Issues Involved in Strategic Planning

Issues Involved in strategicalalal homeworkThey atomic number 18 stated in precise terms as quantitatively as possible. The emphasis on goals is on measurement of progress toward the attainment of objectives. Goals score the following structures they 1. be government issueing from objects, 2. Offer a normal for measuring presentation, 3. be articulated in concrete terms, 4. Are time-bound and work-oriented.Advantages and Dis advantagesIt helpers giving medications do to satisfy a voiceicular train of the beau monde or to fulfill a particular deficiency in the society. There is always a deadline which m whatever generation is never meant by judicatures. look backward the issues involved in strategic inventionning byplayes that succeed do so by creating and keeping clients. They do this by providing better value for the client than the competition.Marketing altogetherotment constantly has to assess which clients they atomic number 18 trying to bear on and how they outhouse design crossways and expediencys that provide better value (competitive advantage).The substantial problem with this offshoot is that the purlieu in which affaires sour is constantly ever- changing. So a personal line of credit must adapt to reflect changes in the surround and define ends about how to change the sustenancestuffing mix in recite to succeed. This process of adapting and decision-making is known as selling supply.Where does trade innovationning go over in with the overall strategic planning of a calling? strategical planning is c at oncerned about the overall focal point of the business. It is concerned with food market, of course. that it too involves decision-making about mathematical harvest-homeion and operations, finance, human resource oversight and upstart(prenominal) business issues.The objective of a strategic plan is to train the direction of a business and create its shape so that the products and services it provides affect the overall business objectives.Marketing has a key role to picnic in strategic planning, because it is the job of merchandising management to understand and manage the links between the business and the environs.Sometimes this is quite a straight task. For example, in many small businesses thither is only one geographic market and a limited number of products (perhaps only one product).However, consider the challenge faced by trade management in a multinational business, with hundreds of business units located around the globe, producing a considerable range of products. How can much(prenominal)(prenominal) management keep control of selling decision-making in much(prenominal) a complex situation? This calls for well-organized trade planning.What argon the key issues that should be underwriteed in strategic and marketing planning?The following questions lie at the heart of any marketing and strategic planning process Where are we now? How did we get there ? Where are we heading? Where would we care to be? How do we get there? Are we on course?Why is marketing planning essential?Businesses give way in hostile and increasingly complex environment. The ability of a business to achieve profitable gross revenue is walloped by dozens of environmental factors, many of which are interconnected. It makes sense to try to bring few disposition to this chaos by mind the commercial environment and bringing just about strategic sense to the process of marketing products and services.A marketing plan is useful to many people in a business. It can help to Identify sources of competitive advantage Gain lading to a dodge Get resources needed to invest in and build the business avow stakeholders in the business Set objectives and strategies Measure performanceAdvantages and DisadvantagesMarket planning delivers a means for actively involving personnel from all areas of the business in the management of the familiarity and this participation i mproves the whole tone of the plans, with the participation of the staffs it enhances their overall understanding of the follows objectives and goal. One of the disadvantages is costly to implement.Explain assorted planning techniquesPlanning is a critical business responsibility that is often overlooked, particularly by littler companies with limited time and personnel resources. However, the reason for this oversight is often the result of managements lack of planning techniques. Learning useful planning methods and factors eliminates this knowledge gap. Business planning is just as critical as having a defend when traveling to an unfamiliar location. Without it you may never reach your destination.Primary Planning TypesBusiness planning types come in various flavors depending on the family size and constancy. However, there are leash basic plans that apply to all businesses, large or small. Business, strategic and marketing plans are main(prenominal) to either for-profit and nonprofit organization. Understanding the goals and components of each offers businesses the tools to create rough-and-ready plans using the more or less basic or sophisticated techniques.Business PlansTypically employ for starting time up or financing a company, business plans are the base of the planning function. Components of a business plan allow in an executive summary, market abridgment, product/service descriptions and pecuniary/operations projections for a minimum of trio to five years. In start-up situations that need initial financing, creators should paint a vivid, only conservative, picture of the founders and the rationale for believing the business pull up stakes succeed. When seeking outgrowth-financing, management should highlight past company performance and carefully project the impact of the newborn funding on improving net income. Always include debt service, which is the amount needed to repay the new loan, in income and expense projections.St rategic PlanStrategic plans should be created by business owners and/or of age(p) management only. Unlike business plans, which are based on historic data and future projections, strategic plans are more conceptual. These plans should include formation your organizational goals, noticeing your available options to achieve your objectives and considering new short-term opportunities you believe allow exist to improve your businesss results. You may want to incorporate specific manufacturing trends into your planned dodge. Strategic plans are non long-term creations, but should address taking advantage of available opportunities in the next 12 to 24 months.Marketing PlansAll the fabulous business and strategic plans ever devised will fail if you dont market and sell your product or service. A lusty marketing plan will help you achieve gross income and gross sales goals. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) abbreviation is an pitchive technique for crea ting a lovable marketing plan. SWOT is also useful in strategic plan creation as a foundation technique. You can also commingle a SWOT digest with the four Ps product, bell, macrocosmity, and place of effective marketing. Even if you affirm invented the better mousetrap, you need a superior marketing plan to get results. These techniques will give you the ammunition you need.SWOT digest and marketingA vital part of the planning process is survey at the be position of an industry and trying to adjudicate how factors outdoor(a) to the business may affect the business.An organization can perform a SWOT analysis as a way of deciding which marketing plan to use. The organization performs an audit on the infixed and external genius of the company looking at the current and future situation. An audit is a review of all the company s activities.StrengthsReviews the business current strengths such as a good brand or soaked sales performance female genitalia develop the strengt hs, perhaps in the way they foster the product, or wish to develop new products (Tesco let used their strong brand name to launch several products)WeaknessesReviews the business current weaknesses such poor response times to requests for information or late deliveries green goddess implement strategies to eradicate these weaknesses e.g. more resources put into a better computer memory outline for the dispatch of goods.ExternalOpportunitiesReviews the business future opportunities e.g. new engineering making it easier to manufacturer certain goods or new markets abroadCan use strategies to take advantage of the potential opportunities e.g. developing new products to garner the potential increase demand aff overcompensatesReviews the business future threats, mostly from increased competition from former(a) firms or from changes in the economic situation.Can utilization strategies to ward off these problems, e.g. setting lower prices or increasing promotionRational about the us e of a SWOT analysis in measuring the influence of marketing to a business strategy doable strengths in marketing might beSpecialist marketing expertnessAn innovative product or serviceThe location of the business well-to-do for customersThe reputation of the brand perhaps it is trusted or recognized as the highest qualityLikely weaknesses in marketing could includeLack of a clear product differentiation compared with competing productsWeak distribution compared with competitorsInadequate online nominal headPotential marketing opportunities could includeThe use of applied science to develop new productsGrowing demand from overseas markets (e.g. China India)The use of sociable media like Facebook and Twitter to reach new customersA list of likely marketing threats might includeCompetitors introducing better products at lower pricesChanges in the economic environment which encourage customers to be less loyal to established brandsChanges in customer tastes and fashionsUniversal TechniquesTo make business planning come live(a) and succeed there are three mere(a) practices that must be always be employed. First, set realistic, measurable goals. Second, understand and communicate with your customer base. Third, attract and retain the best employees your company can afford. Without these three components, your business planning, however sophisticated, risks failure on a massive scale. Using these three aboveboard techniques, your business plans should deliver the results you want.SPACE, PIMS.PIMS data can be depict as a guide to help management describe the business a business situation and chance relative to the offerings of its competitors in mat space.TASK 2BE ABLE TO FORMULATE A smart STRATEGYProduce an organizational audit for a given organizationTesco Marketing visitThe marketing audit is a fundamental part of the marketing planning process. It is conducted not only at the get-go of the process but also during and after the process completion. Marketing audit not only consider its own plan but also considers internal and external factor that affects marketing planning. Some important tools used by marketing audit are SWOT for internal and external environment where as expletiveLE and basketball team mashs abridgment which focus only on the external environment.It can be viewed as an umbrella that covers efforts to assess customer needs and wants and to understand community patterns. The external environment is reviewed at little and macro level.DefinitionThe marketing audited account has been defined by Phillip Kotler strategic market auditing (1977) as a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination activities and resources in order to determine problem areas and opportunities and to recommend a plan of action.As per the definitionMarketing Audit is Comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic features. In simple word marketing audit is the complete review of the environment that includes b oth(prenominal) internal and external environments of any organization. The marketing audit follows the following