Thus it is usually a distinctive network of competences that are most likely to provide competitive advantage. These distinctive competences are usually also core competences, but core competences are not necessarily distinctive." (Fran Ackermann et al, "Visual Strategy: Strategy Mapping for Public and Nonprofit Organizations", 2014)

"A sustainable, strategic advantage that an organization possesses over its industry rivals." (Andrew Pham et al, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"The unique set of assets, capabilities, positions and environmental circumstances that enable an organisation to consistently out-perform its competitors in its chosen strategic outcomes." (Duncan Angwin & Stephen Cummings, "The Strategy Pathfinder 3rd Ed.", 2017)

"A firm possesses a competitive advantage over its direct competitors when it earns (or has the potential to earn) a persistently higher rate of profit." (Robert M Grant, "Contemporary Strategy Analysis" 10th Ed., 2018)

♜Strategic Management: Governance (Definitions)

"Addresses the need for a mechanism to ensure compliance with the laws, policies, standards, and procedures under which an organization operates."  (Dominic Cadbury, "UK, Commission Report: Corporate Governance", 1992)

"Organizational chains of responsibility, authority, and communication for executing measurement and control mechanisms to effectively drive the organization and enable people to perform roles their respective roles and responsibilities." (Murray Cantor, "Estimation Variance and Governance", 2006) 

"In general, a term that describes the task of 'making sure that people do what’s right'." (Nicolai M Josuttis, "SOA in Practice", 2007)

"Addresses the need for a mechanism to ensure compliance with the laws, policies, standards, and procedures under which an organization operates." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"System by which organizations [or systems] are directed and controlled." (ISO/IEC, ISO/IEC 38500:2008 "Corporate governance of information technology" , 2008)

"The way we make and act on decisions about managing a shared resource for the common good. Resources can be people, processes, and technology." (Allen Dreibelbis et al, "Enterprise Master Data Management", 2008)

"(1) Planning, influencing, and conducting the decision-making affairs of an enterprise. (2) The processes and systems that ensure proper accountability for the conduct of an enterprise’s business." (David G Hill, "Data Protection: Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance", 2009)

"A kind of direction from a directive describing the boundaries and direction for a business process." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"The 'checks-and-balances' method that keeps risks in check; a review of measurements, mitigation methods, and risk monitoring results over a period of time." (Annetta Cortez & Bob Yehling, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Risk Management", 2010)

"The discipline of tracking, managing, and steering an IS/IT landscape. Architectural governance is concerned with change processes (design governance). Operational governance looks at the operational performance of systems against contracted performance levels, the definition of operational performance levels, and the implementation of systems that ensure the effective operation of systems." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"[...] simultaneously refers to the art of governing, of running an enterprise and of defining its strategy. This term denotes the process of practicing this art, as well as the means implemented for governing: decision rules, suitable information, supervision and checks, relationships nurtured between leaders, administrators, employees and shareholders, where applicable. By extension, governance can be expanded to cover a wider circle, including for example suppliers." (Humbert Lesca & Nicolas Lesca, "Weak Signals for Strategic Intelligence: Anticipation Tool for Managers", 2011)

"Consistent management, cohesive policies, guidance, processes, and decision rights for a given area of responsibility. For example, corporate governance can involve policies on privacy, internal investment, and the use of data." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"The process of managing change. Involves steering or directing the content, the people who create it, and the systems that support it through both the day-to-day and long-term content lifecycles." (Charles Cooper & Ann Rockley, "Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy" 2nd Ed., 2012)

"The ability to ensure that corporate or governmental rules and regulations are conformed with. Governance is combined with compliance and security issues across computing environments." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"The process of establishing and enforcing strategic goals and objectives, organizational policies, and performance parameters." (PMI, "Software Extension to the PMBOK® Guide" 5th Ed., 2013)

"Governance is the oversight of process, such as strategy or content life cycle, including policy and management." (Elaine Biech, "ASTD Handbook" 2nd Ed., 2014)

"Set of measurement, management, and steering processes for a business domain or IS that provides the expected level of result." (Gilbert Raymond & Philippe Desfray, "Modeling Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF", 2014)

"The combination of processes and structures implemented by the board to inform, direct, manage, and monitor the activities of the organization toward the achievement of its objectives." (Sally-Anne Pitt, "Internal Audit Quality", 2014)

"Set of measurement, management, and steering processes for a business domain or IS that provides the expected level of result." (Gilbert Raymond & Philippe Desfray, "Modeling Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF", 2014)

"The framework for directing and enabling an organization through its established policies, practices, and other relevant documentation." (Project Management Institute, "Navigating Complexity: A Practice Guide", 2014)

"The process of ensuring compliance with corporate or governmental rules, regulations, and policies. Governance is often associated with risk management and security activities across computing environments." (Judith S Hurwitz et al, "Cognitive Computing and Big Data Analytics", 2015)

"The process through which an organization’s processes and assets are directed and controlled." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance" 2nd Ed., 2015)

"A broad term referring to the establishment of policies and guidelines, along with continuous monitoring of their proper implementation, by the members of the governing body of an organization." (Jonathan Ferrar et al, "The Power of People", 2017)

"Consists of the systems by which the board ensures that its policies are being effectively implemented. Usually this includes systems to monitor and record what is happening, to identify instances in which policy is not being followed, and to take corrective action in those cases." (Marci S Thomas & Kim Strom-Gottfried, "Best of Boards" 2nd Ed., 2018)

"Generally refers to the management of the business organization itself. Includes the company’s organizing documents, the records of its owners and managers, and the steps required to maintain the company in good standing with the state where it is organized." (Alex D Bennett, "A Freelancer’s Guide to Legal Entities", 2018)

"The mechanisms by which decisions about the [semantic] model and its development, application and evolution are made and executed." (Panos Alexopoulos, "Semantic Modeling for Data", 2020)

"Ensures that stakeholder needs, conditions and options are evaluated to determine balanced, agreed on enterprise objectives to be achieved; setting direction through prioritization and decision making; and monitoring performance and compliance against agreed-on direction and objectives." (ISACA)