Develop an action plan to provide a clear and cohe

[Midfielder]

Post your tho's on this element on this thread

[rosebud]

As the business grows, the role of the business owner will change and adjustments to the functions, structure and roles of the company's personnel will need to be made.
The business owner must learn how to give up control and let others take over certain responsibilities in the business. In some instances, a business owner may have to step aside as the CEO or MD to allow others with more appropriate skills to run the business.
Very few, if any business owners, have all the skills needed to effectively run a business, particularly as the issues become more complex. Business owners need to recognise this and seek advice and training to overcome deficiencies and skill up for the future. Recognising weakness is important in self-development and working to improve skills will greatly benefit the business in the long run.
As a business grows, it will encounter a range of challenges that can slow down or even prevent business expansion. The key to managing these challenges is to ensure that you have a well defined growth plan, and to be alert and monitor the business closely for problems that may arise.
The challenges come in many forms, such as:
•running out of office or storage space
•cash flow being negatively affected
•limits on the production capacity of a factory
•time available to key staff for dealing with strategic matters
•extra pressure on staff because of increased work hours
•less time to spend with key accounts, impacting on relationships
•capacity of administration staff to handle increased volumes of enquiries, transactions and documentation
It is important to undertake risk management strategies in order to identify potential challenges that your business may face as well as develop strategies in order to reduce or eliminate the effects on your business.
For more information on risk management.
Growing businesses are exposed to increasing compliance demands from agencies like the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), ASIC and ACCC. There will also be inevitable legal implications in the growth process.
Contact an accountant, solicitor or the local Business Advisory Service for advice on the legal and compliance implications of business growth.
toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/22/108/497

[ashrafun]

For a successful business venture business goals, objectives and plan is very much correlated to each other. One needs to have a business goal before start preparing a business plan. A business goal is a desired outcome for one’s business and expectation of where one wants his/her business to be by a specified time.

On the other hand business objectives are targets for the operation to work towards. They set directions for business to follow. Once business objectives are defined, one will be able to plan strategies to achieve them. The more specific one’s goal is, the more specifically one can define his/her business objectives. As a result objectives need to be set for each function of the operation, as well as need to be coordinated and consistent with each other.

Business planning is an essential ingredient for any successful business. A business plan can be defined as a document describing a business that is used to test the feasibility of a business idea, to raise capital, and to serve as a roadmap for future operation. It can help find omissions and flaws in our ideas by allowing other people to critically review and analyse our plans. It should anticipate growth and development of the business operation.

Every small business should have a formal operational plan, although in reality most do not. Studies consistently indicate that most business that work to a prepared business plan/ action plan for the entire operation significantly improve their survival ability and thereby their chances of future business success. Business that use formal planning have a head start and a good chance of outperforming businesses that use informal planning or no planning at all. However it is only beneficial if it is done properly.
Apart from the incentive of improved business performance and survival chances, there are three good reasons for preparing a formal business/ action plan in a small business.

First, a business plan enables to set a growth direction for business and provides a comprehensive set of standards against which to measure business performance.

Second, preparing and working through a business plan is an effective way of determining the viability of any proposed small business.

Third, the business plan is an essential selling tool to influence lenders (or prospective partners) to advance funds.

[nirmala]

Re: Develop an action plan to provide a clear and coherent direction,in accordance with........
1. First, a business plan enables to set a growth direction for business and provides a
comprehensive set of standards against which to measure business performance.
2. A sequence of steps that must be taken, or activities that must be performed well, for a strategy to succeed. An action plan has three major elements
3. Specific tasks: what will be done and by whom.
4. Time horizon: when will it be done.
5. Resource allocation: what specific funds are available for specific activities. Also called
action program.

Business planning is an essential ingredient for any successful business. A business plan can be defined as a document describing a business that is used to test the feasibility of a business idea, to raise capital, and to serve as a roadmap for future operation. It can help find omissions and flaws in our ideas by allowing other people to critically review and analyse our plans. It should anticipate growth and development of the business operation
As a business grows, it will encounter a range of challenges that can slow down or even prevent business expansion. The key to managing these challenges is to ensure that you have a well defined growth plan, and to be alert and monitor the business closely for problems that may arise.

The challenges come in many forms, such as:

•running out of office or storage space
•cash flow being negatively affected
•limits on the production capacity of a factory
•time available to key staff for dealing with strategic matters
•extra pressure on staff because of increased work hours
•less time to spend with key accounts, impacting on relationships
•capacity of administration staff to handle increased volumes of enquiries, transactions and documentation.

toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/part/22/108/497

[anilla]

When business is tough, goal setting is critical. If you don't want to get sucked into the downward spiral, you need to head for higher ground. More important, you need to know how to get there.

