Implementation, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plans: Kudler Fine Foods Inc - Case Study Example

Implementation, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plans: Kudler Fine Foods Inc. Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 23/05/ 2011 Strategic plan Kudler Fine Foods is committed to provide quality food and wine to its customers. In achieving this, Kudler must establish and implement a strategic plan. Kudler’s strategic plan is to embrace technology through installation of a management information system. Examples of technological advancement for Kudler are the establishment of a new website and an inventory or ordering automation machine. Technological advancement for Kudler can be considered as Strategic Information systems. Consequently, in order to realize a strategic plan, the management of Kudler should come up with an implementation plan. Strategic intent is internally focused, indicating how the firm tends to use its resources, capabilities and core competencies to win competitive battles (Gomez, Chap &, p22). Implementation Plan In order to realize technology advancement in its operations as its strategic plan, Kudler should outlay an implementation plan. An implementation plan provides for the resources required, time duration, management tasks and employees’ tasks. Kudler should plan for the kind and number of resources required executing the strategic plan. Such resources include: technology infrastructure, technical expertise and knowledge about information systems. Implementation plan should set out the time required to ensure that the management and the employees can make use of the technology efficiently. On the other hand, in adopting new technology, it is important for Kudler to uphold what it knows best and waits until the new technology is proven in the market place. This is because Kudler might adopt a new technology that may not work well with its operations. Kudler can experiment a new technology in one of its operations and see whether it can be viable for the entire Kudler’s operations. Objectives The main objective of technology advancement as Kudler’s strategic plan and for any other kind of organization for that matter is to shape the way an organization design, produce and distribute its products and services. One main objective of adopting technology is to increase efficiency in operations, through utilizing few resources but adequate with the shortest period of time. Consequently, information and communication technologies are utilized by many organizations to enhance their operations as well as improve quality of services being offered to the customers. Kudler’s objective with its website is to involve customers in its operations by getting their views on various areas regarding Kudler’s food and wine. In addition to this, it aims to have prompt delivery of products to the customers. The initiator, owner and manager of Kudler, Kathy Kudler plans to add to the inventory and ordering automation by introducing new e-commerce capabilities and an online catering link (Kudler Fine Foods Portal, p15-16). The aim of this is to develop sustainable competitive advantages which as well require strategic awareness on how and what Kudler should focus on. On the other hand, strategic information systems have the capability to amplify strengths into potential sustainable competitive advantage. Kudler’s objective for technology advancement is to attain differentiation, focus and cost leadership in its operations and products to remain at an upper edge in a competitive business environment. Functional Tactics Functional tactics are the key routine activities that must be undertaken in each operational area of an organization. Functional tactics translate management’s and employees’ thoughts into action. They require managers to think about a policy’s meaning, content and intended purpose and communicate the policy to the employees to empower them. Functional tactics are viewed as core function of an organization and involves converting inputs into value- added output. There are different characteristics of functional tactics in every operational area of an organization. In Kudler, functional tactics of its marketing department include: identifying where, when and by whom products are to be sold, clearly identifying customers’ needs that the products aim to achieve and defining how the company will communicate with target market. These functional tactics are met by analyzing the product, price, promotion and place, that is, defining Kudler’s marketing mix. On the other hand, functional tactics in Kudler’s Finance and Accounting department relates to capital acquisition, allocation, dividend and working capital management. Functional tactics in this operational area may be considered either as long- term or short- term tactics. Long- term functional tactics for Kudler includes: debt financing, leveraging, dividend allocation and long- term investment capital. Short- term tactics are such as managing working capital and short- term assets of Kudler. In the human resource department of Kudler, functional tactics relates to employees in the light of strategic plan of technological advancement. Functional tactics needed here is to evaluate training and development of employees, motivational tools and remuneration because these areas are highly affected by any kind of change or introduction of a new policy or strategy since it is the employees who will be used to effect a strategy or a policy. Action Items Action items are the necessary items needed in implementing a strategic plan. One action item that Kudler should consider with all finality is to keep its employees up to date with the new technological changes as one way of motivating them. Two main approaches of Strategic Information Systems are mostly used as action items are inwardly focused and outwardly focused. An inwardly focused system aims at enhancing the competitive position of the firm by increasing employees’ productivity, improving teamwork communication’ (Turban et al., Chap 13, p3). Companies