Corporate planning and implementation

Question 1

corporate plan

Answer 1

a plan containing details of a business’s central objectives and the strategies to achieve them

Question 2

what do corporate plans contain

Answer 2

• overall objectives to be achieved in a given time frame (can concern profit targets, sales growth or market share targets)
• the strategy or strategies to be used to attempt to meet these objectives
• the main objectives for the key departments of the business derived from the overall objective

once the strategies have been implemented, the results should be measured & evaluated and compared with the original objectives. They would also help determine the corporate objectives for the next period

Question 3

potential benefits of corporate plans

Answer 3

• senior managers will have a clear focus for what they want to achieve
• the sense of purpose is communicated by senior managers to all other employees
• an important benefit of any corporate plan is the ‘control and review’ process. The original objectives can be compared with actual outcomes to see how well the business’s performance matched its aims
• preparing for and producing the corporate plan forces senior managers to consider the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to the business environment

Question 4

evaluation of corporate plans

Answer 4

• plans can easily be made redundant by rapid and unexpected external or internal changes
• the planning process has to be flexible and adaptable in order to allow the corporate plans to continue to be relevant and useful during periods of change

Question 5

internal influences on corporate plans

Answer 5

• financial resources: budgets, adequate capital
• operating capacity
• managerial skills and expertise
• employee numbers and skills: workforce planning)
• culture of the organisation

Question 6

external influences on corporate plans

Answer 6

• macroeconomic conditions
• central bank and government economic policy changes
• likely technological changes
• competitors’ actions

Question 7

corporate culture

Answer 7

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

Question 8

power culture

Answer 8

a culture that concentrates power among just a few people
- associated w/ autocratic leadership
- swift decisions can be made as so few ppl are involved in making them

Question 9

role culture

Answer 9

a culture in which each member of staff has a clearly defined job title and role
- mostly associated with bureaucratic organisation’s
- ppl in a business w/ this culture operate within the rules and show little creativity
- well-define structure, each individual has clear delegated authority
- power & influence come from a person’s position within the organisation

Question 10

task culture

Answer 10

a culture based on cooperation and teamwork
- groups are formed to solve particular problems and there will be lines of communication similar to a matrix structure
- team members are encouraged to be creative

Question 11

person culture

Answer 11

a culture in which individuals are given the freedom to express themselves fully and make decisions for themselves
- most creative type
- may have some conflict between individual goals and those of the whole organisation

Question 12

entrepreneurial culture

Answer 12

a culture that encourages management and workers to take risks, come up with new ideas and test out new business ventures
- success is rewarded in an organisation with this culture
- however failure is not necessarily criticized as it is considered an inevitable consequence of showing initiative and risk-taking