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So You've Got A Plan....What Now? | LinkedIn

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Tara Mapes, CRCMP, CSOE


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So You've Got A Plan....What Now?


July 14, 2014

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What is a dream if you do nothing but


think it? Planning is the first step to
realizing a vision. When planning in an
organization there are three steps:
1. determine an organizations missions
and goals
2. choose and develop the strategies to
achieve the goals
3. implement the strategies necessary to
fulfill the goals
(Jones & George, 2011).
Planning involves not just thinking of
what an organization wants to attain; it
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7/14/2014

So You've Got A Plan....What Now? | LinkedIn

has to take additional steps in strategizing to bring them to life.

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Organizations live in a constant state of change. Whether external forces or internal forces
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1. it gives the company a sense of direction and purpose


2. it facilitates managements participation in decision making regarding goals and
strategies
3. it coordinates all managers from different functions to work together and achieve goals
4. it also assists in influencing managers of all levels when they are held accountable to
achieve the organizations goals (Jones & George, 2011).

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Corporate level planning is facilitated through top managements decisions on company


mission, goals, strategy and structure. The strategies focus on which industries and markets
to compete in and why.
Business Level planning involve long-term divisional goals, strategies, and structures to
achieve corporate goals and divisional goals. The Business level strategy focuses on the
specific methods the division will utilize to compete against rivals why.
Finally, Functional Level planning involves the goals each function will pursue to attain
business level goals. The Functional level strategy is a plan of action each function can
adhere to in improve its ability to perform tasks to add value to goods and services customers
receive from the organization why.
(Jones & George, 2011).
So, youve got a plan and a rough outline. Whats next on your to-do list? Give it a little fuel
with strategy.
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Strategy

Christopher Tucci 3rd


Senior Vice President & Legal Practice Gro
Connect

When adopting strategies, plans must account for many different changes, threats, and
opportunities in a business. Failure to thoroughly research and consider all options will result
in a failed strategy as no organization is psychic.
Economic impacts, customer preference and trends, and competition in the companys
industry can impact a companys goals, strategies, and ability to maintain a competitive
advantage. Scenario planning is a useful tool to forecast various changes and market
conditions and the strategy the company will employ in each scenario why (Jones & George,
2011).
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Once multiple futures are selected, strategies must be chosen to handle each potential future.
During strategy formulation, managers work to develop a set of strategies that will allow the
organization to accomplish its mission and goals why. During this process the group must
analyze internal and external forces that affect the ability of the organization to meet its goals
through performing a S.W.O.T analysis. A SWOT analysis is a review of the companys
internal strengths and weaknesses and external threats and opportunities why (Jones &
George, 2011).
Example of SWOT:
The five basic forces of threat organizations face:
1. level of rivalry in the industry which could impact pricing or product types
2. the potential for new competitors entering the market causing competition in products
or services offered
3. the power of large suppliers which drives up cost for an organization when few
suppliers offer a needed component of a companys product
4. the power of large customers which can impact pricing due to controlled demand,
5. the threat of substitute products that can affect pricing of products and services (Jones
& George, 2011).
Strategies for Competitive Advantage
Once threats and opportunities are identified, strategies are developed to either differentiate
an organizations products to distinguish it from competitors in quality, style, uniqueness and
after sales support, or through a low-cost strategy to seek a competitive advantage over rival
pricing through low cost production resulting in lower prices (Jones & George, 2011).
Organizations can also choose gain a competitive advantage through strategies in
diversification. Related diversification entails a company devising a strategy to enter into a
new industry that its current business is already linked to. Unrelated diversification is when a
company develops a strategy to enter in an industry that is not related to their current
business (Jones & George, 2011).
Once a strategy is chosen based on the companys plan, goals, strengths, weaknesses,
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threats and opportunities, management must allocate responsibilities to carry out strategies to
selected groups, draft detail action plans on how to implement the strategy, establish time
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So You've Got A Plan....What Now? | LinkedIn

tables for completion of implementation, allocate necessary resources to the groups, and hold
all members accountable for implementation and goal attainment (Jones & George, 2011).
Finally, strategies should be reviewed, threats should be monitored and plans and strategies
should be flexible enough to adapt to the
constant change in a business.
Conclusion
A companys dream cannot remain only
a thought, or it will disappear like the
companys profits. Maintaining a
competitive advantage requires
planning, forecasting threats and
opportunities, and developing and
implementing strategies. Strategy
cannot exist without a plan; and a plan is
just a dream if it is never acted upon
through strategy.
References
Picture 1 www.socialribbit.com
Picture 2 www.leadershipalive.com
Picture 3 www.smartdraw.com
Picture 4 www.golime.co
Jones, G., & George, J. (2011). Contemporary Management. New York City: McGraw-Hill
Irwin.

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So You've Got A Plan....What Now? | LinkedIn

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