Evaluate the relevance of emerging and considered approaches to strategic management for your organization of choice. In the global economic environment, the desire to outperform the competition is ever present. In all situations, the most successful companies are those with a superior strategy (Rothaermel, 2013). Strategic management is therefore important in every business, regardless of the sector or market in which it operates; and as stated by M. Carpenter and G. Sanders, 2013, is described as “the process by which a company manages the formulation and implementation of its strategy”. Strategic management is a constant topic of discussion with different schools of theorists with different beliefs and attitudes, described as “a fraught set of disagreements” (Rees, 2012). Many theorists (Lynch, 2003, Mintzberg, 1990, Ansoff, 1991) will argue that the two main schools of strategic planning are prescriptive, also called intentional, and emergent approaches. Both are widely debated as to which approach is better; recognized as the best by Idenburg (1993). Prescriptive strategies focus on planning; where predictions about the future are made, leading to long-term decisions where the main elements of the strategy have been specially planned before being started and as stated by Mintzberg, 1990 "The formation of a strategy should be a controlled and conscious thought process. The emergent approach relies on the fact that the outcome of the goal is not known; unlike the prescriptive approach, it is not a “controlled, conscious thought process” and has been described by Downs et al (2003) as a process of trial and error. The importance of strategy within organizations has been discussed as early as the 1950s with ...... middle of article ...... the basic premises of strategic management. Vol 12 p. 449-461. San Diego: Journal of Strategic Management. Herzberg, F. (1968). Once again: how to motivate employees? Harvard Business School. Lynch, R. (2003). Business Strategy 3rd Edition. FT Prentice Hall. Mason Carpenter, G.S. (2013). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, Second Edition. Harlow: South West Pub. Mintzberg, H. (1990). The School of Design: Reconsidering the Basic Premises of Strategic Management, Vol 11, 171-195. Montreal: Strategic Management Journal. Rees, J. (2012). Prescriptive strategic planning in the current economic climate and possible alternative approaches. 1-6. Rothaermel, FT (2013). Strategic management: concepts and cases. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Sanders, M. C. (2013). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, Second Edition. Harlow: South West Pub.