Assignment on: Impact of strategic planning in the smooth functioning

of an organization
Course: Strategic Management
Course Code: MBA 512
Program: MBA (22 Batch)
The Millennium University

Submitted to :
Submitted By :
Mr. Ibrar Alam
Mohammad Hafiz Ullah
Dean & Head of Depertment
Id; 319MBA1003
The Millennium University
Batch: 22

Submission Date: 17 March 2020

Abstract: The objective of these Impact of strategic planning in the smooth functioning of an
organization to examine the impact of strategic planning and engender a better understanding of
the importance of the implementation of strategic planning on the survival, growth and income
streams of emerging firms. The paper provides broad overview of what strategic planning is,
how it can be formulated commensurate with proper implementation coupled with its importance
as a guide for management and as a success imperative for survival, growth and development of
an emerging firm. Keywords: -Strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic Management, Emerging
firm

INTRODUCTION: The first major step in the development of a formal planning process
was when most companies began developing annual operating budget in the post war era in the
late1950s and early 1960s. Their budgets were being extended two or five years into the future..
Furthermore, the need for more comprehensive planning was made pertinent by the rapid
changing economic conditions in the early 1960 during this decade the planning horizon was
gradually broadened to include projections of size to ten years into the future. In every economic
system there are two major producers of goods and services for consumers use, they are the
private owners of factors of production and government. The basic task of these producers is to
determine what to produce, how to produce and for who should production be targeted. Business
activities in challenging economies faces several major challenges, advance in technology and
telecommunication have brought the world‘s countries together into one global economy. No
country today can remain isolated from the world economies if it closes its market to foreign
competition its citizens will pay much more for lower quality goods. But if it opens its markets,
it will face severe competition and many of its local business will suffer. Around the world, we
can see that nations have embraced information and communication technology (ICT) as a
means to enrich public and private sector processes, while providing citizens with easier access
to these services (Fang, 2002). The emphasis on ICT has also boosted Internet penetration and
literacy rates as well as investments in research and developments. The emergence of
technological innovations has opened up to new opportunities and challenges to a nation‘s
economic development (SunOS, 2002). It is worth to mention that information technology has
becoming an important fact to the business community as it helps improve the business
processes. This decade has witnessed remarkable advances in the availability of information, the
speed of communication, in raw materials, in electronic marvels and in biogenetics advances and
drugs. The most certain thing in life is that change will occur. Yet things generate as much
anxiety in managers as impending change. The level of angst included by major change often is
such that it leads to breakdown of those culture attributes that hold organizations together. Many
businesses have failed because extreme level of distrust engendered by the change process made
the communication of shared values, which drive the firm, ineffective. Clearly, the fear of the
unknown by human nature can make change highly dysfunctional for organizations, private or
public. The challenge of management in a rapidly changing world and challenging economies is
therefore to prepare the leaders in governance, captains of industries, entrepreneurs, managers
and the citizens to cope with unforeseen change and to manage planned change in such a way
that it enhances performances and sharpens the countries and organizations growth and
development.
LITERATURE REVIEW: A good deal of the early literature on strategic planning was
concerned with helping companies to remain profitable and attain competitive edge. In short, the
concept of strategic management developed principally among corporations as their tools in the
midst of a difficult and fast changing environment. For a policy to be meaningful there must be
some operational strategy that will translate it into action. According to Marks (2007)Growth is a
key goal and objective for emerging companies and management must carefully determine the
best way to combine the core competencies within a firm‘s functional departments to provide the
firm with the best opportunity for achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage in its chosen
environment. Marks (2007) also posited that strategy is about the forest and the trees. It means
taking a long-term view of what you are trying to accomplish, integrating the dynamics specific
to a particular company and to its industry, developing a set of initiatives to achieve a particular
future position, and then distilling it down into
American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER)2014w w w . a j e r .o r gPage 232bite-size
activities and actions, that in an appropriate sequence, allow you to meet your objectives.
Strategy is the set of decisions defining the activities that positions your company
advantageously relative to your rivals. According to Mint berg(1990)Strategy is the
determination of the purpose (or mission) and basic long-term objectives of an enterprise,
adoption of course of action and collection of resources necessary to achieve their aims. Marks
(2007) opined that growth is a key goal and objective for emerging companies and management
must carefully determine the best way to combine the core competencies within a firm‘s
functional departments to provide the firm with the best opportunity for achieving and sustaining
a competitive advantage in its chosen environment. Heals posited that strategy is about the forest
and the trees. It‘s taking a long-term view of what you are trying to accomplish, integrating the
dynamics specific to a particular company and to its industry, developing a set of initiatives to
achieve a particular future position, and then distilling it down into bite-size activities and
actions, that in an appropriate sequence, allow you to meet your objectives. Strategy is the set of
decisions defining the activities that positions your company advantageously relative to your
rivals. Porter (2008) defines Strategy and his perspective below: ―Competitive strategy is about
being different. It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix
of value. Given Porter‘s comments, this paper would like to suggest that strategy furan emerging
growth company is generically two pronged:(1) having a defined plan to address the fundamental
issues discussed in the previous section concerning crossing the chasm, and(2) having a
