Business plan as an element of strategic planning. Strategic business planning Strategic planning and business plan

Question 1.1. System and planning levels

Topic 1. Essence and functions of planning.

Lecture course. Operational and production planning

Manufacturing is a complex task. Some firms make a limited number of products, others offer a wide range. But each business uses a different process, machinery, equipment, work skills and materials. To make a profit, a company must organize all of these factors in such a way as to produce the right products of the highest quality at the right time at the lowest cost. This is a complex problem and will require an effective planning and control system to address it.

In practice, strategic, long-term, short-term and current planning is used. Each of them has its own forms and methods of linking resources and methods of achieving goals and calculating indicators.

The production planning and control system consists of four main levels:

· Strategic business plan;

· Long-term production plan (sales and operations plan);

· Short-term production schedule;

· Current or operational-production plan.

Each level has its own task, duration and level of detail. As you move from strategic planning to control over production activities, the task changes from defining a general direction to specific detailed planning, the duration decreases from years to days, and the level of detail increases from general categories to planning the production of individual components and parts and equipment.

Since each level has its own duration in time and its own tasks, the following aspects also differ:

· The purpose of the plan;

· Planning horizon - the period of time from the current moment to a particular day in the future, for which the plan is designed;

· Level of detail - detailing the items required to fulfill the plan;

· Planning cycle - the frequency of revision of the plan.

At each level, three questions must be answered:

1. What are the priorities - what needs to be produced, how much and when?

2. What production facilities do we have at our disposal, what resources do we have?

3. How can the discrepancies between priorities and resources be resolved?

A strategic business plan is a statement of the main goals and objectives that the company expects to accomplish in a period of two to ten years or longer. It is a statement of the general direction of the firm, describing the type of business that the firm wants to do in the future - product lines, markets, etc. The plan gives a general idea of ​​how the company intends to achieve these goals. It is based on long-term forecasts.

Marketing, finance, production and technical departments are involved in the development of a strategic business plan. In turn, this plan sets the direction and ensures the coordination of marketing, production, financial and technical plans.

Marketing specialists analyze the market and make decisions regarding the actions of the company in the current situation: they determine the markets in which work will be carried out, the products that will be supplied, the required level of current and after-sales customer service, pricing policy, strategy for promoting products to the market, etc. ...

The financial department decides from what sources to receive and how to use the funds available to the company, manages the cash flow, forms a strategy for raising funds, and makes proposals for the use of profits.

Production is the main link in the planning system. Practically the activities of all divisions of the enterprise are aimed at ensuring its uninterrupted operation, to solve the main task for which the enterprise was created - to produce and sell products, to meet market demand. To do this, it uses the available resources, equipment, labor and materials as efficiently as possible.

Technical services are responsible for engineering, technological and instrumental preparation of production, research, development and design of new and improvement of existing products.

Technicians work closely with marketing, manufacturing, and economists to design products that will sell well in the marketplace, while minimizing manufacturing costs.

Setting the task for the development of a strategic business plan is the responsibility of the enterprise management. Based on the information received from the marketing, finance and production services, the strategic business plan determines the general concept, in accordance with which the goals and objectives of further, more detailed planning are set. Each service develops its own plan for the implementation of the tasks set by the strategic business plan. These plans are consistent with each other as well as with the strategic business plan.

The level of detail in the strategic business plan is low. This plan addresses general market and manufacturing requirements — for example, the market as a whole by major product groups — rather than the sale of individual items. Often it contains indicators in monetary units, and not in physical terms.

Strategic business plans are usually reviewed semi-annually or annually.

Is a set of actions, decisions taken by management, which lead to the development of specific strategies designed to achieve goals.

Strategic planning can be presented as a set of management functions, namely:

• resource allocation (in the form of company reorganization);
• adaptation to the external environment (by the example of Ford Motors);
• internal coordination;
• awareness of organizational strategy (for example, management needs to constantly learn from past experiences and predict the future).

Strategy Is a comprehensive, integrated plan designed to ensure the implementation and achievement of its objectives.

Key points of strategic planning:

• the strategy is developed by senior management;
• the strategic plan must be supported by research and evidence;
• strategic plans must be flexible in order to be able to change them;
• planning should be beneficial and contribute to the success of the company. At the same time, the costs for the implementation of measures should be lower than the value of the benefits from their implementation.

Strategic planning process

The following stages of strategic planning are distinguished:

- the general main goal of the organization, a clearly expressed reason for its existence. Burger King fast food chain provides people with inexpensive fast food. This is implemented in the company. For example, hamburgers should be sold for $ 1.5 rather than $ 10.

The mission statement can be made on the basis of questions:

• What kind of business is the company engaged in?
• What is the firm's external environment that defines its operating principles?
• What is the type of working climate within the firm, the culture of the organization?

The mission is about creating customers and meeting their needs. The mission must be found in the environment. Reducing the mission of the enterprise to "making a profit" narrows the scope of its activities, limits the ability of management to explore alternatives for decision-making. Profit is a necessary condition for existence, an internal need of the company.

Often a mission statement answers two main questions: who are our customers and what needs of our customers can we meet?

The nature of the leader leaves an imprint on the mission of the organization.

Goals- are developed on the basis of the mission and serve as criteria for the subsequent process of making managerial decisions.

