Purpose Of Assignment: Students Will Have The Opportu 286758

Purpose Of Assignmentstudents Will Have The Opportunity To Develop A B

Purpose of Assignment Students will have the opportunity to develop a Balanced Scorecard. This, in turn, will allow them to create effective strategic objectives to be included as part of their overall strategic plan. They will also be presented with the task of creating a brief communication plan that will be used by their proposed division to efficiently distribute information with regard to their strategic initiatives.

Assignment Steps Resources: Strategic Planning Outline and Week 4 textbook readings Create a minimum 1,050-word strategic objectives summary. Include your balanced scorecard and its impact on all stakeholders, and the communication plan.

Identify key trends, assumptions, and risks in the context of your final business model. Develop the strategic objectives for your new division of the existing business in a balanced scorecard format in the context of key trends, assumptions, and risks. The strategic objectives are measures of attaining your vision and mission. As you develop them, consider the vision, mission, and values for your business and the outcomes of your SWOTT analysis.

Consider the following four quadrants of the balanced scorecard when developing your strategic objectives:

  • Shareholder Value or Financial Perspective: includes strategic objectives in areas such as market share, revenues and costs, profitability, and competitive position.
  • Customer Value Perspective: includes strategic objectives such as customer retention or turnover, customer satisfaction, and customer value.
  • Process or Internal Operations Perspective: includes strategic objectives such as process performance measures, productivity improvements, operations metrics, and the impact of change on the organization.
  • Learning and Growth (Employee) Perspective: includes strategic objectives like employee satisfaction, employee turnover or retention, organizational capability, organizational culture or climate, and technological innovation.

Evaluate potential alternatives to the issues and/or opportunities identified in the SWOTT analysis completed earlier. Create at least three strategic objectives for each of the four balanced scorecard areas. Base your solutions on a ranking of alternative solutions, including:

  • Identify potential risks and mitigation plans
  • Analyze stakeholders and include mitigation and contingency strategies
  • Incorporate ethical implications
  • Develop a specific metric and target for each strategic objective using the balanced scorecard format

For example, a strategic objective in the shareholder or financial perspective might be to increase market share. A corresponding metric could be "The percentage of increase in market share," with a target such as "Increase market share by 2% annually for three years."

Outline a brief communication plan discussing how you will communicate the company's strategic objectives, including:

  • Define the purpose
  • Define the audience
  • Identify the channels of communication and justify why you selected those channels

Format your assignment consistent with APA guidelines.

Paper For Above instruction

The development of a comprehensive strategic plan is critical for any division seeking sustainable growth and alignment with organizational goals. By integrating a balanced scorecard approach, organizations can translate vision and strategy into actionable objectives across four key perspectives, ensuring that all stakeholder interests are considered. This paper outlines the strategic objectives for a new division within an existing business, evaluates potential risks and mitigation strategies, and develops a communication plan to ensure effective dissemination of strategic priorities.

Introduction

Strategic planning is fundamental to organizational success, particularly when expanding or launching a new division. The balanced scorecard approach offers a multidimensional framework that aligns objectives in financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives. This comprehensive approach ensures that an organization’s strategic objectives are balanced across different stakeholder interests and operational areas. As such, this paper presents a strategic objectives summary for a hypothetical new division, considering external trends, internal assumptions, risks, and stakeholder management, culminating in a communication strategy to effectively share these objectives across the organization.

External Trends, Assumptions, and Risks

Understanding external market trends is vital for contextualizing strategic objectives. Current trends such as digital transformation, increased customer expectations, and competitive market dynamics are shaping strategic priorities (Porter & Heppelmann, 2014). Assumptions include the continued growth of digital channels and technological advancements, while risks involve rapid technological obsolescence, market competition, and regulatory changes (Johnson et al., 2020). These factors influence the development of realistic, achievable objectives aligned with anticipated changes and potential vulnerabilities.

Strategic Objectives in the Balanced Scorecard Framework

Financial Perspective

  1. Increase market share by 2% annually over three years
  2. Achieve a 10% increase in revenue in the first two years
  3. Reduce operating costs by 5% annually through process efficiencies

These financial objectives aim to enhance shareholder value while maintaining sustainable growth. Risks include market saturation and cost overruns, mitigated through continuous market analysis and rigorous budget oversight (Kaplan & Norton, 2001).

Customer Value Perspective

  1. Improve customer satisfaction scores by 15% within 12 months
  2. Increase customer retention rate to 85% over two years
  3. Expand customer base in targeted segments by 20% annually

With a focus on customer satisfaction and retention, these objectives address market competitiveness. Risks involve negative feedback and churn; mitigation includes enhanced customer service training and loyalty programs (Anderson et al., 2006).

Internal Process Perspective

  1. Reduce product development cycle time by 25% within 18 months
  2. Achieve 90% process compliance in operational activities
  3. Implement a new ERP system to improve operational efficiency

These process objectives focus on operational excellence. Risks could include implementation delays or resistance; mitigation strategies involve change management and stakeholder engagement (Davenport, 2013).

Learning and Growth Perspective

  1. Increase employee engagement scores by 20% within one year
  2. Reduce employee turnover to less than 10% annually
  3. Ensure 100% technological proficiency through ongoing training programs

This perspective emphasizes organizational capacity building. Risks include employee resistance; mitigation involves transparent communication and incentive alignment (Schein, 2010).

Evaluation of Alternatives and Stakeholder Considerations

Alternatives for addressing identified risks include investing in advanced technology to preempt obsolescence, diversifying product offerings, and strengthening regulatory compliance efforts. Stakeholder analysis reveals that shareholders, customers, employees, and partners are critical constituencies. Mitigation strategies include regular stakeholder engagement, contingency planning, and aligning goals with stakeholder values and ethical standards (Freeman, 1984).

Communication Plan

Purpose

The communication plan aims to effectively disseminate the division’s strategic objectives to all relevant stakeholders to foster alignment, engagement, and accountability.

Audience

The primary audiences include employees, managers, shareholders, and strategic partners. Tailoring messages to these groups ensures relevance and buy-in.

Channels and Justification

  • Intranet and Internal Newsletters: Offers broad internal communication, ensuring accessibility across the organization.
  • Town Hall Meetings: Facilitate two-way communication, allowing leadership to explain strategic objectives directly.
  • Email Campaigns: Efficient for targeted updates and feedback collection.
  • Social Media and External Reports: Engage external stakeholders and maintain transparency.

Selection of these channels is based on their reach, immediacy, and capacity for interactive dialogue, thus supporting effective strategy alignment (Cornelissen, 2017).

Conclusion

Developing a strategic balanced scorecard for a new division involves careful analysis of external trends, internal assumptions, and risks. By establishing measurable objectives across financial, customer, internal process, and learning perspectives, organizations can ensure comprehensive strategic alignment. Equally important is a clear communication plan to disseminate these objectives effectively. When executed well, this integrated approach enhances organizational coherence, stakeholder engagement, and ultimately, strategic success.

References

  • Anderson, E. W., Fornell, C., & Lehmann, D. R. (2006). Customer satisfaction and shareholder value. Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 172–185.
  • Cornelissen, J. (2017). Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications.
  • Davenport, T. H. (2013). Process Innovation: Reengineering Work through Information Technology. Harvard Business Review Press.
  • Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Pitman Publishing Inc.
  • Johnson, M. P., Scholes, K., & Whittington, R. (2020). Exploring Corporate Strategy (12th ed.). Pearson.
  • Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment. Harvard Business School Publishing.
  • Porter, M. E., & Heppelmann, J. E. (2014). How smart, connected products are transforming competition. Harvard Business Review, 92(11), 64–88.
  • Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass.
  • Williams, G. (2019). Implementing strategy and balanced scorecard in organizations. Strategic Management Journal, 40(3), 365–389.

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