Make an Action Plan
This is the number one secret to effective goal setting; regardless of what your goal is, the key to reaching it is always the same. The best, perhaps the only, way to turn an abstract goal into an attainable reality is to create an action plan; a nitty-gritty, no-nonsense action plan.

Many small-business owners are wishful thinkers, full of big ideas. They spend hours talking and dreaming about what they'd like to accomplish, but never in concrete terms. They repeat the same ineffective activities over and over, and then wonder why they're not getting anywhere.

The fact is that when businesspeople set measurable goals, they are much more likely to attain them. That means not just defining your objectives, but also defining the resources, time and money you'll need to invest in order to achieve them.

Achieving your goals, even big goals, doesn't require brilliance or talent. It does, however, require determination and tenacity, and most of all, a realistic action plan. If you don't plan, you plan to fail.

Put It in Writing
Every business requires a marketing plan, sales plan, recruitment plan, process plan and financial plan. Note the common word in all this activity: plan. Goals are nothing more than what you "plan" to accomplish.

So, write your goals down. Then, start filling in the blanks between Point A (where you are today) and Point Z (where you want to be). The act of writing your ideas down, or say, keying them into your laptop, will force you to think in concrete terms. It will also spark additional ideas. This is the birth of your action plan.

Be Specific
Break your plan down into baby steps and attach a realistic deadline to each step. Determine how to measure your progress; these measurements will be your reality check.

Then, define your investment. How much will each step cost, in terms of dollars, time, research and energy? What resources can you draw from and what additional resources will you need to acquire?

Eventually, you will have a full-blown action plan. Don't tuck it in a drawer--keep it close by for constant reference. Make regular appointments with yourself to review your plan and ensure you stay on track. It is a work-in-progress, and you can expect to make changes as you proceed. That's okay, just don't stop working on it.

Remember, there's only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.

Get SMART
If you haven't set formal goals before, try following the SMART goal-setting format. With this process, goals should meet this definition:

S pecific
M easurable
A chievable
R ealistic
T imely

In other words, state clearly what you want to achieve. It must be something concrete and doable. Frame it in a way that allows you to measure your activity and include a deadline.

Whatever you do, steer clear of BHAGS, aka Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals. These are vast, long-term goals that would realistically take three to five years to achieve. BHAGs are useful for long-range planning, but not for now. Focus on short-term goals that you can attain in the course of a year or less, right now, under current economic conditions.




www.entrepreneur.com/article/201888

[poonam]

Develop an action plan to provide a clear and coherent direction,in accordance with

Objectives give the business a clearly defined target. Plans can then be made to achieve these targets. This can motivate the employees. It also enables the business to measure the progress towards to its stated aims.

The most effective business objectives meet the following criteria:

S – Specific – objectives are aimed at what the business does, e.g. a hotel might have an objective of filling 60% of its beds a night during October, an objective specific to that business.

M - Measurable – the business can put a value to the objective, e.g. €10,000 in sales in the next half year of trading.

A - Agreed by all those concerned in trying to achieve the objective.

R - Realistic – the objective should be challenging, but it should also be able to be achieved by the resources available.

T- Time specific – they have a time limit of when the objective should be achieved, e.g. by the end of the year.

Development Action Plans can be one of the most important tools in employee development. Successful realization of behavior changes or skill improvement requires not only solid coaching and communication, but a clear plan to make the necessary behavior changes or skill improvement come to fruition. The plan should be used in the 'W' phase of the I grow model as well as a tool implemented after coaching has occurred to plan the next steps that will be taken. Keep in mind Development Action Plans are only meant for use in coaching scenarios. If you are working with a counseling scenario, a Development Action Plan will not be your best resource as the employee is not working to make a behavior change or skill improvement but is making a choice not to perform.
Clearly communicating strategic business objectives is the first step to creating alignment. Providing visibility to goals set by departments across the organization furthers alignment. Typically the process begins with departmental managers setting goals for their departments, based upon organization-wide goals, which support the general business strategy. Making departmental goals accessible to all managers ensures there is no overlap, reduces conflict, and allows members of different departments to see where they support each other and ensure they are not working at cross purposes. Each manager in turn shares the overall goals with his/her department and meets with employees to identify individual goals ,plans and objectives

When setting goals, key job expectations and responsibilities should act as the main guide and reference. Goals should be set that not only address what is expected, but also how it will be achieved. For example, the "what" covers quality or quantity expected, deadlines to be met, cost to deliver, etc. The "how" refers to the behavior demonstrated to achieve outcomes, for example, focus on customer service. In addition, some organizations choose to include competencies within performance expectations, to reinforce the link to business strategy, vision and mission

www.successfactors.com/articles/optimize-performance-management/