Week II Reflection Paper for Team C
Strategic planning is not a new concept and is commonly referred to as the solution to many organizational problems. Strategic planning is a continual and systematic process in which decisions are made about intended future outcomes. Planning takes time, work, and the ability to confront difficult obstacles. Financial outcomes are used as a component to measure the success, failure, and strategy effectiveness. S. Scott (2012) stated in the second paragraph, “The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business strategic plan is usually on a product or service”. Without a realistic plan and obtainable goals an organization has no direction. Market opportunity is a factor in shaping a company’s strategic plan, which is why the advantage and disadvantage evaluation process is important.
Team C discussions validate that the following week two course objectives are easily understood and are clear to the team:
• Objective 2.1 - Measure an organization’s internal and external environments using environmental scanning.
• Objective 2.2 - Determine relevant business competitive strategies.
Objective 2.1 is easily understood as it relates to environmental scanning, which is the possession and utilization of information about trends within an organizations internal and external environment. Environmental scanning is similar to the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, which is the first stage of planning, and helps marketers to focus on key issues (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). Additionally, preparing for a potential threat is a competitive advantage over the competition. When organizations utilize the environmental scanning method to watch for trends this allows speedy adjustments, collaboration, and planning. The environmental scanning method can also help an