Target characteristics:

• must be specific and measurable;
• time-oriented (due dates);
• must be achievable.

Assessment and analysis of the external environment... It is necessary to assess the impact of changes on the organization, threats and competition, opportunities. Factors are at work here: economic, market, political, etc.

Management survey of the internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization... It is helpful to focus on five survey functions: marketing, finance, operations (manufacturing), human resources, culture, and corporate image.

Exploring strategic alternatives... It should be emphasized that the company's strategic planning scheme is closed. The mission and procedures of other stages should be constantly changed in accordance with the changing external and internal environment.

Basic organizational strategies

Limited growth... Used in mature industries, when satisfied with the current state of the company, low risk.

Growth... Consists of an annual significant increase in the indicators of the previous period. It is achieved through the introduction of new technologies, diversification (expansion of the range) of goods, the capture of new related industries and markets, the merger of corporations.

Reduction... According to this strategy, the level is set below that achieved in the past. Implementation options: liquidation (sale of assets and stocks), cutting off excess (sale of divisions), reduction and reorientation (to reduce part of the activity).

Combination of the above strategies.

Choosing a strategy

There are various methods for choosing strategies.

The BCG Matrix (developed by Boston Consulting Group, 1973) is widespread. With its help, you can determine the position of the company and its products, taking into account the capabilities of the industry (Figure 6.1).

Rice. 6.1. BCG Matrix

How to use the model?

The BCG matrix, developed by the consulting company of the same name, was already widely used in practice by 1970.

This method focuses on cash flow directed (consumed) in a separate business area of ​​the company. Moreover, it is assumed that at the stage of development and growth, any company absorbs cash (investments), and at the stage of maturity and the final stage, it brings (generates) a positive cash flow. To be successful, the money supply received from a mature business must be invested in a growing business in order to continue to make a profit.

The matrix is ​​based on the empirical assumption that the larger company is more profitable. The effect of decreasing unit costs with increasing firm size is attested to by many American companies. The matrix is ​​used to analyze portfolio(set) of manufactured products in order to develop a strategy for the future fate of products.

BCG matrix structure. The abscissa shows the ratio of the sales volume (sometimes the value of assets) of the firm in the relevant business area to the total sales in this area from its largest competitor (the leader in this business). If the company itself is a leader - then to the first competitor following it. In the original, the scale is logarithmic from 0.1 to 10. Accordingly, weak (less than 1) and strong competitive positions of the firm's product are revealed.

On the ordinate axis, the assessment is made for the last 2-3 years, you can take the weighted average value of production volumes per year. You also need to take inflation into account. Further, based on the options for strategies, the direction of investment is selected.

"Stars"... They bring high profits, but require large investments. Strategy: maintain or increase market share.

"Cash cows"... They bring a steady income, but the cash flow can suddenly end due to the "death" of the product. They do not require large investments. Strategy: maintain or increase market share.

"Question marks"... It is necessary to move them towards the "stars" if the required volume of investments is acceptable for the company. Strategy: maintaining or increasing or decreasing market share.

"Dogs"... They can be significant in the case of occupying a highly specialized niche in the market, otherwise they require investments to increase market share. It may be necessary to abandon the production of this product altogether. Strategy: be content with the position or reduce or eliminate market share.

Conclusion: the BCG matrix allows you to position each type of product and adopt a specific strategy for them.

SWOT analysis

This method allows you to establish a connection between the strengths and weaknesses of the company and external threats and opportunities, that is, the relationship between the internal and external environment of the company.

Strengths: competence, adequate financial resources, reputation, technology. Weaknesses: Outdated equipment, low profitability, insufficient market understanding. Opportunities: entering new markets, expanding production, vertical integration, growing market. Threats: new competitors, substitute products, slowing market growth, changing consumer tastes.

Opportunities can turn into a threat (if a competitor uses your capabilities). Threat is an opportunity if competitors have failed to overcome the threat.

How to apply the method?

1. Make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization.

2. Let's establish connections between them. SWOT matrix.

At the intersection of four blocks, four fields are formed. All possible paired combinations should be considered and those that should be taken into account when developing a strategy. Thus, for couples in the SIV field, a strategy should be developed to leverage the company's strengths to capitalize on the opportunities that have emerged in the external environment. For SLV - through the ability to overcome weaknesses. For the IMS, use force to eliminate the threat. For a couple in the field, SLU is to get rid of weakness while at the same time averting the threat.

3. We build a matrix of opportunities to assess the degree of their importance and impact on the strategy of the organization.

We position each specific opportunity on the matrix. Horizontally we postpone the degree of influence of the opportunity on the organization's activities, vertically - the likelihood that the company will take advantage of this opportunity. Opportunities that have fallen into the fields of ВС, ВУ, SS are of great importance, they must be used. Diagonal - only if additional resources are available.

4. Build a matrix of threats (similar to item 3).

Threats caught in the fields of VR, VK, SR are a great danger, immediate elimination. Threats in the BT, SK, and NR fields are also eliminated immediately. NK, ST, VL - a careful approach to their elimination. The remaining fields do not require primary elimination.

Sometimes, instead of steps 3 and 4, an environment profile is compiled (i.e. factors are ranked). Factors are threats and opportunities.

