Strategic Planning Process Scenario Situational Overview- Forming

Strategic Planning Process Scenario

Situational Overview- Forming a company that will market and distribute farming equipment into the country of Romania. Initial situational analysis shows unique challenges based on several factors in the country: long history of communism and corrupt infrastructure; rocky, mountainous soil; little experience in entrepeneurialship; some bureaucratic and/or logistical challenges to getting product into the country (supply chain).

Strategic Planning Process Overview- When contemplating a new venture, one cannot simply go into a new location and begin to set up a business. Instead, it is necessary to form a strategic plan that will allow for direction, making decisions, and allocating resources to pursue the idea, including human capital and finances. Most agree that in order to know where the organization needs to go, it is important to: 1) Define what the organization does; 2) Why and for whom? 3) How do we excel? 4) How do we forgo barriers to entry and beat the competition?

We can use a number of techniques to provide insight into the market planning process: market analysis, PEST analysis, market segmentation, SWOT analysis, positioning analysis, and situational analysis. Once this is done we have a better basis for making important decisions and removing barriers to entry based on the information we've gathered. For instance, we will have a better understanding of the size of the market, the limits in the market, how we might move product from point A to point B, what aspects of training might be necessary, how we might ensure that the product can be purchased at a reasonable market value and that it can be used appropriately to ensure greater success at the consumer level. Once the strategic questions are answered, we can then move towards tactical implementation and a plan and timeline to launch (The Strategic Planning Process, 2010).

Global Entry- Membership in the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the EU (European Union) have led to significant reductions in barriers to trade and corporate investment in Romania since the fall of Communism. For example, in just a few short years, direct foreign investment has grown from 2.9 per cent in 2001 to over 10 per cent by 2007 as a portion of Romanian GDP. In fact, in comparison with other EU countries, Romania has one of the lowest foreign ownership barrier ratios of all other countries, .8 as compared to 1.3 in the EU 15 and 3.7 in Poland (Fay, et.al., 2008). The key for entry into this market with our organization is aggressive partnership with the Romanian government and political commitment at the highest levels in the agricultural ministry.

Control Evaluation - Control evaluation of the project will essentially consist of three stages of evaluation:

Stage 1 -- Post Strategic Plan and Analysis -- Evaluate funding and potential for ROI, market growth and long-term success

Stage 2 -- Post Tactical Plan and Analysis -- Are each barriers addressed, is the government of Romania on board with planning, do we have the necessary resources and supply chain partnerships throughout the EU to make transportation work, do we have a potential market?

Stage 3- 90 days after launch -- Revisit Parts 1 and 2, adjust process.

Contingency Plan- Because of the proximity of Romania to other EU countries, should something fall awry with this plan, one easy to implement contingency plan would be to attempt market entry into one of the surrounding areas as show. Each bordering country has its own potentials, positives and negatives, but would be relatively easy to transition to the product based on agricultural needs: