The
strategic-planning process utilizes analytical models that provide a realistic
picture of the individual, corporation, or nation at its “consciously
incompetent” level, creating the necessary motivation for the development of a
strategic plan. Nasim Siddiqi says
the process requires five distinct steps outlined below and the selected
strategy must be sufficiently robust to enable the firm to perform activities
differently from its rivals or to perform similar activities in a more
efficient manner.
A
good strategic plan includes metrics that translate the vision and mission into
specific end points. This is critical because strategic planning is ultimately
about resource allocation and would not be relevant if resources were
unlimited. This article aims to explain how finance, financial goals, and
financial performance can play a more integral role in the strategic planning
and decision-making process, particularly in the implementation and monitoring
stage.
The Strategic-Planning and
Decision-Making Process
1. Vision Statement
The
creation of a broad statement about the company’s values, purpose, and future
direction is the first step in the strategic-planning process.
Nasim Siddiqi vision statement must
express the company’s core ideologies — what it stands for and why it exists —
and its vision for the future, that is, what it aspires to be, achieve, or
create.
2. Mission Statement
An
effective mission statement conveys eight key components about the firm: target
customers and markets; main products and services; geographic domain; core
technologies; commitment to survival, growth, and profitability; philosophy;
self-concept; and desired public image.The finance component is represented by
the company’s commitment to survival, growth, and profitability. The company’s
long-term financial goals represent its commitment to a strategy that is
innovative, updated, unique, value-driven, and superior to those of
competitors.
3. Analysis
This
third step is an analysis of the firm’s business trends, external
opportunities, internal resources, and core competencies. For external
analysis, firms often utilize Porter’s five forces model of industry
competition, which identifies the company’s level of rivalry with existing
competitors, the threat of substitute products, the potential for new entrants,
the bargaining power of suppliers, and the bargaining power of customers.
Another
method, value-chain analysis clarifies a firm’s value-creation process based on
its primary and secondary activities. This becomes a more insightful analytical
tool when used in conjunction with activity-based costing and benchmarking
tools that help the firm determine its major costs, resource strengths, and
competencies, as well as identify areas where productivity can be improved and
where re-engineering may produce a greater economic impact.
4. Strategy Formulation
To
formulate a long-term strategy, Porter’s generic strategies model is useful as
it helps the firm aim for one of the following competitive advantages: a)
low-cost leadership (product is a commodity, buyers are price-sensitive, and
there are few opportunities for differentiation); b) differentiation (buyers’
needs and preferences are diverse and there are opportunities for product
differentiation); c) best-cost provider (buyers expect superior value at a
lower price); d) focused low-cost (market niches with specific tastes and
needs); or e) focused differentiation (market niches with unique preferences
and needs).
5. Strategy Implementation
and Management
In
the last ten years, the balanced scorecard (BSC) has become one of the most
effective management instruments for implementing and monitoring strategy
execution as it helps to align strategy with expected performance and it
stresses the importance of establishing financial goals for employees,
functional areas, and business units. The BSC ensures that the strategy is
translated into objectives, operational actions, and financial goals and
focuses on four key dimensions: financial factors, employee learning and
growth, customer satisfaction, and internal business processes.