understanding of your market, its needs, and your defined position and activities to perform as
good if not better than your competitors. Strategies must be implemented effectively in order to
enhance the key performance indicators organization-wide. Oluwasanya (2011). According
toweled and Hunger (2004)strategies ―are scheme methods man oeuvres which management
hope to deploy in order to move the organization from its present recognizing that during the
intervening period in the environment. Empirical evidence suggests that entrepreneurs in
emerging firms plan in a way the is quite different from the standard textbook approaches
(McCarthy, 2003). In the multitude of SMEs, not top management teams, but the entrepreneur
himself is the enterprise‘s main strategist and decision maker, developing the vision, mission and
strategies, and also implementing them (Analoui&Karami, 2003). Strategic decisions reflect the
subjective orientations and attitudes of the entrepreneur. The role of the entrepreneur and his
attitude towards strategies issues are therefore often critical for the implementation of strategy
(Kraus, 2007). Likewise, the entrepreneur‘s personal goals, traits and strategic orientation will
have a significant impact on the enterprise‘s strategy (McKenna, 1996). Many entrepreneurs
routinely operate their daily business, but do not believe that strategic management applies to
them. However, it has been argued that no business is too small to have a solid strategy
(Sandberg, Robinson, & Pearce, 2001). The question of whether or not to use sophisticated
strategic management instruments again depends on the entrepreneur‘s previous experience
(Berry, 1998).The market entry of an emerging firm is of major importance because it
determines the strategic basis from which the enterprise tries to achieve competitive advantages
in the market place (Gruber, 2004). The enterprise‘s relative position within the market strongly
influences its performance. Within the spectrum of the generic strategies by Porter (1985), there
are (at least) three options: 1.Cost leadership2.Differentiation3.Focus on a market niche.
Whether there is a cost advantage or a differentiation potential for the enterprise is the result of
the enterprise‘s ability to cope with the give competitive forces (industry competitors, potential
entrants, buyers, substitutes, and suppliers) better than its competitors. Young SMEs can seldom
develop cost advantages, as these are often based on economics of scale. For these enterprises,
most researchers recommend the niche strategy. Besides, young SMEs can hardly target a market
as a whole, but more likely have to target certain narrow market segments which larger
competitors ignore (Lee, Lim, Tan, & Wee, 2001). A niche strategy allows an enterprise to target
customer needs by focusing the enterprise‘s limited resources on a narrow segment of the
market. This gives time for establishing a market position and developing both the necessary
resources to survive (Bam ford, Dean, & McDougall, 1997). Numerous empirical studies
confirm that the niche strategy is often the most successful initial entry strategy. Ibrahim (1993)
made this observation with small enterprises and Banter (1996) with 166 small technology-based
enterprises. Still, the niche strategy leaves several risks for SMEs, since larger enterprises can
easily launch an attack on the market niche simply by making the choice to do soothe
differentiation strategy is also possible for SMEs. The core of this strategy is to offer the
customer a special advantage along dimensions that are highly valued by the customers (Potter,
1985).
American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER)2014w w w . a j e r .o r gage 233For
achieving the highest performance, each strategy option needs to be linked with appropriate
resources (Burch, Hues, &Senneseth, 1999).Porter (2008) defines Strategy and his perspective
below:―Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing a different
set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value. Given Porter‘s comments, this paper would like
to suggest that strategy furan emerging firms generically two pronged:(1) having a defined plan
to address the fundamental issues discussed in the previous section concerning crossing the
chasm, and(2) having a understanding of your market, its needs, and your defined position and
activities to perform as good if not better than your competitors. According toweled and Hunger
(2004)strategies―are scheme methods man oeuvres which management hope to deploy in order
to move the organization from its present position to a level of niche in the environment. This
paper will like to restate that Strategic planning is subset of strategic management, Who Should
be Involved in Strategic Planning? Strategic planning should be conducted by a planning team
who among others should note and comply with the following success imperatives:1. The chief
executive and board should be included in the planning group, and should drive development and
implementation of the plan.2. Establish clear guidelines for membership, for example, those
directly involved in planning, those who will provide key information to the process, those who
will review the plan document, those who will authorize the document, etc. 3. A primary
responsibility of a business owner or board of directors is strategic planning to effectively lead
the organization. Therefore, insist that the board be strongly involved in planning, often
including assigning a planning committee (often, the same as the executive committee).4. Ask if
the board membership is representative of the organization‘s clientele and community, and if
they are not, the organization may want to involve more representation in planning. If the board
chair or chief executive balks at including more of the board members in planning, then the chief
executive and/or board chair needs to seriously consider how serious the organization is about
strategic planning!5. Always include in the group, at least one person who ultimately has
authority to make strategic decisions, for example, to select which goals will be achieved and
how. 6. Ensure that as many stakeholders as possible are involved in the planning process.7.
Involve at least those who are responsible for composing and implementing the plan.8. Involve
someone to administrate the process, including arranging meetings, helping to record key
information, helping with flipcharts, monitoring status etc.9. Consider having the above
administrator record the major steps in the planning process to help the organization conduct its
own planning when the plan is next updated.10.An organization may be better off to involve
board and staff planners as much as possible in all phases of planning. Mixing the board and staff
during planning helps board members understand the day-to-day issues of the organization, and
helps the staff to understand the top-level issues of the organization Strategic Planning Process.
In tandem with the above the following analysis should be done to engender smooth
strategic focus:

