Strategic Plan for a Popcorn Vending Business - Case Study Example

Strategic Plan of Popcorn Vending Machine of the Company Real Time Vending is the company name which is a family business that has been incorporated with the objective of designing superior quality and unique popcorn vending machines. The materials for the equipment will be imported from Italy and Spain and they will be assembled in the warehouse located in Florida. According to Hill and Steven, a management team is an important constituent of an organization (25); the company’s management team comprises of five highly experienced and professional people who have many years of experience in the vending machine industry. The names of management team members are John Smith, Jessica Wilson, Michelle Williams, Peter D’Souza and Tracy Crosby; the company was founded to meet the growing demand of high quality and efficient popcorn vending machines. The company has grown from one location in a shopping mall to five different locations in various parts of the town; the expansion has been done in a period of two years and it is expected that the number of locations will expand further in future as vending machine industry is expected to grow at an accelerating rate of about 10% (Gerdees, 4). In order to penetrate further in the vending industry, the company aims to introduce new and innovative commercial vending machines for restaurants along with food and beverage equipment. Currently, the company is employing a secretary, one general manager, two supervisors, ten paid line employees and an accounting manager. Since the company is small, there is also one Human Resource Manager, one Production, Operations & IT manager and one Marketing & Sales manager. The span of control and line of communication is shown in the following figure: The management team ensures that the communication in the organization is open so that the employees can have easy exchange of information and the business plans are effectively developed and implemented. With the help of the organization chart, everyone within the organization will be aware of their reporting responsibilities that who will be evaluating their job and performance. The chart will even ensure that everything is well-organized and co-ordinated. At present, the company is manufacturing the pop corn vending machines for small organizations and it is planning to design customized popcorn vending machines in the next two years that can be placed in public places so that the pop corns are easily accessible by the people. However, the company will offer newly designed coffee vending machines along with soft drinks vending machines so that it can do an in-depth penetration in the vending machine industry. Since the company manufactures and distributes top quality machines, the supplies are imported from Italy and Spain that have been designed with perfection so that there is no defect in any of the final machines. The customers of the company comprise of the retail shops as vending machines are placed in their stores; they are offered trade offers so that they can avail the discount packages of the company and take advantage of the bulk buying offers. Almost all of our customers are satisfied with the top most quality of our products and they easily get value for their money in the long-run as our products are developed from the most durable and reliable raw materials. Company Policies In order to have a well-organized and highly effective working environment, there should be effective company policies so that the employees work in a highly conducive and professional work culture (Griffin, 73). When a company is developing the policies for its business operations, it has to ensure that all areas of an organization are considered such as Human Resource, Marketing & Sales, Production & Operations, Finance and IT so that everything within the organization is synchronized and resources are effectively utilized. Here are some of the major company policies that every employee has to abide by: 1. The office working hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2. No employee is allowed to come late; an employee who comes late for three days will be marked absent for one day and salary amount will be deducted in accordance to the compensation amount. 3. All employees will be hired on a merit basis and they should be given a copy of company’s rules and regulations so that they are aware of the behavior expected from them in the company. 4. Each subordinate must give a weekly report at the end of the week i.e. Saturday to the respective supervisor providing details of the tasks done in the particular week. 5. The production department will have to ensure that the inventory level is maintained according to the set policies and there should never be shortage of supplies so that each and every customer is satisfied. 6. All problems of customers will be handled by the Production & Operations manager. 7. In case of any issue related to the organization’s internal operations, the employees should contact the HR manager. 8. The final products when completed should be checked against the ISO Standards 9001 so that the vending machines produced are of superior quality. 9. Every employee has to follow the company’s code of conduct to ensure that the business ethical practices are effectively followed. 10. Each employee is eligible for ten days leave a year but the notice for the leave has to be given at least one week in advance to HR department and the respective supervisor so that official permission is taken from the top management. 11. The marketing activities will be designed on an annual basis so that the customers are well-informed about the promotional activities of the organization and required sales are made by the company. 12. At the start of year, the organization’s management team should develop the strategic plan along with goals and objectives that should be achieved by the end of the year. Budget of the company First Year Forecast ($) Sales 300,000 Direct cost of goods sold 110,000 Gross Profit 190,000 Expenses Payroll 35,000 Marketing Expenses 5,000 Sales expenses 2,400 Repair and Maintenance 1,000 Office Supplies 2,000 Postage 1,200 Utilities 4,000 Telephone 2,000 Insurance 15,000 Freight 1,600 Rent 25,000 Payroll Taxes 20,000 Total Operating Expenses 114,200 Interest Expense 17,000 Taxes Incurred 20,000 Net Profit 38,800 Management Style The management style that will be followed in the organization will be participative as it will ensure that everyone in the organization is well-aware of the company’s policies and interaction within the organization is open and conducive (Gryna, 24). The participative style is the most effective option for the company as it will allow the employees to take active participation in the management of the company. When an employee is asked to be part of the goal setting or strategy development process, then there morale gets boosted and they are willing to make a valuable contribution in the organization. However, the management team has to make sure that there is a proper balance between the policies and an employee’s productivity so that the person is given enough room to show his/her personal capabilities. Although in some case the autocratic style is better but it hampers the efficiency of an organization’s employees. It has been found by many researchers that when employees are involved in the key decision making