STRATEGIC PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR CORPORATE SURVIVAL
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STRATEGIC PLANNING AS A TOOL FOR CORPORATE SURVIVAL
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on strategic planning as a strategy for company survival, specifically at Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.
Effective handling of company environmental changes requires meticulous preparation. Strategic planning has been the cornerstone of business organisation longevity due to the multiple benefits that can be obtained from well-formulated and implemented strategic plans.
Several factors, including objectives, resources, and opportunities, are considered while developing a firm’s strategy. The organisation undertakes a business environment situation analysis to determine its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities (SWOT).
To do this, there are basic phases in strategic planning that allow the organisation to establish strategic options. The chosen strategic options must match the organization’s opportunity with its capabilities in order to achieve business objectives.
Strategic planning provides a beneficial foundation for corporate management. It has a significant impact on an organization’s success or failure. When all aspects of strategic planning are completed properly,
an organisation may overcome inefficient use of internal resources, but it is doubtful that the organisation would survive with inadequate strategies.
The research concludes with recommendations for quantitative forecasting techniques, in addition to judgement and assumptions, which are popular in some businesses today.Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
There are fundamental environmental variables that influence the management decision-making (policy formulation and implementation) process in order for an organisation to thrive, succeed in its operating environment, and achieve its objectives and aims.
Organisations must adapt to these environmental pressures when developing and implementing their strategy and activities.
The organization’s success or failure is primarily defined by its ability to recognise and adapt to planning. Strategic planning allows organisations to forecast changes in external variables that will influence corporate strategy.
Planning encompasses the entire process of establishing what goals to pursue, how to achieve them, and how to monitor progress.
Planning enables organisations to identify their purpose and operations. All managers at various levels in the organisation have a plan. Planning is a key managerial role. Its significance can be derived from the common proverb, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” To be successful, a manager must plan.
Managers must therefore use a company’s resources to adapt to a changing environment. The organization’s activities should be guided by its plan. Ineffective resource utilisation occurs when there is no strategy or it is inadequately defined.
This project thus seeks to investigate the importance of a well-developed strategy as a foundation for organisational success.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Managers face the challenges of defining the company’s objectives, implementing strategies, and monitoring results to ensure their organization’s existence.
Managers must have information and techniques in order to make smart decisions while developing plans to deal with environmental changes.
The purpose of this study is to determine how and why strategic planning is required for the survival of any corporate organisation.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
This project examines the extent to which strategic planning is a tool for company survival.
The study’s objective is:
i. To understand what strategic planning is.
ii. Understand the phases of strategic planning in running a contemporary organisation.
iii. To understand why strategic planning takes place.
iv. To understand how strategic planning affects business survival.
At the completion of this project, it will be clear that strategic planning is critical for both small and large enterprises since it defines viability, continuity, and profitability.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
In order to thoroughly investigate the research topic, the following questions were formulated:
i. Who is accountable for the development of strategic plans?
ii. What management policy is used by the organisation?
iii. What is the current status of the organisation and the environment in which it functions, and how is it expected to operate in the future?
iv. How does the company source its raw materials and equipment?
v. How does the corporation deal with a change in government policy?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses will be tested in this study:
1. Null hypothesis: A strategic plan will not improve unity among the various units of an organisation.
Alternative hypothesis: A strategic plan will improve unity among the many parts of an organisation.
2. Null hypothesis: The strategic plan has no bearing on the achievement of organisational goals.
Alternative hypothesis: The strategic plan has no influence on the achievement of organisational goals.
3. Null hypothesis: A flexible strategic plan does not perform better than a strict strategic plan.
Alternative hypothesis: A flexible strategic plan does not perform better than a strict strategic plan.
1.6 Significance of Study
This research will be valuable to a variety of organisations in Nigeria and around the world.
Its results and recommendations will help corporations prepare strategically to flourish in a down economy. It is a well-known truth that identifying the causes of an issue usually always leads to its resolution. Since this study is being conducted to identify the importance of strategic
plan for the survival of the corporate organisation It will therefore serve as a guide to some of the answers to difficulties encountered by corporate organisations.
1.7 Scope and Limitations of Study
Due to limits, the researcher has limited this study project to Cadbury Nigeria Plc.
One limitation is time, the second is financial, and the third is the challenge of interviewing, distributing questionnaires, tabulating, and analysing data; yet, without these constraints, the research would have taken a greater dimension.
1.8 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY (CADBURY NIG. PLC)
Cadbury Nigeria Pc may be said to have its formal birth date in 1965. In the year of Cadbury Nigeria Limited’s establishment, a purpose-built facility was commissioned at the current agidingbi, Ikeja headquarters, and full-scale manufacturing of pronto (launched in 1956) and bournvita (1960) began, with Nigerian cocoa products as the primary raw material.
This occasion signalled the start of a fully Nigerian enterprise, as opposed to the previous international commerce.
The policy, established from the beginning and pursued with unwavering dedication ever since, was to manufacture products wherever possible with locally sourced raw materials of the highest quality, primarily aimed at the Nigerian market, while taking into account the Nigerian people’s overall developmental aspirations.
Today, the company’s principal activity is divided into three streams: food drinks, confectionery, and food. The groundbreaking Cereal Conversion Plant also generates a variety of intermediate products, including Sorghum Extract and Glucose,
while the Jos Plant manufactures tomato paste. Confectionery products include Tom-Tom, Buttermint, Malta Sweet, Chocolate Eclairs, Luckies, Extra Strong Peppermint, Fruities Ginger Orange, Koff-stick, and Tofi.
The Food Drinks category includes Pronto and Bournvita.
The Stanmark Cocoa Processing Company, Ondo, processes locally farmed cocoa butter and liquor for export, as well as cocoa powder for domestic use.
The “Cadbury People” have significantly contributed to the company’s consistent record of success and expansion. They are guided by a long-standing philosophy of honesty, respect, and excellence.
All activities have a conceptual foundation in the quest of excellence, and corporate social responsibility manifests itself through generous and meaningful support for the arts, education, charity, and sports. A significant sum of money has been set aside to provide interest revenue to cover all corporate donating.
1.9 Definition of Terms
It is not sufficient to end this introductory part of strategic planning without clarifying the meaning of the important terminology that will be utilised throughout the chapters.
According to Andrews (1965), a company’s strategy outlines its aims, purposes, goals, policies, and strategies to define its business and identity.
· Strategy refers to management’s plans to bring an organisation from its current position to its desired outcome.
the end of a specific term, recognising that during the interviewing period, a variety of changes will occur in the environment (Amao, 1979).
· Planning is the process of predicting future events and implementing strategies to attain organisational goals.
· The Strategic Plan: According to Peter Drucker (1974) defined “Strategic Plan” as “the continuous process of making present entrepreneurial (risk taking) decisions systematically and with the greatest knowledge of their futurity,
organising systematically the efforts needed to carryout these decisions and measuring the results of these decisions against expectation through organised systematic feedback” .
· Tactical Plan: A short-term plan that outlines the tasks required to execute a given plan.
· Corporate Mission: Identifies the duties and activities that the organisation prioritises.
· Distinctive Competencies: Activities that an organisation excels at compared to competitors.
· Goal: This is the expected result.
· Objective: An organization’s desired outcome.
· Target: A quantifiable intended result.
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