Business Essays MBA Strategic Planning

Business Essays MBA Strategic Planning MBA Strategic Planning Basic Concepts of Strategic Planning The CEO then asked you to explain the basic concept of strategic business planning and how it would help improve performance at Lawrence? To the questions posed by the CEO I would answer: Strategic planning process can be summed up by answering three questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? and How do we get there? The basic concepts of strategic planning are best described by de Kluyver and Pearce in the book Strategy: A view from the top. The authors write â€Å"Strategy is about positioning an organization for competitive advantage. It involves making choices about which industries to participate in, what products or services to offer, and how to allocate corporate resources. Its primary goal is to create value for shareholders and other stakeholders by providing customer value†. (de Kluyver and Pearce, 2006, p. 1) The basic strategic planning process involves establishing a mission, objectives, current situational analysis, formal strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and putting measurable control systems in place to monitor the business. This basic strategic planning process is more applicable at the business unit level such as the Home Appliances; Electrical Equipment; Industrial Tools; Agricultural Equipment; Automotive Parts; and Financial Services business units already established at Lawrence Manufacturing Corporation. More detailed approaches to strategy include the newer concepts brought forth by authors Kim and Maugborne called Blue Ocean Strategy. The more traditional approach is competition based strategy such as Porter’s Five Forces of Competition model. The Blue Ocean Strategy is a largely unproven but very interesting concept that uses Value Innovation to propel the company into new markets that are untapped rather than going toe to toe with the competition battling it out for market space. This battling is known as the Red Ocean strategy where the waters are bloodied due to the battle for a competitive advantage. The Blue Ocean Strategy looks to find innovative ways to offer the customer more value in the products or services at a reduced cost creating a win-win situation for both customer and supplier. The more traditional approach would be to use Michael Porter’s five forces to analyze the position of the company in relation to the competition and then strategically position the company on a path of least competitive resistance. Basically Porter looks at: Threat of substitute products, Threat of entry of new competitors, Intensity of competitive rivalry, Bargaining power of customers, and the Bargaining power of suppliers. Strategic planning at the Corporate level She[CEO] specifically asks you what her role would be in the planning process, what the corporate headquarters’ responsibilities would be and how the corporation would add value to the business units? Strategic planning at the Corporate level is more involved in managing the portfolio of the company. Fundamentally Corporate level strategic planning involves decisions such as which business units to expand, which market places the business units should compete in, allocating resources between the business units, building and using synergies amongst business units, and merging or acquiring other businesses. Also Corporate strategic planning will involve defining the overall mission, vision and objectives of the Corporation. Corporate level strategic planning will also use such tools as Porter’s Five Forces, employ a Blue Ocean Strategy, a Gap Analysis, or a Balanced Scorecard approach. Porter’s Five Forces and the Blue Ocean Strategy are described above. A Gap Analysis is a tool used to discover the current state of the company and the targeted state of the company. The difference between them is the â€Å"Gap†. A Strategic Gap Analysis can be used to determine the gap and formulate a plan to â€Å"bridge† the gap. The Balanced Scorecard looks at the company from four different perspectives Financial, Customer Learning and Growth, and Internal Business Process. The Balanced Scorecard approach gives the company an idea what should be measured in order to â€Å"balance† the financial perspective. The Balanced Scorecard system is a management tool that enables the company to clearly see their vision and translate that vision into strategic action. The corporation will add value to the business units by coordinating and sharing corporate staff and various resources throughout the business units, utilizing business units to complement each other in the corporate structure and various business activities, and financially investing resources across different business units. Roles of SBU managers and functional executives The three Presidents of the business units and the functional executives also wanted to know what their specific roles and responsibilities would be in this new planning process, and how their performance would be evaluated and rewarded? To the questions of three Presidents and functional executives I would answer: The role of the small business unit managers and functional executives is EXTREMELY important to the strategic business plan of the corporation. (This statement will capture the attention of the three business unit presidents and functional managers allowing them