processes, they are satisfied and they put in extra efforts to enhance the performance of the organization (Morgenstern, 102). Considering the size and structure of the company, the participative style will be appropriate; the rules and regulations of the company are neither too stringent nor too relaxing so that the employees are able to work in a safe and conducive environment. The management is also willing to get the employees engaged in the company’s vital decisions so that they can get first hand information about the things happening in the market and the final decision is made after analyzing all important factors. Hence, the participative environment will help the organizations to achieve their goals in the agreed time period so that their objectives are effectively attained and they can progress in an appropriate direction for the organization’s growth in the market. Time Management Since time management is an important aspect for the success of every organization, the company will make sure that it develops stringent rules and regulations for the completion of customer’s orders on time so that their deadlines are met (Griffin, 34). In order to make sure that the time management is properly done, some changes will be made in the existing system. The major change will be done in the IT infrastructure so that proper mediums are in place for timely completion of the orders. In order to increase the efficiency of the production system, a well-designed Intranet will be implemented in the organization so that there is an excellent relationship between the supplier and the production department of the company. There will be an automatic system which will ensure that once inventory level will reach a particular level the next order will be placed so that there is no shortage of stock round the year. There will be a policy that when the inventory level reaches fifteen units (meaning that there is stock sufficient for fifteen vending machines), an order will be placed with the concerned supplier; the production manager will do physical inspection as well to ensure that the system is working properly and will give confirmation to the supplier for sending the next order. The total lead time will be twelve days with the supplier and the customer will be given lead time of sixteen days to avoid any kind of emergency situations. In addition for time management at the production level, the management team will hold a meeting once every month to keep a check on the business operations; in the meeting, only the managers and management team will be present. It will be ensured that every activity within the organization in conducted on time so that everything is working efficiently. Stress Management In order to have an efficient working environment, the stress within the business operations needs to be kept at a minimal level. For instance, the employees should be given the tasks according to their personal capabilities and they should not be overloaded with work which can hamper their performance; the adequate measures should be in place to ensure that the productions are completed on time and the customer’s orders are fulfilled within the agreed time period. Since stress can severely impact the productivity of employees, the HR manager will make sure that the policies are developed in accordance with their requirements so that they are able to work in a friendly and satisfactory environment (Hill and Steven, 74). The company will ensure that the employees have a meeting with HR manager once in three months so that if there are any problems or issues that the employee is going through then they can be addressed and resolved. The HR manager will give the counseling sessions to the employees who want assistance so that the professional can help them in managing their stress so that they can carry on their work in a calm and relaxing manner. In order to avoid any kind of stress within the organization, the management team will ensure that the feedback from employees is taken on frequent basis. The two main reasons of stress in the organization are conflict between supervisor and subordinate and dissatisfaction with the working environment. As the company has already made an open communication policy and employees are given the option of seeking help from the HR manager for any kind of problem, there is a greater possibility of effective stress management in the company. Functions of Management Since planning, organizing, leading and controlling are the main functions of a management team, the company will undertake following steps to ensure that everything in the organization is supportive for the successful attainment of its business goals: 1. The planning in the company will be done at the start of the year. At the end of the year, performance of the company and its employees will be reviewed and the management team along with the company’s managers will design the next year’s business plan and objectives so that there is proper alignment between the organization’s strategy and departments’ strategies. The plan will be made in accordance with the mission of the company that is to provide high quality vending machines to the customers so that no compromise is made on the production of final goods. 2. In order to have proper maintenance of every activity, the company will ensure that its suppliers are willing to share the company’s mission so that there is adequate supply of raw materials which will help it in meeting the demands of the customers. Even appropriate measures will be implemented in the organization to ensure that everything is synchronized. 3. The management team is the main leading body of any organization and the employee conduct business activities that are compatible with their working behavior (Harzing and Ashley, 10). In order to make sure that the employees’ demonstrate ethical behavior while working, the company will ensure that the management team follows the policies and code of conduct set by them so that they can motivate the employees to complete the work on time within set standards level. 4. Since controlling mechanism is important for the evaluation purpose, the employees’ performance will be evaluated by the supervisors who will report to the general manager about the productivity of the workers. The quality of the machines will be inspected by the supervisors to ensure that agreed plans of the company are effectively followed. Any deviation from the plan will be immediately addressed to ensure that the business activities are conducted in the right manner so that the company’s objectives are achieved and its performance gets enhanced with the passage of time. Works Cited Gerdees, Richard M. Vending and the Technological Revolution: Delivery Systems of the Future. Balancedforlife.net. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 October 2012. Griffin, Ricky W. Principles of Management. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. Print. Gryna, Frank M: Work Overload: Redesigning Jobs to Minimize Stress and Burnout. Milwaukee: Quality Press, 2004, Print. Harzing, Ane-Wil and Ashley Pinningtons. International Human Resource Management. 3rd ed. London: SAGE Publications, 2011. Print. Hill, Charles W.L. and Steven Lattimore McShane. Principles of Management. 1st ed. USA: McGraw Hill, 2006. Print. Morgenstern, J. Time Management from the Inside Out. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2004. Print. Read More