Importance to the industry: 3 - high, 2 - moderate, 1 - weak. Influence: 3 - strong, 2 - moderate, 1 - weak, 0 - absent. Direction of influence: +1 - positive, -1 - negative. The degree of importance - we multiply the previous three indicators. Thus, it can be concluded which of the factors are more important for the organization.

Implementation of the strategic plan

Strategic planning makes sense when it is implemented. Any strategy has specific goals. But they need to be implemented in some way. There are certain methods for this. To the question: "how to achieve the goals of the company?" strategy answers exactly. At its core, it is a method to achieve a goal.

Concepts of tactics, policies, procedures, rules

Tactics Is a specific move. For example, an advertisement for “photomat” film, which aligns with the company's strategy of promoting 35mm film to the market.

There are problems with the implementation of rules and procedures. A conflict may arise over the methods of providing employees with information about the new rules in the company. It is necessary not to force, but to convince the employee that the new rule will make it possible to perform this work most efficiently.

Methods for implementing the strategy: budgets and management by goals.

Budgeting. Budget- a plan for the allocation of resources for future periods. This method answers the questions of what tools are available and how to use them. The first step is to quantify goals and resources. A. Mescon identifies 4 stages of budgeting: determining the volume of sales, operational estimates for departments and divisions, checking and adjusting operational estimates based on proposals from senior management, drawing up the final budget for items of receipt and use of resources.

Management by goals- MBO (Management by Objectives). Peter Drucker was the first to apply this method. McGregor talked about the need to develop a system of benchmarks in order to then compare the performance of managers at all levels with these benchmarks.

The four stages of MBO:

• Developing clear, concise goals.
• Developing realistic plans to achieve them.
• Systematic control, measurement and evaluation of work and results.
• Corrective actions to achieve planned results.

The 4th stage is closed to the 1st.

Stage 1... Development of goals. The goals of the lower level in the structure of the company are developed on the basis of the higher level, based on the strategy. Everyone is involved in setting goals. A two-way exchange of information is required.

Stage 2... Action planning. How do you achieve your goals?

Stage 3... Verification and evaluation. After the time period established in the plan, the following are determined: the degree of achievement of goals (deviations from the benchmarks), problems, obstacles in their implementation, remuneration for effective work (motivation).

Stage 4... Correction. Determine which goals were not achieved and establish the reason for this. It then decides what action to take to correct the deviations. There are two ways: adjusting the methods of achieving goals, adjusting goals.

The validity and effectiveness of MBO is proven by the higher productivity of people with specific goals and information about their results. The disadvantages of implementing MBO include a great deal of enthusiasm for setting goals.

Assessment of the strategic plan

Beautiful matrices and curves are not a guarantee of victory. Avoid focusing on immediate implementation of the strategy. Don't trust generic models too much!

Formal assessment is performed based on deviations from the specified evaluation criteria... Quantitative (profitability, sales growth, earnings per share) and qualitative (staff qualifications). It is possible to answer a number of questions when evaluating a strategy. For example, is this strategy the best way to achieve a goal, use the company's resources.

The success of Japanese management lies in long-term commitment. USA - pressure on shareholders, demanding immediate results, which often leads to collapse.

Accuracy of measurements... Accounting methods for inflating income and profits. Enron company. Standards need to be developed. And it's easier - to face the truth.

Checking the compliance of the strategy structure... Strategy defines the structure. You cannot impose a new strategy on an existing organizational structure.

Strategic market planning

In solving the strategic tasks of the organization, strategic planning plays a significant role, which is understood as the process of developing and maintaining a strategic balance between the goals and capabilities of the organization in changing market conditions. The purpose of strategic planning is to determine the most promising areas of the organization's activities, ensuring its growth and prosperity.

Interest in strategic management was due to the following reasons:

1. The realization that any organization is an open system and that the main sources of an organization's success are in the external environment.
2. In conditions of aggravated competition, the strategic orientation of the organization's activities is one of the decisive factors for survival and prosperity.
3. Strategic planning allows you to adequately respond to the uncertainties and risks inherent in the external environment.
4. Since the future is almost impossible to predict and the extrapolation used in long-term planning does not work, it is necessary to use scenario, situational approaches that fit well into the ideology of strategic management.
5. In order for an organization to respond in the best possible way to the impact of the external environment, its management system must be built on principles different from earlier.

Strategic planning is aimed at adapting an organization's activities to an ever-changing environment and capitalizing on new opportunities.

In general, strategic planning is a symbiosis of intuition and the art of top management of an organization in setting and achieving strategic goals, based on the knowledge of specific methods of preplanned analysis and development of strategic plans.

Since strategic planning is primarily associated with production organizations, it is necessary to distinguish different levels of management of such organizations: the organization as a whole (corporate level), the level of production and economic activities (divisional, departmental level), the level of specific areas of production and economic activities (the level of individual types of business), the level of individual products. The management of the corporation is responsible for developing the strategic plan of the corporation as a whole, for investing in those areas of activity that have a future. It also decides to open new businesses. Each division (department) develops a divisional plan in which resources are allocated between the individual types of business of this department. A strategic plan is also developed for each business unit. Finally, at the product level, within each business unit, a plan is formed to achieve the goals of producing and marketing individual products in specific markets.

Organizations for the competent implementation of strategic planning must clearly identify their areas of production and economic activity, in other terminology - strategic economic units (СХЕ), strategic business units (SEB).