A. Swot Analysis Among the most useful tools for strategic planning is SWOT analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). The main objective of this tool is to
analyze internal strategic factors, strengths and weaknesses attributed to the organization,
and external factors beyond control of the organization such as opportunities and threats
B. Situational Analysis When developing strategies, analysis of the organization and its
environment as it is at the moment and how it may develop in the future, is important.
The analysis has to be executed at an internal level as well as an external level to identify
all opportunities and threats of the external environment as well as the strengths and
weaknesses of the organizations. There are several factors to assess in the external
situation analysis:

1. Markets (customers)

2. Competition

3. Technology

4. Supplier markets

5. Labor markets

6. The economy

7.The regulatory environment It is rare to find all seven of these factors having critical
importance. It is also uncommon to find that the first two -markets and competition -are not of
critical importance. Strategy Formulation According to Wheelmen and Hunger (2004),Strategy
formulation is the development of long-range plans for the effective management environment
opportunities and threats, in light of corporate strengths and weaknesses. The critical success
factors required to adequately implement strategic planning are mission and vision, goals,
objectives, programs, budgets, policies and the drivers of these key success factors of strategic
planning in an emerging firm, that is, the business owner or management, stakeholders and the
employees. The key components of 'strategic planning' include an understanding of the firm's
vision, mission, values and strategies and other success imperatives.

