Topic in Strategy, Governance and Ethics

1. Planning

2. MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT
These are forces influencing organizational
activities and management decisions from
within and outside the organization

3. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
These are internal activities and events that
influence an organization’s activity
Information resources:
i.e procedures, processes, data and other kinds of
knowledge that managers of an organization use for
decision making.
Information may be generated by employees and
managers in the organization

4. ii. Capital resources
i.e finances and other monetary instruments used
to finance the ongoing and future activities in an
organization
iii.Material resources
Physical assets e.g. plant, equipment, raw
materials, furniture vehicles etc.
iv. Human resources:
i.e. managers and other employees involved in
running of the organization.

5. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
i. Economic forces
This refers to the general performance of the economy i.e. fluctuations in
the economic indications e.g. GDP, interest rates, inflation rate,
unemployment rate, etc. Managers should monitor by there factors for
effective business decisions like pricing, investing, cost etc.
ii. Socio-Cultural Forces
This include social norms, values and attitudes of the society e.g. change
in taste may affect demand and marketing of organization goods and
services. A company may therefore be required to introduce new product
lines in the market or improve on the existing ones
iii. Legal/Political Forces
These are laws and regulations passed by the state and their influence on
organization activities e.g. liberalization laws or new tax laws passed by
the government.

6. Technological forces
iv. Managers should be sensitive to modern technologies emerging
in the industry. A change in technology may be an opportunity or
threat to the organization.
v. Competitive forces:
It refers to knowledge of existing and potential competitors and their
strengths and weaknesses. This help managers in developing
effective strategies.
Managers should be sensitive to new competition coming into the
industry and adapt effective competitive strategy.
vi. Physical environmental forces:
Managers should monitor how changes in climatic weather
conditions affect their activities and decisions e.g. effects on the
supply of raw materials. Industries mostly sensitive to changes in
weather conditions are construction and aviation.

7. MANAGING PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity is the measure of how well an
operative system functions
Increase in productivity results in saving of
scarce resources and helps improve and
strengthen the competitive positions of firms

8. Contn…
According to John Kendrick, productivity may
be defined as the relationship between output
(0) of goods and services and the input (I) of the
resources, human and non-human used in the
production process
P = O/I
Total productivity = Total outputs/
Total inputs

9. CAUSES OF LOW PRODUCTIVITY IN
ORGANIZATIONS?

10. 1. Poor staffing: Poor recruitment and placement,
training and development, compensation of
employees
2. Poor planning, organizing, directing and controlling i.e.
poor leadership may lower organization performance.
3. Lack of capital for investment in modern technology
e.g. computerization.
4. Poor working conditions e.g. poor wages and
salaries. This affects employees’ motivation and
productivity.
5. Lack of investment in research and development.

11. Contn…..
6. High energy cost which increases production cost
and lower productivity
7. Abuse of drugs and alcohol
8. Stressful working environment e.g. congested and
poorly ventilated offices
9. Effects of diseases
10. Changes in family structure e.g. single
parenting/high divorce rate etc

12. WHAT MEASURES DO ORGANIZATIONS
PUT IN PLACE TO IMPROVE
PRODUCTIVITY?

13. 1. Strengthening management functions of
planning, organizing, staffing, directing and
controlling
2. Investing in modern production/operations
technology e.g. computers
3. Investing in research and development.
4. Executive health programmes for employees
e.g. group medical cover for employees

14. 5. Motivating employees through better terms and
conditions of services
6. Job enrichment programmes e.g. involving
employees in decision making
7. Job re-engineering /restructuring to improve job
performance

15. 8. Effective management of information systems
e.g. the online systems and speed with which
information is received, stored, processed and
disseminated in the organization
9. Change through creativity and innovation i.e.
improving procedures, systems, structures and
products.
10.Counseling services to employees etc

16. TIME MANAGEMENT
It is concerned with planning of time usage in such a
manner as to carry out effectively and efficiently all
planned activities.
It is synonymous with self-management i.e. how an
individual plans and organizes his/her own activities

17. WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE TIME
MANAGEMENT?

18. 1. Procrastination: Putting off tasks or delay starting them because they
present inconvenience on their part e.g. Lack of confidence when
approaching tasks or not knowing how to get started
2. Time keeping and attitudes e.g. lack of self-discipline or poor habit of
time keeping
3. Fatigue: It’s the state of physical or mental exhaustion. It may be
contributed to physical work conditions e.g. poorly ventilated rooms or
congested offices
4. Interruptions: Unplanned visits by people who want to be attended to
or receiving all telephone calls during office hours may affect sticking to
planned activities
5. Over delegation: over delegation may affect time management by the
delegates.