It is believed that a CXE allocation must meet the following three criteria:

1. SCHE should serve the market external to the organization, and not meet the needs of other departments of the organization.

2. It must have its own, different from others, consumers and competitors.

3. The management of the CXE must control all the key factors that determine success in the market. Thus, CXEs can represent an individual company, a division of a company, a product line, or even a separate product.

In strategic planning and marketing, several analytical approaches have been developed that make it possible to solve the problems of assessing the current state of the business and the prospects for its development. The most important of them are the following:

1. Analysis of economic and product portfolios.
2. Situational analysis.
3. Analysis of the impact of the chosen strategy on the level of profitability and the ability to generate cash (PIMS - the Profit of Market Strategy).

Assessment of the degree of attractiveness of the various identified SCUs of an organization is usually carried out in two directions: the attractiveness of the market or industry to which the SCU belongs, and the strength of the position of this SCU in a given market or industry. The first and most widely used method of analysis of CXU is based on the application of the matrix "rate of growth of the market - market share" (matrix of the Boston Consulting Group - BCG); the second is on the SCE planning grid (the matrix of the General Electric Corporation, or Mag-Kinzi). The "market growth rate - market share" matrix is ​​intended to classify a CXE organization using two parameters: the relative market share, which characterizes the strength of the CXE's position in the market, and the market growth rate, which characterizes its attractiveness.

A large market share gives you the opportunity to get more profit and have a stronger position in the competition. However, here you should immediately make a reservation that such a strong correlation between market share and profit does not always exist, sometimes this correlation is much milder.

The Role of Marketing in Strategic Planning

There are many intersection points between strategies for the organization as a whole and marketing strategies. Marketing examines the needs of consumers and the organization's ability to meet them. The same factors determine the mission and strategic goals of the organization. When developing a strategic plan, they operate with marketing concepts: "market share", "market development" and
etc. Therefore, it is very difficult to separate strategic planning from marketing. In a number of foreign companies, strategic planning is called strategic marketing planning.

The role of marketing is manifested at all three levels of management: corporate, CXE and at the level of the market for a particular product. At the corporate level, managers coordinate the activities of the organization as a whole to achieve its goals in the interests of influence groups. At this level, two main circles of problems are solved. The first is what activities should be done to meet the needs of important consumer groups. The second is how to rationally allocate the resources of the organization between these activities in order to achieve the goals of the organization. The role of marketing at the corporate level is to determine those important environmental factors (unmet needs, changes in the competitive environment, etc.) that should be taken into account when making strategic decisions.

At the individual CXE level, management is more focused on making decisions for the specific industry in which the business is competing. At this level, marketing provides a detailed understanding of market demands and the selection of the means by which these demands can be best satisfied in a specific competitive environment. A search is carried out for both external and internal sources of achieving competitive advantages.

Market management for a particular product focuses on making rational decisions about the marketing mix.

Choosing a strategy

After analyzing the strategic state of the organization and the necessary adjustments to its mission, you can proceed to the analysis of strategic alternatives and the choice of strategy.

Typically, an organization chooses a strategy from several options.

There are four basic strategies:

• limited growth;
• growth;
• reduction;
• combination.

Limited growth(a few percent per year). This strategy is the least risky and can be effective in industries with stable technology. It involves the definition of goals from the achieved level.

Growth(measured in tens of percent per year) is a strategy typical for dynamically developing industries, with rapidly changing technologies, as well as for new organizations that, regardless of their field of activity, strive to take a leading position in a short time. It is characterized by the establishment of an annual significant excess of the level of development over the level of the previous year.

This is the most risky strategy, i.e. as a result of its implementation, material and other losses can be incurred. However, this strategy can also be equated with perceived luck, favorable outcome.

Reduction... It involves the establishment of a level below that reached in the past (base) period. This strategy can be applied in conditions when the performance of the firm acquires a steady downward trend.

Combination(combined strategy). Assumes a combination of the alternatives discussed above. This strategy is typical for large firms operating in several industries.

Classification and types of strategies:

Global:

• minimization of costs;
• differentiation;
• focusing;
• innovation;
• prompt response;

Corporate

• related diversification strategy;
• unrelated diversification strategy;
• capital pumping out and liquidation strategy;
• strategy for changing course and restructuring;
• international diversification strategy;

Functional

• offensive and defensive;
• vertical integration;
• strategies of organizations with different industry positions;
• competitive strategies at various stages of the life cycle.

Cost minimization strategy consists in establishing the optimal value of the volume of production (use), promotion and sales (use of marketing economies of scale).

Differentiation strategy is based on the production of an extensive range of products of the same functional purpose and allows the organization to serve a large number of customers with different needs.

By producing goods of various modifications, the company increases the circle of potential consumers, i.e. increases the volume of sales. At the same time, horizontal and vertical differentiation are distinguished.

Horizontal differentiation assumes that the price of various products and the average income of consumers remain the same.

Vertical assumes different prices and consumer income levels, which provides the firm with access to different market segments.

The application of this strategy leads to an increase in the cost of production, so it is most effective when demand is price inelastic.

Focusing strategy involves serving a relatively narrow segment of consumers who have special needs.

It is effective primarily for firms whose resources are relatively small, which prevents them from serving large groups of consumers with relatively standard needs.

