...DAVID A. GARVIN LYNNE C. LEVESQUE Strategic Planning at United Parcel Service We fully recognize that it is not possible to develop a true strategic plan more than a few years out and that business plans should have an even shorter horizon. But we are convinced that it is possible and wise, indeed necessary, to develop a set of very long-range scenarios that can form the foundation for our future strategic plans. — Michael (Mike) J. Eskew, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, United Parcel Service (UPS) As Mike Eskew walked through the long, open atrium of UPS’s corporate headquarters late in March 2005, he thought about his upcoming lunch meeting with Vice President of Corporate Strategy Vern Higberg. Higberg was preparing a presentation for the senior management strategy committee, the Strategy Advisory Group, on improvements to the strategic-planning process. While the company had made major progress in planning for the future over the past 10 years, Eskew had charged Higberg and his colleagues with developing recommendations for moving forward, citing one of his predecessors, who had said, “The future of our company will be no better or worse than the quality of planning we do to prepare for it.” Company Background History In 1907, 19-year-old Jim Casey borrowed $100 from friends to start the small company that eventually became UPS. From its humble origins delivering messages for the city of Seattle, Washington, UPS had grown into a $37 billion corporation...
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...Basics of Strategic Planning The objectives of strategic planning including understanding the benefits of strategic planning; understanding the products of strategic planning; and learning the keys to successful planning and implementation. Many organizations spend most of their time reacting to unexpected changes instead of anticipating and preparing for them. This is called crisis management. Organizations caught off guard may spend a great deal of time and energy "playing catch up". They use up their energy coping with immediate problems with little energy left to anticipate and prepare for the next challenges. This vicious cycle locks many organizations into a reactive posture. It does not have to be that way. A sensible alternative is a well tested process called strategic planning which provides a viable alternative to crisis management. Strategic planning is a step by step process with definite objectives and end products that can be implemented and evaluated. Very simply, it is a process by which we look into the future, paint a picture of that future based on current trends, and influence the forces that will affect us. Strategic planning looks three to five years ahead. It charts a definite course based on strong indicators of what the business environment will be like in those years. Indicators include census demographic statistics, economic indicators, government policies, and technological advances. They reveal strong trends regarding changes in...
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...LEVELS OF CORPORATE PLANNING AND INNOVATION Name: Institution: Date: Executive Summary One student in an Executive MBA class based his response on introduction of a self scanner in checkout terminals in a British supermarket to an assignment that required them to link a significant innovation that an organisation had introduced with strategic change in the organisation. The student failed the assignment. This report will examine the reasons why the student failed by looking at the differences between strategic, tactical and operational planning. The report analyses what causes the strategic changes in an organisation and what qualifies as strategic change. The report also discusses innovation and the different levels of innovation. This report also discusses whether the student was right to classify self-scanner checkout terminals as a significant innovation that could be linked to strategic change in the organisation. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Business Policy 4 1.2 Strategic Change 4 2 Strategic, Tactical and Operational Planning 5 2.1 Statement of the Objective 5 2.2 Differences between Strategic, Tactical and Operational Planning 5 3 Innovation 8 3.1 What is Innovation? 8 3.2 Impact of innovation on growth strategies 10 4 Conclusion 11 Introduction This report will identify reasons the student failed his assignment...
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...Strategic Planning OVERVIEW Brief description This toolkit provides a model for taking an organisation through a strategic planning process. It covers planning to do strategic planning, covering the background issues that need to inform or direct the strategic planning process, and then defining the strategic framework for the project or organisation activities. It is this strategic framework that gives the activities coherence and direction. We have included practical exercises to use during a strategic planning process. The toolkit expands on the short introduction to strategic planning in the toolkit on Overview of Planning. Why have a detailed toolkit on strategic planning? Strategic planning is the core of the work of an organisation. Without a strategic framework you don’t know where you are going or why you are going there. So, then, it doesn’t really matter how you get there! This toolkit offers you a way to do detailed strategic planning. You can replicate the method in any organisation or project that needs to do strategic planning. Another toolkit in the CIVICUS toolkits project deals with an Overview of Planning. That toolkit will help you see how strategic planning fits into the overall planning process. The toolkit on Action Planning will help you take the process further. The toolkit on Monitoring and Evaluation will help you to expand on the process of impact evaluation. You do strategic planning to help your project or organisation make a significant impact...
