MGT 498 DQS

Why is strategic planning important to the organization? How does strategic

planning help the organization?
Success, this is a word that every company wants to hear. This is only guaranteed
with the assistance and utilization of strategic planning. Why strategic planning is
important to an organization is because of the directions and outlines it is able to
measure. Who doesn't use a map/GPS to get to a place they are going to for the first
time? This is how helpful strategic planning is, because it is a map to help the
organizations business. Make the map, use the map, get to your destination. When
the map isn't followed the person is lost- so in-turn will the company if it does not
follow what has been implemented.

This can be viewed as a form of a "tool" which the company can use to help the
organization keep trying for better success, maintain good stability in the success
the company is in or grow in leaps and bounds with the business. This helpful tool
can help with time, energy, and the resources available to all employees in the
organization. Helping the organization as a whole move forward in the right and
same direction. Strategic planning assist with needed changes in the organization,
making daily decisions, and evaluating the transformation in progress. Evaluation of
results is one of the key ingredients when a business has implemented a strategic
planning into place. The company cannot just make hasty decisions regarding the
organization, it is something that needs to be carefully thought of with a
considerable amount of time to think about the planning in detail. Another thing
that will make or break strategic planning is ensuring you have a realistic time
frame to reach the measurable goals.

Measurable goals are how strategic planning is processed and displayed. The
measurable goals are very particular and display goals reached in the forms of
timelines (time frames) and quantities. The reason why measurable goals are so
important is because it is the ability to display progress and satisfaction OR
consumer and productivity loss. This information is helpful for organizations every
day to help the company strive to be better and maintain the business the
companies already have. Organizational performance will create value for the
primary beneficiaries of the organization.
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010).Concepts in strategic management and
business policy (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
DQ2
Provide an example of a company that used unethical behavior to gain profit. What
was the unethical behavior and why was the behavior unethical? How did this
unethical behavior affect the company?

The first company that comes to mind is the Apple Company and the Chinese factories
which make the Apple products. Within these factories there has been a huge investigations
on the ethics on the labor. Many of these findings were publicized in the news for the
mistreatment. 86 labor abuse violations were cited.
The CLW (China Labor Watch) has claims concerning workers who were involved in the
assembly of the iPhone 5C. The claims were that the conditions in the workplace were
immoral. Mistreatment included lack of fair pay for overtime worked (over 100+ hours per
employee in some cases). Other allegations were that the employees were illegally
inadequate when it came to training. Training for the manufacturing was only two hours and
there was no safety training for the employees. The safety measure are important because
there were some employees working hands on with harsh chemicals.
According to CHINESE LABOR WATCH (2013), "CLWs investigations revealed at least 86
labor rights violations, including 36 legal violations and 50 ethical violations. The violations
fall into 15 categories: dispatch labor abuse, hiring discrimination, womens rights violations,
underage labor, contract violations, insufficient worker training, excessive working hours,
insufficient wages, poor working conditions, poor living conditions, difficulty in taking leave,
labor health and safety concerns, ineffective grievance channels, abuse by management,
and environmental pollution. (2013).
Investigations were submitted by Apple to get to the bottom of these heinous accusation.
This did make national news from July 2013 to current. This has had many people in China
and other countries upset about the mistreatment and lack of quality of life concerns for
their employees. While The Apple Company did save money from outsourcing production of
the new device, they did not meet the labor laws of that country. Three different facilities
were affected from mistreatment in China. The mistreatment has had one major affect in the
reputation of the company. Apple did lose a lot of supporters from China and has earned a
very bad reputation now, which may hard to retrieve. I personally will never purchase
another Apple product because of the mistreatment of the employees.
References:
Trendall, S. (2013). Apple supplier accused of 'illegal and unethical' staff treatment.
Retrieved from http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2293259/apple-supplier-accusedof-illegal-and-unethical-staff-treatment
CHINESE LABOR WATCH. (2013). Apple's Unkept Promises: Investigation of Three Pegatron
Group factories . Retrieved from http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/pro/proshow-181.html

Review this weeks learning objectives below and write a reflection on these topics as a
reply to this thread note any you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to
application in your field.

Measure an organizations internal and external environments using

environmental scanning.

Determine relevant business competitive strategies.

 Analyze how to create value and sustained competitive advantage through

business strategy.