19. 6. Lack of delegation by a manager: This is where an
individual undertake all tasks for fear of losing control.
Assign less important tasks to others in order to manage
their time effectively
7. Idle conversation during office hours and over
socializing during office work
8. Prolonged and unnecessary meetings held by managers
9. Unnecessary memos or excessive paper work.
10.Poor employee motivation leading to go-slows and other
unproductive work habits.

20. MEASURES TO IMPROVE TIME
MANAGEMENT

21. 1. Plan and budget for time properly: develop routines,
procedures, and work plan that utilizes your time more
effectively and efficiently
2. Make good use of time saved
3. Eliminate time wasters such as unnecessary phone calls
or unplanned visits by visitors not on appointment
4. Programme difficult tasks during task peak hours of
efficiency e.g. morning hours
5. Delegate to others. Avoid the attitude of ” I can do it better
and quicker”

22. 6. Be assertive when handling meetings i.e. quick
decisions should be made to avoid prolonged meetings
and to deal effectively with interruption during a meeting
7. Develop appropriate scales e.g. writing and reading
faster and combining certain activities which can be
implemented simultaneously
8. Avoid unnecessary memos and other paper work
should be avoided
9. Communicate effectively -this saves time for
consultations on delegative activities

23. Click to edit title

24. MANAGING WORK AND ORGANIZATIONS

25. PLANNING FUNCTION
Planning is a process of selection and sequential
ordering of tasks that are to be achieved in order
to accomplish organizational goals.
It is therefore the process of identifying tasks to
be performed and methods to be used and time
horizon for the implementation of the methods.
Planning bridges the gap between where we are
and where we want to go

26. A Plan
This is a pre-determined course of action for
achieving objectives
It is a framework that details the method and
tasks that are to be implemented in order to
achieve organizational goals
Plans may be tailored to specific projects or
established as standing plans for any future
activities

27. Forms of Planning
1. Short term
2. Intermediate/medium term
3. Long-term/long range
4. Contingency

28. SHORT TERM PLANNING
This refers to planning activities implemented within a
time of up to one year
It focuses on the day-to-day activities of the
organization. It specifies duties to be implemented on
daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis
This type of planning is mostly pertinent to line
managers and general employees of the organization

29. 2. INTERMEDIATE/MEDIUM-TERM
PLANNING

30. It involves a time perspective of 1-5 years
Planning focuses more on the activities that
have to be implemented with a planning
horizon that contains less uncertainty
They are designed to implement activities
among middle or departmental level managers
of the organization.

31. LONGTERM/ LONG RANGE PLANNING

32. It involves identifying those activities to be performed
over an extended period of time up to 10 years and
above
The activities here are not specific e.g. in a 20 years
plan, knowledge of the environment and the financial
position of the organization are uncertain
Long-term plans are therefore abstract and help the
organization to remain focused and achieve their
vision and mission statements
They are undertaken by the top managers

33. CONTINGENCY PLANNING
This involves identifying alternative courses of action in
advance of implementation in order to meet possible
changes in the environment
In contingent planning, managers must specify and
assess how they would implement the intended plans.
E.g. an organization that seeks to expand its
production levels or to enter new markets can establish
a contingency plan to respond to sudden down turn in
the economy which may increase the cost of borrowed
money and lower the demand for the product.

34. Discuss
An organization is considering introducing a new
product into the market. In the first 3 years, a
product is to reach the market. Two years after
its introduction the new product is to be modified
based on the consumer feedback gathered from
the market survey and so on.
Discuss the short-term, intermediary, long term
and contingency plans that this organization
need to put into place?

35. IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
1. Growing complexity of business
environment.
Due to the environmental uncertainties;
managers must continually anticipate change
that will require disregarding old methods
and adopting new strategies.

36. 2. Premises/bases for decision
making
Plans act as premises for decisions to be
made in the future. They provide framework
for reference for decisions to be made by
managers

37. 3. Efficiency in the utilization of
resources
Planning enables managers to efficiently
utilize the scarce resources for the
achievement of organizational goals e.g.
through budgeting, a planning tool which
enables organizations to identify and allocate
its resources efficiently.

