MBA Essay范文-MBA Strategic Planning

MBA Essay范文-MBA战略规划。本文是典型的留学生MBA课程作业，通过实证研究的方式，以问答的形式对战略规划进行分析研究。这篇MBA Essay通过解释战略规划的基本概念开始，回答作业所提出的战略相关问题，并通过实证对象进行说明。是一篇比较有特色是MBA Essay范文，对于首次接触到国外大学MBA课程的学生们而言是一篇值得参考的范文。

MBA Essay范文

Basic Concepts of Strategic Planning 战略规划的基本概念
首席执行官请你解释战略业务规划的基本概念，以及它将如何帮助提高劳伦斯的业绩？
The CEO then asked you to explain the basic concept of strategic business planning and how it would help improve performance at Lawrence?

对于首席执行官的问题，我想回答：战略规划过程可以概括为三个问题：我们现在在哪里？我们想去哪里？我们怎么去那里？德克鲁弗和皮尔斯在《战略：从顶部看》一书中对战略规划的基本概念进行了最好的描述。作者写道：“战略是关于为竞争优势定位一个组织。它包括选择要参与的行业，提供什么产品或服务，以及如何分配公司资源。其主要目标是通过提供客户价值为股东和其他利益相关者创造价值”。           
基本的战略规划过程包括确定任务、目标、当前形势分析、正式的战略制定、战略实施，以及建立可测量的控制系统来监控业务。这一基本的战略规划过程更适用于业务部门层面，如家用电器；电气设备；工业工具；农业设备；汽车零部件；以及劳伦斯制造公司已经成立的金融服务业务部门。
更详细的战略方法包括作者Kim和Maugborne提出的新概念，即蓝海战略。比较传统的方法是基于竞争的战略，如波特的五种竞争力量模型。蓝海战略在很大程度上是一个未经证实但非常有趣的概念，它利用价值创新推动公司进入尚未开发的新市场，而不是与争夺市场空间的竞争对手针锋相对。
这场战斗被称为“红海战略”，因为争夺竞争优势，海水浴血奋战。蓝海战略寻求创新的方法，以更低的成本为客户提供更多的产品或服务价值，为客户和供应商创造双赢局面。
To the questions posed by the CEO I would answer: Strategic planning process can be summed up by answering three questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? and How do we get there? The basic concepts of strategic planning are best described by de Kluyver and Pearce in the book Strategy: A view from the top. The authors write “Strategy is about positioning an organization for competitive advantage. It involves making choices about which industries to participate in, what products or services to offer, and how to allocate corporate resources. Its primary goal is to create value for shareholders and other stakeholders by providing customer value”. (de Kluyver and Pearce, 2006, p. 1)
The basic strategic planning process involves establishing a mission, objectives, current situational analysis, formal strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and putting measurable control systems in place to monitor the business. This basic strategic planning process is more applicable at the business unit level such as the Home Appliances; Electrical Equipment; Industrial Tools; Agricultural Equipment; Automotive Parts; and Financial Services business units already established at Lawrence Manufacturing Corporation.
More detailed approaches to strategy include the newer concepts brought forth by authors Kim and Maugborne called Blue Ocean Strategy. The more traditional approach is competition based strategy such as Porter’s Five Forces of Competition model. The Blue Ocean Strategy is a largely unproven but very interesting concept that uses Value Innovation to propel the company into new markets that are untapped rather than going toe to toe with the competition battling it out for market space.
This battling is known as the Red Ocean strategy where the waters are bloodied due to the battle for a competitive advantage. The Blue Ocean Strategy looks to find innovative ways to offer the customer more value in the products or services at a reduced cost creating a win-win situation for both customer and supplier.
The more traditional approach would be to use Michael Porter’s five forces to analyze the position of the company in relation to the competition and then strategically position the company on a path of least competitive resistance. Basically Porter looks at: Threat of substitute products, Threat of entry of new competitors, Intensity of competitive rivalry, Bargaining power of customers, and the Bargaining power of suppliers.
Strategic planning at the Corporate level 公司层面的战略规划
在规划过程中的角色是什么，公司总部的职责是什么，以及公司将如何为业务部门增加价值？公司将如何为业务部门增值？
She[CEO] specifically asks you what her role would be in the planning process, what the corporate headquarters’ responsibilities would be and how the corporation would add value to the business units?

