Business Policy & Strategy

Ans 1 Strategic Intent

Definition: Strategic Intent can be understood as the philosophical base of the strategic management process. It implies the purpose, which an organization endeavor of achieving. It is a statement, that provides a perspective of the means, which will lead the organization, reach the vision in the long run. Strategic Intent.

 

 

Strategic Intent

 

i)  Vision: Vision implies the blueprint of the company’s future position. It describes where the organization wants to land. It is the dream of the business and inspiration, base for the planning process. It depicts the company’s aspirations for the business and provides a peep of what the organization would like to become in future. Every single component of the organization is required to follow its vision.

ii)  Mission: Mission delineates the firm’s business, its goals and ways to reach the goals. It explains the reason for the existence of the business. It is designed to help potential shareholders and investors understand the purpose of the company. A mission statement helps to identify, ‘what business the company undertakes.’ It defines the present capabilities, activities, customer focus and busines s makeup.

iii)  Business Definition: It seeks to explain the business undertaken by the firm, with respect to customer needs, target audience, and alternative technologies. With the help of business definition, one can ascertain the strategic business choices. The corporate restructuring also depends upon the business definition.

iv)  Business Model: Business model, as the name implies is a strategy for the effective operation of the business, ascertaining sources of income, desired customer base, and financing details. Rival firms, operating in the same industry relies on the different business model due to their strategic choice.

v)  Goals and Objectives: These are the base of measurement. Goals are the end results, that the organization attempts to achieve. On the other hand, objectives are time-based measurable actions, which help in the accomplishment of goals. These are the end results which are to be attained with the help of an overall plan, over the particular period.

 

 

Ans 2 Mission

A mission is different. It’s more like an actionable vision statement — something that will give the vision legs and traction. It’s the what, who and why: What the company does, who it serves and the road map to making the vision become tangible. It centers around why this company is best suited for the job given the people it serves.

Mission statements are used to help define the immediate goal and stay focused on the plan. Most leaders can then disseminate this to their teams to keep them on task and able to achieve whatever they are focused on in the moment. It is the "do" process to create a positive culture and can be the thing that moves all else forward.

Purpose

Both vision and mission are important to a company that is looking to create movement and tangible results in the definition of its goals and itself as a company. The piece that will tie this all together is getting really clear on the idea of creating and leading with purpose and defining how it shows up every day.

The word "purpose" in this context is defined as “a person’s sense and feeling of resolve or determination.” In my experience, an organization’s purpose is best found by asking, as a company, why you are doing the work you are doing. What great problem are you solving, or what movement are you championing? If you don’t do it, what are the consequences? Who loses? Or who will do it instead? Why do you all show up for this company and not the one across the street?

Digging into the morals, ethics and beliefs of an organization can help deliver a purpose worth going to work for. If you can’t define it down to its core, then you have work to do. Most morale problems fester here — with an ill-defined or, worse yet, nonexistent purpose.

When a solid human brand leads people to a conversation that says, without hesitation, “I love my job. I love what I do. I love my company, and I love the people I work for/with," purpose is usually at the center. It is the "have" at the end of the day.

 

Ans 4) What is Business Definition?

Business definition refers to the description of products, services, activities, functions, and markets in which an organisation deals. It is a component of mission statement which forms the foundation for all the strategic planning processes and shows the organisation a way to achieve success. It also helps

the organisation in estimating the changes as well as their effects. Business definition outlines the current position and the desired future positions. It discusses the operations of the business but does not exactly specify the reasons behind particular operation.

Some of the questions that are needed to answer while defining a business are: What are the products, services, or markets in which the organisation operates? Who are the target customers?

Which activities and functions are performed to satisfy the customers? What are the resources and capabilities utilized to satisfy the customers?

This concept applies to both the product and service organisations. Business definition is usually marketing oriented. It focuses on customers as they are the strength of the organisation. As an external stakeholder the customers have the power to make or break the organisation. Business definition outlines the scope of an organisation.

For example, some organisations like Reliance Industries Limited, Tata Group, and Birla Group have wide scope, but some other organisations like Infosys, Wipro, etc., have limited scope.

For example, three organisations and their business definitions based in four areas are as shown in Table :

 

 

 

Ans 5) Objectives

Definition: In business terminology, the objective is something that is expected as the end result to be achieved by the firm within a definite period of time, through its operations.

It prescribes the scope and also directs the efforts of the concern. The objectives of the organization are expressed in relation to the future.

It is the fundamental step in the planning process, which are set by the company’s top management while considering the broad and general issues. All the other components of planning, i.e. policy, procedure, schedule, budget, etc. depends on it. It deals with the ‘why’ aspect of planning.

Characteristics of Objectives

The objectives of the firm break down the company’s strategy into a number of achievable targets. The points below will discuss the characteristics of objectives:

 Based on vision and mission: The objectives of the organization are extracted from its vision and mission statement.

