Effective Business Planning : Case Study: Company X

Abstract

A business planning process plays one of the most important roles in a company. A business plan can either provide stablility and prosperity to a company or drastically worsen its state. Thus, the recommendations for efficient business plans are very useful for companies that have some difficulties with their perfomance. The thesis has a deductive approach, and the qualitative research method was chosen as primary data was collected through desk study and interviews. The secondary data was mainly gathered from published books, articles, journals and trusted e–resources. The theoretical framework of the thesis is presented by main concepts of business planning, including definition of business planning, its mission and vision statements, objectives and action plan. Other theories presented within the research are executive summary, marketing plan, operational plan, management & organizational plan as well as financial plan. The main outcomes of the research and the recommendations for effective business planning are created based on comparison between common business planning practices and Company X business planning process. The main conclusions are that the business plan should be long-term oriented, should have a strong focus on customers and should be separated for the whole organization and its brands or product lines. Apart from that, financial and operational plans may be excluded as the primary goals of a good business plan are customer conquest and brand awareness. Additionally, it is recommended to include into a business plan the strategy of company’s digital presence development and customers’ feedback collection on a regular basis.