What is OUR Business

This would provide a competitive advantage through Individuality and distinction. . Ensure that employees have a personal stake in the justness through promotional opportunities and incentives .

This would ensure commitment. In keeping with the mission and principles set by Bill Callahan, each chain had one dedicated Manager. These four Operation Managers along with Bill Callahan, a Financial Executive, and a Human Resources Manager formed the Executive Committee. It was the policy of Callahan Associates that all major decisions be made by the Executive Committee through unanimous agreement.

The case notes that Bill Callahan believed that to support employee development, promotional opportunities must be made available through the purposeful expansion of the business. As such a new business was selected for development every six to seven [ears by the Executive Committee.

Two growth opportunities are presented by Bill Callahan to the Executive Committee for consideration; a chain of Outdoors-wear stores or a chain of simple restaurants. The Executive Committee is not able to reach consensus on which business opportunity should be developed.

The case closed Math a flustered Bill Callahan asking, “What is OUR Business? ” PROBLEM STATEMENT rhea assumptions on which Callahan Associates have been built and operated no anger fit reality; long term success cannot be achieved without proper strategic planning. As Trucker states in Chapter 8, “The Theory of Business” in his book Management (Trucker, Management, 1993), businesses fail not because things are being done wrong or poorly but rather because there has been a failure to continuously review the assumptions on which the business is based.

Trucker notes that these assumptions relate to the market, the customer, competitors, and so on and collectively capture what Trucker refers to as the Theory of Business.

Trucker’s Theory of Business defines the organization’s environment, its mission and its core impenitence. The Theory of Business is a component of the strategic planning process and must be continuously reviewed and tested to ensure continued relevance. The Executive Committee tended to defend their business as they knew it, Ninth each of the opposing camps presenting their view of the customer and their business as they knew it.

If Callahan Associates had a well thought out Theory of Business the conversation would have focused on current market conditions and potential emerging trends. Each opportunity would have been vetted through this lens and referenced against the organization’s mission, vision and core competencies o ensure fit and alignment.

Without a well understood Theory of Business that was part of a larger, long term Strategic Plan, Callahan Associates are not able to make Nell informed, strategic decision but rather decisions based on personal opinions that support a philosophy of business as usual.

Alternative One: Develop a Strategic Plan Cons Enable a factual approach to decision making. Can be used as a tool for organizational alignment, particularly at the Management level. – Solidify the company’s Theory of Business and ground it in current data and thinking. Provide a foundation for the development of tangible objectives that can be taken in short term to achieve long term and future state goals. – Provides a trademark tort measuring results and instituting corrective action.

Opportunities could be identified that were never considered. – Will require considerable resources time, people and money). – Will required that the current decision on which business opportunity to explore to be postponed. – As Michael Porter notes in his paper, “What is Strategy’ (Porter, 2000), developing trade-offs through a Strategic Plan could give a negative perception that growth will be constrained or limited. May required a paradigm change for Management and employees requiring an investment in communication and training.

While Barked and Lund don’t specifically used the same terminology as Trucker the concepts of Planned Abandonment and analysis of monoester can be Dunn in steps 1 2,3 and 4. The Executive Team should collect ‘arioso performance data regarding their existing chains and then ask, “If we weren’t already committed, what activities would we abandon? ” Perhaps there is strong evidence that the Greeting Card industry is in decline and a planned abandonment strategy should be developed as part of the Strategic Planning process.

Next through data collection and analysis an enhanced understanding of uncustomary, their needs and wants as well as the share of the market they represent should be completed. Perhaps there is evidence to show uncustomary represent a large untapped market with a preference for one-stop shopping rather than specialty stores. This step will enable the Executive Committee to envision opportunities that Mould have not been considered otherwise. Throughout the data collection and analysis steps, the Executive Committee must take action to ensure that proper collection and validation methods are in place.

Relevant data will be used to support and guide the decision making process and guidelines to ensure data integrity will be very important. The Executive Committee can then revisit its present state organization and develop a vision for the future state organization based on knowledge gained up to this point in the Strategic planning process. The governing Mission, Vision and Values may need to be defined or revised as required. The remaining steps as presented by Barked and Lund focus on defining actions and objectives that must be taken to achieve this future state vision.

Efforts must focus on measurements, communication and continuous improvement of the Strategic Plan; to remain competitive it is essential that planning does not become a one off process.

At the conclusion of the first iteration of the Strategic Planning process there are a number of tangible outputs such as the Mission, Vision and Values as well as the Strategic Plan, and Business Objectives and measures. The Executive Committee Mould have a defined Theory of Business and be in a position to clearly reticular exactly what the business of Callahan Associates is today and what it intends to be in the future.