♜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)