1.3+Objectives+&+Planning

= 1.3 Objectives & Planning =

"a failure to plan, is a plan to fail" "aim at nothing and you'll hit it. Every time."



__KEY WORDS__ : VISION STATEMENT MISSION STATEMENT / AIMS OBJECTIVES S.M.A.R.T. STRATEGY TACTICAL OBJECTIVES [//MISSION STATEMENTS//] STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES [//STRATEGIES//] ETHICAL OBJECTIVES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY [CSR] SOCIAL AUDITING STAKEHOLDERS MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES [MBO]

Key issues we looked at :
 * The purpose and need for planning, and the different levels at which planning takes place. eg CEO might be involved in the formation of Vision Statements which should guide all further activities in the firm, while the front line worker might be involved in the formation of Strategies which are same-day detailed plans of how to go about fulfilling the vision.
 * How objectives in particular, but all planning in general, can give direction to, unify and motivate the workforce : "get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet"
 * There can be conflict between stakeholders regarding appropriate objectives (eg workers may want a pay rise, shareholders might not agree that that is appropriate) and it is the role of the business manager to control that.
 * C.S.R. and the setting of ethical objectives has become increasingly high profile in the last few decades. Social responsibility is now often audited in the same way financial accounts have always been. An independent body comes in, looks at certain criteria (treatment of workers, pollution levels, waste disposal etc), a score is given and recommendations for improvement made.

MrM says : "//A fairly important topic that does get tested. There does need to be understanding that different levels of planning occur at different levels of the hierarchy - especially in limited companies, and that CSR is not only common practice now, but can get a firm a competitive advantage, especially with an increase in ethically-aware consumers. Although upgrading a firms CSR can be expensive, so can unethical behavior especially if highlighted by the competition/press. Ensuring firms are genuine in their claims of CSR is not always easy to do unfortunately.//"

The TWO primary planning documents/ideas a business has are its **Vision Statement** & **Mission Statement :**

The IB book by Loykie Lomine, defines

**"** __**Vision Statement** __ is a philosophy or set of principles which STEER the directions and behavior of an organisation ."

It adds .. //It defines your organization's purpose, and they focus on its// //aspirations. // //These statements are designed to be uplifting and inspiring - and they explain why you exist as a business. Its captures the big idea of what the business does. They're also timeless: even if the organization changes its strategy, the vision statement can often stay the same. //

The same book does not give a clear definition of Mission Statements, but does say this...

**"__Mission Statements__** communicates what needs to be done in order to achieve the Vision"

It adds .. they can also define the organization's purpose but they focus on its //holistic strategies / primary objectives// These statements are set in the present tense, and are aimed at both internal members of the organization and to people outside it. Mission statements tend to be a little longer but still reasonably concise - and powerful.

.......

It is worth noting that when owners/managers create these planning documents - they create documents in a way __that are useful to them__ -not in a way that necessarily matches the theory in books. So sometimes you will see VS & MS that do not exactly follow the definitions above - but are still useful to that organisation

here are examples from two different schools

=1. 2.=

I prefer number two...

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #505050; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The __vision__ is short and simple - and inspirational <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #505050; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">- which parents (customer) would not want their child to be a Responsible Outstanding Citizen? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #505050; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">- which teacher (staff) would not want to contribute to producing Responsible Outstanding Citizens?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #505050; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The __mission__ outlines how the vision will be achieved .. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #505050; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">if we provide 'academic excellence' then we have made a start in producing ROCs - but its more than that - we also need our students to understand the importance of demonstrating 'moral values' etc etc - and to be a 'citizen 'of the world we need to be instilling more than one 'culture'

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #505050; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">That is not to say the #1 school isn't operating efficiently. They might well find the way they do their planning suits them - and that's what its all about really.

.......

So the definition of a Vision says it 'STEERS' the organisation - here is what this means..

The organisation has a decision to make about how to spend a budget of $20 000 - they could go with [i] improving maintenance to the auditorium or [2] new computers for the LRC. Both are relevant plans. The computers in the LRC are still workable - and don't really prevent us providing "academic excellence", while the poor facilities in the auditorium really mean PE lesson are affected - and we are not able to provide "healthy physical development" - so we go with the improving the auditorium.!
 * Which is more important to the vision/mission of the school ???**

So before we take a decision we ask ourselves - will it help us achieve our vision/mission.

Vision/Missions gets //"everyone singing from the same hymn sheet"// ___ How do these planning documents connect up to each other?



