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GENERAL MANAGEMENT
CHECK POINT 12: BUSINESS PLAN

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1. What Is A Business Plan?
2. strategic planning questions
3. management-by-objectives questions
4. operational planning questions
5. Elements Of A Business Plan
6. business example
apple's values and mission statement
7. Formulation Of A Business Plan
8. Your Business Plan Must Be Flexible
9. for serious business owners only
10. the latest information online
 

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GENERAL MANAGEMENT
CHECK POINT 12: BUSINESS PLAN

Please Select Any Topic In Check Point 12 Below And Click.

1. What Is A Business Plan?
2. strategic planning questions
3. management-by-objectives questions
4. operational planning questions
5. Elements Of A Business Plan
6. business example
apple's values and mission statement
7. Formulation Of A Business Plan
8. Your Business Plan Must Be Flexible
9. for serious business owners only
10. the latest information online
 

DO I NEED TO KNOW THIS CHECK POINT?

 

WELCOME TO CHECK POINT 12

TUTORIAL 1 General Management TUTORIAL 2 Human
Resources Management
TUTORIAL 3 Financial Management TUTORIAL 4 Operations Management TUTORIAL 5 Marketing
And Sales Management
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2 7 12 17 22 27 32 37 42 47 52 57 62 67 72 77 82 87 92 97
3 8 13 18 23 28 33 38 43 48 53 58 63 68 73 78 83 88 93 98
4 9 14 19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69 74 79 84 89 94 99
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
 

HOW CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM CHECK POINT 12?

 
The main purpose of this check point is to provide you and your management team with detailed information about a Business Plan and how to apply this information to maximize your company's performance.
 
In this check point you will learn:
 
• What is a business plan?
• About strategic planning questions.
• About management-by-objectives questions.
• About operational planning questions.
• About various elements of a business plan.
• How to formulate a business plan.
• About four basic strategic options.
• About four supporting plans.
• About five operational plans of action.
• About operating and financial budgets... and much more.
 

LEAN MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR CHECK POINT 12

 
You and your management team should become familiar with the basic Lean Management principles, guidelines, and tools provided in this program and apply them appropriately to the content of this check point.
 
You and your team should adhere to basic lean management guidelines on a continuous basis:
 
Treat your customers as the most important part of your business.
Provide your customers with the best possible value of products and services.
Meet your customers' requirements with a positive energy on a timely basis.
Provide your customers with consistent and reliable after-sales service.
Treat your customers, employees, suppliers, and business associates with genuine respect.
Identify your company's operational weaknesses, non-value-added activities, and waste.
•. Implement the process of continuous improvements on organization-wide basis.
Eliminate or minimize your company's non-value-added activities and waste.
Streamline your company's operational processes and maximize overall flow efficiency.
Reduce your company's operational costs in all areas of business activities.
Maximize the quality at the source of all operational processes and activities.
Ensure regular evaluation of your employees' performance and required level of knowledge.
Implement fair compensation of your employees based on their overall performance.
Motivate your partners and employees to adhere to high ethical standards of behavior.
Maximize safety for your customers, employees, suppliers, and business associates.
Provide opportunities for a continuous professional growth of partners and employees.
Pay attention to "how" positive results are achieved and constantly try to improve them.
Cultivate long-term relationships with your customers, suppliers, employees, and business associates.

1. WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN?

A BUSINESS PLAN

The ultimate objective of every business owner is to summarize strategic and operational planning activities and to develop a comprehensive business plan to ensure effective functioning of the organization in the future.

A Business Plan represents a critical management document which can be used for internal and external business purposes as follows:

 
Internal Business Purpose.
  Business plans are used for internal purposes of providing business owners and managers with   comprehensive guidelines for running their organization.
 
External Business Purposes.
  Business plans are used for external purposes of providing banks and other lending   institutions with essential information about a specific organization for the purpose of raising   additional capital.
 

Business plans should be developed and reviewed on an annual basis by consolidating relevant answers to three types of questions illustrated below. Once the annual business plan is prepared, it should become the main "Road Map" for the entire management team. It is important, however, to avoid "etching this plan in stone", i.e. the business plan must remain flexible and subject to adjustments whenever necessary during the fiscal year to maximize organizational performance.

