Resource Management in Education and the Public Sector - Essay Example

Strategic Planning Name Tutor’s Name Course 18 May 2 Recently, managers incorporate strategic plans in the organization as a tool to improve the performance of an organization in the future. Strategic planning is a process that involves organizing and directing of business activities in order to achieve organizational goals. Managers evaluate status, values and environment that would help in the achievement of desired goals of an organization in the future. Organizations have different strategic plans that suite the environment and industry they operate. Demographic, economical and cultural changes facilitate the need for a manager to develop strategic plans. There are several strategic planning models. These include Vision Based Strategic Planning, Alignment Model, Issue Based Model, Scenario Planning, Real Time Model and Organic Planning (Robert, 2008). The strategic planning process involves the following steps (Goodstein, Timothy & William, 1993) 1. Evaluating and assessing the external environment of an organization 2. Assessing the internal functions of a business 3. Creating and developing realistic and achievable goals of the business 4. Implementation of the plan developed 5. Monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of the plan These steps are applicable in all models of strategic planning. This paper develops a strategic plan of a hypothetical business using the vision-based model. The hypothetical business is known as Decode Electronics Ltd. It also applies the stages of developing a strategic plan. Vision Based Strategic Planning Many small and busy businesses adopt this strategic planning model (Goodstein, Timothy & William, 1993). The implementation of the plan occurs during the first year when the firm has not made any profits. The model has the following steps (Goodstein, Timothy & William, 1993). 1. The business identifies its mission statement that describes the purpose of existence of the business. 2. The managers establish a vision statement that points out where a firm would like to be in the future. This is in terms of its customers, suppliers and sales targets. 3. The organization selects its objectives and goals that it must work towards achieving them based on the vision and mission statement. 4. The management identifies strategies that would help the organization achieve its goals when implemented. 5. The management also establishes actions of the plan that would facilitate the implementation of each strategy. 6. The plan including the vision, mission, strategies and action of plan should be documented and signed by top management. 7. The managers must monitor the implementation of the plan and review it where need be. Decode Ltd deals with the supply of electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, laptops, televisions and decoders. The company has several branches across the globe. In each branch, it has about 50 employees. The current sales of the company in all the branches translates to $ U.S. 300 million annually. In a year, the operational costs including the wages of employees is about $ U.S. 100 million. The company has a high liquidity. This because of a loan they have borrowed which they are still repaying. The loan interests per Annum is 12 % and the amount $ U.S. 500000. The company wants to increase its sales to $ 500 million annually and maintain minimal costs. Their main aim is to open other branches that would assist them to reach their sales targets. The managers also want to train their employees in orders to diversify their skills. They also want to ensure they encourage team spirits among workers. The strategic plan for Decode Limited carries out a SWOT analysis for the organization. It also states the vision and mission statements of the organization. The plan also highlights the values, objectives and goals of the firm. Several strategies that the management would employ are also in the plan. A. Strategic Plan For Decode Electronics Limited Strengths 1. The management team is cooperative and strives to achieve the organizational goals. 2. The organization retains their customers through the establishment of a good relationship. 3. Decode Limited offers a wide range of products and services. 4. Competent and skilled staff who offer quality services to customers. 5. The business operates in well-established markets and is part of the London stock exchange. 6. Decode has a strong research and development team who give recommendation to the management about the markets Weaknesses 1. Insufficient cash fund, which cause the business to seek alternative funding through borrowing from financial institutions. 2. Very few board of directors, which cause the business not to have diverse ideas. 3. The Target customers are not fully aware of the business 4. The business does not have a well-established marketing and sales department. 5. New technologies have not been acknowledged by the organization. 6. The business depends on few skilled employees. Threats 1. Other companies may dominate a targeted market. 2. Emergence of new technology may make products be out dated. 3. Economic depressions and poor standards of living could reduce the demand for electronic products. 4. Inflation of prices could destabilize their markets. 5. Competition could arise because of the growth of market segments. 6. markets the dominate in could become too sensitive to price changes Opportunities 1. There is rapid growth in the market segment promoting market expansion. 2. There is a decline in the tax charges on export goods. 