business objectives and strategy - business plans Flashcards
what is a business plan?
a written document that describes a business, its objectives, strategies, the market it’s in and its financial forecasts. Has many functions, from securing external funding to measuring success within the business
what is included in a business plan?
- business idea and opportunities
- product/service itself and USP
- target market segment
- competitors
- size of the market
Benefit of a business plan
- sense of direction - stay on track and measure performance
- helps test financial viability of business idea - raise finance
- consider constraints on the business
- establishes department and individual roles
- encourages communication between sections in a business
disadvantages of a business plan?
- time consuming - opportunity cost
- often rigid - limit creativity
- useless unless followed
- needs flexibility in order to adapt
what is the plan-do-review cycle?
once drawn up its implemented and monitored to make sure it and the business are on track
what is the ‘do’ section of the plan-do-review?
implement the plan, ensuring that all parts of the business understand responsibilities and deadlines
what is the ‘review’ section of the plan-do-review?
formal ongoing evaluation of progress towards objectives and final review
what are the stages of the plan-do-review cycle?
step 1 - planning
step 2 - gathering evidence
step 3 - taking action
step 4 - reviewing and repairing
what are the advantages of a plan-do-review cycle?
- methodical approach
- clear what everyone has to do
- regular review means deviations will be limited
- ⭐️ encourages kaizen
- allows evaluation and adaptation
what are the disadvantages of a plan-do-review cycle?
- lengthy process
- can be inflexible
- needs to have all staff empowered to be involved (otherwise - demotivation)
- time-consuming -> costly