 

QUESTIONS RELATED TO A BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

   

Strategic
Planning
Questions

 

Management-
By-Objectives
Questions

 

Operational
Planning
 Questions

 
ARE YOU A ONE-PERSON BUSINESS OWNER?
 
If you are a One-Person Business Owner, or a "Solopreneur", you may adopt a less formal approach, but you are still required to implement all basic elements of the Business Plan discussed in this check point.

Moreover, it will be very beneficial for you to become familiar with the content of the entire check point, because one day you may decide to take your business to the next level and employ additional employees within your organization. That's when you will develop full appreciation for a comprehensive business plan.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

How To Write A Business Plan By Ian Gordon, Startup Daddy.
How To Write A Small Business Plan By John Niemira, eHow.
How Do You Write A Business Plan? By Kiyla Fenell, UltimateBizSystem.
Business Planning And Startup Strategies By Array Consultancy Services.
What Type Of Business Plan Do I Need? By Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software.

2. STRATEGIC PLANNING QUESTIONS

Typical Strategic Planning Questions are summarized below.
 

STRATEGIC PLANNING QUESTIONS

1.

What are our company's mission and values?

2.

What are our company's long-term, medium-term, and short-term goals and objectives?

3.

What is happening around our company in the marketplace?

4.

What are our company's strengths and weaknesses?

5.

What are our company's opportunities and threats in the marketplace?

6.

Do we want to become a lean company?

7.

What is our company's strategy?

8.

What are our company's tactics, policies, procedures, and rules?

9.

What is our company's operational plan?

10.

What is company's financial plan?

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Strategic Planning: Strategic Question #1 By Michael Hudson.
What Is Strategic Thinking? By Marty Martin, De Paul University.
Three Questions To Jump Start Your Strategic Thinking By Michael Lake.
10 Questions For Strategic Planning By Rob Trube, Strategy Simple, LLC.
So You Want To Start A Business By Phillipe Sommer, The Batten Institute.

3. MANAGEMENT-BY-OBJECTIVES QUESTIONS

Typical Management-By-Objectives Questions are summarized below.
 

 MANAGEMENT-BY-OBJECTIVES QUESTIONS

1.

What exactly do we want to accomplish in the area of general management?

2.

What exactly do we want to accomplish in the area of human resources management?

3.

What exactly do we want to accomplish in the area of financial management?

4.

What exactly do we want to accomplish in the area of operations management?

5.

What exactly do we want to accomplish in the area of marketing and sales management?

6.

When do we want to accomplish the above?

7.

Who must be responsible for accomplishing the above?

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Management By Objectives By Dan Stewart.
Management By Objectives by Robert Norton.
Peter Drucker's Five Questions By Dan Predpall.
Management By Objectives By Team Momentum.
Management By Objectives By Ben Griffin, CEOIQ.

4. OPERATIONAL PLANNING QUESTIONS

Typical Operational Planning Questions are summarized below.
 

 OPERATIONAL PLANNING QUESTIONS

1.

How are we going to accomplish our objectives in the area of general management?

2.

How are we going to accomplish our objectives in the area of human resources management?

3.

How are we going to accomplish our objectives in the area of financial management?

4.

How are we going to accomplish our objectives in the area of operations management?

5.

How are we going to accomplish our objectives in the area of marketing and sales management?

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Operational Plan By Nikolay Safonov.
Operational Planning Gets Things Done By Leigh Farnell.
Strategic, Tactical And Operational Planning By Victor Holman.
Operational Planning By Amanda Garrington, University Of Derby.
Developing An Operations Plan For Your Business By Management Training School.

5. ELEMENTS OF THE BUSINESS PLAN

WHERE SHOULD YOU START WITH YOUR BUSINESS PLAN?

The Business Plan may include a broad range of issues, depending upon the size and specific needs of the organization.

You and your management team must ensure that all basic elements pertinent to strategic planning, management by objectives, and operational planning are included in your company's business plan as outlined below.