feel secure in their positions and ultimately help me to get the job!) As the business unit is established and begins competing in a market place that it can be a viable performer, the business unit manager has the freedom to structure and manage their business unit to seize the competitive advantage available to the unit within that market place. Performance will be measured using key performance indicators defined in the strategic planning process by using planning tools such as the Balance Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard helps strategic planners to derive key measurable for that particular business units such as: customer, product performance, competitive comparisons, operations, supplier, cost and financial data, employee-related, and market performance. These indicators help to align the activities of the business unit with the goals of the corporation. The role of the business unit managers and functional executives are to provide input as to what these metrics should be, monitor these metrics and provide feedback, and implement changes to improve the performance. Analysis of external and internal environments The Vice President of Information Technology also wanted to know what types of external and internal information would be required to develop the business plans, and how they would obtain this information. He wanted to know what types of analytical tools, methodologies and skills they would need to generate and analyze this information? To the questions of Vice President of Information Technology (IT) I would answer: One of the primary tools used to determine internal an external environmental factors affecting the business is to perform a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats analysis or better know as SWOT analysis. Internal environmental factors affecting the company are primarily the Strengths and Weaknesses of the company. Strengths that a company can build on are usually items such as; brand name, intellectual property, reputation, and well developed distribution networks just to name a few. Weaknesses that a company may face are items such as; high overhead costs, poor supply chain, or a weak brand name. External factors affecting the company are the Opportunities and Threats. Opportunities presented to the firm could be thing such as; need for a new product, lifted regulations, emerging markets, and removal of trade barriers. Finally, Threats are items such as; substitute products, increased regulations, and new trade tariffs. When put into a matrix form, a SWOT analysis can provide the foundation on which the strategic plan of the company will be built. As I mentioned previously performance of the business units and the corporation will be measured using indicators defined in the strategic planning process by using planning tools such as the Balance Scorecard and a Gap Analysis. IT will be asked to assist in capturing and storing data that is internally and externally related to areas of the business such as: customer, product performance, competitive comparisons, operations, supplier, cost and financial data, employee-related, and market performance. This data is crucial to short term aggregate planning for the business units and long term strategic planning for both the business units and the corporation. IT will play a very important role in human resource management and planning, capturing cross functional knowledge equity of the business units, recognizing and protecting intellectual property, and sharing this information throughout the organization. The strategic planners will require assistance from IT to provide tools for business scenarios, marketing and sales planning, and financial projections. These inputs are necessary for sound planning decisions. Authors Anthony and Govindarajan have published a book entitled Management Control Systems and chapter 8 further discusses the role of Information Technology in strategic planning. In general input from IT will be required for management control systems and providing a framework in which the control systems can provide information and feedback to the leaders for strategic planning. Finally IT will be needed to assist with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP is important to link many of the individual databases or create a central database for the various system modules. ERP will aid in the sharing of information throughout the organization and allow performance tracking of key indicators. A global business such as Lawrence Manufacturing Corporation is like the octopus in which the tentacles must be attached to the central body in order to work in unison. IT will play a crucial part in connecting the business units for purposes of strategic planning. An effective business plan One of the Presidents of the business units asks you to explain what a business plan consist of and how they will know if they have developed a good plan? I would answer this question by first verifying that when the President asked about a â€Å"business plan† that he/she was interested in elements of a â€Å"Strategic Business Plan†. Assuming this is the case I would answer the business unit President by saying: There is typically five key elements to a strategic business plan. These elements are; 1) Vision Statement, 2) Mission Statement, 3) Critical Factors for Success, 4) Strategies and Actions to meet Objectives, and 