that develop a unifying strategic theme aligned with business unit activities have more of a chance of survival than the mirroring or boom and bust type companies. With the new technology, the internal workings of Kudler Fine Foods can be optimized far beyond the owner’s initial vision. For example, the new website and inventory/ordering automation will allow cash flows to be directed towards geographic expansion instead of traditional operations functions. Outwardly focused technology applications will help Kudler Fine Foods assess the external environment in the gourmet industry. Knowledge of other products in demand will help Kudler forecast changes and additions needed to remain current with the consumers she maintains. Additionally, developing an awareness of trends that are occurring will prepare for unpredicted threats to the organizational expansion plans. Kudler needs to keep their employees in high morale and customers pleased to remain competitive by continuously updating their technology and using the accurate managerial strategy to help them to remain successful. Milestone and Deadline Milestones are key dates in a job schedule in which work deliverables can be reviewed, approved and paid for. Projects may be set up with a single milestone (the final result) or with as many interim steps along the way as needed. Milestones can be used to link payments with actual deliverables, or can be used simply as pre-scheduled check points to help with progress and communication. It is important for Kudler to set a deadline for each milestone and encourage the role players in the strategic plan to achieve them. The essence of assigning each milestone a deadline is to ensure that the strategic plan project is completed on time. Defining a strategic goal will help in setting milestone and assigning a deadline eon each of it. This is because strategic goal will outline the resources required in terms of money and human power as well as the time frame within which the strategic plan must have been achieved. Milestones are usually used to monitor progress with the help of the deadlines assigned to each milestone. However, milestones usually show progress in critical paths of a project and consequently ignoring the non- critical paths. In addition, when milestone are seen unachievable in critical paths there is a tendency of taking resources from non- critical paths to critical paths. This depicts that the project is progressing well within the milestone, where else it is not. Kudler should create milestone within its strategic plan and assign a deadline on each. For example, Kudler can create a milestone which sets out that within a certain period of time, the production department should fully have utilized the new technology. Tasks and task ownership Task ownership is one of the key elements of motivating employees because it ensures responsibility, accountability and makes some team or group member responsible for completing a task. In task ownership regardless of the number of people assigned a task, there should be one key responsible person for it and an active member. In Kudler, the sales department’s strategic objective is to increase loyalty and profitability of consumers. To achieve this objective, the sales and marketing department of Kudler must expand its services, improve efficiency in its operations and increase the consumer purchase cycle. These are tasks integrated in one department. Therefore, with task ownership, Kudler should assign key person to be responsible for the execution of each task. These key persons are accountable for the completion of each task within the set time frame. On the other hand, it is important to educate the employees on the meaning of task ownership and what is required from a person owning a task. Define the task, ways and means of achieving the task properly. Kudler should also ensure that each task is allocated the resources it requires and the time for its execution and completion. Job descriptions can be a helpful in selecting the most appropriate person to own a task, since every task is associated with one particular line of profession or work. Resource allocation In order to achieve a strategic plan, adequate resources must be made available and allocated equally depending on the resource need for each task or activity. Resources include: money, time and human effort. Most importantly human effort or capital must be made available, since people are the most important assets of an organization. In the production department of Kudler, resources required include: chefs or cooks, cooking facilities and cooking ingredients. In order to have cooking ingredients and facilities money is needed. Consequently, time is needed to change the cooking ingredients into food that is sold to Kudler’s customers. Chef or cooks and any other person involved in the cooking or wine preparation must possess the relevant knowledge, skills and competence. In the light of the major technological changes occurring in the food industry, the most critical role of the human resource is to continually train and develop Kudler’s employees so as they keep up with the changes. In the light of the above, Kudler should consider installing a risk management plan when advancing technologically. Risks that can be identified are such as: employees’ inefficiency and resistance, technological infrastructure failure and lack of management support. Contingency plans for these risks include: training and educating employees and management and recruiting individuals with technical expertise to repair and maintain the machines. References Gomez-Mejia, Luis R.B. & David, B. (2002) Management 1e. New York, The McGraw Hill Companies. Kudler Fine Foods, Virtual Organization Portal Strategic Plan, Retrieved at http://www.bukisa.com/articles/399608_kudler-fine-foods-strategic-plan-university-of-phoenix- University of Phoenix rEsource, MBA-502 Course Material. Turban, E., Rainer, R.K. & Potter, R.E. (2003). Introduction to Information Technology, New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Read More