Seminars for Strategic Planning Learning Modules A company's strategy is the "game plan" management has for positioning a business in its chosen market arena, competing successfully; pleasing customers, and achieving good business performance. Strategy consists of a whole array of competitive moves and business approaches that manager's employ in running a company. In crafting a strategic plan, management is saying, "among all the paths and actions we could have chosen, we have decided to go in this direction and rely upon these particular techniques in doing business." Managers devise company strategies because of two very compelling needs. First, there is a need to proactively shape how a company's business is conducted. It is management's responsibility to exert entrepreneurial leadership in guiding a business to reach its goals in demonstrating extraordinarily "good performance". The second need is molding the independent decisions and actions initiated by departments, managers, and employees across the company into a coordinated, company wide game plan. SWP Management Consulting, LLC has developed concepts and techniques in strategic planning for those organizations needing a practical working knowledge of developing an accurate and measurable strategic plan. The seminar is divided into ten learning modules in developing your customized strategic plan. They are: 1. The Strategic Management Process 2. Establishing Company Direction 3. Developing a Strategic Vision 4. Setting Objectives and Crafting a Strategy 5. Industry and Competitive Analysis 6. Evaluating Company Resources & Competitive Capabilities 7. Strategy and Competitive Advantage 8. Matching Strategy to a Company's Situation 9. The Business Strategy Simulation 10. The Balanced Scorecard. Your organization may prefer to customize your seminar by selecting specific learning modules that will enhance your organization's performance. The ninth learning module utilizes the Business Strategy simulation. The computer simulation is designed for at least fifteen contact hours. Participants form teams as they compete in the global marketplace. All learning modules are interactive sessions with many handouts, illustrations, and problem-solving exercises. Participants will be involved with many hands-on activities throughout each session. The Balanced Scorecard is utilized in organizing your strategic plan into a framework that customizes your strategic management system. In effect, the Balanced Scorecard becomes the operating system for a new strategic management process. Participants are encouraged to utilize the strategic planning computer simulation that reinforces the concepts and techniques in implementing a successful strategic plan. Seminar - The Ten Learning Modules for Strategic Planning. 1. The Strategic Management Process - This learning module is an overview of the five tasks of strategic management. Participants will understand that a company's strategic plan is a collection of strategies devised by different managers at different levels in the organizational hierarchy. We will review the importance why all managers must know the company's strategy as they implement their strategic plan in their business unit. 2. Establishing Company Direction, 3. Developing a Strategic Vision, 4. Setting Objectives and Crafting a Strategy- Participants will take a more in-dept look at the three strategy-making tasks: developing a strategic vision and business mission, setting performance objectives, and crafting a strategy to produce the desired results. We will examine the strategic decisions made at each management level, the major determinants of a company's strategy, and four frequently used managerial approaches to form a strategic plan. 5. Industry and Competitive Analysis - Participants will understand that crafting strategy is an analysis-driven exercise, not a task where managers can get by with opinions, good instincts, and creative thinking. Judgment about what strategy to pursue need to flow directly from solid analysis of a company's external environment and internal situation. We will examine the techniques of industry and competitive analysis, the term commonly used to refer to assessing the strategically relevant aspects of a company's macro environment. After this session participants will implement the analytical tools and concepts of industry and competitive analysis. They will demonstrate the importance of tailoring strategy to fit the circumstances of a company's industry and competitive environment. 6. Evaluating Company Resources and Competitive Capabilities - This learning module discuss the techniques of evaluating a company's resource capabilities, relative cost position, and competitive strength versus rivals. Company situation analysis prepares the groundwork for matching the company's strategy both to its external market circumstances and it its internal resources and competitive capabilities. The analytical techniques include SWOT analysis, value chain analysis, strategic cost analysis, and competitive strength assessment. 7. Strategy and Competitive Advantage - This session reviews how an organization builds competitive advantage. We will explore the five generic competitive strategies in-depth. Participants will examine the pros and cons of vertical integration strategy and the merits of cooperative strategies. We will explore the application of offensive and defensive strategies for an organization to defend it competitive strategy. The participant will analyze the building and eroding of competitive advantage. 8. Matching Strategy to a Company's Situation - The task of matching strategy to a company's situation is challenging because of the many external and internal factors managers must consider. However, while the number and variety of considerations is necessarily lengthy, the most important drivers shaping a company's best strategic options fall into two broad categories: 1. The nature of the industry and competitive conditions. 