Choose measurement guidelines to verify strategy effectiveness.

There were a lot of things that I refreshed on this week, and also was able to put
some areas in a better perspective. One thing I struggle with is word count. I find I
over talk and explain. This is so I can get a better understanding for the material. I
also know it does prevent some classmates to actually read my discussion
questions. I suppose it is just one of those things which helps and hurts at the same
time.
For environmental scanning measuring the organizations external and internal
environments what would be the easiest would be just to quote the literature.
Environmental scanning is the monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination of
information from the external and internal environments to key people within the
corporation. A corporation uses this tool to avoid strategic surprise and to ensure its
long-term health (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010, Chapter 5). So when my company
does it for my particular role it is to instances that can help or hurt the plans that
are being implemented and the future investments in additional plans.
Relevant business competitive strategies are different types of focus like cost and
differentiation. Another couple relevant strategies are differentiation and cost
leadership. The most applied to my job as a call center representative for T-Mobile is
differentiation, rules and metrics are applied to ensure we answer every call in a
certain way, different and harder than any other call center I have ever worked for.
With every goal there is possible downfalls. So in other words there is no guarantee
that the competitive strategy will be a complete success. Many companies have to
alter or eliminate certain aspects or completely start over with a different goal.
Sometimes it is just in the wrong direction, other times with the amount of new
technology it is sometimes hard to keep up the pace. Creating a value will lure new
customers into being long term customers and sustaining that value will allow the
long term customer to remain happy. A happy customer makes a happier company.
Sustaining can also mean drastic changes implemented at little to notice in my field
of work.
One of the main measurement guidelines I am very used to for the effectiveness
of strategy is that of the steering controls-behavior controls. Not necessarily
measuring the amount of every worker, but for myself. We constantly have to be
aware of our skills which include knowledge, motives, values, ability and even the
skills to perform the job. Not only are we analyzed from ourselves on a daily basis,
but also from the higher up all around the building and corporate.
While I do not have a very important job to many, I think it is important. I am not in
charge of looking at the goals of everyone. I am in the front line implementing the
goals and putting them into my daily practices. I pretty much do what I am told and

can adapt to change as soon as I know about it. This makes me very beneficial to
the call center industry as things change on a day-to-day basis.
References
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010).Concepts in strategic management and
business policy (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
What is the difference between horizontal growth and vertical growth? Name a realworld company that focuses more on horizontal growth and a company that focuses
more on vertical growth. Why do these two companies choose different growth
strategies?

In the texts it reads vertical growth can be achieved by taking over a function
previously provided by a supplier or by a distributor. (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010,
Chapter 7) On the matters of vertical growth. While horizontal growth operations
into other geographic locations and/or by increasing the range of products and
services offered to current markets (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010, Chapter 7).
Vertical and horizontal growth can be viewed as manufacturing and purchasing. I
say this because when a company uses horizontal growth it is to further the
companys business like when an airline purchases or merges with another airline.
When vertical growth is used, it normally is when a company makes its own
merchandise and/or supplies and distributes them within the company rather than
hiring another company to sell the products for them like computers from dell.
United Airlines purchased Continental Airlines in 2010 which was a true focus on
horizontal growth for the companies. Three billion dollars created that merger for
the two elite companies to join forces. With this they are the highest domestic and
international markets as United Airline. This was very smart for United Airlines to
increase the amount of transportation and staff for the business and make the
company the leader in airline transportation.
Dell is a great example of how well a company can do if the company provides the
resources for the company itself. According to "Case Study: Delldistribution And
Supply Chain Innovation" (2011), " Dell started out as a direct seller, first using a
mail-order system, and then taking advantage of the Internet to develop an online
sales platform."(2011) While stores carry the products they are created solely by
the company all over the world. This has vast effects on the way it can be made and
the quality that goes into the computers.

