What's the difference between strategic and operational management?

Question

In practical terms how would anyone spot the difference.

(Now spellded beterer)

Answer 1

Strategic Management deals with long term business questions and planning. (greater than 1 year)

Operational Management deal with short term busines questions and planning. (less than 1 year) - also called Tactical Management.

Answer 2

Strategic management spends time considering where the company is going and operational management involves dealing with the day to day running of things.  They are virtually indistinguishable from each other as both have a penchant for waffling and flip charts.

The best way to identify one from the other in practical terms is by their use of bureacratic terminology.  Strategic managers favour expressions such as "forward projection", "aspiration" and "feasibility study", whilst their operational counterparts prefer "current status" and "internal relations".  

The latter find someone to blame when the sh*t hits the fan, whilst the former try to place said fan in a sh*t-free zone.  

Answer 3

Strategic - The big picture

Operational - On the ground