Importance of Strategic Planning and Management

Importance of Strategic Planning and Management Strategic management involves decisions concerning what a company might do, given the opportunities in its environment; what it can do, given the resources at its disposal; what it wants to do, given the personal values and aspirations of key decision makers; and what it should do, given the ethical and legal context in which it is operating (Dobson). Organizations need to know where they are heading to and a firm concept of the kind of business it is in. An organizations product-market scope specifies the particular products or services of the organization and the growth vector is the direction the organization is moving in terms of its current product-market scope. Strategic management is an art and science that must be studied by top management and it involves formulating, implementing and evaluating the cross-functional decisions that have been created so that an organization can achieve its objectives. The organization identifies its objectives, acquire the resources needed to i mplement the policies and strategies to achieve its goals. In order to be successful, strategic management synthesizes the activities of the different sectors of the business such as sales, marketing, production, etc. so that organizational goals can be achieved. Also, strategic management is a continuous process of assessing the business, the industry it belongs, its competitors, for the improvement of the organization. According to Carter McNamara, Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more and how its going to get there. (McNamara 2008). The strategic planning process is organization-wide, or it can be focused on a major function. The major activities of the strategic planning process include strategic analysis; setting strategic direction; and action planning. Small business owners need strategic planning because it involves figuring out where the business is going with the aim of achieving overall success and at the same time, pinpoint strategic objectives. Owners of small businesses must give time to look for ways to grow and increase turnover. Most big businesses have used strategic planning when they were still new and small businesses. Strategic planning and business strategy are essential to achieve the goals of the business and without strategic planning and decision making, no business can head forward over the long term. Strategic demands the owners own thoughts and ideas and owners must make it as a major concern. His/Her personal investment in strategic planning is essential and fundamental to make the business to grow and improve the way the business operates and without strategic planning, the business will likely stumble into one problem to another. Therefore, small business owners must consider strategic planning frequently and regularly as it is essential to long term success. The four functions of management in relation to the creation and implementation of an organizations strategic plan are as follows: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. This paper is going to analyze an external IT company that has been assigned and contracted to take over the internal IT functions of an organization, particularly, the desktop support department. The goal of the external IT Company is to offer the highest quality service with an equally high financial return rate. In the planning stage, the company has to analyze the needs of the organization in terms of technology such as hardware types to support, peripherals, and other various office related equipment. The number of customers impacts the number of support staff needed and the skill levels required. The next phase is organizing and the company is going to reduce the number of their desk side support team for the purpose of minimizing expenses but they have to assign a technician to build an operating syst em, customize it so that the security needs and standards of the organization are met. The next phase is leading and its purpose is to channel the behavior of the personnel so that the organizations mission and objectives are accomplished. In the IT Company, they need to establish good relationship with their staff, give good compensation and benefits, provide them with the best training, promotion, and others so that they will be motivated and become more effective and contribute to the success of the organization. The last function is controlling which refers to the process of establishing the performance standards according to the companys objectives, comparing and taking preventive or corrective action as necessary. The controlling function involves evaluating and reporting the actual job performance of their staff. It is important that these points be studied and further corrective and preventive actions can be decided. In solving performance problems, there is a need for manag ement to higher their standards, speak to the employee on any problem that hinders him/her to work excellently, and check any other problems that may affect performance. Effective and efficient management leads to success, the success where it attains the objectives and goals of the organizations. (Pakhare, J. 2007). In achieving the ultimate goal, management has to be creative in solving problems in all the four functions. References http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/140511181X/Dobson_strategic%20management_sample%20chapter.pdf http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Definition-Strategic-Management/127324 http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/basics.htm http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/The-Importance-of-Business-Strategy-Planning/156896 http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/four-functions-of-management-outsource-technology-377102.html http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070510055850AAFFm0y http://www.buzzle.com/articles/management-concepts-the-four-functions-of-management.html

