BUSINESS PLAN

Strategic Business Planning

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion2

Importance of strategic business planning3

Strategic planning process4

Mission and objectives5

Environmental scan5

Strategy formulation5

Strategy implementation6

Evaluation and control6

Assignment 17

Role of manager in business planning process7

Strategic planning8

Decision making8

Leading8

Controlling9

Tools to determine and achieve Competitive advantage9

Porter's five forces9

Porter's generic strategies11

Value chains12

Assignment 213

Business planning sites13

Assignment 314

Checklist for evaluating business plan14

Executive summary14

Business description14

Industry analysis and trends15

Competitive analysis15

Marketing analysis15

Marketing plan15

Operations16

Management plan16

Financial plan16

Critical risks16

Evaluating the business plan17

Executive summary17

Description of new venture18

Features of the product18

Opportunities within industry19

Startup costs and expenses19

Business description19

Legal form of business19

Management and employees20

Recruiting process20

Industry analysis20

Current size and growth potential21

Geographic locations21

Competitive analysis21

Identification of competitors21

Competitive advantage of Epower system22

Market analysis22

Target market22

Promotion strategies23

Pricing strategy23

Operations23

Management plan24

Financial plan24

Critical risks24

Strengths of the business plan25

Limitations25

Conclusion25

References27

Appendices29

sIntroduction

In order to flourish and grow a business, managers and the high level management needs to take into account various decisions regarding the nature and the structure of an organization. Decisions are also made about various tools and techniques to adopt to expand the operations of an organization. With the passage of time, when business becomes larger and more complex with various functions and domains, strategy formulation becomes essential and it becomes more sophisticated. For this purpose, managers and the policy makers need to collect and examine a wide range of data and information about the organization, its operations and the about how conditions will developed in the existing and potential markets.

Developing and drafting a strategic plan is a key component of planning for growth. It helps managers and the organization to create a realistic vision for the future of the business and while preparing strategies organization can maximize their potential for growth.

A strategic business plan should not be confused with the traditional a business plan. A business plan is about devising short term and midterm goals and objectives and defining the necessary strategies in order to achieve them. On the other hand, the strategic business plan is focused on the long term objectives of an organization and also identifies the basic strategies in order to achieve them (Aaker & McLoughlin 2010, pp. 35)

Strategic business planning is a pragmatic approach, which are helpful in making decision about the organizations in future. Strategic business planning helps in establishing priorities and allocates limited resources efficiently. It also helps in improving various operations of the organizations and in monitoring the results. A detailed and well executed strategic business plan promotes a common understanding about the financial institutions overall direction and purpose.

In short, the strategic business planning is a process which ensures an organization that it will remain financially strong and sound in future and it will be able to maintain its reserves. It helps in projecting and estimating the position of an organization in the next fifteen or ten years and how the organization will reach there. Strategic planning is a detailed and a systematic process that helps the organization in identifying the current position of the business including its mission, vision and operating values, strategies, operating and monitoring plans.

Discussion

Strategic business planning is a new genre of planning and it is adapted from two primary ...