Strategic planning at the Corporate level is more involved in managing the portfolio of the company. Fundamentally Corporate level strategic planning involves decisions such as which business units to expand, which market places the business units should compete in, allocating resources between the business units, building and using synergies amongst business units, and merging or acquiring other businesses.
Also Corporate strategic planning will involve defining the overall mission, vision and objectives of the Corporation. Corporate level strategic planning will also use such tools as Porter’s Five Forces, employ a Blue Ocean Strategy, a Gap Analysis, or a Balanced Scorecard approach. Porter’s Five Forces and the Blue Ocean Strategy are described above. A Gap Analysis is a tool used to discover the current state of the company and the targeted state of the company.
The difference between them is the “Gap”. A Strategic Gap Analysis can be used to determine the gap and formulate a plan to “bridge” the gap. The Balanced Scorecard looks at the company from four different perspectives Financial, Customer Learning and Growth, and Internal Business Process. The Balanced Scorecard approach gives the company an idea what should be measured in order to “balance” the financial perspective.
The Balanced Scorecard system is a management tool that enables the company to clearly see their vision and translate that vision into strategic action. The corporation will add value to the business units by coordinating and sharing corporate staff and various resources throughout the business units, utilizing business units to complement each other in the corporate structure and various business activities, and financially investing resources across different business units.
Roles of SBU managers and functional executives SBU经理和职能主管的角色
业务部门的三位总裁和职能主管还想知道他们在这一新的规划过程中的具体角色和职责，以及如何评估和奖励他们的业绩？
The three Presidents of the business units and the functional executives also wanted to know what their specific roles and responsibilities would be in this new planning process, and how their performance would be evaluated and rewarded?

To the questions of three Presidents and functional executives I would answer: The role of the small business unit managers and functional executives is EXTREMELY important to the strategic business plan of the corporation. (This statement will capture the attention of the three business unit presidents and functional managers allowing them feel secure in their positions and ultimately help me to get the job!)
As the business unit is established and begins competing in a market place that it can be a viable performer, the business unit manager has the freedom to structure and manage their business unit to seize the competitive advantage available to the unit within that market place.
Performance will be measured using key performance indicators defined in the strategic planning process by using planning tools such as the Balance Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard helps strategic planners to derive key measurable for that particular business units such as: customer, product performance, competitive comparisons, operations, supplier, cost and financial data, employee-related, and market performance. These indicators help to align the activities of the business unit with the goals of the corporation. The role of the business unit managers and functional executives are to provide input as to what these metrics should be, monitor these metrics and provide feedback, and implement changes to improve the performance.
 

MBA Essay范文

Analysis of external and internal environments 外部和内部环境分析
信息技术副总裁还想知道制定业务计划需要哪些类型的外部和内部信息，以及他们将如何获得这些信息。他想知道他们需要什么样的分析工具、方法和技能来生成和分析这些信息？
The Vice President of Information Technology also wanted to know what types of external and internal information would be required to develop the business plans, and how they would obtain this information. He wanted to know what types of analytical tools, methodologies and skills they would need to generate and analyze this information?

To the questions of Vice President of Information Technology (IT) I would answer: One of the primary tools used to determine internal an external environmental factors affecting the business is to perform a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats analysis or better know as SWOT analysis.
Internal environmental factors affecting the company are primarily the Strengths and Weaknesses of the company. Strengths that a company can build on are usually items such as; brand name, intellectual property, reputation, and well developed distribution networks just to name a few. Weaknesses that a company may face are items such as; high overhead costs, poor supply chain, or a weak brand name.
External factors affecting the company are the Opportunities and Threats. Opportunities presented to the firm could be thing such as; need for a new product, lifted regulations, emerging markets, and removal of trade barriers. Finally, Threats are items such as; substitute products, increased regulations, and new trade tariffs. When put into a matrix form, a SWOT analysis can provide the foundation on which the strategic plan of the company will be built.
As I mentioned previously performance of the business units and the corporation will be measured using indicators defined in the strategic planning process by using planning tools such as the Balance Scorecard and a Gap Analysis. IT will be asked to assist in capturing and storing data that is internally and externally related to areas of the business such as: customer, product performance, competitive comparisons, operations, supplier, cost and financial data, employee-related, and market performance. This data is crucial to short term aggregate planning for the business units and long term strategic planning for both the business units and the corporation.
IT will play a very important role in human resource management and planning, capturing cross functional knowledge equity of the business units, recognizing and protecting intellectual property, and sharing this information throughout the organization. The strategic planners will require assistance from IT to provide tools for business scenarios, marketing and sales planning, and financial projections. These inputs are necessary for sound planning decisions. Authors Anthony and Govindarajan have published a book entitled Management Control Systems and chapter 8 further discusses the role of Information Technology in strategic planning.
In general input from IT will be required for management control systems and providing a framework in which the control systems can provide information and feedback to the leaders for strategic planning. Finally IT will be needed to assist with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP is important to link many of the individual databases or create a central database for the various system modules.
ERP will aid in the sharing of information throughout the organization and allow performance tracking of key indicators. A global business such as Lawrence Manufacturing Corporation is like the octopus in which the tentacles must be attached to the central body in order to work in unison. IT will play a crucial part in connecting the business units for purposes of strategic planning.
An effective business plan 有效的商业计划
业务部门的一位总裁请您解释业务计划由哪些部分组成，以及他们如何知道自己是否制定了一个好的计划？
One of the Presidents of the business units asks you to explain what a business plan consist of and how they will know if they have developed a good plan?

