Final answer:
Production decisions are not part of the strategic management strategy cycle; that cycle focuses on positioning firms in the market through various stages such as planning, analysis, implementation, and evaluation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The strategic management process is vital for firms to achieve success in the market. This process typically includes several steps: clarifying the firm's vision and mission, setting strategic objectives, external and internal analysis (such as SWOT analysis), strategic formulation, strategy implementation, and strategic evaluation and control. The strategy cycle does not include production decisions, although they are important in their own right. The production process, which deals with decisions regarding how products or services are created and delivered, is separate from the strategic management cycle, though it may be influenced by the chosen strategy.