In a rapidly changing market, an organization must develop and maintain a strategic fit between its goals and capabilities. Developing a clear vision, supporting goals, defining sound tactical plans, and proper coordination of different functional strategies is critical for achieving success in long-term strategic planning. The Eastern Company, which deals with manufacturing and distribution of aluminum, was facing stiff competition from foreign companies. The management identified eight risk areas that needed attention. For the management to address these critical risk areas, it embarked on a process of developing a business plan that could serve as a blueprint for establishing and cementing its market leadership (Barkley, 2006). Integrating strategy in the processes aiming at establishing a business plan was central to the establishment of actionable solutions for the identified risks. The business planning, in this case, was triggered by the need for Eastern Company to salvage its dwindling competitive edge.
The ability of any business to remain competitive is critical for achieving its core objectives, including remaining profitable. The competitiveness and profitability of a business are factors of proper planning and implementation of the same. The management of Eastern Company acknowledged the need to establish a mechanism that would sustain its capacity to compete on the global front (Barkley, 2006). For any plan to achieve the intended objectives, the management needs to include all the employees and relevant stakeholders. A key strategy to achieve unity in implementing a plan is to include having regular communication with those who will be directly affected by the plan. According to Cooley (2017), strategic planning is a successful model that has been extensively used in a different organization to bring about change and growth. Cooley further notes that organizational communication is a complementary and strategic element for business planning. After identifying the risks that could weaken its competitiveness, Eastern Company focused on passing knowledge to all internal stakeholders. Special meetings and focus groups were convened, whereby the employees were encouraged to incorporate documentation in their actions (Barkley, 2006). From this, the management aimed at collecting information that would be used to formulate policies and procedures in the business plan.
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Communication was central in achieving the buy-in of the employees and other stakeholders. Seeking the commitment of the entire management and workforce of Eastern and United Steelworkers of America was crucial in achieving the objectives in the plan (Barkley, 2006). Having a strategic plan supported by the majority in an organization removes bottlenecks that can impede its implementation, such as resistance from some workers. The business plan being developed at the organization provided for the job security of the entire labor force. On the other hand, the stakeholders would benefit from product recognition and profitability that would result from the manufacture of superior goods and services (Barkley, 2006). With these benefits, it was possible to convince all parties of the superiority of the business plan being executed.
After sharing the goals of the intended plan and obtaining support from all stakeholders, the next step was to prepare the actual strategic plan. The motivation behind this plan was to improve the firm’s profitability while also establishing a long-term path for growth. Central to these ambitions was the need for Eastern Company to be ahead of the competition both locally and internationally (Barkley, 2006). The entire plan was established around the eight risks to its competitive position that had been identified earlier. Before placing the risks into perspective, the management undertook the process of evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The eight risks were then framed as mini strategies, thus becoming actionable items. Despite the organization boasting a positive work environment, there was a challenge of integrating the views of the workers with the company’s business strategy (Barkley, 2006). The management had to repackage the strategy to be customer-centric hence laying the ground for enhanced productivity, quality, internal cohesion, and teamwork across all functional units within the organization.
The strategic business plan was to be molded around the firm’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). According to Gürel and Tat (2017), strategic planning is a tool that modern organizations use to increase their productivity by assisting them to allocate resources more efficiently. The scholars further state that for an organization to have implementable strategies, they must analyze their external environment to understand the threats and opportunities in its competitive environment. Similar to other aspects discussed above, the SWOT analysis's purpose was to strengthen the company's ability to achieve the overall goal. The plan was indicative of the organization’s stratagems, creativities, and measures of success. According to ( Barkley, 2006 ) initiatives refer to the programs and projects currently underway or those in the pipeline ready to be implemented. Eastern Company management banked on the initiatives to achieve specific strategies. Differently, measures were the pointers of progress, and they were to be used to evaluate the accomplishment of the eight crucial strategies.
With increasing cutthroat competition, Eastern Company’s management identified eight major risk areas that needed significant improvements. Through a multifaceted strategic approach, the firm’s leadership embarked on a process of designing a business plan that would augment the organization’s competitiveness. Creating unity of purpose within the firm and analyzing the threats and opportunities in the external market were some of the primary strategies that the company employed.
References
Barkley, B. T. (2006). Integrated project management . McGraw-Hill Professional.
Cooley, L. M. C. (2017). The Role of Communication in Strategic Planning at California Community Colleges (Doctoral dissertation, Brandman University).
Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research , 10 (51).