References:
Case study: DellDistribution and supply chain innovation. (2011). Retrieved from
http://www.marsdd.com/mars-library/case-study-dell-distribution-and-supply-chaininnovation/

Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010).Concepts in strategic management and

business policy (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
United and Continental Said to Agree to Merge. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/business/03merger.html?_r=0

Define risk and how it affects the strategy planning process. In relation to
innovation, sustainability, and the global market, how would you decide whether a
risk is worth taking the chance on when to create a strategic plan?
Risk strategy composes the probability that the strategy will work and also
considers the amount of time and assets that the company must ensure is there for
the strategy. This is what I got when I read the text. According to Wheelen & Hunger
(2010), Risk is composed not only of the probability that the strategy will be
effective but also of the amount of assets the corporation must allocate that
strategy and the length of time the assets will be unavailable for other uses.
When a company has a strategy risk must be taken into account. A lot of time and
money goes into a strategy to ensure it is completed successfully. It is not
something to take lightly. Why risk is important is because there is not a guarantee
that the plan will in fact work. Planning is just that and most people can agree, plans
do not always go the way you wanted or needed them to.
The question of the worth would be with innovation. Is this plan worth the time and
money to put into it? What will be lost if it fails? What is the risk? Are there ways to
cut costs? Will this new plan compete or be above the other markets for similar
products or services? This information is very vital when knowing if something is
worth pursuing. Right now I think technology also is one of the biggest leaders in
change. It is a necessity to change with technology if the company wants to be
better and more efficient. Also technology is expensive if the company is selling it,
needs it, or both. So having the best and the newest first can help the company be
in the lead as long as the product or system is in fact a desirable product.
Endurances of the processes, systems and environmental policies are the focuses of
the sustainability. This can be a little trickier to assess because the risk may change
because of laws and regulations which will have to be followed. Legislation can be
changed at any given time and the regulations and laws must be followed. While
the global market I would think would have the most benefit because of the ability
to reach a global target audience and receive the most revue possible.
Truthfully I would be most worried about ensuring the risk was not anywhere near
any gray or questionable areas with sustainability. The last thing a company wants
is to have a product that is wanted by the masses and be shut down because
legislation and law changes. That would be my first risk to attend to, after that is it
something that can be sold on a global market? Then if it is something I am still
interested in how long will the transition take and how much will it cost. I personally
would want an estimation of how much revue would be made from the products as
well.

Refrences
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2010).Concepts in strategic management and
business policy (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Reflection week 3
Review this weeks learning objectives below and write a reflection on these topics
note any you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to application in your
field.
Estimate the sustainability of long-term business operations.
Explain how the global market affects business strategy.
Construct a long-term strategic management plan for sustaining
organizational performance.

When estimating the sustainability of a long term business operation it is good

to start with knowing when to stay on goal and path you have made, and when to
change that path to another. When people are not bias and can see their flaws in
plans, they are able to go with what is for the good of the company. Therefore it will
make them more successful even if the plan is no longer their own. The opposite
can happen as well when a company ignores or doesnt see vital factors which
contribute to the companys success or failure. When those vital factors are present
it is up to the company to recognize it and act.
Global market will affect business strategy because if the company is global, the
companys business strategy will also be global. Global business strategies are
strategies that operate on a global business environment and give a product or
service to people all over the world, instead of just a nation. This will normally relate
to the business developing strategies followed by the business to meet the long and
short term goals that the business.
When constructing a long term strategic management plan for sustaining
organizational performance the managers and top people in the company should be
involved with the process. Top executives and managers will have designated roles.
Pieces of the process will be delegated to these people and will be able to plan the
process so the most overall improvements can be made within the organization. The
plan should have intense direct instructions on whom will be doing what and dictate
what areas are changing in which departments or areas.
The delegation is necessary so that everyone feels important and included. This will
help allow people to know where they are supposed to start and that they will
continue on the path within their personal area. It will also allow for people to be
better with performance while the comfort level for the designated area gets longer
in time and length. Normally the path includes the goals expected and the tools on
what will be needed to maintain and succeed towards those goals.