areas as components of marketing audit surroundingsal Audit which includes Macro Environmental Audit and Micro Environmental Audit. Marketing Strategy Audit Marketing physical composition Audit Marketing System Audit Marketing harvest-tideivity Audit Marketing Function AuditProcesses and techniques used for auditing the marketing auditing environment follows simple three steps area) Agreement on objectives, scope and draw close Marketing attendant must prepare for the marketing audit by holding discussion with the CEO and the executive staff and briefly reviewing some financial and marketing data. Often objectives are discussed in the meeting such as determine how the market views the company and its competitors, recommending a pricing indemnity, determine sale activity. The audit would cover the marketing operations of the company as a whole.b) Data collection Mor e time is spent on the gathering data. More auditors are involved when the project is large. Auditor has to spent time in deciding what question to be asked, who will be interviewed and so on so forth. Daily reports of the interviews are to be write up and reviewed.c) Report preparation and presentation When the data gathering is over, auditor prepares notes for a visual and verbal presentation to the company officer.Techniques used for auditing the marketing environments are as follows.1) SWOT abstract It is one of the most important tools of marketing audit. It helps a lot of help to the marketers and is used at the beginning of the marketing audit process. It has advantages as well as drawbacks. Some of the drawbacks are subjective and cannot be relied too much. Therefore it should be used as a guide in the marketing planning and not as a prescription to the process.2) PESTLE epitome Various factors of the marketing is analyze by PEST analysis that effects upon the marketing process. An organization that is carrying the analysis needs to study the environmental factors that are internal and external.3) Five Force Analyses This is an analysis that helps the marketers to have a clear picture of competitors for the market. This analysis has some similarities with PEST analysis. In this analysis the marketer goes through five areas of concerns. canvass and evaluate the external environment of the organization by using PEST framework, Porters Five Forces model and Product life cycle.Companys profileTesco runs more than 2300 supermarkets and thingumabob stores in the UK, Ireland, Central Europe and Asia. It is operating in almost areas such as gasoline sell (Tesco Express) small urban stores (Tesco Metro) hypermarkets (Tesco Extra) and Financial service (Tesco Personal Finance). It covers up to 35% stake in US grocery. It is the direct online grocery store and is now expanding its business with a TV channel and a retail based education institution.A) A PES T Analysis of the industry was then undertaken to examine the local, national and global influence of political, economic, social and technological factors to understand opportunities and threats well.An assumption was made that most of these ( political, economic, social, legal and environmental ) factors would, to some extent apply to the retail industry in Swedenpolitical Following the European Integration and Free Trade Agreements, the market has open(a) British Companies to invest in Eastern European. It has 60 stores in Hungary. Lidl is trash hard to maintain its market share with an aggressive pricing strategy against Tesco.Economic Retail industry is fairly recession proof and also very sensitive to divert rate. Because of September 11 events, the world parsimony have suffered heavily, stocks were plummeting and prices are low all time. However the world sparing is up after the September 11th attack. Consumers are optimistic and retail industry is once again boosting. companionable There are changes in consumer taste and lifestyle present both opportunities and threats for the retail industry. There are alternative Sweden national retailers which poses additional threats to the Tesco while entering in the Sweden market industry.Technical Introduction of online shopping via internet is now a unwashed place in retailing. IT system undertakes a paperless operation, the management and administration of the company which are monitored by the secured severs, it provides a flexible base for running the business. Sweden is at the forefront of technologically developed with national companies like Ericsson, hence Tesco gets an advantage of developed logistics and distribution channels already in place.One other tool that will be used in these areas is Porter Five Forces. This model can be used to good analytic effect alongside other models such as the SWOT and PEST analysis tools.Five Forces analyses five important in the determination of competitive sp ring and these are Buyers antecedent Suppliers causation Rivalry among competitors Threat of new entrants Threat of substitute productProblems faced by Tesco can be explained by Porters five forces including of the threat of substitutes from other supermarkets, obtainr index number, supplier power and the power of customer.Buyer power also decides the prices in the market. If products are expensive in Tesco then they will purchase from Sainsbury. This mean market is disciplined which make the pricing is disciplined as well. This in turn stops them to annul the market in a profit war.Supplier power is an important part of this model. Supplier power is wielded by suppliers demanding that retailers should pay them certain price for their goods supplied.There is always a threat of substitution, although Tesco tries to ensure brand exposure and quality by having the best value for the products.Tesco acknowledges the fact that there have always been threats from the competitors and new entrants into the markets and therefore always plan to improve upon developments in its stores.Carry out an environmental audit