3. Improvement of distribution channels due to availability of new electronic products 4. The business can diversify in other markets. Vision Decode Electronic Limited will establish seven more branches in Europe than the current number of twenty. The annual sales will increase to 500 million U.S. dollars in order to remain profitable. The company will employ about 50 employees in each branch. The staff duties will include research and development, marketing, administration and support depending on the employees’ skills and expertise. The services offered by decode will advance in order to gain a competitive advantage to other firms in the industry. The firm will also benefit from the economies of scale. It will grow and adopt new technology where necessary. The business managers shall focus on equity financing rather than debt financing. Mission Statement Decode Limited designs, develops and supplies a range of quality electronic products to its customers. The prices of the electronic products favor all consumers. The company supplies electronics to individuals, wholesalers and retailers. The products offered by decode are of good quality and durable. The company also offers a one-year warrant for all their products. The sales are achievable through the various branches across the nation and overseas. Corporate Responsibilities As a requirement of business ethics, decode electronic acts responsible to all people involved in their business operation. Some of the responsibilities they have undertaken include 1. They pay their suppliers in time. 2. Decode Educates their customers on how to use their products. 3. The firm maintains a high standard relationship with the society through sponsoring community development projects. 4. The organization offers a conductively environment to the employees that promote culture exchange, talent growth and innovation. 5. The business Rewards and promotes hardworking employees. Business Objectives The business wishes to expand and diversify its market in of to achieve high returns. The business also wants to become more competitive than other firms in the electronics industry do. They want to become the leading electronic company in the market within two years. The business also wants to increase its sales each year and reduce its operational costs. Key Strategies 1. The company will identify new market segments. 2. The management will seek additional capital from issue of shares. 3. The sales and marketing will also be trained, and additional staff will be acquired. 4. The firm will identify new technologies and implement them in the business. 5. The firm will open new branches in suitable areas identified by the research and development team. 6. The company will start participating in trade fairs, shows and exhibitions in order to create awareness of their products. 7. The company will develop a market entry plan for the new branches it wants to open. 8. The company will also develop a website where it would market and sell its products online. Major organizational goals 1. Achieve sales of U.S. $ 500 million by the end of 2013 2. Report annuals profits of U.S. $ 350 million by 2013 3. Capture 30% of the market segment by 2015 4. Become the leading suppliers of electronics in 20 countries by 2015 5. Have 50 branches in the 20 countries by 2015 Strategic Action Programs The chief executive officer of the company will develop and create contacts that will raise a capital of U.S. $100 million within six months. The chief financial officer in cooperation with human resource manager will employ a marketing director of the business within one month. The directors shall hold a meeting to review the finding of research and development team on their markets segments. The board of directors shall acquire new members with financial and marketing skill before their meeting. The development and marketing plans shall be developed and implemented within three months. B. Commentary Report All professional services require individuals to have the skills in resource management. This is because most organizations have scarce resources. Managers aim at improving the gains of a business, maintaining skilled employees and increasing a customer’s satisfaction (Drucker 1990). Managers should focus at full optimization of the resources of business. This course has equipped me with the knowledge of strategies applicable in the management of resources. The skills have acquired will help me in the job industry. These skills include planning, selection, recruitment, training and appraisal of workers (Goodstein, Timothy & William, 1993). The resource management skills ensure that a good relationship is maintainable between managers and their employees. The research and organizational skill I gained have also facilitated the importance of being relevant in my other research duties. This management subject is very important from an organization perspective. Managers lead their staff and the organization towards the achievement of objectives (Oakland, 2003). Leadership skills are essential tools to the successfulness of a manager. If a manager succeeds, the business will also succeed. The leadership traits and skill help manger to influence the resources of an organization in order to achieve the goals of an organization’s goals. Lack of proper leadership could cause a business to fail (Thompson, 2003). All managers should be entrepreneurs (Sheshinski, Strom, & Baumol, 2007). The knowledge of resource management has equipped me with the skill of finding opportunities, being creative and identifying new business ideas. This entrepreneurial skill will help me when I become a manager of a business. This is because I will be able to create new ideas that would benefit the business. Creativity is the key to most successful businesses (Oakland, 2003). New ideas help organizations to gain a competitive advantage over the others. Not until, I learnt this subject I did not know how to develop a plan and the importance of a plan. The knowledge of planning has enabled me to achieve my objectives as student. Today, I am time conscious because all managers are expected to be so. I have learnt the importance of obeying rules and regulation. Managers are expected to lead by example (Sheshinski, Strom, & Baumol, 2007). The policies of an organization should be obeyed by all workers in order to ensure that the organization meets its goals. Knowledge of strategic planning has equipped with a tool for decision-making. I have learnt that decisions should be made based on an analysis carried out. Making of a wrong decision could lead to financial losses or other consequences (Hellriegel, John & Richard, 2001). It is important for individuals to evaluate and find the resources necessary to making a