I would answer this question by first verifying that when the President asked about a “business plan” that he/she was interested in elements of a “Strategic Business Plan”. Assuming this is the case I would answer the business unit President by saying: There is typically five key elements to a strategic business plan.
These elements are;
1) Vision Statement,
2) Mission Statement,
3) Critical Factors for Success,
4) Strategies and Actions to meet Objectives, and
5) Prioritized Implementation Schedule for the Strategies.
The Vision Statement should briefly describe the direction of the company and plans for growth. The Mission Statement should describe the capabilities of the organization to meet the needs of the customer as identified by market research. Such as: “World leader in quality Industrial Tool”.
The Critical Factors for Success are the key aspects that must be addressed if the company is to achieve their vision and mission statements. The Strategies and Actions are primarily defined action plans needed to ensure that the critical factors of success are achieved. A Prioritized Implementation Schedule is basically strategies and actions spelled out in order of importance, and communicated to the team members. These basic elements are the foundation of a strategic business plan.

She[CEO] asks you how you would ensure that the plans were implemented effectively? 如何确保计划得到有效实施？
To the CEO I would answer this question by saying: Strategic business planning will require a certain amount of change within the organization and with change there will also be a certain amount of resistance. I took a course at Lawrence Technological University (curiously this is the same name as the company!) while working toward my MBA called Leading Organizational Change. In this course we studied John Kotter’s eight step process to successful change taken from his book Leading Change.
Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency
Step 2: Pull Together the Guiding Team
Step 3:  Develop the Change Vision and Strategy
Step 4: Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in
Step 5: Empower Others to Act
Step 6: Product Short-Term Wins
Step 7: Don't Let Up
Step 8: Create a New Culture
The concepts presented in the book and in the classroom were applied to a project that was begun during the time that I took the course. The project was to implement a new engineering documentation system that I can say is progressing well with the guidance provided by these eight steps. The process is logical and if followed religiously, I can testify, work great. This would be one method to ensure plans were implemented effectively.
Also studied during this course was Appreciative Inquiry (AI). This is another method that would help to ensure that the strategic plans are implemented effectively. AI is a great organizational development tool that breaks away from the traditional “problem-focused” approach.
Instead AI looks to identify and examine what is working well within the organization and how this activity can be enhanced. Basically the concept is to focus an organization around the things that are working rather that wasting effort trying to fix the things that don’t work. More on AI and the 4-D model used in AI can be found in David Cooperider’s book Appreciative Inquiry.
After a successful implementation of the strategy measurable indicators I described earlier will determine if the business is on track with the strategic plan. The strategic plan will be revisited at prescribed intervals employing continuous improvement to advance the vision and mission of the company.
References:参考文献
De Kluyver, Pearce, (2006) Pearson Education, Inc., Strategy A View From The Top
NetMBA, The Strategic Planning Process-Website, Retrieved June 3rd,2008
Balanced Scorecard Institute , What is a Balanced Scorecard -Website, Retrieved June 3rd, 2008
JaxWorks Spreadsheet Company, The Balanced Scorecard Concept, Retrieved June 2nd, 2008
Quick MBA, Strategic Planning-Website, Retrieved June 6th, 2008
Articles-Business Plans, What Makes a Good Business Plan-Website, Retrieved June 3rd, 2008
Kotter (1996). Leading Change, Harvard Business School press.
Changing and Succeeding Under any Conditions – Website Retrieved November 25, 2007
Quick MBA, Strategic Management-Website, Retrieved June 6th, 2008
 

MBA Essay范文中在结尾处作者总结了在这门课程中还学习了赏识探究（AI）。这是有助于确保战略计划得到有效执行的另一种方法。人工智能是一个伟大的组织开发工具，打破了传统的“以问题为中心”的方法。作为MBA留学生课程作业，完成一次实证研究，对今后的工作会有很大帮助。本站提供多国MBA Essay写作指导服务，如有需要可咨询本平台。