Planning, Controlling and Business Strategy Test Review Flashcards
How does planning fit into the four functions of a manager?
Planning is the platform for other management functions, without planning the rest of the management process is less effective and much more difficult
It “Sets the Direction”
What is an objective? What is a plan?
An objective is a goal or a benchmark that a company works towards
A plan is a way to organize a way to reach said objective and make work more efficient by guiding all line of work towards the objective.
What is a SMART objective?
Specific - Measurable - Attainable - Referred to regularly - Timely
What are the 5 steps in the Planning Process?
- define objectives
2. Determine where you stand in relation to your objectives
3. Anticipate future events
4. Analyze alternatives and make a plan
5. Implement the plan and evaluate the results
What are the 6 benefits of planning?
Focus
Flexibility
Action Orientation
Coordination
Control
Time Management
Planning process activities:
How hard is it to create and implement a good plan? How successful have you been in your life? Which aspects of the process do you find most challenging?
What are some of the effects on a business that poor planning can have?
Whats short range plans?
Completed in year or less
Policies
Operational plans - day-to-day tasks
Outside in - Finds niche markets and exploits them
Inside out - focuses on current productions to tries to resch maximum productivity
Top-down - management sets broad goals and lower makes plans
Bottom-up - the opposite
Whats long range plans?
Longer than a year
Budgets
Strategic plans
Simulations
Forecasting
What are some examples of long term? Which do you use more often? How do you use them?
grow customer population - improve profit
What are some short term plans? Which do you use more often? How do you use them?
simply improving productivity with broad goals
What are the two aspects of planning approaches? Explain how all four approaches work.
Outside in - Finds niche markets and exploits them
Inside out - focuses on current productions to tries to resch maximum productivity
Top-down - management sets broad goals and lower makes plans
Bottom-up - plans are developed by lower level then passed up hierarchy and “buy in”
Explain some of the tools or techniques that managers use to plan?
Participatory planning
Benchmarking
Scenario Planning
Contingency Planning
Participatory planning
Just makes the plan with more feedback and “hands on deck” from the people who will actually be doing the work
Benchmarking
Observing other people and other companies preforming the same tasks to compare and incorporate new ideas
Scenario Planning
This is trying to predict and plan around possible hiccups in future stages of the plan
Contingency Planning
This is the creating back up plans during the scenario planning
What is the control process and why is it important?
The process of measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results.
Controlling helps maintain the right path to achieve the objectives, make sure things happen the right way, and that all rules and procedures are followed
List the 4 steps in the control process – provide an example of the control process being used in your life
1.Establish Objectives and standards
2.Measure actual performance
3.Compare results with objectives and standards
4.Take corrective action
What are some examples of internal and external controls that are commonly used?
Internal: Goal Alignment occurs when individual and group goals are integrated in order to make them co-dependant, if individuals achieve their goals, the group will achieve its goal
Focusing on yourself and internally motiving and disiciping yourself
External: Controlling the employees using discipline and motivation
What are some examples of internal and that are commonly used?
Internal: Goal Alignment occurs when individual and group goals are integrated in order to make them co-dependant, if individuals achieve their goals, the group will achieve its goal
Focusing on yourself and internally motiving and disiciping yourself
What are some examples of external controls that are commonly used?
External: Controlling the employees using discipline and motivation
Outline some of the general concepts of the “Hot stove” Rules of discipline. Which rules do you believe are most important to follow for effective discipline.
The hot stove is just instant dicispine, so if someone messes something up or does something wrong they are instantly reprimanded - Instant action -
List and explain the 3 types of control systems. Explain how they work and provide examples of each.
FeedForward - Solves problems before they happen
Concurrent - Solve problems while they are happening
Feedback - Solve problems after they happen
FeedForward
Solves problems before they happen
Concurrent
Solve problems while they are happening
Feedback
Solve problems after they happen
What is strategic planning and why is it important to a business’s success?
A strategy is a comprehensive plan guiding resource allocation to achieve long-term organizational goals.
Focuses on the external competitive environment and internal competencies and creates a “best guess” about what must be done to ensure future success and develop a “Competitive Advatage”
What is a competitive advantage? Provide some examples
A competitive advantage occurs when an organization performs better than their competitors in some essential facet of business allowing them to secure more customers.
What are some different levels of strategic planning that occur in a business?
Corperate strategey
Business strategy
Functional strategy
Corperate strategey
Directs company towards competitive advantage, sets directions and and quides resource allocation - “What businesses and markets should we compete?” - The major focus is deciding what the corporation does and will continue doing.
Business strategy
More concerned with how the organizationis going to compete within one unit or product line
Functional strategy
Functional strategy takes a business strategy and focuses it even more by planning how to use and allocate resources in order to implement the business strategies.
What is the SWOT analysis and how does businesses use it?
It’s a way for a business to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats so they can plan around them.
What are some examples of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in your own life?
What are some examples for businesses?
What is the PEST analysis and how do businesses use it?
Political - Existing laws/regulations, Government policies, wars/conflicts
Economic - Finanical market, Inflation, employment, intreset
Socio-cultural - Media trends, Major events, ehtical, moral, or religious issues
Technological -Provide examples of issues that would fall under each category
how do businesses use PEST analysis
Analysis of organization’s environment, trying to answer the question:
“What are the trends or new developments in these areas within our industry which will affect the way we compete moving forward?”
Note: BCG Matrix
What is it?
Its a strategy that allows for strategic focus by analyzing business opportuintes based on idustry or market growth rate and market share.
It helps managers decide where scarce resources should be allocated.
Note: BCG Matrix
how is it used?
Its useful for multicompanies because they own so many companies that they need to know which ones to invest in and which ones to drop.