I didnt really struggle this week, and this week I learned I have a pretty
understandable team. I work a lot on the weekends and I am very happy they were
all understanding and still I had part of the assignment to do. It always makes me
happy to be able to contribute.
Review Section 9.4 on Virtual Organizations in Concepts in Strategic Management
and Business Policy. What constitutes a virtual organization? How does strategy
implementation differ between it and traditional organizations? When is one type of
organization preferable over the other?
Rather than being located in a single building or area, the organizations business
functions are scattered worldwide (Wheelan & Hunger, 2010).
A virtual organization is just what it sounds like. It means it has no real store to go in
and walk around in, but it is available in the virtual world also known as the internet.
The virtual organization also can be called a network structure. This is an
organizational design which helps eliminate extra spending by using outsourcing
verses in-house functions. The textbook figure 9-2 does show how Corporate
Headquarters would outsource activities in the network structure.
The virtual organization also helps a person start up a business from home via the
internet instead of needing to rent a place to have the business out of. Because the
business is located online and not at a store the business owner will save money
where it would have been spent on utilities and rental or mortgage space. The
strategies between this organizational design and the traditional organizational
design is that virtual design is a lot less in cost and more simple to operate.
Electronic response is completed only, so there is not a list of employees to ensure
are dressed correctly or delegate the right responsibilities too because of the
information is located and done electronically. Since all of the companies functions
are outsourced it is the responsibility of the outsourced companies to regulate and
follow their own responsibilities for the virtual organization.
The more talk I see for the virtual organization the more I see head leaders in
corporations now taking advantage of this even with front line employees. Call
centers for example are a great example of not just business owners taking
advantage of the virtual organization but entry level employees as well. This is a
more convenient and affordable way to go to work. You may be paid less to work
from home but the costs for new clothes, gas, and services (lunch and mileage on
the vehicle) while you are away from home are dramatically decreased. Quality of
life however may go down as well without the interaction with others during the day.
Then you have places like the University of Phoenix who offer online schooling.
Truthfully I do better working from home when it comes to school, and I believe that
would make the university a virtual organization. I never have entered a class while
attending the university. Normally a virtual organization will be more affordable and
cost effective when the business or organization is just starting up and is fresh.

When the business get more mature it will then also depend on what service or
product is offered and to whom. In the case of the University of Phoenix I think it
took something very traditional and brought it to a whole new target audience.
Many people want to go to school, but because of busy lives cannot attend class.
Virtual organizations has allowed teachers and students to get into what they love,
with an ease that was not known prior to the internet.
Research a companys internal dynamics and the influence on business continuity
along with cultural and structural leadership considerations incorporated into the
implementation of the companys strategy. What resources are being used for the
company to implement its strategy?
To be honest I am choosing T-Mobile, because I work there and because I am always
interested in learning more about the company I work for. The company is a multimillion dollar company, has almost been merged and sold to AT&T, and has rose
back from the ashes to regain customer loyalty and business structure.
Internationally T-Mobile started as Deutsche Telekom in Germany. The beginnings of
T-Mobile happens to be one of the main reasons it is one of the largest
telecommunications companies in the world with nearly 130 million customers
throughout not just the United States but the world. In the United States alone there
are 293 million Americans that use the T-Mobile service.
The companys vision is to the consumers and the employees on offering
exceptional service and being better in different destinations. With the cellar service
also comes the outstanding customer service experience where ever the customer
may go. This is completed by managing the strategic data, surveys back from
customers, and information that generates the income information back to the
owners. T-Mobiles executive team is always reliably available to answer the
questions of the clients and to offer the leadership tools and expertise needed to
the employees and clients.
The strategy of maintaining great customer service and great service globally is
allowing the company to achieve more customers whom are satisfied with the
company. This is T-Mobiles top priority to ensure our customer base is happy and
content. To keep this strategy of satisfaction in place the company does perform
many different tasks.
The company does utilize resources to perform outreaches to the current customer
base, also there is a development team for the business who look for potential when
it is concerning changes in sales or management. Employment satisfaction is also
important to T-Mobile. Even the front line employees are treated very well as TMobile knows they are the ones who speak to our customers the most. Employee
bonuses are in place for employees who hit quality measures and goals. Sales are
important, but not as important as the satisfaction of the customer. This is one of
the main differences I have seen with this company.
Like many other corporations the foundations is built around a special family
environment. This allows a comfort to be placed for the employees and customers

to feel a sense of trust. The vision for the company is enforced in every shareholder
and employees ears the first day. When you start training there is one day
dedicated to the history of the company and what T-Mobile really stands for.
Reference
T-Mobile. (2012). Supplier Code of Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.tmobile.com/Company/pdf/Supplier_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
T-Mobile. (2014). About T-Mobile. Retrieved from http://www.tmobile.com/company/companyinfo.aspx?
tp=Abt_Tab_CompanyOverview&tsp=Abt_Sub_History