The key components are:

a) Vision: outlines what the organization wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it
operates to be. It is a long-term view and concentrates on the future. It can be emotive and is a
source of inspiration Wheelmen and Hunger (2004).For example, a charity working with the
poor might have a vision statement which reads "A World without Poverty."In the words of
Baker―Vision without action is merely a dream Action without vision just passes the time,
Vision with action can change the world)Mission: Defines the fundamental purpose of an
organization or an enterprise, succinctly describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its
vision. For example, the charity above might have a mission statement as "providing jobs for the
homeless and unemployed “It is the purpose or reason for the organization existence Wheelen
and Hunger (2004).It was what the company is providing to society, either a service like
housecleaning or a product like automobiles. A well-conceived mission statement defines the
fundamental, unique purpose that sets a company apart from other firms of its typeand identifies
the scope of the company‘s operations in terms of products or services offered and markets
served. It may also include the firm‘s philosophy about how it does business and treats its
employees. It puts into words not only what the company is now, but also what it wants to
become management’s strategic vision of the firm’s future.(Some people like to consider vision
and now; a vision statement describes what the organization would like to become.

c)Values: Beliefs that are shared among the stakeholders of an organization. Values drive an
organization's culture and priorities and provide a framework in which decisions are made. For
example, "Knowledge and skills are the keys to success" or "give a man bread and feed him for a
day, but teach him to farm and feed him for life". These example values may set the priorities of
self-sufficiency over shelter.

d)Data gathering: Gathering data about the factors, internal and external, that will have an impact
on achieving the mission statement.

