Strategic

Strategic Plan Part 2

BUS/475

March 5, 2012

Dale Hetrick

Strategic Plan Part 2

“Entrepreneurs and business managers are often so preoccupied with immediate issues that they lose sight of their ultimate objectives. That's why a business review or preparation of a strategic plan is a virtual necessity. This may not be a recipe for success, but without it a business is much more likely to fail. A sound plan should:

• Serve as a framework for decisions or for securing support/approval.

• Provide a basis for more detailed planning.

• Explain the business to others in order to inform, motivate & involve.

• Assist benchmarking & performance monitoring.

• Stimulate change and become building block for next plan” (Plan Ware, 2012).

Preparing a strategic plan has several steps of which many were discussed in plan 1. Steps include the vision, the mission, the values, the objectives, the strategies, the goals, and the programs. Following these steps ensures success in the endeavored business. Along with the strategic plan steps the external forces and trends must be considered such as legal and regulatory, global, economic, technological, innovation, and many more. The internal forces and trends must be considered as well, such as strategy, structures, resources, goals, culture, and many more. When an idea for a business plan is presented one must analyze at least seven of the forces and trends, discussing the economic as well as legal and regulatory forces and trends. One must critique how well the organization adapts to change. One must identify issues and opportunities in which one identifies the major issues and opportunities that the company faces based on previous analysis.

Upon discussing the Open Hearted business plan with other members, questions started to arise such as on the external level, what forces and trends affect the company economically as well as legal and regulatory. The company is well aware of the...