ELEMENTS OF THE BUSINESS PLAN

1. The Company's Values And Mission.

2. The Company's Strategic Objectives.

3. The Company's Situational Analysis.

4. The Company's Opportunities And Threats In The Marketplace.

5. The Company's Strategic Plan.

6. The Company's Supporting Plans.

7. The Company's Operational Plan Of Action.

8. The Company's Budgets.

 
Each element of the business plan is described below.
 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MISSION STATEMENT

The first part of a business plan entails completing a Company's Values And Mission Statement discussed in detail in this tutorial. This includes:

• A short mission statement which summarizes the essence of the company's purpose.
• A brief summary of the company's values supported by the management team.

Many small business owners and entrepreneurs underestimate the importance of the company's values and mission statement. However, this is exactly where you should start your business plan if you really want to have a meaningful plan.

An example of a strong company's values and mission statement was produced by Apple Computer, Inc. a few years ago. This statement provided excellent guidelines to the company's management team in creating one of the most admired business organizations in the world today. The example of this statement is illustrated below.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

How To Write A Great Mission Statement? By Susan l. Reid.
Don't Write A Mission Statement, Write A Mantra By Guy Kawasaki.
How To Write A Mission Statement By Erica Olsen, Virtual Strategists.
Why Your Company Needs A Mission Statement? By Jason Nazar, Docstoc.
Writing A Mission Statement That Does Not Suck By Dan Heath, Fast Company.

6. BUSINESS EXAMPLE
APPLE'S VALUES AND MISSION STATEMENT

APPLE'S VALUES AND MISSION STATEMENT

• Empathy For Customers And Users.

We offer superior products that fill real needs and provide lasting value... We are genuinely interested in solving customer problems and will not compromise our ethics and integrity in the name of profit.

Achievement Objectives.

As a corporate citizen, we wish to be an economic, intellectual, and social asset in communities where we operate. But beyond that, we expect to make this world a better place to live. We build products that extend human capability, freeing people from drudgery and helping them achieve more than they could alone.

• Positive Social Contribution.

As a corporate citizen, we wish to be an economic, intellectual, and social asset in communities where we operate.

• Individual Performance.

We expect individual commitment and performance above the standard for our industry. Only thus will we make the profits that permit us to seek our other corporate objectives.

• Quality Of Products And Services Excellence.

We care about what we do. We build into Apple products a level of quality, performance, and value that will earn the respect and loyalty of our customers.

Individual Reward.

We recognize each person's contribution that flows from high performance. We recognize also that rewards must be psychological as well as financial, so we strive for an atmosphere where each individual can share the adventure and excitement of working at Apple.

Good Management.

The attitudes of managers toward their people are of primary importance. Employees should be able to trust the motives and integrity of their supervisors. It is the responsibility of management to create a productive environment where Apple's values flourish.

© Apple Computers, Inc. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

 
Please also study the Mission Statements Of Famous Companies presented by Nitin Agarwal.

7. FORMULATION OF A BUSINESS PLAN

SUMMARY OF A COMPANY'S OBJECTIVES

The second part of a business plan entails preparing a Summary Of A Company's Objectives discussed in detail in this tutorial.

The classification of a company's objectives is illustrated below.

CLASSIFICATION OF A COMPANY'S OBJECTIVES

   

 Short-Term 
Objectives  
(up to one year)

 

Medium-Term
 Objectives 
(one to five years)

 

    Long-Term 
Objectives 
(over five years)

 
 

The third part of a business plan entails completing a Company's Situational Analysis discussed in detail in this tutorial. Two elements of a company's situational analysis are illustrated below.

 

TWO ELEMENTS OF A COMPANY'S SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

 
Environmental Analysis   Lean Business Analysis

Environmental analysis summarizes the influence of all elements of external environment, customers, suppliers, competitors, banks, and government agencies on the company's performance.

 

Lean business analysis includes the results of:

  • • Lean operational management analysis.
  • • Financial performance analysis.
 

Lean Business Analysis includes two important elements discussed in detail in this tutorial and illustrated below.

 

TWO ELEMENTS OF LEAN BUSINESS ANALYSIS

 
Lean Operational Management Analysis   Financial Performance Analysis

Lean operational management analysis summarizes the company's strengths and weaknesses in various operational areas, such as general administration, human resources, finance and accounting, operations, marketing and sales, and evaluates the level of adherence to traditional and lean management guidelines.