2. The firm's own resources and competitive capabilities, market position, and best opportunities. Participants will investigate the dominant strategy-shaping industry and competitive conditions revolve around what stage in the life cycle the industry is in (emerging, rapid growth, mature, declining), the industry's structure (fragmented versus concentrated), the relative strength of the five competitive forces, and measuring the impact of industry driving forces. 9. The Business Strategy Game- A Global Industry Computer Simulation. Participants form teams as they compete in high competitive industry. Participants will demonstrate what they have learned as they participate in this computer simulation. You should complete the learning modules first, second, third, fourth, and fifth modules, before competing in this computer simulation. Participants must have access to a computer (Desktop or laptop). 10. The Balanced Scorecard - The Balanced Scorecard was originally conceived as a tool for implementing strategy, it has evolved into a framework for formulating & organizing strategy. It provides a common language for executives to discuss, clarify and achieve consensus on the strategy. It transfers strategy into several complementary themes (Financial, Customer, Internal, Learning & Growth) that define how value will be created in planning strategically. It translates ambitious visions into concrete, manageable steps that can be communicated and acted upon at all levels. Strategy Maps describe the value creation process, and how tangible financial results are achieved by focusing intangible assets on the customer value proposition. A strategy map can represent each strategy or theme of a strategy. This map defines the casual logic of the strategy. In defines customer value proposition and characteristics of internal business processes necessary to support the strategy. The Business Strategy Game The Business Strategy Game is a computer simulation activity that will enhance the learning experience involving Strategic Management. The simulation evolves around participants producing athletic footwear in a global business environment. The simulation allows competing companies to supply private-label footwear to North American chain retailers. Competition is head-to head, with each team of participants must match their strategy knowledge with the other company teams. Companies can focus their branded marketing efforts on one or more geographic markets. Also, they can establish a one-country production base or they can manufacture in all three of the geographic markets. Low-cost leadership, differentiation strategies, best-cost producer strategies, and focus strategies are all visible competitive options. Companies can position their products in the low end of the market, the high end, or stick close to the middle on price, quality, and service. Also, competitors have a wide or narrow product line, small or big dealer networks, extensive or limited advertising. The company's market shares are based on how each company's competitive effort stacks up against the effort of rivals. Demand conditions, tariffs, and wage rates vary from geographic areas to geographic area. Raw materials used in footwear production are purchased in a worldwide commodity market. The pricing of the raw material can fluctuate based upon the supply-demand conditions. If a company's sales volume is unexpectedly low, management has the option to liquidate excess inventories at deep discount prices. Participants must determine how many plants to operate, compensate a workforce, distribution expenses, control inventory, and decide the capital expenditure. There are built-in planning and analysis features that allow participants to (1) craft a five-year strategic plan, (2) gauge the long-range financial impact of current decisions, (3) do the number-crunching to make informed short-run decision versus long-run trade-offs, (4) assess the revenue-cost-profit consequences to alternative strategic actions, and (5) build different strategy scenarios. The simulation game is the best exercise available for helping participants understands how the functional pieces of a business fit together. First, the simulation of running a simulated company over a number of decision periods help develop participants' business judgment. This simulation game provides a live case situation where events unfold and circumstances change as the game progress. Second, participants learn an enormous amount from working with the numbers, exploring options, and trying a unite production, marketing, finance and human resource decisions into a coherent strategy. The effect is to help students integrate material, look at decisions from the standpoint of the company as a whole, and see the importance of thinking strategically about a company's competitive positions and future prospects. The resulting entertainment value help maintain an unusually high level of participant's motivation and emotional involvement in the seminar. Participants will receive a booklet entitled "The Business Strategy Game" which they will read before competition begins. The Table of Contents for the business strategy game is as follows: 1. The Industry and the Company 2. Obtaining and Running the Company Program 3. Competition and Demand Forecasts 4. Warehouse and Shipping Operations 5. Sales and Marketing Operations 6. Financing Company Operations 7. Financing Company Operations 8. Scoring, Reports, Analysis Options, and Strategic Plans 9. Decision Making: Recommended Procedures 10. Planning and Analysis Forms 11. Index E-mail SWP Management Consulting