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...Strategic Business Plan ukessays.com /essays/business/developing-a-strategic-business-plan.php Developing a Strategic Business Plan Either in the start up process or when re-inventing one's business development, the design of a strategic business plan is an indispensable step towards a successful and viable business. Strategic planning involves setting up a sound and multifaceted plan or strategy to follow over a defined time period.It can involve all aspects of the business, or just a small part of it i.e. a selected department such as the marketing department.However, this does not mean that strategic business planning is only for large scale businesses since it can also benefit the small business, especially at start up, when the business sets its first goals and establishes itself in the business landscape. Writing up a business plan is an important step of a starting business, since most lending bodies will not authorize loans in absense of a detailed business plan.Why is it important? Imagine sailing off for a voyage in the sea and not planning for resources or supplies that you might need. Developing a business plan is the only way to determine the allocation needs, personnel, utilities, marketing goals, outreach and all valuable aspects that make your business useful and unique in the sea of business. However, strategic planning is a process employed in any time period in a formal business administration, since it usually comprises of a long range planning process of...
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...DECEMBER 1973 Can strategic planning pay off? Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. In an article from the McKinsey Quarterly archives, Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., proposes four guidelines to help strategic planners make the crucial leap from plans to decisions. One of the most intriguing management phenomena of the late 6os and the early 70s has been the rapid spread of the strategic-planning concept. Except for the so-called computer revolution, few management techniques have swept through corporate and government enterprises more rapidly or completely. Writer after writer has hailed this new discipline as the fountainhead of all corporate progress. In 1962, one published report extolled strategic planning as “a systematic means by which a company can become what it wants to be” (Stanford Research Institute). Five years later, it was called “a means to help management gain increasing control over the destiny of a corporation” (R. H. Schaffer). By 1971, praise of strategic planning verged on the poetic; it had become “the manifestation of a company’s determination to be the master of its own fate . . . to penetrate the darkness of uncertainty and provide the illumination of probability” (S. R. Goodman). It is not surprising, therefore, that one company after another raced to embrace this new source of managerial salvation. As a result, most major companies today can boast a corporate-planning officer, often with full attendant staff. It seemed appropriate to ask some chief...
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...Strategy means a plan or a method selected and used to bring about a desired future, such as realization of a goal or solution to a problem. Strategic vision is the using of ideas to direct the activities and actions in order to grow a business and usually is included in the company statements so all manages can share the vision and make decision according with this. The strategy is providing organization, the framework for understanding its place and position on the market and how to move forward in terms of route and purpose. A mission statement describes basically what an organization is, why it happens, and its reason for existence. The mission statement reflects every facet of your business: the range and nature of the products you offer, pricing, quality, service, marketplace position, growth potential, use of technology, and your relationships with your customers, employees, suppliers, competitors and the community. A great business strategy can be summary described as an easy and clear way to understand and communicate the organization vision and mission internally and externally to the customers. IKEA had a good vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people”, using the concern of people for the environment and how to use in the better way both energy and raw materials. An aim is where the business wants to go in the future, its goals and is a statement of purpose (i.e. we want to grow the business in whole Europe). Business objectives are the quantified...
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...Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence Strayer University Dr. Finn BUS430 The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) – now known as the Baldrige National Quality Program-has been one of the most powerful catalysts for improving organizational performance in the United States (The Collier and Evans (2011) textbook). Strategic planning is applicable for any type of business entity or organization. However, people tend to think that it is only meant for large businesses. Strategic planning matches the strengths of an organization to open opportunities. In order to be effective, an organization needs to collect, screen, and analyze information about its environment. The organization also needs to have a clear understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and develop a clear mission, goals, and objectives (Wikipedia, n.d.). The organization engages its current state and initiates a plan of action to be more successful. The Strategic Planning category examines how your organization develops strategic objectives and action plans. Also examined are how your chosen strategic objective and objectives and action plans are implemented and changed if circumstances require, and how progress is measured. Matching their strengths to available opportunities is performed through a self-assessment using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence can help an organization achieve high performance and move toward performance excellence (Baldrige.com). If the organization...