American Journal of Engineering Research Objectives: Objectives are the end result of any
planned activity Wheelen and Hunger (2004). They state what is to be accomplished by when
and should be quantified if possible. The achievement of corporate objectives should result in the
fulfillment of a corporation‘s mission. In effect, this is what society gives back to the corporation
when the corporation deeds a good job of fulfilling its mission. Objectives must be established at
a corporate, divisional and departmental levels depending on structure. Objectives need to be
challenging, understandable, clear, reasonable, quantified, specific time limit, prioritized, and
consistent across departments. Objectives provide direction and purpose. f)Goals: Formulating
long term goals consistent with the mission statement and the available The term ―goal‖ is often
used interchangeably with the term ―objective In contrast to an objective, we consider a goal as
an open-ended statement of what one wants to accomplish with no quantification of what is to be
achieved and no time criteria for completion. For example, a simple statement of ―increased
profitability‖ isthmus a goal, not an objective because it does not state how much profit the firm
wants to make the next year. An objective would say something like, ―increase profits 10%
over last year. The goal of strategic planning mechanisms like formal planning is to increase
specificity in business operation, especially when long-term and high-stake activities are
involved. In an organizational setting, the organization may co-ordinate goals so that they do not
conflict with each other. The goals of one part of the organization should mesh compatibly with
those of other parts of the organization. Most importantly the goals must be SMART (specific,
measurable, related or realistic, time bound).g)Strategies: Strategy, narrowly defined, means "the
art of the general." A combination of the ends (goals) for which the firm is striving and the
means (policies) by which it is seeking to get there. A strategy is sometimes called a roadmap
which is the path chosen to plow towards the end vision. The most important part of
implementing the strategy is ensuring the company is going in the right direction which is
towards the end vision. A strategy of a corporation forms a comprehensive master plan stating
how the corporation will achieve its mission and objectives Wheelen and Hunger (2004). It
maximizes competitive advantage and minimizes competitive disadvantage. According to
Wheelen and Hunger (2004)the typical business firm usually considers three types of strategy:
corporate, business, and functional.1.Corporate strategy describes a company‘s overall direction
in terms of its general attitude toward growth and the management of its various businesses and
product lines. Corporate strategies typically fit within the three main categories of stability,
growth, and retrenchment.2.Business strategy usually occurs at the business unit or product level,
and it emphasizes improvement of the competitive position of a corporation‘s products or
services in the specific industry or market segment served by that business unit. Business
strategies may fit within the two overall categories of competitive or cooperative
strategies.3.Functional strategy is the approach taken by a functional area to achieve corporate
and business unit objectives and strategies by maximizing resource productivity. It is concerned
with developing and nurturing a distinctive competence to provide a company or business unit
with a competitive advantage. Business firms use all three of strategy simultaneously. h)Policies:
A policy is a broad guideline for decision making that links the formulation of strategy with its
implementation Wheelen and Hunger (2004). Companies use policies to make sure that
employees throughout the firm make decisions and take actions that support the corporation‘s
mission, objectives, and strategies. For example, consider the following company
policies:Macdonald‘s: Macdonald‘s will not approve any cost reduction proposal if it reduces
product quality in any way. This policy supports Macdonald‘s strategy for Macdonald‘s brands
to compete on quality rather than on price.3M: researchers should spend 15% of their time
working on something other than their primary project. (This supports 3M‘s strong product
development strategy.)Intel: cannibalize your product line (undercut the sales of your current
products) with better products before a competitor does it to you. (This supports Intel‘s objective
of market leadership).General Electric: GE must be number one or two wherever it competes.
(This supports GE‘s objective to be number one in market capitalization).Microsoft: A ―no
questions asked‖ merchandise return policy, because the customer is always right. (This supports
Microsoft competitive strategy of differentiation through excellent servicer-Implementation
Strategic Planning Review
American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER)2014w w w . a j e r .o r gPage 236It isclear
that the strategic planning process can be time-consuming and requires a substantial amount of
managerial resources. Once the mission and strategy statements have been completed, and the
goals and objectives have been established, the senior managers of the relevant business unit (or
the firm as a whole in the case of corporate-level strategies) will obviously be eager to push
forward. Before proceeding, however, it is wise to have an objective, independent group
composed of members that have not been involved in the strategy formulation process conduct a
final pre-implementation strategy review. The questions posed by the review group will
obviously depend on the particular strategy under consideration; however, questions that
probably should be asked in almost every instance include the following:Is the strategy realistic
and is it likely to produce long-term success for the business unit and/or the firm as a whole?Is
the strategy constructed in a way that it will withstand public scrutiny and reasonably anticipated
turbulence in the relevant business environment?Have the developers of the strategy taken past
experiences and failures into account in assessing the likelihood of future success for the
strategy?Does it appear that the members of management hierarchy involved with creating and
executing the strategy have had access to all relevant information, including dissenting views?