Little Boy Essay -- Informative, Manhattan Project, Hiroshima

At midnight on August 6, 1945, the crew of the Enola Gay got the orders to get ready for their mission. By 2:45 AM they were all packed, ready to go, and took off for their intended target (Black & Blashfield, 1993, p. 30). They flew through the darkness of the night sky for many hours. Dawn appeared and finally Enola Gay came close to their future objective. Then, around 7:24 AM, the pilot received a transmission from a weather aircraft, which had flown ahead of them, that there was hardly a cloud in the sky and that they should continue to their goal (p. 30). As they grew closer to Hiroshima, about 30 miles away, the captain gave the controls over to Major Ferebee (p. 30). As the minutes and seconds passed by it seemed perpetual. Finally at 8:15:17 Major Ferebee yelled out, â€Å"Bombs away!† (p. 30). It took about 50 seconds for the atomic bomb to fall and reach1,900 feet above the city where it exploded (Langford, 2004, p. 57). One of the crew members commented on it: A column of smoke rising fast. It has a fiery red core. A bubbling mass, purple gray in color, with that red core. It’s all turbulent. Fires are springing up everywhere, like flames shooting out of a huge bed of coals†¦Here it comes, the mushroom shape†¦It’s like a mass of bubbling molasses†¦its nearly level with me and climbing†¦(pp. 32-34). Never again will anything be the same. Creating In New York City the main ideas about the atomic bomb were developed, it was called the â€Å"Manhattan Project†. It was originally General Leslie R. Groves that was put in charge of the development of the atomic bomb. He wasn’t exactly people friendly so he got Dr. Julius Robert Oppenheimer, a civilian, involved as a project director. Communication and working proficient... ...nt of the buildings were destroyed by the blast or the fires that started because of it (Encyclopedia.com). If the blast didn’t destroy the buildings at first then the heat from the bomb caused fires that slowly destroyed the buildings. Cleaning Up A â€Å"black rain† fell from the sky, for about an hour after the blast, it had radioactive debris dropping everywhere. There was no actual help from Japan officials, at first. It was just people that were less injured and that could help, would. In the days that followed, mostly collecting and disposing of the bodies. If they were recognizable and were claimed a funeral would be held for them. Collecting and storing contaminated debris was next. Eventually, rebuilding the city began. With rebuilding of the city there was a memorial park built called Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, with donations of monuments.

Abnormal Psychology: Clinical Assessment and Discuss the Roles of the Clinical Interview

Learning Objectives 1. Define clinical assessment and discuss the roles of the clinical interview, tests, and observations. Clinical assessment is an evaluation of a patient's physical condition and prognosis based on information gathered from physical and laboratory examinations and the patient's medical history. Clinical interview is a face to face encounter meeting. Tests are devices for gathering information about a few aspects of a person’s psychological functioning, from which broader information about the person can be inferred.Observations clinicians systematically observe their clients behavior. Naturalistic observation clinicians observe their clients in their everyday client. Analog observation clinicians observe their clients in an artificial setting, such as a clinical office or laboratory. Self – monitoring clients are instructed to observe themselves. 2. Summarize the axis approach of the DSM series and describe the general features of DSM-IV-TR. The DSM- IV-TR, lists approximately 400 disorders.It requires clinicians to evaluate a client’s condition on five separate axes. 3. List the major classification of disorders from Axis I of the DSM-IV-TR. Axis I: Major depressive disorder such as: anxiety disorders and mood disorders. 4. Discuss the dangers of diagnosing and labeling in classifying mental disorders. Clinicians will not always arrive at the correct conclusion. Another problem related to diagnosis is the prejudice that labels arouse, which may be damaging to the person who is diagnosed. . Discuss types and effectiveness of treatment s for mental disorders. Therapist treatment plans typically reflect their theoretical orientations and how they have learned to conduct therapy. Current research may play a role. Evidenced based treatment or empirically supported. Determining the effectiveness of the treatment is difficult because therapist differ in their ways of defining and measuring success.

The During Battle And The War Wars - 1654 Words

From the beginning of time, war has been used to conquer lands, establish order, enforce rules and settle disagreements. Over time, war tactics have progressed and become more organized and efficient in accomplishing the goal of defeating the enemy. There are thousands of advances in strategies used during battle and the war wars are fought are have constantly changed. Looking back to when organized war truly began many distinct, and commonly used, improvements can be seen. Such as, chariots, hoplites, phalanxes, war elephants, and siege engines. Humans have always been fascinated with speed and are constantly seeking ways to move faster. The invention of the wheel gave birth to practical forms of transportation. Once the chariot†¦show more content†¦The walls of the chariot, or the â€Å"box,† were generally leather with a lightweight wooden frame. Within the box were two men, a driver and a warrior. Projecting from the chariot was a long pole angled upward a nd attached to a yoke , which was mounted on the horses’ backs. At first there were two horses pulling each chariot, it is believed later on the setup was changed to fit four horses. On the right side of the chariot, the driver’s job was to control the horses and to get the warrior in the best position to make his attacks. His attacks could be made with a bow and arrow, spear, mace, sword or dagger, however the bow was normally a prime choice for the average warrior. A typical warrior riding into battle was in full armor and ready to defend his chariot at all costs. The use of chariots spread very quickly as their effectiveness was easily recognizable. The Shang of China adopted the concept of chariots and modified them to fit three men. These three men were made up of a driver, a warrior and his servant whose role was to replenish his arrows and have weapons ready for his use at all times. In the Chinese culture, the chariots were used as a way to jump into a new social class as well. Horses were so rare to own and expensive to acquire that only the few who were wealthy enough to buy horses were able to be noble