Final answer:
The culmination of the strategic management process is performance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The culmination of the strategic management process is (A) performance. Strategy formulation and strategy implementation are important steps in the strategic management process, but the ultimate goal is to achieve a high level of performance.
For example, if a company formulates a strategy to expand into new markets and then successfully implements that strategy, the desired outcome is improved performance in terms of increased market share, revenue growth, and profitability.
Therefore, (A) performance is the correct answer as it represents the ultimate goal of strategic management.