Has consideration been given to the impact that the strategy will have on existing businesses?
Have the strategy developers considered all reasonable options before settling on the specific
strategy under consideration?Do the advocates of the strategy demonstrate sufficient confidence
in its likelihood of success and would they be willing to risk their personal resources on the
ultimate outcome of the strategy?The work of the review group should be respected and the
managers associated with the development and execution of the particular strategy should be
required to prepare some sort of formal response to the review even if it is ultimately decided to
move forward with the strategy in essentially the form it was originally presented for review
without significant modification to take into account the findings of the review group Strategic
Planning Implementation Strategy implementation is the process by which strategies and policies
are put into action through the development of programs, budgets, and procedures Wheelen and
Hunger (2004). This process might involve changes within the overall culture, structure, and or
management system of the entire organization. Sometimes referred to as operational planning,
strategy implementation often involves day-to-day decisions in resource allocation except when
such drastic corporate-wide changes are needed, however, the review by top management.
Programs program is a statement of the activities or steps needed to accomplish a single-use
plan. It makes the strategy action oriented. It may involve restructuring the corporation, changing
the company‘s internal culture, or beginning a new research effort Wheelen and Hunger
(2004).Budgets budget is a statement of a corporation‘s programs in terms of dollars. Used in
planning and control, a budget lists the detailed cost of each program. Many corporations
demand a certain percentage return on investment, often called a ―hurdle rate,‖ before
management will approve a new program Wheelen and Hunger (2004). This ensures that the new
program will significantly add to the corporation‘s profit performance and thus build shareholder
value. The budget thus not only serves as a detailed plan of the new strategy in action, but also
specifies through pro-forma financial statements the expected impact on the firm‘s financial
future. Procedures Procedures, sometimes termed standard operating procedures (SOP), are a
system of sequential steps or techniques that describe in detail how a particular task or job is to
be done Wheelen and Hunger (2004). They typically detail the various activities that must be
carried out in order to complete the corporation‘s programs Evaluation and Control Evaluation
and control information consists of performance data and activity reports. If undesired
performance results because the strategic planning processes were inappropriately used,
operational managers must know about it so that they can correct the employee activity. Top
management need not be involved. If, however, undesired performance results from the
processes themselves, top managers, as well as operational managers, must know about it so that
they can develop new implementation programs or procedures. Evaluation and control
information must be relevant to what is being monitored. One of the obstacles to effective
control is the difficulty in developing appropriate measures of important activities and outputs.
An application of the control process to strategic planning is depicted. It provides strategic
planners with a series of questions to use in evaluating an implemented strategy. Such a strategy
review is usually initiated when a gap
American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER)2014w w w . a j e r .o r gPage 237appears
between a company‘s financial objectives and the expected results of current activities. After
answering the proposed set of questions, a strategic planner should have a good idea of where the
Performance is the end result of an activity. The measures to select to assess performance
depends on the organizational unit to be appraised and the objectives to be achieved. The
objectives that were established earlier in the strategy formulation is an integral part of the
strategic planning process and should be used to measure corporate performance once the
strategies have been implemented. Limitations or Vitiating Elements of Strategic Planning Any
plan is by its nature static---fixed in time. Circumstances may alter the day after theplan is
formulated. Adherence to a plan finalized yesterday, may in fact assure failure tomorrow by
virtue of the inflexibility of the approach. Planning, to be effective, must be dynamic. The
implementers of a plan must have the authority to alter it as circumstances dictate. Long term
goals should remain relatively constant, but strategies and action plans must be fluid. The best
strategy, poorly implemented, is of little value and a flawed strategy executed well will fail. A
strategy needs not be brilliant, as long as it is sound, is well conceived, and avoids the obvious
errors. The key is not to make the really dumb mistakes. Below is a list of seven common traps
in strategic planning to be used as reality checklist as you contemplate your plan (4) :1. Failing to
recognize and understand events and changing conditions in the competitive environment.2.
Basing strategies on a flawed set of assumptions.3. Pursuing a one-dimensional strategy that fails
to create or sustain a long-term competitive advantage.4. Diversifying for all the wrong reasons.
Ill-considered diversification strategies basedon growth for its own sake or portfolio-
management strategies often create negative synergy and a loss of shareholder value.5. Failing to
structure and implement mechanisms to ensure the coordination and integration of core processes
and key functions across organizational boundaries.6. Setting arbitrary and inflexible goals and
implementing a system of controls that fail to achieve a balance among culture, rewards, and
boundaries.7. Failing to provide the leadership essential to the successful implementation to
strategic change. A primary issue that surfaces in failed strategy and planning is the lack of fact
based decisions with validated assumptions. Many growth company CEO‘s have grand plans but
fail to put the resources and human capital in place to execute and implement.
CONCLUSIVE REMARKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