5) Prioritized Implementation Schedule for the Strategies. The Vision Statement should briefly describe the direction of the company and plans for growth. The Mission Statement should describe the capabilities of the organization to meet the needs of the customer as identified by market research. Such as: â€Å"World leader in quality Industrial Tool†. The Critical Factors for Success are the key aspects that must be addressed if the company is to achieve their vision and mission statements. The Strategies and Actions are primarily defined action plans needed to ensure that the critical factors of success are achieved. A Prioritized Implementation Schedule is basically strategies and actions spelled out in order of importance, and communicated to the team members. These basic elements are the foundation of a strategic business plan. Execution! She[CEO] asks you how you would ensure that the plans were implemented effectively? To the CEO I would answer this question by saying: Strategic business planning will require a certain amount of change within the organization and with change there will also be a certain amount of resistance. I took a course at Lawrence Technological University (curiously this is the same name as the company!) while working toward my MBA called Leading Organizational Change. In this course we studied John Kotter’s eight step process to successful change taken from his book Leading Change. Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency Step 2: Pull Together the Guiding Team Step 3:   Develop the Change Vision and Strategy Step 4: Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in Step 5: Empower Others to Act Step 6: Product Short-Term Wins Step 7: Dont Let Up Step 8: Create a New Culture The concepts presented in the book and in the classroom were applied to a project that was begun during the time that I took the course. The project was to implement a new engineering documentation system that I can say is progressing well with the guidance provided by these eight steps. The process is logical and if followed religiously, I can testify, work great. This would be one method to ensure plans were implemented effectively. Also studied during this course was Appreciative Inquiry (AI). This is another method that would help to ensure that the strategic plans are implemented effectively. AI is a great organizational development tool that breaks away from the traditional â€Å"problem-focused† approach. Instead AI looks to identify and examine what is working well within the organization and how this activity can be enhanced. Basically the concept is to focus an organization around the things that are working rather that wasting effort trying to fix the things that don’t work. More on AI and the 4-D model used in AI can be found in David Cooperider’s book Appreciative Inquiry. After a successful implementation of the strategy measurable indicators I described earlier will determine if the business is on track with the strategic plan. The strategic plan will be revisited at prescribed intervals employing continuous improvement to advance the vision and mission of the company. References: De Kluyver, Pearce, (2006) Pearson Education, Inc., Strategy A View From The Top NetMBA, The Strategic Planning ProcessWebsite, Retrieved June 3rd,2008 from: http://www.netmba.com/strategy/process/ Balanced Scorecard Institute , What is a Balanced Scorecard -Website, Retrieved June 3rd, 2008 from: http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx JaxWorks Spreadsheet Company, The Balanced Scorecard Concept, Retrieved June 2nd, 2008 from: http://www.jaxworks.com/thebalancedscorecardconcept.htm Quick MBA, Strategic Planning-Website, Retrieved June 6th, 2008 from: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/ Articles-Business Plans, What Makes a Good Business Plan-Website, Retrieved June 3rd, 2008 from: http://articles.bplans.com/index.php/business-articles/writing-a-business-plan/what-makes-a-good-plan/ Kotter (1996). Leading Change, Harvard Business School press. Changing and Succeeding Under any Conditions – Website Retrieved November 25, 2007, http://www.ouricebergismelting.com/html/8step.html Quick MBA, Strategic Management-Website, Retrieved June 6th, 2008 from: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/

Personal statement on family medicine Essay

Growing up in a family of physicians has immensely sprung up my desire of taking medicine. During those years of spending moments with my parents in their medical activities, my decision of pursuing medicine was firmly shaped. For all those times, I realized that being a doctor is not merely the joy of being called a medical practitioner. Neither does ends the career of healing the sick and saving patients on the brink of death. Being a doctor offers more rewards that are intangible and worth more than gold and silver. By helping one person revert back to his normal life is alleviating the burden of a group of people. In putting a smile to a tormented person brings forth semblance of hope. Moreover, the profession gives a chance of becoming part of one’s life during his stage of recuperation and survival. In addition, it provides an opportunity for medical practitioners to expand their knowledge by every case they deal with in everyday of their lives. Most importantly, being a doctor provides sense of worth of being a human and being part of