StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Small Company - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Small Company" highlights that Inc. Magazine claims “Entrepreneurship is more mundane than it’s sometimes portrayed … you don’t need to be a person of mythical proportions to be very, very successful in building a company.” …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.1% of users find it useful
Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Small Company
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Small Company"

Certain personality characteristics can also be very helpful in starting a new business. A study conducted by Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business lists several shared characteristics of more than 200 successful entrepreneurs (those who have been in business for more than 5 years and have gross revenues of at least $1 million), including good health, an ability to control, strong self-confidence, high energy and sense of urgency, comprehensive awareness of a situation, a realistic outlook, conceptual ability, a low need for societal status, an objective approach, emotional stability, an attraction to challenges and an ability to describe situations with numbers (Glick-Smith, 1999).

Why is strategic planning important to a small company?

Strategic planning is important to any small company that wishes to grow or expand product lines or services. Different from a business plan in which something is started, strategic planning maps out the various practices a company will use to obtain a desired goal, such as increased sales, employee growth, or adjusting to new competition (Kautz, 2005). Like running a race, if you don’t know where the course is, you have little chance of arriving at the finish line before the competition. A strategic plan should include a business purpose that makes the mission and philosophy of the company clear to employees and others in a concise statement, organizational goals that define the endpoints toward which the plan is striving, mapped out strategies for meeting each of these goals, action plans to implement the various strategies and the implementation of a monitoring plan to ensure the company is on the right path toward meeting these goals (Kautz, 2005). The plan should remain flexible to meet the growing needs of the company as well as the changes within the marketplace.

What factors should an entrepreneur consider before choosing a form of ownership?

According to Alex Goumakos, 5 major factors should be considered when deciding on the format of ownership: liability protection, taxes, management, ownership transition, and capitalization (2001). Sole proprietorships and general partnerships offer no liability protection, which means that any personal property can be seized to cover any business debts incurred. The best liability protections are offered under limited partnerships, LLC, LLP, and S or C corporations. Depending on what form is selected, there are significant tax issues to consider including self-employment tax, payroll, and estate taxes. Management structure limits available forms based on the number of individuals to share ownership. Anticipating eventual transfer of ownership and setting down contingent capitalization policies can also help to determine which legal entity will be the best format for your business.

Noting the growing trend among collegiate entrepreneurs launching businesses while still in school, one educator says “A student whose main activity on campus is running a business is missing the basic reason for being here, which is to get an education.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

I disagree with the assumption that college students starting their businesses while still in school are missing the basic reason for being there. On the contrary, I think they have grasped the point even more than the instructor in this case. Most college students who enter business while in school do so as a means of obtaining much-needed funds or helping fellow students with common issues (Seymour, 2001). Nicole Seymour cites studies that indicated most of these students do not plan to continue operating their businesses following graduation and several don’t even expect to earn a profit. However, their association with classmates who are also entrepreneurs as well as the availability of business professors to whom they can turn for advice means they are effectively expanding their education to include laboratory experience in business management with the possibility of profitability as well as future expansion.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1535772-entrepreneurship
(Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1535772-entrepreneurship.
“Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1535772-entrepreneurship.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Why Is Strategic Planning Important to a Small Company

Strategic planning of Apple Brandin in 2011

The rise in position has been linked to effective strategic planning, some of the tools used in strategic planning have been analyzed and justification for the choice of each tool given.... strategic planning is highly linked to improved performance in many organizations when considered from different dimensions.... Though others consider it to be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating, strategic planning has been found to lead to quality decision making....
6 Pages (1500 words) Literature review

Strategic Planning in Strategic Management

The paper "strategic planning in Strategic Management" states that strategic planning focuses on setting goals or the point of achievement that we desire to reach some time in the definite future moment as well as on ways and means to get to that desired outcome.... strategic planning is a tool with a purpose to help an organization perform at its best, so strategic planning helps an organization to focus its energy and make sure that all members are working toward the same goals, to control whether the organization is going toward its goals in a straightforward manner as possible and to adjust the course for changes in internal and external circumstances....
12 Pages (3000 words) Article

Purposes and Benefits of Strategic Planning

This essay "Purposes and Benefits of strategic planning" focuses on o move the organization or business in a way that is feasible for everyone related to the business or organization, it includes minimizing the chances of loss and maximizing the chances of profitability in the long.... Another purpose is that it doesn't allow the firm to get distracted by the prevailing conditions whether good or bad, it is the job of the Manager who has done strategic planning of the firm to ensure also that all the necessary activities are carried out in a planned way so that no obstruction occurs....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Strategic planning (TESCO)

Perceived competitive Advantage: From the strategic planning point of view, competitor analysis is very important for any company's long-term survival (Kotler, 1972).... Mintzberg (1994) too, while talking about the changes that have taken place on the strategic planning front, emphasizes the importance of strategic planning.... This assumption forms a crucial component while planning for future.... For such planning, the TOWS (Threats-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Strengths) and SPACE (Strategic Position and Action Evaluation) Matrices prove to be very helpful tools....
11 Pages (2750 words) Case Study

Strategy and Corporate Planning PowerGen

The report starts with analyzing the effect of the organizational change on corporate planning.... The report ends with an analysis of the centralized system of planning adopted by CEGB in the context of Hofstede's article titled 'Cultural constraints in management theories'.... The last section deals with understanding the effect of privatization and deregulation and PowerGen's merger with Midland electricity which was a major strategic move and helped PowerGen immensely to stay ahead of the competition....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Control and Planning of T-Mobile Company

The company emphasizes the importance of using both change and traditional based strategic planning in the organization, giving them an edge on the tactical level.... In short, this means that a company in stable economic times with few competitors or other outside pressures will adapt by making small modifications to its approach to strategic planning, but when faced with major outside forces it will certainly make quick assessments and implementation of change in order to compete....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Strategy planning

Commitment and adequate resource allocation are important to the strategic planning process (Bible & Bivins, 2011). ... The strategies are systemic that the company seeks to come up with are systematic and structured (Barksdale & Lund, 2006).... n the previous market surveys done by the company, the men and the women in However, the younger generation between the age of 18 and 28 seem to be comfortable with the brands from crystal fashion.... The company should be more interested in the secrets of the young people as a strategy for producing future brands....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Managing Organisational Strategy of Yorkshire Tea

The strategic options available to the management of the company are elaborated in this report.... The strategic importance for the company is highlighted so as to determine the evaluation of the options.... The company Bettys and Tailors of Harrogate Limited produce Yorkshire Tea.... The strategic options available to the management of the company are elaborated in this report.... The strategic importance for the company is also highlighted....
18 Pages (4500 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us