38. 4. Growth in the size of the
organization.
Growth in the size of many organizations has
created the need for greater coordination
among the activities.
Planning facilitates the coordination and
achievement of goals.

39. 5. Growing complexity of
managerial jobs
Managers today must deal with such outside
factors as inflation, increased cost of production,
shift in the number of employees and markets,
the relationship between social responsibility
and managerial practice growing number of
operating units, product range or services etc.
Only through long range planning can managers
anticipate the problems and opportunities that
may confront them.

40. APPROACHES TO PLANNING

41. STRATEGIC PLANNING
APPROACH
It is concerned with the achievement of long-term goals of the
organization.
It is the process of systematically identifying what the
organization wants to achieve, how and when to achieve it.
It is the process of selecting long-term goals to be achieved and
determining policies and strategies required to achieve goals.
The responsibility of strategic planning lies with the top
management. They identify the corporate mission objectives
and establish strategic plans for achieving them.

42. Strategic Planning Process

43. 1. Defining Purpose/Mission
The organization’s mission is its reason for being i.e. why the
organization is in business.
The mission statement serves to define for managers the general
intent of the organization.
It conveys a sense of purpose to the employees and projects a
company image to customers.
It sets out the key parameters of the organization’s business and
these should be able to stand the test of time. It is therefore a
broad public statement on behalf of the organization that sets out
terms of the customer’s needs that it intends to satisfy e.g.
Unilever- ‘to provide quality, affordable, branded food, home and
personal care products to consumers in East Africa.

44. 2. Setting organization goals
/objectives
It specifies performance target for managers at
all levels of the organization.
The key aims or goals of the organization
embrace all the major units and functions of the
organization and are usually to provide for
medium term solutions to organization’s
problems.
They are statements of intent directed at those
aspects of the organizations operations which
are critical to its success.

45. 3. Formulating strategic plan
This involves development of strategies and
action plans to achieve goals.
SWOT analysis must be carried out to
determine the best strategies to be
implemented by the organization

46. 4. Implementing the strategic
plan
Its converting the strategic plan into action.
To implement strategic plan successfully, managers
must effectively communicate their plan, assign
appropriate authority and responsibility for activities
within the plan, develop the method for measuring the
results of activities and develop the method for
measuring the results of activities and develop the
procedure for taking corrective action should putting in
place appropriate policies, procedures, programs and
rules to back the implementation process

47. 5. Evaluating the strategic
plan
Evaluation of outcomes of strategies
implemented is a critical activity for
managers.
They must continually monitor the
implementation process and take corrective
actions where necessary to ensure that
organization goals are achieved.

48. FORMULATING A STRATEGY

49. Managers must assess the organizations prior
performance, current position and desired
outcomes/performance.
They should also scan the internal (strengths and
weaknesses) and external business environment
(opportunities and threats)
Such an analysis of the strategic environment is
referred to as SWOT analysis.
SWOT analysis provides information that is useful in
matching the firms resources and capabilities to the
competitive environment in which it operates.

50. STRENGTHS
A firm’s strengths are its resources and
capabilities that can be used as a basis for
developing competitive advantage
A company’s strengths may be superior
technology, skilled manpower, strong brand
name, large scale operation, good reputation
among customers, favorable access to
distribution networks, etc.

51. WEAKNESSES
The absence of certain strengths may be
viewed as weaknesses e.g. poor brand
names, inferior technology, narrows product
lines, smaller in size, less skilled manpower,
less capital, limited access to distribution
networks, etc.

52. OPPORTUNITIES
This refers to positive external conditions in the
environment that present new opportunities for
profit and growth
e.g.
An unfulfilled customer need,
Arrival of new technologies,
Loosening of regulations,
Removal of international trade barriers,
Growth in demand of the companies’ products,
etc.

53. THREATS
These are changes in the external
environment of a firm that present threats to
the firm.
Threats could be new competitor in the
industry, shift in consumers taste away from
the firm’s products, emergence of substitute
products, new technology, new regulation,
increased trade barriers etc.

54. SWOT analysis
It assumes that an organization will achieve
its success by maximizing strengths and
opportunities and
Minimizing threats and weaknesses.
It enables strategic planners to identify their
competitors and develop appropriate
competitive strategies.