13. Business Planning and Functional strategies Flashcards
What is the outline of a business plan?
(a) Cover sheet
(b) Statement of purpose
(c) Table of contents
(1) The business
• Description of business
• Marketing
• Competition
• Operating procedures
• Personnel
• Business insurance
• Financial data
(2) Financial data
• Loan applications
• Capital equipment and supply list
• Statement of financial position
• Break-even analysis
• Pro-forma income projections (forecast income statements)
Three-year summary
– Detail by month, first year
– Detail by quarters, second and third years
– Assumptions upon which projections were based
• Pro-forma cash flow
◦ Follow guidelines for letter (e)
(3) Supporting documents
◦ Tax returns of the business and owners for last three years
◦ Personal financial statement (all banks have these forms)
◦ In the case of a franchised business, a copy of franchise contract and all supporting documents provided by the franchisor
◦ Copy of proposed lease or purchase agreement for building space
◦ Copy of licences and other legal documents
◦ Copy of resumes of all owners and senior managers
◦ Copies of letters of intent from suppliers, etc
What is the role of the finance function?
(a) Finance is a resource, which can be deployed so that objectives are met.
(b) A firm’s objectives are often expressed in financial or semi-financial terms.
(c) Financial controls are often used to plan and control the implementation of strategies.
What are the strategic contributions of the finance function?
• Ensuring that resources of finance are available.
• Integrating the strategy into budgets for revenues, operating costs and capital expenditure over a period.
• Establishing the necessary performance measures, in line with other departments for monitoring strategic objectives.
• Establishing priorities
• Assisting in the modelling process.
What can finance professionals do as Business Partners?
• Provide ‘real time’ support in the form of detailed data and information
• Assist departmental managers in analysing both financial and non-financial performance data
• Help with the preparation of departmental business cases for new projects
• Support departmental heads in understanding investment appraisals
• Collaborate with departmental managers in the preparation of departmental budgets
• Assist departmental managers in designing departmental information systems
What are the sections of a marketing plan?
• The executive summary
• Situation analysis
• Objectives and goals
• Marketing strategy
• Strategic marketing plan
• Tactical marketing plan
• Action plan
• Budgets
• Controls
What is the process of corporate planning in relationship to marketing?
• Set objectives
• Internal appraisal (strengths and weaknesses)
• External appraisal (opportunities and threats)
• Gaps
• Strategy
• Implementation
• Control
Describe the marketing control process.
• Development of objectives and strategies
• Establishment of standards
• Evaluation of performance
• Corrective action
What are the requirements that a proper marketing audit should satisfy?
• It should take a comprehensive look at every product, market, distribution channel and ingredient in the marketing mix.
• It should not be restricted to areas of apparent ineffectiveness such as an unprofitable product, a troublesome distribution channel, or low efficiency on direct selling.
• It should be carried out according to a set of predetermined, specified procedures.
• It should be conducted regularly.
Define Human resource management.
A strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisation’s most valued assets: the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives for sustainable competitive advantage
What are the goals of HRM?
• Serve the interests of management, as opposed to employees
• Suggest a strategic approach to personnel issues
• Link business mission to HR strategies
• Enable human resource development to add value to products and services
• Gain employees’ commitment to the organisation’s values and goals
What are the parts of the HR plan?
• Recruitment plan
• Training plan
• Redevelopment plan
• Productivity plan
• Redundancy plan
• Retention plan
What are the benefits of succession planning?
• The development of managers at all levels is likely to be improved if it takes place within the context of a succession plan.
• Continuity of leadership is more likely, with fewer dislocating changes of approach and policy.
• Assessment of managerial talent is improved by the establishment of relevant criteria.
What are the features of successful succession planning?
• The plan should focus on future requirements, particularly in terms of strategy and culture.
• The plan should be driven by top management.
• Management development is as important as assessment and selection.
• Assessment should be objective and preferably involve more than one assessor for each manager assessed.
• Succession planning will work best if it aims to identify and develop a leadership team rather than merely to establish a queue for top positions.
What are the benefits of staff appraisal?
• A forum for agreeing objectives for the coming year that ensure the individual pursues goals that are congruent with the business strategy
• An opportunity to outline or respond to difficulties affecting the individual’s performance
• Provision of feedback will motivate and develop the individual
• Identifies personal development needs of the individual, eg, for future roles
• Identifies candidates for succession and development
What are the aspects of process research?
• Processes are crucial in service industries (eg, fast food), as part of the services sold.
• Productivity: efficient processes save money and time.
• Planning: if you know how long certain stages in a project are likely to take, you can plan the most efficient sequence.
• Quality management for enhanced quality.