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...STRATEGIC PLANNING •Management Control Process •Nature of Strategic Planning •Relation between Strategy Formation & Strategic Planning •Advantages of Strategic Planning •Limitations of Strategic Planning •Analyzing Proposed New Programs •Analyzing Ongoing Programs •Activity Based Costing •Strategic Planning Process Management Control Process Involves interaction between mangers & their subordinates In formal organizations control processes are more or less the same Due to differential managerial abilities Implementation differs Management Control Process : Sequence Strategic Planning Budget Preparation Management Control of Operations Analyzing and performance reports Evaluating managerial performance Management Compensation As it related to the control process Nature of Strategic Planning A formal statement of plan, is called strategic plan The process of preparing and revising the formal statement of plan is called strategic planning Strategic planning is the process of deciding on the programs that the organization will undertake and on the approximate amount of resources that will be allocated to each program over the next several years It’s the process of deciding on the programs organization will undertake Estimation of resources required for the same Relation between Strategy Formulation & Strategic Planning Strategy Formulation Its process of deciding new strategies • Deciding Organizational goals • Strategies...
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...Strategic Planning Analysis and Application Tara E. Green Capella University PSF5410/Strategic Management and Planning Dr. Joan Vermillion August 19, 2012 Analyze what strategic planning is and why it is so important to public organizations. Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy (Armstrong, 1986). In order to determine the direction of the organization, it is necessary to understand its current position and the possible avenues through which it can pursue a particular course of action. Generally, strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions: 1. "What do we do?" 2. "For whom do we do it?" 3. "How do we excel?"(Armstrong, 1986) In many organizations, this is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or more typically 3 to 5 years (long term), although some extend their vision to 20 years. Strategic planning is designed to help public and non-profit organizations (and communities) respond effectively to their new situations. It is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions shaping the nature and direction of an organization’s (or other entity’s) activities within legal bounds (Bryson, 1988). Without strategic planning and a resulting plan of action, the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) will not have a clear idea of what it is doing...
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...Strategic Planning {What is it? How do you do it?} [pic] 2008 Table of Contents Page Content 3-4 Introduction 5 Section 1: The “What” of Strategic Planning 6 Why should departments and agencies plan strategically? 7-8 Section 2: The “How” of Strategic Planning 9-10 How do I gather data and where do I get it from? 11 Participant Selection 12 Survey/focus group question development 12-14 Core Values Development 15-17 Organizational “Purpose” Development 17-19 Organizational “Vision” Development 19-20 Organizational “Mission” Development 20-22 Organizational “Goals and Objectives” Development 22-25 What are Action Steps and how are they developed? 25 Performance Audit – Review of Organizational Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats [SWOT] 26 Gap Analysis – Compare SWOT analysis information with Draft goals and objectives 26 Contingency Planning – Worst and Best Case Scenarios 26 Integrated Functional Plans – Action Steps 27 Implementation Considerations 27 Monitoring and Evaluation 28 -42 Short Cut – Simplified Planning Model 43-57 Section 3: Sample Plan 58 Points to Remember Introduction This document is intended to provide the reader with information about strategic planning. It is organized into three sections to help the reader better understanding what strategic planning is about and how it...
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...Introduction United Parcel Service (UPS), as of 2005, has become the world’s largest package-delivery company as well as offering specialized transportation and logistics services. However such success is likely attributed to the strategic planning of the executive leaders of the company. Mike Eskew, the Chairman and CEO, said, “the future of our company will be no better or worse than the quality of planning we do to prepare for it.” Eskew realized that preparing strategy for a company is the most vital catalyst for success. While typically strategy is set with short period goals, UPS found it necessary to develop a set of long-term goals for which they can make decisions that impact their company years down the road. The way that UPS decided to set their long-term framework was through scenario planning. Scenario planning is a strategic method that has the team map driving forces defined by two axes, creating four quadrants. These four quadrants are then identified by combining the forces into four possible outcomes known as scenarios. Overtime, the scenarios are defined and written out such as positives and negatives of each scenario, a description of how it might come to fruition as well as naming each scenario so that it is easily referred to in future strategy decisions. Over a period of almost 20 years, UPS decided to take strategy planning seriously: 1991 Coporate Mission and Strategy Statement introduced 1996 Strategy Advisory Group and Corporate Strategy Group...
