Develop and Implement Strategic Plans

Strategic Plan The author of this report is asked to develop a strategic plan relative to the Telstra case study. Telstra used to be a shining light in their corner of industry and operational excellence but are now beginning to falter. The author of this report is asked to speak to several different things relative to a new strategic plan, including an executive summary, goals and objectives, vision/mission, environmental analysis, a gap analysis, implementation, review and evaluation, evaluation of achievements and legislation.

While Telstra is experiencing some major challenges, they are certainly not beyond repair and can be fixed effectively with proper planning and forethought. Strategic Plan The executive summary for the Telstra quandary is not all that hard to quantify and encapsulate. Telstra has three major issues that it needs to address effectively and expediently. First, it is noted that Telstra is mired in bureaucracy rather than being run like a business.

This is not surprising given that Telstra used to be government owned and operated but this needs to change quickly especially in light of the fact that Telstra is now a business with customers that can go elsewhere because the government has stripped their monopoly status.

Second, the use of wholly incompatible technologies is causing a strain on customers who have to deal with three people to fix one issue and the overall efficiency in using such disparate systems is obviously in the basement as compared to where it could or should be. Lastly, Telstra needs to rein in the information technology department as no one person or group should feel they are above the fray and have their own superiority and status.

IT has to work with the other groups in Telstra as peers and colleagues, not superiors. Anyone refusing to acclimate to this new standard need to have their mind made right or they need to leave Telstra with or without consent. As far as goals and objectives, these dovetail neatly and precisely with the main issues identified in the executive summary. Telstra needs to run with the efficiency and mindset of a business and not a government agency.

Customers can and will vote with their wallet and Telstra has lost the ability to not care about what customers think, as is the penchant for a lot of government agencies. Second, there needs to be a single technological platform that all divisions and sections of the company operate on so a customer can make a request one time and get solutions from all relevant departments from that one call.

Lastly, a singular and pronounced company culture needs to be present in Telstra and no one department or group should hold themselves in higher status and esteem than any other department (Inc., 2014). An improved mission and vision statement should be crafted and beamed out to the employees in a way that shows a unified front with the employees, customers and other stakeholders.

An environmental analysis should ge done to ensure where everyone's head is at, how willing they are to change their mindset and tactics and what will be necessary to get everyone on the same page in terms of operational efficiency and performance as well as the overall "mood" portended by the firm. This will be dovetailed nicely by a gap analysis that shows truly where Telstra should be in terms of level of service as well as its current performance and where the firm can and should be in comparison.

Obviously, those yardsticks will have change greatly given Telstra's positional change from a government-run and owned entity as well as the shift from a monopoly to a competitive market where any upstart will be allowed to enter the fray with Telstra. It is to be expected that the shift from government to corporation as well as correcting the overall cultural issues in the company as well as correcting the self-entitled smarminess of departments like IT and government bureaucrats in general is going to be a tough road to hoe.

Government/business blends have the best (and worst) of both worlds (Gordon, 2009). As such, implementation of this strategic plan will require a two-front attack whereby the cultural issues and the systemic/setup issues are addressed at the same time.

The selection and implementation of a single platform such as an ERP application will probably be the best way to go at the same time as making it clear that the government-oriented nature of Telstra is going away forever as is any idea that any single department is more important or beyond reproach than anyone else (CIO, 2014). Respect will have to be earned and kept for people to be taken seriously but everyone will be and should be treated fairly.

Measurement of achievements and the overall review and evaluation process should be typified the same yardstick being applied to all similar situations and people and that the yardstick is something that can be achieved given the resources and options available. It should be verified that all departments are held to standards applicable to their duties and responsibilities and that no single department is treated too harshly or too gingerly.

Milestones should be set that are reasonable and able to be achieved but they should also challenge the firm to push the envelope of wha tis thought to be possible. In short, menial progress should be eschewed in favor of improving at the fastest rate possible without endangering continuity and smooth daily operations. At no point should customers be made to suffer as a result of any changes being made unless there is simply no way to avoid it.

Contingency and interim plans should be put in force as is needed to keep things going as smoothly as can be expected during the transition period. The change process should be as transparent to the employees as possible except in the form of metered and measured updates showing that Telstra is working to improve its outlook and service level so as to benefit the customer and to help them want to work with Telstra, rather than shun them. A final point that Telstra should take heed of.