the society. Furthermore, I consider the practice of medicine as the most independent and zealous way of affording service to the masses. These were more than fascinating factors that drove me to spend my life in practicing medicine. In fulfilment of my desire to practice medicine, I bravely braced the barriers of my insurmountable dream. After graduating from medical school, I took every chance to applying my earned knowledge in actual life. I first applied my knowledge in my hometown, particularly in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital. In there, I spent a period of one year giving assistance and taking the chance to learn from all departments of the hospital. Another year was well spent as intern in the Institute on Mental Health in Hyderabad. Due to my aspiration to further expand my knowledge and pursue Family Medicine, I moved to US and took my Masters in Clinical Nutrition. In US, I grabbed every chance to explore more the real world of medicine. I finished externship in several hospitals in Kentucky which includes University of Louisville School of Medicine, Norton Hospital, Western Maryland Health Systems, and even in Christos St. John Hospital in Texas. My duties then include participating in case discussion, formulating diagnosis, taking history, and general physical examination, among others. During my externship, I had also been into clinical research. Within those periods, I came to understand really the life of a physician. From there I further conclude that time of a physician is owned by the call of duty. For a moment of exposure, my determination was put to test. Working in a fast phasing and demanding environment was time consuming and exhausting. There are also cases when personal life cannot be inserted in the daily schedule. In addition, some patients tend to sip all the strength of physician because of their inquisitiveness, naughtiness, or crankiness. However, through patience, perseverance, good time management, and teamwork, the loads in a physician’s life would be eased. Despite of those hardships, I successfully finished my externship and from there, I earned more courage to face the barriers on my path to practice Family Medicine. After my studies, I intend to spend my medical life in Family Medicine. I choose Family Medicine because it encompasses the total health care of an individual and of the whole family. It is a specialty that is not limited to only one aspect but rather involves behavioural, biological, and clinical science. Significantly, it specializes in preventing the spread of disease instead of curing it. As a medical student, I believe that it is more rewarding to prevent the occurrence of disease rather than exerting efforts to heal the disease. Moreover, I want to pursue residency in Family Medicine because I want to dedicate my time attending to the needs of patients, especially during time of emergency. Likewise, I want to utilize my life understanding and alleviating the suffering of my fellowmen. From the very starting point of my journey to medical profession, I never came to a point of regretting or backing out. Instead, my eagerness and my desire to finish my studies and get my license grew even more. From those struggles I successfully won, I have built a strong backbone that I shall use in the future. But then, those efforts would not be of sense unless I would finish Family Medicine Residency program.

What to Do About Essay Writing Tips Samples Before Its Too Late

What to Do About Essay Writing Tips Samples Before It's Too Late In order to produce your work explicit, you will need to spot the issue clearly and discover its causes. No great work is done in a rush. Hence, if you're not confident in your writing skills, think about asking us for aid. The main reason is that some individuals have excellent writing skills while some don't. What You Don't Know About Essay Writing Tips Samples If you master essay writing, you'll also have the ability to analyze your life and understand several situations efficiently. Writing events in a chronological manner is the most significant element to bear in mind whilst writing a narrative essay. It is essential that you set the tone of your essay from the start. When writing a speech, it's important to get topic sentences that represent the key points that support the most important theme. Essay Writing Tips Samples and Essay Writing Tips Samples - The Perfect Combination It's rather beneficial to create a list of points which you might explore in your problem-solution essay. You may not have any beneficial comparison essay example to follow. In whatever kind of essay that you will need to write, the essay format stays the same. Checks the overall structure of your essay and be certain the right format is used. The Advantages of Essay Writing Tips Samples An informative speech is virtually the exact same as a demonstrative speech but differs in the simple fact it does not use demonstrations. By definition, it's an essay that is usually written by students in just about any area of study. In all honesty, there's little doubt in the simple fact that writing a rhetorical analysis essay is similar to writing about a video game. Do your homework on the topic of your essay, while it is a part of literature or a function. What Is So Fascinating About Essay Writing Tips Samples? An internet essay outline may also help out