Description

Description: This course has been designed to introduce a variety of aspects of international business. Globalization and growing international trade amongst many different countries have brought new challenges and opportunities for many new economies and established economies.

This course features dynamic and engaging video with audio narration, infographics and short quizzes to test your knowledge

Background: Strategic business planning is important because it provides clarity, direction and focus for the organization and therefore, allows organisations to be proactive rather than reactive. It improves the organisation’s management process and decision-making processes by enhancing allocative, operational, information and dynamic efficiency, including achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Other benefits include an increase in market share, profitability and business longevity. The following sections discuss the relevant theories and concepts relating to strategic business planning, including key concepts of the Unified Theory of Business Strategy and how the Levant program can help you to complete a strategic business plan successfully. The course outline is summarized in this figure.

Strategic Business Planning involves the process of determining policies and procedures (and budgeting for them) in order to accomplish goals and objectives of the organization, which is normally closely related to the organization’s mission and vision. A strategy can be defined as an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage. In the context of Strategic Business Planning, it can be defined as the process of focusing on the businesses mid to long-term goals. It is important to remember that a strategic business plan is different than a business plan—it is “strategic” in the sense that it is about positioning the business as effectively as possible in the marketplace. While a Business Plan is the process of determining an organisations objectives, strategies and projected actions to promote its survival and development within a given time period.

Turban outlined that there are three levels of strategic planning: 1) top management activities which set priorities, focus energy and human and technology resources, strengthen operations, and ensure that employees and business partners work toward common goals. 2) middle-level managers design business processes, procedures, and policies to implement strategic plans and 3) operational-level managers and supervisors work closely with the workforce and customers and play a more interpersonal role than any of the other levels of management.

Yakovlera outlined that the traditional business planning includes an executive summary, mission and vision statements and the formulation of objectives. It also includes the marketing plan, which contains marketing analysis tools like 4Pcs, SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces and customer decision - making process theory. As well as this, it displays the Management & Organizational Plan, Operational Plan and Financial Plan. Finally, each plan within the whole process presents the action plan, which explains the implementation process. It is important to remember that business planning deals with setting short-to midterm goals and planning the steps/phases for achieving those goals and is vital to note that a strategic plan is a living document that is reviewed and changed as the environmental conditions change.

Strategic business planning incorporates a broad range of expertise and areas of knowledge. That is why in most companies or advisory firms such planning is compiled by a group of members and is generally a team exercise. Samimi emphasised that strategic business plan requires detailed knowledge of marketing, extensive knowledge of operational and resource planning, as well as an in-depth understanding of financial modelling, accounting and a range of other corporate strategic matters.

Therefore, care should be taken to ensure this exercise is not prohibitively exhaustive for two reasons:
1. Those involved in compiling the report will render themselves tired.
2. The report itself cannot be referred to because it will be too detailed and perhaps not of use.