Innovation strategy provides for the acquisition of competitive advantages through the creation of fundamentally new products or technologies. In this case, it becomes possible to significantly increase the profitability of sales or create a new segment of consumers.

Rapid response strategy presupposes achievement of success through quick response to changes in the external environment. This makes it possible to get additional profit due to the temporary absence of competitors for the new product.

Among corporate strategies, the strategies of related and unrelated diversification stand out.

Associated diversification strategy presupposes significant strategic alignments between business areas.

Strategic correspondences presuppose the emergence of so-called synergistic effects.

Strategic correspondences are highlighted: production (unified production facilities); marketing (similar trade marks, uniform distribution channels, etc.); managerial (unified personnel training system, etc.).

Unbound diversification strategy assumes that the business areas in their portfolio have weak strategic alignments.

However, firms that adhere to this strategy can acquire particular resilience due to the fact that downturns in some industries can be offset by ups in others.

Among functional strategies distinguish primarily offensive and defensive.

Offensive strategies include a set of measures to retain and acquire proactive competitive advantages: attack on the strengths or weaknesses of a competitor; multi-faceted offensive, etc.

Defensive strategies include measures that are in the nature of a reaction.

Strategic planning is the process of formulating the mission and goals of an organization, choosing specific strategies to identify and obtaining the necessary resources and allocating them in order to ensure the effective operation of the organization in the future.

Strategic planning objectives:

Establish an organizational structure for strategic development in which opinions, new goals and concepts can be collected;

Identify external factors favorable and threatening to business;

Prepare a plan outline to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization;

Establish the main line of development, guided by which you can test various strategies;

Closely monitor emerging trends that may be vital to the business;

Train people to think more accurately;

Develop short term solutions as part of a long term plan;

Organizational strategy planning

In the system of long-term planning, goals are translated into action programs, budgets (annual plan), profit plans developed for each of the main divisions of the organization.

Then programs and budgets are executed by these departments and deviations of actual indicators from planned ones are determined.

Typically, the strategic plan does not contain quantitative indicators.

The development of long-term planning provides for the development of general principles for orienting the organization for the future (development concept), determines the strategic direction and development programs, the content and sequence of implementation of the most important activities that ensure the achievement of the goals.

If long-term planning is designed to determine the general strategic goals and directions of the organization's development, the resources necessary for this and the stages of solving the assigned tasks, then the current plans developed on its basis are focused on the actual achievement of the intended goals, based on the specific conditions and market conditions at each given stage of development.

Current (mid-term) planning consists in defining intermediate goals on the way to achieving strategic goals and objectives. Therefore, the current plans supplement, develop and adjust the promising directions of development of the organization's activities, taking into account the specific situation.

At the same time, means and methods of solving problems, using resources, and introducing new technology are being developed in detail.

Ongoing programs guide the operational units of the organization in their day-to-day work to ensure ongoing profitability; strategic programs and budgets lay the foundations for future profitability, which requires a dedicated execution system.

A sample structure for strategic planning is shown in Figure A.1, which lists the steps involved.

In principle, the strategic planning process differs little from the decision-making process. Here it is also necessary not only to make decisions, but also to constantly solve problems associated with the choice of alternative actions. This refers to the choice of the mission and goals of the organization, the strategy itself, the allocation of resources, the choice of strategic objectives. The search for alternative solutions is largely due to the adaptive nature of strategic planning.

Adaptability - an indispensable condition of the strategic plan - it is implemented through a situational approach to planning and assumes the presence of an alternative plan and strategy that the organization can switch to. This is a reaction to changes in her external environment.

Alternative - the most important distinguishing feature of the strategy planning process, associated with the need to make constant strategic choices. The main elements of this choice are mission and goals, strategies, strategic objectives, programs, resources and ways of their distribution.

Understanding the relationship between the elements of strategic choice is important to understand the complexity of the strategy planning process and the need to create a strategic management system to help overcome these difficulties.

Strategy are developed with the aim of realizing the mission and goals of the organization.

Strategic Objectives are associated with problems that arise both in the external sphere of the organization and within it when implementing the strategy chosen by the organization.

The choice of the mission and goals of the organization is the first and most responsible decision in strategic planning. The mission and goals serve as guidelines for all subsequent stages of planning and at the same time impose certain restrictions on the direction of the organization's activities when analyzing development alternatives.

Types of analysis of the organization's environment

Organizations are often unable to optimally allocate their resources to meet market requirements, so the primary task for them is to accurately assess their forces and resources when formulating a strategy.

The most famous methods for analyzing the strategic capabilities of an organization are:

* situational analysis;

* step analysis;

* SWOT analysis;

* Sar analysis.

The essence of the situational analysis methodology is a sequential consideration of the elements of the external and internal environment and the assessment of their impact on the organization's capabilities.

External situational analysis -- it is a consideration of information about the state of the economy as a whole (factors of the macroenvironment) and about the economic situation of this particular organization.

Internal situational analysis -- it is an assessment of the organization's resources in relation to the environment and the resources of its main competitors (microenvironmental factors).

step-analysis is a technique for analyzing the key elements of an organization's macroenvironment:

Socio-demographic factors (for example, age and education of the population, etc.)

