Strategic Plan Part 3: Balanced Scorecard and Communication
STRATEGIC PLAN 9
Strategic Plan
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BUS/475
January 30, 2017
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Propose a new product or service for the new company division
The company in question is Big Five Company which is a global organization located in the United States of America. The company has its headquarters in USA but also has various branches in different parts of the world such as Africa, South America, Europe and also Asia. The company deals in agricultural products such as flour milling, production and packaging of sugar and also pork production and processing. For a long period of time, the company has been using external transportation services to ensure their products reach their customers. This has always been costly and due to this, the company has decided to come up with a new division that will be in charge of shipping the products produced to the customers. The division will be known as the Cargo Shipping Division, and its main service will be transportation of produced products. The division is therefore anticipated to expedite transportation the Big Five Company products to the different areas of the world. The company has invested in different transportation technologies to enable this division to carry out its operations smoothly and with efficiency. The division has been presented with two cargo aircrafts, 10 container vessels and 10 trucks that will aid in transportation. In addition to this, the division has also been presented with a total number of 800 new employees all over the branches of this company in order to facilitate these transportations.
Describe how the division addresses customer needs and achieves competitive advantage
The Cargo Shipping Division of this company is aiming at satisfying the needs of their esteemed customers worldwide. There are certain key factors in which the division is aimed at carrying out in order to address the needs of their customers. The company is aiming at using innovative tools that will ensure it delivers the needs of the customers. In addition to that, the division will also use marketing techniques to ensure they entice and satisfy the needs of their customers. Electronic and traditional marketing are all expected to be used in ensuring the needs of the customers are addressed.
One major way in which the company will address these needs and at the same time achieve a competitive advantage against other firms is by ensuring reliability in terms of delivery of goods and services to the customers. Having shifted focus from the previous means of transportation, there is need to ensure that this new division will be able to become reliable to the customers in terms of deliveries. Delivery of goods should be done within the right time and at the right place to ensure there is reliability. This will also create loyalty from customers and thus acting as a source of competitive advantage (Plunkett & Allen, 2008).
Pricing is the second factor in which the new division will focus upon. Delivery of products to customers may be costly in terms of fuel and labor used. Even so, the division will be keen in setting prices of the products such that the customers can afford and at the same time the company can make revenue from this. Prices should be so high that they become unaffordable to customers and at the same time, they should not be so low to an extent the company cannot make profits from this (Best, 2000). There is need to therefore strike a balance to ensure both the customers’ needs and division’s needs with respect to the prices of goods are addressed. Prices of goods and services will also be made available via the company’s website to ensure there isn’t any form of exploitation of the customers.
The division is also aiming at developing communication forums between the company and the customers in order to have the views of the customers factored in within the plans of the organization. For a company to know how the customers views it, there is need to have a feedback system with respect to the products and services delivered to customers. In this way, the division will understand the areas it needs to improve on, therefore, addressing the needs of customers and at the same time gaining a competitive advantage.
Create a vision and a business model for this new division that clearly demonstrates your decision on what you want your business to become in the future
The vision of this newly formed division is to make the company greater and better by maintaining the excellent reputation it has always had while providing the best deliveries to the customers. Big Five Company is still a company that is growing and it has not reached its full potential. The company always makes strategic goals annually which are expected to be implemented to ensure continuous growth of this company. Acquisition of this new division is thus a key milestone towards the growth and development of this company.
The best business model for this new division will be the direct sales methods. This is a type of business model in which the business channels its products to the end users without using middle agents. Since the company has branches globally, the products will be transported to these branches from which they will be able to reach the final consumers. The division will use this business model as a way reaching the customers thus build a strong bond which will result into loyalty among the customers (Zeithaml & Gremler, 2010).
Explain how the vision, mission, and value of the new division align with the company's mission and vision
Mission, vision and value of the Cargo Shipping Division aligns with the overall company’s vision and mission. Big Five Company is a food production company which mainly focuses on agricultural products. The company has been partners with the community around as well as the general environment of the organization. In addition to all these, the company is always aiming at growing and increasing in terms of structure and revenue each and every year. The company is aiming at becoming the best agricultural produce company with the best services globally. It is also the mission of this company to maintain and improve the good perception in which many customers have concerning this company. As a result of this, the new division has come up only to make all these aims to become true. The cargo shipping division will improve on deliveries of this company’s products and increase the capacity of delivering more products within a short period of time. In this way, the company will grow and gain more profits.
With respect to the vision, Big Five Company is aiming at becoming a well-known global company, understanding the needs of its customer base by coming up with goods and services which satisfy their interests. The company is also aiming at developing a culture of winning by building a great relationship with the customers. The new division will be key in ensuring this vision is achieved. For instance, in improving connection between the company and the customers, cargo shipping division will carry out a great task in this through its direct delivery of goods and services to the customers. The new division will therefore be key in ensuring this company achieves its vision (Pearce & Robinson, 2013).
Summarize how the vision, mission, and values guide the division's strategic direction
Vision, mission and values normally provide a company with the strategic direction in which a company will take. Vision is usually long term and the mission provides the channel through which the vision will be achieved. Values are on the other hand, daily principles in which the company needs to hold on in order to achieve the vision. Becoming the best delivery division globally is the vision of this new division. To become the best therefore, the company aims at providing reliable, time-bound deliveries to the customers. As this is done, the employees are supposed to uphold the highest level of values which are key to this division. Some of these values include honesty, integrity, equality, team work and diversity.
Define your guiding principles and values for your division in the context of culture, social responsibility, and ethics
To ensure work is carried out under an enabling environment, there is need to have values and principles which guide the behavior of employees as they carry out their duties. Some of the key values have been stated above and they include integrity, honesty, equality, trust and teamwork. The division treasures these values as they are the base of the ethics and culture practiced in this company. Key principles that will be important for this division include: the culture of safety, diversity, motivation and empowerment. Being a transportation division, there are key risks associated with the tasks in which the employees will be carrying out. Due to this, there is need to develop a culture of safety that will prevent any form of accidents or near misses taking place. Diversity must also be appreciated as it is key to innovation in this division and the company in general. Motivation and empowerment will also be key in making sure employees work to their fullest delivering their best to the division. Focusing on these principles and values will ensure the division work in the context of social responsibility, ethics and culture.
References
Best, R. (2000).Market-based Management (1st Ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Plunkett, W. & Allen, G.(2008). Management: Meeting & Exceeding Customer Expectations (9th Ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
Pearce, J. A. & Robinson, R. B. (2013).Strategic Management: Planning for Domestic and Global Competition (13th Ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (2010). Services marketing strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