Again, I like what school2 has done..
 * The __ Vision __ is the 'big unchanging idea'
 * The __ Mission __ begins to tell us how we might achieve our Vision ie Create ROCs
 * The School then sets its __ Goals __ for the year, that must tie into the Mission ( eg " improve the Language skills of the students" links to //Academic// //Excellence//)
 * Departments will then set their annual Goals that should both tie in the School Goals & the particular needs of the Department (eg "publish to the student and parents the bi-lingual Key Words at the end of each unit" links to //Improve Language Skills//)
 * Individual teachers will set their personal __Objectives__ for the year which should link to the Departmental Goals & their own personal needs. (eg "Learn translations of all key words and create a shared GoogleDocs for publishing them" links to //Bi-Lingual Key Words//)
 * Individual teachers will also create tactical __Objectives__ for every lessons. (eg " students should learn about **supply** and its effect on price. + after lesson publish Supply///Oferta// on the Key Terms list," again to //Bi-Lingual Key Words//)

________________________________________________________________________

__**Objectives**__ should motivate and instruct - but if you go about it the wrong way, they could do the exact opposite : demotivate and confuse!

So good objectives should be S.M.A.R.T.

__S__pecific : a vague goal is not going to motivate or help anyone.

______________________________________________________
 * 3 very useful videos about How To Go About Planning**

How to set smart Goals/Objectives //Erica Olsen explain how. You get a little caught up in semantics, but a useful video nonetheless.//

media type="youtube" key="uThBb3kGf4k" height="315" width="420"

How to set Vision Statements //Erica Olsen explain how to do create a Vision Statement.//

media type="youtube" key="ioY-YSOKBtY" height="315" width="420"

How to set Mission Statements //Erica Olsen again.//

media type="youtube" key="XtyCt83JLNY" height="315" width="420"

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)



Loykie Lomine defines CSR as "the obligation of a business to operate in such a way that its activities have a positive impact on society"

A key idea here is that 'scociety' in this context includes ALL stakeholders : workers, local community, customers, the environment __and__ shareholders/ //* not remembering to include shareholders as a group that firms must be responsible to under CSR is a common error - but makes sense. Shareholders have often invested their hard-earned, honest dollars in the firm, and the firm must strive to give them honest reward.//

To achieve CSR businesses will normally An Audit is a set of criteria against which performance is measured. A Social Audit uses ethical-related criteria to measure this performance eg //criteria 1 : what is the difference between the top and bottom salary in the firm// __ WHY IMPROVE ON YOUR C.S.R.?
 * set themselves Ethical Objectives : eg reduce pollution in the next year by 5%
 * carry out regular Social Audits
 * More and more customers, especially but //not// exclusively, middle/high-income customers, are taking Ethical decisions. If a firm A is a little more expensive than firm B but firm B is known to exploit its workers, customers choose firm A
 * Workers prefer working for an ethical firm. They are more motivated and happier if the firms ethical standards match their own. eg If they re-cylce at home and the firm doesn't offer re-cycle options at work they will be unhappy and less committed to that firm
 * Responsible firms can usually attract the better applicants for recruitment.
 * CSR improves your reputation, and more-and-more it improves your profits



WHATS THE PROBLEM THEN?
 * Most Ethical Objectives are expensive to implement in the short term
 * If everyone is doing it, then you get no additional customer loyalty, as you are not differentiating yourself any more
 * Just improving your CSR is often not enough - you have to inform your stakeholders of your success/improvements in order for you to reap the rewards. This adds to the costs

- AND OF COURSE THERE IS ALWAYS THIS....: .... An interview with Ben&Jerry - a company famous for great ice-cream and healthy CSR (before CSR became trendy). They explain their Visions etc
 * some big firms have been accused, by skeptics, of spending all their CSR budget on PR work ie convincing the public with adverts etc : and not actually spending any money on improving their operations/ Some CSR is little more than window dressing! - //very difficult for the average customer to know whats real and whats hot air!//

media type="youtube" key="gsnEr9DgZTI" width="425" height="350"

S.W.O.T. Analysis
A __**vital**__ decision making tool. It's looked at in this section because if you're going to plan successfully, you're going to need a full understanding of the internal factors of your business and the external factors in the business environment : you're going to have to carry out a SWOT Analysis.

It begins with simply identifying the factors. Drawing a 2x2 matrix and filling it with bullet pointed ideas **is** acceptable, as Step 1.

Here's what it is : __S__TRENGTHS : //These are internal.// It's what makes your firm good. Its what differentiates you from your rivals - and gives you success. I have heard these strengths being referred to as 'core competencies'. Examples would be 'strong brand recognition', 'excellent staff'*, 'best location in the market', 'most up-to-date machinery' etc etc They are factors that you as a firm created, or gained via the result of your decisions and can largely control.

__W__EAKNESSES: //These are internal too// Its what your firm does poorly, is not good at. Factors within the firm that are holding back your success. Usually things your competitors do or have that are better than you. Examples would be 'poorly skilled staff'*, 'poor location', 'obsolete machinery' etc etc

This is true of all factors
 * note 'staff' as a factor could be an S or a W : it depends on the circumstances of the firm.

INTERNAL FACTORS ARE USUALLY IDENTIFIED VIA PRIMARY RESEARCH. USUALLY A //COMBINATION// OF STAKEHOLDERS : WORKERS, CUSTOMERS, SUPPLIERS ETC

__O__PPORTUNITIES

__T__HREATS



_ AMU PowerPoints etc used : Quick5 Quizzes used :