Unit 4 Test

The Planning Process

1. Defining your objectives
2. Determine where you are in relation to your objectives
3. Anticipate future events
4. Consider alternatives and make the plan
5. Implement your plan and evaluate the results

Planning Benefits

* Improves focus & flexibility
* Improves action orientation - Stay ahead of competition
* Improves coordination
* Improves time management
* improves control

Planning Tools

* Time management - scheduling
* Policies
* Operational Plans
* Budgets
* Vision Statements
* Forecasting
* Participatory Planning
* Benchmarking

Strategic Management

a comprehensive action plan with 3 stages formulation, implementation, evaluation

Competitive Advantages

1. Low cost
2. Quality
3. Knowledge
4. Speed quick to market advantage
5. Barrier to entry
6. Financial position advantage

Why businesses fear change

* People form habits
* If it isn’t broken don’t fix it mentality
* more work
* it’s harder to take on in theory
* fear of failure
* costs money
* job security
* fear of the unknown
* internal politics

Ways businesses can handle change

* show don’t tell
* Build innovative culture - idea walls
* Suggestion boxes
* Changing working environments - working outdoors
* Make change a constant
* Promote optimism & positivity
* Continuous training (CPD plan)
* Use employee input
* Regular feedback/evaluation
* clearly defined changes in relation to goals
* effective training

Strategic Planning tools

SWOT (strengths weaknesses opportunities threats) PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental) SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound

Porters 5 forces

* industry competition
* new entrants
* substitutes
* bargaining power - suppliers
* bargaining power - customers

Control process

the careful collection of information about a system, process, person, or group of people which is required to make necessary decisions about each of the departments in the process.

Growth Strategy

attempts to expand and increase the size of the business or organization. This might relate to growth in sales, market share, or perhaps number of physical locations. common growth strategy is the acquisition of competitors.

Retrenchment Strategy

a plan that attempts to fix problems - identify weaknesses and problems and effectively overcome them. This often means reducing or removing an element of the business, scaling back or becoming smaller. Ex reducing the size of your workforce, ending the production of a certain product line, or closing some retail locations.

Stability - status quo

is to maintain the status quo - make no major changes and keep doing what has made you successful.

e-Commerce - online

Retailers that are not selling online are losing business to those that are.

Corporate Culture

refers to the beliefs and practices associated with a particular corporation.

Barriers to entry

factors which prevent or deter the entry of new firms into an industry even when incumbent firms are earning excess profits.

Loss Leaders

a marketing strategy that prices products lower than the cost to produce them in order to attract new customers or to sell additional products to customers.

Benchmarking

both internal and external comparisons to help make improvements in the future. identifying best practices - the things that others do really well.  

Forecasting

attempting to predict what the future might hold. The business perspective is in terms of projected revenues, costs, and profits.

Performance Appraisal

a periodic and systematic process whereby the job performance of an employee is documented and evaluated.

Mission Statement

a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual.

Vision Statement

a clearly defined organizational purpose and an expression of what it hopes to be in the future.

participatory planning

includes specific stakeholders in the planning process. The stakeholders of most interest and concern are those who will be directly affected by the plans that are put into place.

progressive discipline

*a practice in which management takes a series of steps to help employees improve their work performance*.

Internal Control

***processes and records that ensure the integrity of financial and accounting information and prevent fraud***.

External Control

any sort of influence from outside of an organization that affects how it operates - regulating on a company's governance policies, such as hiring policies and safety procedures

continuous professional development

***the ongoing process of developing and maintaining professional skills***