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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 organization’s 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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has to take additional steps in strategizing to bring them to life.

Levels of Planning

Organizations live in a constant state of change. Whether external forces or internal forces

affect the change, a plan must be considered to turn opportunities into competitive

advantages and to combat predicted threats. Organizations plan for four reasons;

1. it gives the company a sense of direction and purpose

2. it facilitates management’s 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 organization’s goals (Jones & George, 2011).

There are three levels of planning and strategy in an organization that has a waterfall affect

from top to bottom.

Corporate level planning is facilitated through top management’s 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, you’ve got a plan and a rough outline. What’s next on your to-do list? Give it a little fuel

with strategy.

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Strategy

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 company’s

industry can impact a company’s 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 company’s

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 company’s 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 organization’s 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 company’s 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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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 company’s dream cannot remain only

a thought, or it will disappear like the

company’s 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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