-- economic factors (current dynamics of prices and taxes);

Technical and technological factors (the emergence of new materials and technologies);

Legal factors (development of legislation in the field of advertising, trademarks, consumer protection);

Environmental factors (requirements for environmental friendliness, etc.);

Political factors (opportunities for protectionism);

Ethical factors (moral and moral norms of society, etc.).

The analysis is aimed at assessing significant changes and new trends in the macroenvironment of the organization, as well as determining their significance for the organization.

Of greatest interest for the analysis of the strategic capabilities of the organization is the use of the SWOT analysis methodology.

The essence of the methodology is to identify and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and correlate them with the opportunities and dangers (threats) of the market. At the same time, strengths and weaknesses refer to the internal characteristics of the organization, and opportunities and threats - to external factors that the organization cannot control.

Analysis of the external environment allows an organization to timely predict the emergence of threats and opportunities, develop situational plans in case of unforeseen circumstances, develop a strategy that will allow the organization to achieve its goals and turn potential threats into profitable opportunities.

Threats and opportunities can manifest themselves in seven areas of the external environment, respectively, they group the factors that are analyzed. The study of these groups of factors allows you to get a complete picture of the emerging trends in the development of the external environment of the organization.

1. When analyzing economic factors consider the rate of inflation (deflation), the tax rate, the international balance of payments, the level of employment of the population in general and in the industry, the solvency of enterprises.

2. When analyzing political factors you should monitor agreements on tariffs and trade between countries, protectionist customs policies directed against third countries, regulations of local authorities and the central government, the level of development of legal regulation of the economy, the attitude of the state and leading politicians to antimonopoly legislation, credit policy of local authorities, restrictions to obtain loans and to hire labor.

3. Market factors include numerous characteristics that have a direct impact on the performance of an organization. Their analysis allows the firm's management to refine its strategy and strengthen the organization's position in the market. It examines the change in demographic conditions, the level of income of the population and their distribution, the life cycles of various types of goods and services, the level of competition in the industry, the market share of an organization, the capacity of the market or its protection by the government.

4. The management of the organization is obliged to constantly monitor the technological external environment, so as not to miss the moment when changes appear in it that pose a threat to the very existence of the organization. This analysis should take into account changes in production technology (it is especially important not to miss the moment of the beginning of the creation of fundamentally new technologies), construction materials, the use of computers for the design of new goods and services, in management, changes in the technology of collecting, processing and transmitting information, in communications ...

5. Analysis of factors of competition implies constant control by the management of the organization over the actions of competitors. In the analysis of competitors, four diagnostic zones are distinguished: the analysis of the future goals of competitors, an assessment of their current strategy, an assessment of the premises relative to competitors and the prospects for the development of the industry, the study of the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Monitoring the activities of competitors allows the organization's management to be constantly prepared for potential threats.

6. Social factors external environments include changing social values, attitudes, attitudes, expectations and mores. In conditions of economic instability, it is in the social environment that many problems are born that pose a great threat to the organization. To effectively cope with these problems, the organization as a social system itself must change, adapting to the external environment.

7. Analysis of international factors acquired great importance for domestic organizations after the abolition of the state monopoly on foreign trade. Many large and medium-sized organizations are active or intend to operate in the international market. It is necessary to monitor the policies of the governments of other countries that provide for efforts to protect or expand the national market as a whole or individual industries. Taking into account environmental factors, the organization's strategy may be aimed at seeking protection from the government against foreign competitors, strengthening the internal market, or expanding international activity.

The method used to diagnose internal problems is called a management survey. It is based on a comprehensive study of various functional areas of the organization and, depending on the task at hand, can be methodologically simple or more complex.

For strategic planning purposes, it is recommended to include five functional areas in the survey: marketing, finance (accounting), production, personnel, organizational culture and image organizations.

Sar analysis is a strategic gap analysis that allows you to determine the discrepancy between the desired and the real in the activities of the organization.

This methodology assesses the desired state of the organization (the level of its strategic aspirations) and the real (which the organization can actually achieve without changing its current policy). At the same time, the organization's strategy is being developed, aimed at closing this gap.

The process of assessing the strategic situation includes three stages (stages):

1. Gathering information about the current state of the organization.

2. Analysis of deviations from the planned state.

3. Designing the scenario.

In the first stage information is collected about the organization's profile, taking into account the state of the external environment.

A profile is a comprehensive assessment of an organization that characterizes its specialization, organizational and technical level, management system and organizational culture.

When comparing the profile of an organization with the formation of a developing (changing) external environment, it is necessary to analyze (from the standpoint of the present and foreseeable future) the impact of society on the organization and vice versa; the technological environment of the organization, and technological trends in its market; the economic environment and economic policy of the organization; the structure of relationships with the environment, incoming and outgoing communications; the nature of legal restrictions and political impact on the activities of the organization.

Central to the second stage the strategic situation analysis process is devoted to the analysis of its strengths and weaknesses.

In the third stage a scenario is being developed for the future image of the organization and ways to achieve it, taking into account the newly emerging opportunities and threats.

This scenario will reveal the organizational, technological and marketing qualities of the organization that will ensure that opportunities are seized and give it a chance to avoid potential threats.

After analyzing external threats and new opportunities, aligning the internal structure with them, the organization's management can begin to choose a strategy.

Developing an organization's strategy

The choice of strategy is central to strategic planning.