The objective of this paper was to create a better understanding of the intersection of the
academic fields of entrepreneurship and strategic planning and management. The paper was
based on an aggregation of the extant literature in these two fields. It has been shown that there
are intersections between both of these fields of studies, and this is pointed out by Mint berg’s
school of strategy. Obvious intersections are strategy content and processes within emerging
firms in the development of strategic management instruments. The niche strategy has been
shown to be a most successful market entry strategy for emerging firms, whereas the
differentiation strategy can also gain important once the enterprise grows. Success for any
enterprise-regardless obits size or age-is highly depended upon its ability to find a valuable
strategic position This paper has a different opinion about this because of the fact that most
strategic planning and management instruments which have originally been developed for large
enterprises, such as the SWOT analysis, can be important for emerging firms as well, but need to
be adapted according to their peculiarities and pertinence. Since emerging firms considerably
differ from large enterprises in their amount of resources, it is doubtful that s̳ tandard‘strategic
planning instruments work in the same manner in emerging firms as in large enterprises. The
instruments therefore need to be aligned with the personnel as well as the cultural,
organizational, and financial conditions of the specific enterprise in order to be successful. Since
many strategic instruments are simply not known or applied in emerging firms, a consciousness
regarding the virtue of the use of proper strategic instruments needs to be raised. This is where
politics and education have to take over. They both need to use their respective channels for
generating a greater strategic awareness, starting with emerging firms, especially the young ones.
Most importantly, the integration of entrepreneurial (opportunity-seeking) and strategic
(advantage-seeking) perspectives seems to be a promising approach for contemporary
management, and is probably even a necessary approach for coping with the effects of the new
competitive landscape. Both perspectives can be
American Journal of Engineering Research (AJER).Strategic planning therefore without any
doubt become more entrepreneurial, and shifts from the traditional administrative approach to a
strategic entrepreneurship approach. This would characterize a new management philosophy that
promotes strategic agility, flexibility, creativity, and continuous innovation. It can also be used in
transforming administrative-oriented employees into entrepreneurs. From the foregoing, this
paper can rightly assert that strategic planning is a panacea to the profitability and sustenance of
emerging firms, the researcher can say that strategic planning has-been the success factor and
antidote used by emerging firms to engender competitive edge and enhanced bottom-line.
Recommendations The planning process occurs repeatedly on the continuum of progress in
company’s growth. Below are some recommended activities for successful implementation and
execution of strategic planning by emerging firms:• Build an organization capable and willing of
carrying out the strategy and plan.• Develop budgets that steer resources into those internal
activities critical to strategic success.• Establish strategy-supportive policies.• Motivate people in
ways that induce them to pursue the target objectives energetically and, if need be, modify their
duties and job behavior to better fit the requirements of successful strategy execution.• Monitor
progress daily.• Tie the reward structure to the achievement of targeted results.• Create a
company culture and work climate conducive to successful strategy implementation.• Install
internal support systems that enable company personnel to carry out their strategic roles
effectively day to day.• Institute best practices and programs for continuous improvement.• Exert
the internal leadership needed to drive implementation forward and to keep improving on how
the strategy is being executed.• Repeatedly use the planning pyramid as the basis for future
decision.• Walk the talk with your stakeholders. In order to solve the problem concerning
strategic planning in an emerging firm formulation and implementation matters, the following
recommendations are suggested for consideration:1.The board of directors should approve the
funds for the implementation of formulated strategy if such funds are within the capacity of the
company.2.Workers who have spent a considerable number of years within the organization
should be involved in strategic policy formulation and implementation. This development would
benefit the company in terms of ideas generation and as motivating factors to the
works.3.Companies, he especially case study, should find the means of surviving the present
economic hardship, which can hinder the time of implementation of the formulated
strategies.4.Over emphasis in operating decision should be reduced by the management.5.The
welfare of those who are to implement6.Strategy planning is important and as such all factors
that would motivate workers should be considered and put in place. Strategic planning is
therefore recommended to emerging firms in view of the fact that Strategic planning has been
successfully used by emerging and existing firms for future survival, growth and increased
productivity and efficiency country-wide and organization-wide