Business Plan

Abstract

Good business plans are full of specifics such as milestone dates, budgets, and specific responsibilities by person so that investors can measure and track results. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the business, investors often use the following questions to evaluate a BP: Are investor expectations realistically addressed? Is the financial justification realistic? How marketable is the product or service? Are the operational processes to deliver the service or product realistic? How experienced is the management team charged with integrating the business? IBM makes its business plan competitive globally as IBM has described its mission as "helping customers become more efficient and competitive through the use of information technology (IT) solutions". IBM is the company that continuously reviews its business plan and makes changes according to the needs of time.

Business Plan

Introduction

A business plan is the most important start in starting a business, and continues to be the most important part of the business when it is utilized and updated. Just as you would not begin a road trip without a map, or a sense of direction, you would also not start a business without a business plan. IBM has a fundamental belief in progress, science and the improvability of the human condition in its business plan. With its unique capabilities, IBM sees it as its responsibility to create opportunity and prosperity for businesses, industries, society and the world. This paper discusses plan in the context of International Business Machines (IBM) in a concise and comprehensive way.

IBM and Its Business Plan

IBM considers that a business plan (BP) may be defined as a comprehensive selling document that communicates the promise of a business to potential backers. Thus a BP needs to fit the audience and convey excitement and promise.

Scarborough & Zimmerer (2008) mention at IBM, the purpose is to raise funds in support of a new business, product, or service. Given the many changes in the health care industry, there are an increasing number of examples of BPs to gain funds. Indeed, there may be three broadly different situations requiring a BP. These include startup ventures seeking funding, existing firms seeking additional financing, or new activities within existing companies. In the first category, a group of physicians may develop a BP to seek debt financing from a bank to develop an ambulatory surgery center. An existing pharmaceutical company might seek equity funding from investment bankers to acquire a biotechnology company in the second situation (Scarborough & Zimmerer, 2008). In the third situation, an existing acute care hospital may develop a BP to gain support to launch home health care services.

Company Description and Analysis

IBM has set the pace for strategic development in the IT sector in the last few years. The move into outsourcing and other services, in particular, was a masterstroke which has maintained IBM's dominance of the IT consulting sector. Since then the company has pursued a focused and generally fearless strategy, showing no qualms about ditching heritage sectors, such as PCs and disk-drives, in favour of higher margin non-manufacturing ...