It is quite obvious that one and the same goal can be moved in different ways (for example, you can increase profits by reducing costs, or by simply increasing the price, or by increasing demand, increasing the utility for the consumer of the product produced by the organization, etc.)

The choice of the way to achieve the goal and will be a decision about the strategy of the organization.

Choosing a strategy means choosing the means by which the organization will meet the challenges it faces.

The definition of a strategy for an organization fundamentally depends on the specific situation in which it finds itself.

The strategy selection process includes the following stages:

Development - strategies are created to achieve the set goals. Here it is important to develop, possibly, a larger number of alternative strategies, to involve not only top managers, but also middle managers in this work. This will significantly expand the choice and allow you to choose the potentially best option.

-- fine-tuning - strategies are being finalized to the level of adequacy to the development goals of the organization in all their diversity. A common strategy is being formed ",

-- analysis (assessment) - alternatives are analyzed within the framework of the chosen general strategy of the organization, they are evaluated according to the degree of suitability for achieving its main goals . The overall strategy is filled with specific content, by individual functional areas of the organization private strategies are being developed.

The choice of strategy is influenced by numerous and varied factors, the most important of which are:

The type of business and the specifics of the industry in which the organization operates;

The state of the external environment;

The nature of the goals that the organization sets itself; the values ​​that guide top managers or owners of the organization when making decisions;

Risk level;

The internal structure of the organization, its strengths and weaknesses. Strong functional areas of the organization facilitate the successful exploitation of emerging new opportunities.

The experience of implementing strategic planning and management has shown that the success of strategic planning in an organization depends more on the general culture of the environment in which planning is carried out than on specific planning methods.

Strategic planning is a set of actions and decisions taken by management that lead to the development of specific strategies designed to help an organization achieve a specific goal.

Differences between strategic and BP:

The joint venture includes the entire set of goals of the organization; BP is aimed at realizing a specific goal or idea;

The joint venture has a rolling (more often growing) planning horizons. BP differs in specific time frames, after which the plan (idea) must be implemented;

The joint venture usually does not contain specific quantitative estimates of planned indicators. BP provides for reasonable economic calculations for specific areas of business development, which are grouped into functional sections;

A strategic plan is an internal corporate document that is not intended to be evaluated by external users. BP can be viewed as a commercial offer for third parties and analyzed by the latter in relation to risk and potential sources of danger. A joint venture is an internal corporate document that is not intended to be evaluated by external users, but is available for their use only to the extent necessary for the organization itself.

Strategic planning requires three conditions to be met:

Organization management is based on the principles of investment portfolio management

Thorough assessment of the prospects for each type of activity, study of market growth indicators and the position of the organization in each specific market

The strategy is developed independently, taking into account the profile of the activity, capabilities, skills and resources.

BP is compiled at different stages of the organization's existence:

Inception

Maturity

Decline when a new impulse for development is needed

9. Information support of business planning

Information support is a prerequisite for BP and is considered from two positions:

Internal information, i.e. information of the organization itself about its internal environment (various reporting), organizational and administrative documents and other operational information, the results of various conversations with managers and employees, databases.

External information - data on the state of markets and competitors, forecasts of% rates, sales volumes, production, etc.: - primary (this is information specially collected to solve a specific problem, mainly using field research or primary analysis); - secondary (not directly related to the business processes of the organization.)

Initial information for the development of a power supply unit:

Organization data: annual financial statements for the last 3-5 years; constituent documents; articles of association; certificate of tax arrears; list of subsidiaries.

Financial information: list of bank accounts; a description of receivables and payables; accounting policy of the organization; list of the organization's fixed assets and their depreciation schedule; credit history of the organization; sales schedule for each type of goods for each period of time; list of expenses included in the income statement; a list of the largest (five) customers and suppliers, as well as the full volume of sales and purchases, respectively, for each of them for the last year, etc.

Personnel data: organizational structure; CVs and information about the education and experience of leading specialists; report on the number of workers; employee turnover report; a schedule of professional development of the organization's personnel, etc.

Legal documents: minutes of meetings of shareholders, board of directors; copies of decisions of the audit commission; copies of valid lease and leasing agreements; copies of agreements with shareholders and partners; copies of labor agreements with leading specialists.

Economic data: macroeconomic data; regional economic indicators and conditions; information about the industry; market information.

Technical information: the nature of the projected production; general information about the technology used by the organization; information about the nature of the consumed resources; the system for the sale of manufactured products; information about the production potential of the organization.

Strategic planning in business - an action program

What is a business strategy? A strategy is a set of decisions that top management, owners and managers of the company will or are doing to increase the value of the company, to make a profit in the long term for the owners. As a rule, a business strategy not only ensures the achievement of serious results, but helps to avoid the failures that can arise with too rapid growth or too slow development, and the lack of rear support. Any company has a business development strategy, but the owners and top managers of the company do not always formulate it, let alone inform the company's employees, and sometimes even they do not know the strategy.

Moreover, it is important to understand that a business strategy necessarily includes elements of a marketing strategy, an assortment development strategy and assortment management in the company, and personnel management in the company. These are the main components, although, of course, it is important to have in the strategy and other constituent elements that will allow the heads of departments to understand the goals and objectives of their particular direction in business.

In any case, any company or business always has a choice - to independently and consciously choose and build its business strategy or follow the coincidence of circumstances, moving and changing under the pressure of the external environment, the market.