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...STRATEGIC PLANNING AT UNITED PARCEL SERVICES Reaction Paper Blank Part A Before the 1990s UPS had a small group in charge of formulating project plans (Garvin & Levesque, 2006, p. 3). However, as the company grew in size and the volume of projects, a formal strategic planning group had to be formed. When Eskew became CEO in 2002, the formation of a Management Committee was among the first accomplishments he made. The Committee was tasked to direct the company to its vision for 2007, its first centennial. Eskew's concern, that changes are needed in UPS's strategic planning process, is valid. If the company continues to form only ad hoc groups to focus on achieving a long-term vision, then the sustainable commitment in the group's members cannot be assured. Eskew believes that the only way to move forward is to stop reinventing the wheel. This belief implies that the strategic planning process has to be more systematic than it is, currently. However, the scale of goals to achieve and tasks to accomplish for the Strategic Planning process have become larger as time progressed. UPS will only be capable of transforming itself once more if it has a proportionate level of commitment. A clearer and more straightforward connection between the different components of the strategic process is needed in order to sustain the focus and chart directions. Delegating such task to a Management Committee is a positive step to address the need to link the various components...
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...NAPIER UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL SOE09101 – STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT ASSESSMENT A – October 2014 MARKING CRITERIA MATRIC NO___40182413_____WORD COUNT_____2536__________ | Fail | Fair | Good | Very Good | Excellent | PRESENTATION [15%] Selection of Material Balance of answer and Use of References | | | | | | CONTENT [35%] Appropriate content covering core material which may draw from: * Nature of traditional/strategic planning approach; * Benefits/Problems associated with formalised strategic decision-making/emergent strategy * The role of uncertain and dynamic environment. | | | | | | ARGUMENT [25%] Development/evaluation of the proposition in terms of the question set | | | | | | SYNTHESIS/CONCLUSIONS [25%] Highlighting key issues, reaching logical conclusions supported by evidence from the literature | | | | | | In modern conditions of the relations of the developed market of the organization shall pursue more various policy to look for various methods of its implementation so that it could be arranged in time in case of new market conditions to look for new ideas of development. If it demands to be to strategic policy based on the long-term program which mentions all spheres of the organization. However, in unstable, often changeable, dynamic and uncertain conditions of market economy the organization shall adapt to such environment very quickly. The purpose of this...
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...Workforce Planning a good practice guide for TAFE Institutes 10 September 2004 1 Introduction 1 2 Purpose of this guide 2 3 Key elements of workforce planning programs 2 4 Implementation guidelines 3 4.1 Consider the broader context 3 4.2 Identify your future business direction and workforce needs 4 4.3 Know your current workforce 6 4.4 Bridge the gap – identify and address your workforce issues 8 4.5 Provide a sound basis for effective implementation 9 5 WORKFORCE PLANNING CHECKLIST 10 5.1 Key considerations for effective workforce planning 10 6 UNDERPINNING KNOWLEDGE FOR WORKFORCE PLANNING 12 Introduction Workforce planning is the continuous process of ensuring that the right people are in the right place at the right time, in order to accomplish the organisation’s mission now and into the future. Its fundamental purpose is to align and integrate the organisation’s workforce with its strategic goals and objectives. The degree to which the organisation has the appropriate skills, the correct numbers and the right talent mix to achieve its mission in a dynamic external environment will be crucial to its continued success. It is also about the sound management of human capital processes, including recruitment, retention, development, redeployment, and retirement planning for minimal loss of knowledge. Workforce planning can assist TAFE Institutes anticipate the staffing and skill...
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