 

Financial performance analysis includes the company's current and comparative financial performance evaluation based on financial statements, i.e. balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and financial ratio analysis.

 

The fourth part of a business plan entails completing a SWOT Analysis and developing a Summary Of Opportunities And Threats related to a company's activities in the marketplace.

 

SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

 
Opportunities   Threats

All opportunities are expressed in terms of customers' needs so that the company may have a trading advantage.

 

All threats are expressed in terms of possible adverse conditions that might be created by the company's competitors in the marketplace.

 

ADOPTION OF A COMPANY'S STRATEGIC PLAN

The fifth part of a business plan entails developing a Company's Strategic Plan described in detail in this tutorial. Management may adopt the company's strategic plan, based on one or more Strategic Options presented below.

 

THE FOUR BASIC STRATEGIC OPTIONS

The 
Limited Growth
 Strategy

The 
Expansion 
Strategy

 

The
 Retrenchment
 Strategy

The 
Combination
 Strategy

 

FORMULATION OF SUPPORTING PLANS

The sixth part of a business plan entails developing specific Supporting Plans described in detail in this tutorial. Management must formulate a range of supporting plans, depending upon the size and specific needs of the organization as illustrated below.

 

FOUR SUPPORTING PLANS

Short-Term
 Tactics

Revised 
Policies

Updated
 Procedures

Revised 
Rules

 

SUMMARY OF THE OPERATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION

The seventh part of a business plan entails developing a detailed Operational Plan Of Action by the management team, as described in detail in this tutorial. The prime purpose of the operational plan of action is to summarize specific company objectives in five main areas of operations illustrated below.

 

FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE OPERATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION

General
Management
Plan Of Action

Human Resources
Management
Plan Of Action

Financial
Management
Plan Of Action

Operations
Management
Plan Of Action

Marketing
And Sales
Management
Plan Of Action

 

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE PLAN

The last element of the business plan entails preparing a Financial Performance Plan described in detail in this tutorial. This plan includes an Operational Budget, a Capital Expenditure Budget, a Cash Budget, and Tax Strategies, designed to support the company's overall strategic plan as outlined below.

FOUR ELEMENTS OF THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE PLAN

Operating
Budget

Capital
Expenditure
Budget

Cash
Budget

Tax
Strategies

 

SCORE TEMPLATE

Are you ready to prepare your company's business plan?

At this stage you and your management team should be ready to proceed with the preparation of your company's Business Plan. One of the most practical ways to complete this task in the most time-effective manner is to use Business Planning And Financial Statement Templates developed by SCORE and available online free of charge.

All you need to do is to implement simple instructions and positive results will follow.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Business Plan Writing By Steven Gedeon, Start Me Up.
Business Plan Workshop By Mark Lieberman, SCORE Chicago.
SCORE Business Plans 101 By Robert Yancy, Sam And Shani Leccima.
SCORE Business And Financial Plans - P.1, By Vern Jackson, Iowa FBLA.
SCORE Business And Financial Plans - P.2, By Vern Jackson, Iowa FBLA.

8. YOUR BUSINESS PLAN MUST BE FLEXIBLE

HOW FLEXIBLE IS YOUR BUSINESS PLAN?

Since the future holds no certainty, every business plan must remain flexible and incorporate Alternative Methods of achieving planned objectives. For this reason, you and your management team should give additional consideration to every component of your company's business plan.

The development of a realistic and flexible business plan represents the ultimate task of your management team and serves to enhance your company's chances for successful performance in the future.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ONLINE

Writing A Business Plan By Liz Pyle, Darden E*Bootcamp.
How To Write A Business Plan By Rebecca Lynn, UC Berkley Haas.
How To Prepare An Effective Business Plan Presentation By BizPlanCorner.
Developing An Effective Business Plan By Del Foit, University Of San Diego.
Business Plans By Jim Goetz, Sequoia Capital, Stanford School Of Business.

9. FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS OWNERS ONLY

ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS TODAY?

Reprinted with permission.

10. THE LATEST INFORMATION ONLINE

 

LESSON FOR TODAY:
The Greatest Thing In This World Is Not So Much
Where We Are, But In What Direction We Are Moving!

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Go To The Next Open Check Point In This Promotion Program Online.