 

Long term or short term: The objectives of the concern can be long term or short term. For instance, the growth and expansion of the business is a long-range objective whereas sales maximization, and the increase in the margin are considered as short term objectives.

Time-bound: It is a time-bound desired end, i.e. they must be achieved within the specified time. Hierarchical: It has a hierarchy, in the sense that objectives can be arranged according to their importance and priority. Indeed, for each position in the organization, objectives are laid down.

Social Sanction: It should be created keeping in mind the society’s interest and norms. Hence, it needs social sanction.

Forms a network: These are interdependent and mutually supportive, however, it does not mean that the achievement of one objective leads to the automatic achievement of the another. Further, it should not be assumed that one objective shall be achieved regardless of the fact that other objectives are achieved or not.

There must be good coordination amidst the activities at the time of planning and its implementation because when the objectives support one another, they can be achieved simultaneously.

 

Multiple: The organizations do not exist with a single objective and so every organization has several numbers of objective, which they need to balance so as to run the business effectively. The objectives can be profit generation, customer satisfaction, service to society and nation, market leadership, innovation, development of human resource and so forth.

 

Dynamic: They are dynamic in nature as it can be reviewed, modified and replaced according to the circumstances.

Verifiable: Objectives must be verifiable, i.e. expressed in numerical terms. When the objectives are verifiable they provide standards against which actual performance of the organization and its employees can be measured. However, all the objectives cannot be expressed quantitatively and so in such circumstances, these are expressed qualitatively.

 

 

Ans 6) To help you better understand how you can set goals and objectives, you first need a good foundation for what the two are.

Goals establish where you intend to go and tell you when you get there. They help improve your overall effectiveness as a company — whether you want to increase your share of the market, for example, or improve your customer service. The more carefully you define your goals, the more likely you are to do the right things and achieve what you wanted to accomplish in the first place.

Objectives are the specific steps you and your company need to take in order to reach each of your goals. They specify what you must do — and when.

Think of goals and objectives this way:

Goals tell you where you want to go; objectives tell you exactly how to get there.

Goals can increase your effectiveness; objectives back your goals and make you more efficient.

Goals are typically described in words; objectives often come with numbers and specific dates. Suppose that your goal is to double the number of people using your web-conferencing service. Your objectives may be as follows:

Gain awareness by placing print ads in four regional markets and by airing radio ads in two major markets (by June 10)

Attract first-time customers by offering an online giveaway of $1,000 (by June 1)

Cultivate prospects by implementing a permission-based weekly e-mail to 2,500 targeted contacts (by July 10)

Convert 10 percent of prospects to clients, using e-mail reminders (beginning July 25)

Together, goals and objectives form the road map for your company’s future. Without them, you risk making wrong turns and wasting precious energy.

 

 

 

Approach #1: Tie goals to your mission

The first approach to specifying goals and objectives begins with a review of your company’s mission statement. Using key phrases from your mission statement to define your major goals leads into a series of specific business objectives.

The connections between goals and your mission are easy to visualize if you use a flowchart. Key phrases in the mission statement lead to major goals, which lead to specific business objectives.

 

 

If your mission statement doesn’t suggest a list of goals, you may want to revaluate it to see whether it really captures what your business is all about.

 

 

 

Approach #2: Use goal-setting ACES

Most goals define positive outcomes that you want your business to achieve, but sometimes you also want to set goals to avoid pitfalls and to eliminate a few weaknesses. To help develop goals that cover all the bases, use the acronym ACES as you tick through the following key questions:

Achieve: What do you want to attain in the future? Conserve: What do you want to hang on to?

Eliminate: What do you want to get rid of? Steer clear: What do you want to avoid?

 

 

Approach #3: Cover all the bases

One more way to think about business goals is to consider each of the four categories into which most goals fall:

Day-to-day work goals are directed at increasing your company’s everyday effectiveness. They may involve things like order tracking, office management, or customer follow-up. As a start, name at least one change that you can make in your day-to-day operations that will make a difference in your overall effectiveness. Write it down in the form of a business goal.

Problem-solving goals address specific challenges that confront your business, such as low employee morale or quality of service issues. List the two biggest problems that face your company, and then write goals that can solve them.

Development goals encourage the acquisition of new skills and expertise, whether for your employees or for yourself, and whether you run a large company or operate as a freelancer or an independent contractor. So, how about formulating at least one development goal for yourself or your company?

Innovation goals help you find new ways to improve the following: the products or services that your company offers, how you market your company, and how you distribute and deliver what your company sells. Can you identify any innovative approaches that could make your business more effective in the future? If so, formulate an appropriate goal.

Profitability goals set your sights on where you want your bottom line to be. When all is said and done, profit is the No. 1 goal for profit-making companies. For nonprofit companies, this goal may take the form of how many dollars in contributions you plan to raise or a goal for increasing the company’s endowment.