Corporate planning and implementation

corporate plan - a plan containing details of a businesses central objectives and the strategies to acheive them

benefits of a corporate plan:
-senior managers have a clear focus and sense of purpose
-plan helps communiate thhe sense of focus down the chain of command to all employees
-the planning process itself is very useful exercise as it forces managers to consider the firms strengths and weaknesses in realtion to the business enviornment

limitations:
-rapid and unexpected internal or external changes can make a corporate plan obsolete
-inflexibilty to change hinders the progress of a coporate plan and could be a disaster

internal influences on a corpate plan
-financial resources
-operating capacity
-managerial skills and expirience
- employee numbers and skills
-culture

external influences on a corporate plan
-macroeconomic conditions
-central bank and economic policy
-technological changes
-competitors

corporate culture - the values attitudes and beliefs of the people working in an organisation that affect the way they interact with each other and wth external stakeholders

main types of corporate culture:
-Power culture - concentrates power on just a few peole
-role culture - each member of staff has clearly defined job title and role
-task culture - culture based on cooperation and teamwork
-person cultue - individuals are given the freedom to express themselves fully and make decisons for themselves
-entrepreneurial culture - encourages management and workers to take risks to come up with new ideas and test out new business ventures

notes
-different cultures will make different decisions and will affect how people within the firm react to it
- strong culture promotes and facilitates succesful strategic decision weak does not

importance of corporate culture:
- culture determines the way in which managers and emplyoees treat each other
-culture is linked to the long term sucess of the business

transformational leadership - the leader works with teams to identify the need for change , creates a vision to isnpire people to accept change and implements change with cooperation of the team

importance of transformational leadership:
-increases the chances of successful change within a business
-increases the flexibility and adaptability of a business to cope with frequent change
-focuses on leading change not forcing it on employees with an autocratic style
-improves employee motivation and performance

understand what strategic change means
-strategic change is the continous adopotion of business stratagies in response to changing internal pressures or external forces

recognise the major causes of change
-technological
-macroeconomic
-legal changes
-competitors actions

understand the stages of the change process
-where are we now
-new vision and objectives
-ensure resources are in place to enable change
-give maximum warning of change
involve employees in change
etc

lead change dont just manage it
-managing cahnge effectively is important to successful implementation but leading change is much more
-leading change means
-being a dynamic leader
-motivation of workers and managers so that change is seen as a positive force for improving peoples lives
-ensuring that acceptance of change is part of the culutre of the organisation

planning implementing controlling and reviewing the movement of an orgasnisation from its curretn state to a new one

a person appointed to support a project and drive it forward by explaining the benefits of change and assisting and supporting the team putting change into practice

groups created by an organisation to adress a problem that requires input from different specialists

fear of the unkown
fear of failure
losing something of value
false beliefs about the need for change
lack of trust
inertia - many people suffer from reluctance to change and try to maintain status quo

contingency plan - a plan for preparing an organisations resources for unlikely events

benefits of contingency planning
-reassures employees customers and locals that concerns of safety are a priority
-minimises the negative impact on customers and suppliers in the event of a disaster
-PR response more likely to be speedy and appropriate

limitations of contingency planning
-costly and time consuming including training and practice runs etc
-needs to be constantly updated as the numbe and rage of potential disasters can change over time
-employee training needs to increase if labor turnover is high so increased costs for the business