for a given organizationPESTLE ( policy-making, Economic, mixer, proficient, Ecological, Legal and Environment)Among the above PESTLE analysis Political, Economic, social and Technological factors are implemented as a technique for the auditing of the marketing environment.Political/ legal-An environment of marketing at any nation is touch on due to the political reasons. There should be the management of change once there is a change in the political condition and situation. The system of nation keeps on changing if there is a lack of constancy in politics and the organization should change the marketing strategies as per the changing environment so that the organization can exist in the changing environment.Economic-Economics plays a vital role in the marketing environment audit. A country with weak economy cannot compete in the international mar ket. To be prospered in the marketing there should be a sound financial transaction of an organization. Some of the components of economic factors for environmental audit are Interest rates, Business cycles, Investment policies. There should be good investment policies for the investment by the nation so that the amuse of the investor in investment increases which helps to raise financial constancy in the nation.Social and heathen-Social and cultural refer to the tradition and costumes or ruling of people living in a particular geographical region. Social value and norms sometimes becomes the barrier to the marketing environment. There is vast different in the culture and tradition of eastern and western societies as a result of it the culture of eastern may not be qualified for western and vice versa. The marketing depends upon the culture and tradition of any geographical area. STechnological-In this competitive age technological changes plays a vital role in the marketing. All the developed countries have been successful due to the drastic changes in the technology and their capacity to cope with changing technology. Different technologies can be used for the auditing of the marketing environment.SWOT analysis-SWOT analysis includes strength, weaknesses, opportunity and threats for an organization. Strength and opportunities are the positive aspect of an organization whereas weaknesses and threats are negative. Similarly strengths and weaknesses are internal environment whereas opportunity and threats are external.Low cost of production and sales, good information about the market and sound finance of the organization are the strengths and lack of discourse and low quality of goods are the weaknesses. Similarly lack of competition and expanding upon of the market is the opportunities whereas control from pressure groups, lack of political and system stability are the threats for any organization.PORTERS five forces model-It consists of five main po ints that are listed below Bargaining power of the customers It is found in the open or the competitive market where the customer has the advantage over the suppliers or the traffickers. A consumer has the alternative of quality and the rate and if the supplier fails to fulfil the satisfaction of the consumer there is the chance of the customer to walk away from the suppliers. In this case the misdirecter has every right to complain and the seller need to hear it and clear up so that the buyer did not leave the consumption of the commodity..Bargaining power of the supplier We normally find it in the monopoly market where there is the carriage of only one market. Here the supplier has the advantages over the customers. A seller can fix the price of his own and sell low quality products as a result of it buyer couldnt get copious facilities. As only one marker is available the customers are forced to buy goods from the same shop and have no choice. For an illustration, if one c ity has only one market the people living there have to purchase the commodities from the same market no matter what the price and quality is because they dont have a second option. In this case the supplier has their own choice of marking prices. Such type of business brings profit motive or else than service motive.Threat of new entrants When there is the presence of new product or the new supplier the old products and the old supplier gets affected. A customer of particular supermarket gets diverted to next one, if the new supplier gives him new schemes ad facilities. Threat from the substitute product It provides the facilities to the consumers as the consumers have enough choices for the commodities to use. The customers wont feel bored of using same product again and again.Rivalry among the competitors Rivalry begins where there is the presence of competitive market or when two similar types of goods are present in the market. It gives advantages to the customers. When there is rivalry among competitors consumers receives the benefits.Apply organizational and environmental auditing techniques in a given situation.As for the project work I have chosen Tesco which deals with retail sales of food and household products. They use PESTEL analysis for the purpose of marketing environment audit.Political-Under political it uses the monopoly system, taxation policies, rules of employing the staffs and government stability as a method of evaluating political environment.Economic-Under the economic empyrean the interestingness rates, inflation and business cycles are evaluated for the purpose of environmental marketing audit.Social cultural-There are different cultures of the particular area. The marketing of Tesco has been influenced due to the social cultural factors as well. The different elements under socio cultural which can affect the marketing audit of the organization are demography, distribution of income of the people and their lifestyle.Technology- Technology plays a vital role during stir any organization. In this competitive age no organization can ever think of improvement in the absence of