decision. Change has become part of the day-to-day activities of business and individual (Fleming 2009). With the development of strategic plans, it would be easy for individuals to survive and cope with those changes. Ethics and legal aspects are major discussions in resource management Gerry, Kevin & Richard, 2008). Managers should value their work and perform it with due care. They should also maintain a high level of integrity that will not be compromised (Goodstein, Timothy & William, 1993). This is also the same case in education. I have always applied this knowledge by ensuring I do my research assignments covering all expected details. Managers should perform their duties and observe the rule of law that guides businesses such as the companies act. In school, students should also obey all the rules and regulations with no exceptions. This will help them to avoid any form of punishment. Cooperation among employees is necessary (Drucker, 1990). Managers should encourage teamwork because it promotes organizational culture. This subject has enabled me to establish effective study groups in all other subjects. The study groups have made to improve in my grades. All organizations aim at reporting high profits. Managers strive to achieve these profits by minimizing costs (Drucker, 1990). Expenses of a business will be low if the business is to achieve high gains. The importance of minimization of costs has helped me in budgeting for all expenses I want to incur. The research on strategic management has equipped me with the skills of business analysis. For example, the SWOT analysis is uses to evaluate the current position of an organization (Handler, 1990). It can also be applied in the life of an individual when they want to become better. As a student, I can apply SWOT analysis when identifying the subjects I perform better in than the other. This would help me come up with a balanced plan that would help me improve in my weak subjects. Strategic planning involves the development of a vision and mission Gerry, Kevin & Richard, 2008). This has helped me to have various vision and missions in life that I strive to achieve. The visions direct me in my studies and daily undertakings. This has helped me to be committed in both my studies and research work. I have learnt the need to communicate with individual. This helps in outlaying of the duties and responsibilities of others in an organization. Communication also facilitates the achievement of goals (Gerry, Kevin, & Richard, 2008). This is because workers are aware of the business objectives and they strive to achieve them. This subject has also made me realize the importance of seeking better solutions to problems rather than relying on alternatives. The development of a course of actions of a problem is necessary in the management of business. This enables managers to perform their function of problem solving. Solving of problems would be enhanced when solutions to a problem are obtained. This knowledge can also be applicable in the other activities apart from business activities. Resource management equips students with the knowledge of developing public relations (Goodstein, Timothy & William, 1993). Individuals relate with each other daily. Therefore, they must learn how to co-exist together. Even at the work place, employees of an organization are encouraged to work together. This facilitates the achievement of business objectives. Public relations also boost the self-esteem of most students. For example, I could not stand and speak in front of a crowd, but after I learnt this topic in class, I am confident. Understanding of other people personality is important if people are to avoid conflicts. This is because the different personalities of individual cause conflicts in businesses (Fleming, 2009). There are several categories of personalities. These include melancholic, sanguine, choleric, and phlegmatic. The personality traits of individuals influence their perception. Managers who know the personality characteristics of their staff deal with them easily and they know how to handle them (Fleming, 2009). The knowledge of personality traits helps me to understand my classmates and cope with them as a student. In conclusion, resource management in education and public sector is a recommendable course to intended managers. This is because all the skill learnt through out the course will benefit individual when they assume the roles as managers. Managers of businesses should apply their professional skill such as cost effective and strategic management skills in order to succeed. This course empowers students with various management skill and most importantly how they can deal with their staff when they become managers. The lessons learnt from the course are applicable in the daily practices of a student. References Drucker, P. (1990). "Winning Strategies". In: Managing the Non-Profit Organization (pp. 59-71). New York: Harper Collins Publishers. Fleming, P., 2009. Authenticity and the Cultural Politics of Work. United States of America: Oxford University Press Goodstein, L., Timothy N. & William P. (1993). Applied Strategic Planning: How to Develop a Plan that Really Works. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill. Gerry J., Kevin S., & Richard W. (2008). Exploring corporate strategy. United States Of America Pearson Education Limited. Handler, A., 1990. Strategy and Structure. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press. Hellriegel, D., John W., & Richard W. (2001). "Strategic Choices". In: Organisational Behavior (pp. 478-501). Mason, Ohio: South-Western College Publishing. Oakland, J., 2003. Total Quality Management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Thompson, A. & Strickland. J. (2003). "Competitive and Managerial Resource Fits". In: Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases (pp. 344-353). Irwin, New York: McGraw-Hill. Robert, W. 2008. Three models of Strategy. New York: Academy of Management Press. Sheshinski, E., Strom, R., & Baumol, W. 2007. Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and the Growth Mechanism of the Free-Enterprise Economies. Princeton: Princeton University Press. . Read More