Tactics for Implementation of the Strategic Plan
The major goal of the management is to steer the business toward the realization of well-defined targets, objectives, and measures. The central aim of the objectives, targets, and measures is to fulfill broader business goals of the company. In order to achieve its goal, the organization will employ a number of tactics. This will require effective communication with the company employees so that each one of them is asked to align his or her team and/or individual goals with the overall goals of the business. Besides employees, communication channels will be extended to other stakeholders such as the alliance partners, customers, and shareholders. There will be a need to follow up the progress of the implementation of the strategic plan. This will comprise tracking of pre-agreed major key indicators such as new customers, market share, new product sales, employee morale, gross sales, percentage, customer satisfaction, return on assets, return on equity, return on investment, and revenue. The strategic plan will also be monitored continuously through regular updates such as reviewing progress at agreed intervals of time (such as quarterly). While monitoring, the underlying assumptions made will be challenged. A champion will be created for every action and strategy. In this case, it will be the CEO. Other measures involved in monitoring include staying committed, expanding skills, targeting sales, setting milestones for the strategic plan, and rewarding success.
Marketing and information technology tactics will be utilized. For example, the company will employ a variety of marketing strategies such as cause marketing, direct selling, cobranding, earned media and PR, point-of-purchase marketing, internet marketing, paid media advertising, word of mouth advertising, viral marketing and social networks, referral programs, growth hacking, search engine marketing, retargeting, content marketing, inbound marketing, and search engine optimization among others. Information technology is very important for the business and e-business will be specifically used to advance business growth. Studies by Kotha, Rajgopal, and Venkatachalam (2004) suggest e-commerce can be employed as a competitive strategy. IT will be made one of the company’s competitive advantage and will be used to support innovation, improve responsiveness, increase collaboration, enhance customer insight, and introduce new business models.
Monitoring and Controlling Strategic Plans
Monitoring and controlling of the strategic plan entail checking the underlying assumptions which were used as the initial basis for the plan (Harper, 2011). The plan will be continuously monitored for its effectiveness, and where necessary, appropriate changes will be instituted. The company’s strategic plans will be monitored and controlled using effective tools. In this case, tools that will be used for monitoring and control will be borrowed from project management. The tools include status reports, Gantt charts, control charts, and fishbone diagrams. Status reports will be prepared at agreed intervals of time (say monthly or quarterly). The status reports will be summarized information regarding agreed issues such as sales, market share, training, R&D, revenue, return on investment/asset, and return on equity, and so forth. The status reports will be prepared by supervisors and reviewed by the management. Another tool is control charts. Data will be collected (such as financial/operations data) and represented on a chart which can allow for easy tracking of the financial position of the business. Financial and operational information such as sales, costs, or revenue can be entered at agreed intervals of time (such as weekly, fortnight, or monthly). This will allow easy monitoring of trends in performance. When a problem is detected, there will be a need to bring the situation under control. This will require brainstorming on the possible causes of the problem and suggestions for the right intervention measures. A fishbone diagram is a tool that will be used to not only identify the root causes of the problems but also to find solutions for the problem. The three tools: control charts, status reports, and fishbone diagram will help in fostering financial goals of the company. While status reports and control charts help in monitoring financial and operational progress, fishbone diagram aid in controlling any detected anomaly.
Evaluating strategic plan
The strategic plan of the company will be evaluated periodically. The best possible evaluation options for evaluating the strategic plan include financial performance, products and services, and internal and external factors. If there are any significant changes in the external and internal environment, financial performance, and products and services, intervention measures will be introduced.
Ethical and Legal Issues
The company will be facing certain ethical and legal issues which are applicable to businesses including but not limited to issues about duty of loyalty (whistleblowing), privacy and technology, valuing diversity, employee rights, health and safety, environmental concerns, intellectual property rights, and product liability (Halbert and Ingulli, 2012). Consequently, measures will be put in place to ensure that the company operates within legal and ethical requirements. Other than business, the company will run corporate social responsibility (CSR) program as part of giving back to the society. One of the areas the company will consider is to contribute toward safety in the transport industry. The company will be carrying out programs aimed at increasing safety awareness among the road users (such as pedestrians and drivers). Successful implementation of the strategic plan is expected to result in implications on the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profits. Firstly, it is anticipated that the successful implementation will result in the creation of employment opportunities and provision of goods and services which solve peoples’ problems. Through the use of efficient and green technologies in its innovative products, it is expected that the company will contribute to sustainability. Finally, it is anticipated that the plan would lead to increased profits for the company.
Executive Summary for New Division
Vision
The vision for AutoZone’s new division is to be among the top 5 suppliers of automotive parts and accessories by the year 2020.
Mission
AutoZone now division will utilize talent, financial, and physical resources it has to deliver the most innovative products and services to its customers.
Final Business Model
The business model of the new division will involve a focus on key issues pertaining operations, strategies, and structures. On Strategy, the company will explore new markets. The use of IT will be enhanced as a source of competitive advantage. For example, the division will utilize opportunities available in e-commerce to market the products and services and reach out to many customers. The IT system will also be used to improve business management in the division through the use of software which not only improves accuracy but also increase efficiency while cutting down the cost of operations. The current production processes will be upgraded expanded to increase capacity. The company will broaden its customer base while increasing its market access. On structure, there will be changes in organizational structure as well as the management style. The current structure will be reorganized to make it not only a leader but also efficient and responsive to customer concerns. As such, a flat organizational structure has been proposed. On operations, the new division will focus on priorities that will increase the company’s competitiveness. The major priorities include cost, quality, time, flexibility, innovation, and effectiveness. To achieve this, the company will establish efficient distribution channels, utilize effective marketing strategies, increase customer services, and offer a variety of products and services that exceed customer expectations. To attract customers, the products produced will be the most technologically advanced in the market with advanced features not available in the other locally available products. The products will also provide customers with solutions such as efficiency and minimum maintenance. Further, the company will enhance its talent management capability. This will be achieved by continuous training and development of the employees. It will also involve employing best practices in human resources management such as motivation using both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Besides motivation, human resources management will use effective and efficient methods to attract and recruit top talent.
Key Assumptions and Risks
Two key assumptions are that the products will meet customer’s expectations and that there will be sufficient customer base for the products. Three risks include the risk of property right infringement, competitor response, substitutes by competitors, counterfeits, cash flow, and liquidity, failure to innovate, failure to attract top talent, weak economies, and regulations.
Growth and Profitability
Projections show that sales will grow at an annual rate of 15%. This is the highest in the industry. With sustained 15% growth in sales, the company will be among the top five before 2020. The increased growth and profitability will translate into many job opportunities for talented job seekers, more earnings for the shareholders, more tax for the government, and increased CSR activities in the community.
References
Harper, S.C. (2011). The Ever-evolving Enterprise: Guidelines for Creating Your Company's Future. Santa Barbara, CA: PRAEGER
Halbert, T. & Ingulli, E. (2012). Law and Ethics in the Business Environment. Mason OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Kotha, S., Rajgopal, S., & Venkatachalam, M. (2004). The Role of Online Buying Experience as a Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Third‐Party Ratings for E‐Commerce Firms*. The Journal of Business, 77(S2), S109-S133.