with making your outline. It's evident that the absolute most voluminous portion of an essay is its body paragraphs since they include all of the information and evidence. Your essay may have a happy or sad ending, based on your story. A well-structured essay has a great introduction, body paragraphs that are simple to follow and connect together, and a great conclusion. What You Don't Know About Essay Writing Tips Samples Many samples are offered at ProfEssays.com. You may also use applications that are used as plagiarism checkers on the world wide web. It is essential to conduct comprehensive research to be able to make a fair paper. The Tried and True Method for Essay Writing Tips Samples in Step by Step Detail Its principal difference from different essays type is that the critical one is targeted at analyzing the subject working with lots of criteria. It's possible to form a notion in your head about the subject of the essay and the locations that you want to research about. If you understand what you are writing about or have chosen the topic yourself, you want to do a little bit of research. In some instances, a topic might already be given. Writing an argumentative essay outline provides the writer a simple time to put all of the point together. If you choose to hire an expert to write your essay, you'll have to explain the task clearly to receive a better grade. In addition, your essay needs to be written based on the universal rules of grammar and literature. If you are able to write a suitable academic essay, it is going to support you greatly in your studies since you will get superior grades and earn your teachers' respect. An essay outline is a group of ideas and ideas applicable to the subject issue. Remember your analytical essay should contain talking points concerning the matter below your consideration. Your essay should reveal the things that relate to your audience. Every precise detail matters if you would like to assemble a fantastic narrative essay. If You Rea d Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Essay Writing Tips Samples While an essay is a sizable project, there are a number of steps a student can take which will help break down the task into manageable components. It isn't possible to compose a perfect essay from beginning to finish in 1 go. Your essay must demonstrate that you're an industrious person who's not afraid to undertake responsibilities and work hard for achievement of specific objective. Therefore, to make it clear, show the result of your research and prove the importance of your goal. So that you do not will need to further elaborate any region of the essay. Narrative essays might or might not require research, but it's still really useful to your essay. 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Different Types Of Protection Systems - 727 Words

These protection systems either helps in capturing the rocks or to control their trajectory once it has fallen down, they are of following types : Rigid barriers Flexible barriers Attenuator system Catch areas Rock sheds Rigid barriers: These barriers are constructed to either contain or deflect the rockfall as these structures are so stiff that they can easily withstand the kinetic energy impacted by the falling boulder with very less or no deformation. So they are mainly constructed near the disaster place. Catch areas: These are used to stop the capture falling rocks before they cause risk to the structure. They are usually constructed along the transportation routes. Flexible barrier : These barriers are the lightweight barriers†¦show more content†¦Design ( flexible barrier) : The design approach for the flexible barrier is the most developed part of all the rock fall protection system as it involves the design approach ( MEL SEL), corrosion protection of the fence, downward deflection of the fence, sizing of the fence. These all aspects helps to get a better design of the fences which can withstand very harsh and aggressive environment. MEL (Maximum energy level): This energy level fence is used at the site where the occurrence of the rockfall is very low so after the impact with the fence ie. when a boulder hits the fences there is a need for the repair or the replacement of the fence as the barrier have to catch a boulder with a maximum energy level of 100% and the residual height after the impacts shows the quality of the barrier. SEL (Service energy level): This is the type of the fences in which the barrier has to catch the two impacts of the boulder with â…“ of the MEL energy being damaged. These type of fences are used where the occurrence of the rockfall is more. After the first impact of the boulder, the residual height should be greater than 70% so that the fence can take the second impact which is just to catch the boulder. Flexible barrier size selection : The selection of the size basically depends uponShow MoreRelatedVirtual Electrical Panel For Ultra Modern Buildings And Industries Essay1130 Words   |  5 Pageselectrical protection are becoming more complex and costly also. As the rate of different equipments used in modern building and industries are getting costlier. So very efficient and low cost electrical panel system is required which can give continuous monitoring and measurement of power and also it can protect the whole electrical system. 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