A business development strategy is by no means a closed list of decisions important for a company that require huge costs. In most cases, these are answers to key questions in the process of starting a business or its existence. As a rule, a strategy is formed from answers to such questions, consideration of even incredible ideas, events, decisions, which, as a rule, are stretched out in time. It is such decisions, which sometimes, at first glance, seem ordinary and simple, open up whole directions for the development of the enterprise. Although everything can be the other way around, when a certain factor was not considered, but later turned out to be decisive and its resolution required serious efforts.

For this, it is necessary to learn how to properly plan a strategy, manage the planning, budgeting, and long-term development of the company. This opportunity exists, in principle, with the help of a built and functioning system for making strategic decisions for business. A kind of business process of creating a business development strategy. It is important to always focus on what is very important for the future of the company, and the current implementation plans, prioritization, and tactics for cutting off not interesting directions in business are already mechanisms that simply need to be explained to subordinate employees in the company.

As a rule, this is a relatively complex and rather time-consuming process, since the company's strategy involves proposing solutions on several issues that should be considered comprehensively and taking into account the existing external environment, the market. Moreover, as the business develops, the competitive environment also changes. In any case, a clear and simple business strategy allows you to quickly understand where the essence and prioritize for the company, which need to be implemented in the process of work in real and practical life.

In simple terms, the business strategy is a full-fledged analysis of the external environment, the situation, the identification of the determining factors for success and decisions that will lead to an even greater accumulation of advantages, uniqueness and business advantages that really distinguish the company from competitors, as well as the systemic skill of the top management to adhere to the chosen strategy and communicate the strategy to staff, customers, competitors.

That is why one of the areas of strategic business development will always be: the company's mission and values, the principles of building a company.

The mission of the company may look like this - to become a comfortable and best store that provides customers with fresh products from the field, environmentally friendly and healthy for nutrition. The values ​​of the company may look like this - all employees as one family ensure and guarantee that the products sold in the store are the freshest and best organic products that are grown without additives in the national fields by farmers.

In any case, all this together and determines the main directions in the end result, the goals, methods and mechanisms of the entire company.

STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING

The business process of strategic planning is built in such a way that it is necessary to go through 3 main stages:

1. Marketing analysis of the external environment, market, competitors and business situation directly to the company, make a SWOT analysis.

2. Analyze the results of the first stage, study and evaluate various options for alternative solutions, make one correct decision as a business development strategy.

3. Based on the result of the approval of the decision, draw up and describe a system for implementing the adopted decision through drawing up action plans, the obligatory distribution of human, financial, material and intangible resources that will be aimed at achieving the selected goals.

Strategic planning and strategic decisions, as a rule, affect the following areas in the company:

1. Formation of the system in the company "Development of the future".

It is very difficult to catch companies that are in a leading position by surprise. They always have several scenarios for the development of the external environment, several decisions on how to react to each scenario. In most cases, there is a clear and precise picture of the future development, which makes it possible to bet on a winning business development strategy. It is very important to always limit any risks, and if they still remain, then lay a straw and more so that force majeure circumstances or events do not significantly affect the work process.

2. The correct choice of markets (segments) that the company will master.

In principle, this is a permanent job. Exceptionally constant monitoring can allow you to see the prospects for new markets, real opportunities for creating new segments, another aspect of such constant monitoring is to leave the market in time before the markets become a trap.

3. Choosing an effective strategy for competition and competition.

Competition is always an art, it is impossible to compete only by prices, it is impossible to go with the business strategy "lowest prices", and at the same time sell high-quality products. In fact, based on experience, it is better to maintain a strategy of focusing on one thing and efficiently than to be scattered over many and not achieve success. Competition strategy is always associated with a large number of decisions, such as the nomenclature and assortment of goods, the company's pricing policy, the services that the buyer will receive or additional services of the manufacturer, how to organize the supply of goods, logistics, whether to use a warehouse. Based on the strategy, all these questions may have different answers, and hence different investment budgets.

4. The choice of the relationship and work of business units in the company.

What and how many subdivisions to create, and whether all subdivisions work efficiently, and can cut them all down and automate everything so as not to depend on the desires, emotions of people, and not to pay a salary. The ability to prioritize and focus on the essential, on the essentials in business, distinguishes outsiders in a developed and emerging market. Successful companies tend to have these basic decision-making competencies better than their competitors. The reactive decision-making style provides an advantage in operational activities, where everything is changing rapidly, and already positional and combination styles allow effective strategic management. It should be understood that the options for reaction and response are usually very limited, and the speed, in principle, is the same for everyone.

That is why the key question of the combination management style is what sequence of actions must be performed in order to make a profit in the visible, not in the long term. But such a style is difficult to use in implementation in the territories of the former Soviet Union, since in a rapidly changing environment it may be too late to make certain decisions.

And, of course, the positional style is always thinking about what needs to be done to increase the company's value in the future. This position is true for companies in a mature market, as value added for owners is created through solutions that improve the long-term growth opportunities of the company.

But you need to remember that every company has a strategy, and it is usually formed under the influence of a huge number of factors. At the same time, the conscious movement of the company presupposes the ability to highlight strategically important areas. And in this aspect, the tools of strategic planning are, of course, the combination and positional styles of decision-making, because here efforts, as a rule, can be formed on the basis of strategic innovations.