technology. The factors influencing technology in an organization can be the development of new technologies, rate of technology transfer and investment on the research of technology.Positioning of Ansoff matrixFor any decision to be taken at the business level, you need the right strategic tools. Ansoff matrix is one of them. Ansoff matrix helps a company decide their market growth as well as product growth strategies. The 2 questions which the Ansoff Matrix can answer is How can we grow in the existing markets and What amends can be made in the product portfolio to have better growth.From the above two questions, it is clear that the Ansoff matrix deals with the business external market scenario as well as the product portfolio which the company has. The matrix is divided into two quadrants. The product quadrant and the market quadran t. The Product quadrant on the X axis is further divided into animated products and New products. The market scenario on the Y axis is divided into existing markets and new markets. Thus the Ansoff matrix divides a firm on the nucleotide of the products it has existing products or new products, as well as the markets it is in existing markets or new markets.Explain the significance of stakeholder analysisWhat is Stakeholder Analysis?Stakeholder Analysis (SA) is a methodology used to facilitate institutional and policy reform processes by accounting for and often incorporating the needs of those who have a stake or an interest in the reforms under consideration. With information on stakeholders, their interests, and their capacity to oppose reform, reform advocates can choose how to best maintain them, thus assuring policies adopted are politically realistic and sustainable.Although Stakeholder Analysis originated from the business sciences, it has evolved into a field that now in corporates economics, political science, game and decision theory, and environmental sciences. Current models of SA apply a variety of tools on both qualitative and quantitative data to understand stakeholders, their positions, influence with other groups, and their interest in a particular reform. In addition, it provides an idea of the impact of reform on political and social forces, illuminates the divergent viewpoints towards proposed reforms and the potential power struggles among groups and individuals, and helps identify potential strategies for negotiating with opposing stakeholders.Who Are StakeholdersA stakeholder is any entity with a stated or conceivable interest or stake in a policy concern. The range of stakeholders relevant to consider for analysis varies according to the complexness of the reform area targeted and the type of reform proposed and, where the stakeholders are not organized, the incentive to include them. Stakeholders can be of any form, size and capaci ty. They can be individuals, organizations, or unorganized groups. In most cases, stakeholders fall into one or more of the following categories international actors (e.g. donors), national or political actors (e.g. legislators, governors), public sector agencies (e.g. MDAs), interest groups (e.g. unions, medical associations), commercial/private for-profit, non-profit organizations (NGOs, foundations), civil society members, and users/consumers.To achieve Stakeholders objective an organization should be able to separate their interest from each other and as such act according to the power they exert in the organization.Employees of MSHave a welfare surgical incision established in 1930.Financial interest safeguarded bonusesJob performance appraises and financial incentiveBenefit package interest free loans granted, Buy as you earn shares, bonus or right issueSuppliersAlways used UK based suppliers, ensuring consistent qualityRelationship to build reliance on suppliersLifelong rel ationship.Mutual dependability respects the specification and standard.Social commitmentStrong tradition of CSRSponsorship of Charities.Community development effortsGovernment social projects.Environment friendlyRemoved artificial color and flavoring from its entire food and soft drinks range-April 2008Launched school wears made from recycled plastic bottleDespite cowl economic conditions Mark and Spencer stick to Plan A, as it gives them brand and differentiation.AL Gore said a sustainable business can be profitable oneBusiness ContinuityReviewed the tools and processes established to ensure we have the capability to protect our people, the brand, property and profit at all timesReceived plans for all locations both nationally and internationallyDiscussed plans for the Olympics and the Queens rhomb JubileeFull medical and security package introduced for all business travelers get off tracker system introduced both nationally and internationallyA group learning awareness program launched andEvacuation pack and welfare response.Plan AThe External International Advisory Board established, comprising academics and advisors, extending our reach to reflect the countries we operate in and source fromDiscussed progress in reducing carbon emissions, improvements in fuel and energy efficiency, reduction in waste and packaging, improvements in recycle and the MS/Oxfam clothes exchangeAn update on work with suppliers to set up 12 Ethical Model factories in Bangladesh and three in IndiaReview of commitments against planOverview of discussions with UNICEF outside the UK on social development programs link up to the garment industry andOverview of what we believe will be benchmarked as industry leading positions across a number of key areas.General switch good sourcingReviewed how we manage the ethical risks across our supply chain outlining our ethical trading approach across 1.7 million workers, spread over 1,448 sites in over 77 countries with 55 different language sConsidered the key ethical issues including unreasonable working hours, poor health and safety, terms and conditions of employment, migrant labour, and low