Strategic Planning - Case Study Example

Strategic Planning Table of Contents Introduction 3 Recommendations 3 Works Cited 5 Introduction The Great Italian Food Company (GIFC) is in the course of improving its business and profitability. In the early days Joe Papa the owner was the only person who used to make all the decisions regarding the future of the company. Even he was the sole person to determine the business strategies. Now with the passage of time his children grew up and have taken the responsibility to run the business with their personal ideas.

In the context of the study, I have been hired on a short term basis for the purpose of assisting the company in reviving their strategies. In the next part of the report I will be highlighting the areas on which the company needs to stress more and will also make some necessary recommendations. RecommendationsThe first thing that GIFC needs to accomplish is that it should define its business, goods and services and also the target customers. Also defining a clear vision for the organization which clearly expresses the intentions of the company and where it wants to be in the future will also help to serve the purpose.

Defining their thoughts on social responsibility, culture and ethics will further strengthen the standings of the organization. The company can think of commencing operations in the global market by using effective expansion strategies. This will not only help the company to earn more revenue, but will also allow them to cater to a number of segments around the world. However the growth is directly related with the quality of their service, level of customer service and also the location of the outlets.

The company should understand its weaknesses in order to identify the areas where they need development. In order to develop core competencies for itself the company must focus on various aspects. Some of the evident factors are variety of dishes, authenticity of the ingredients, and ambience of the outlets. Furthermore the company should also develop a strong customer relationship management tool, which will ensure highest level of customer satisfaction and they could even become a word of mouth promoter for the company.

The company should promote itself with the help of television advertisement, fliers in the form of discount coupons and also promotion through newspaper will help top serve the purpose. One of the important suggestions for the company is that while getting into any new kind of activity, the company should perform an analysis of the macro environment. This will help them to make decisions purely based upon the external situations and can sustain with it for a longer period of time. Nevertheless strategic planning can also be an effective tool, if properly utilized by the company.

Strategic planning is defined as the process by which the management personnel of the company decides about the objectives of the company and also defines the proper courses of action required to achieve the objectives (“Strategic Planning”). It is also referred to as a management tool that ensures employees of the organization are working towards the same goal (“What is strategic planning”). In this context the board of directors for the company must consider one among single, standing and contingency plans.

After determining the best possible solution and based on the evaluation, it should prioritize the plans in a systematic manner. The implementation of the plans should be the next step. Nevertheless the company should also consider controlling the implemented strategies. The aforementioned recommendations will help the company to gain more market share as well as become one of the strongest retail food chain of the country. Works Cited“Strategic planning.” Cambridge Dictionaries Online.

Cambridge University Press, 2011. Web. 01 Sep. 2012. “What is strategic planning.” Namac. National Alliance for Media Art & Culture, 2009. Web. 01 Sep. 2012.