Action Plan

1
An action plan

• Provides clarity of purpose for operating
  personnel.
• Provides a forum to resolve conflicts between
  strategic intentions and operating realities.
• Provides a basis for strategic control through
  budgets and schedules.
• Serves as a motivational tool for managers.

2
Example

• Issue Given the success of its store-branded
  clothes in Latin America, how can XYZ Clothing
  Co. take advantage of the growing Latino
  community in the United States?

3
Example

• Recommendation The company should target the
  Latino teen segment in the U.S.
• Justification The company can dominate this
  growing market since the firm regularly designs
  clothing lines that have proven popular among
  young customers in its Latin American stores.
  This will lead to increased customer visits from
  this demographic and higher same-store revenues
  in existing stores.

4
Recommendation vs. Action Plan

• Recommendation
• Responds to the question posed by the issue

• Action Plan
• Lists the tactics to be taken to execute the
  recommendation

The action plan lists the action steps and not
the recommendations.
5
What not to do in the action plan

• Recommendation
• The company should target the Latino teen segment
  in the U.S.

• Action Plan
• The company should set up kiosks to poll all
  shoppers on their shopping habits.
• Customers will be encouraged to bring their own
  shopping bags to reduce waste.
• Half-price coupons will be distributed at keg
  parties.

6
Elements of an effective action plan

• Identifies specific functional and operational
  tactics to be undertaken (tasks).

7
Action Plan

• Task 1 A market study will be conducted to
  determine the shopping patterns of Latinos from
  13 to 19 years of age in New York, Chicago, Los
  Angeles and Houston.
• Task 2 Results will be used by the RD
  department to adapt current Latin American
  clothing lines to American shopping habits.
• Task 3 Company buyers will canvass existing
  suppliers to assess their capability to supply
  U.S. stores

8
Elements of an effective strategic action plan

• Identifies specific functional and operational
  tactics to be undertaken (tasks).
• Specifies resources to be used
• time frame for completion

9
Action Plan

• Task 1 A market study will be conducted to
  determine the shopping patterns of Latinos from
  13 to 19 years of age in New York, Chicago, Los
  Angeles and Houston.
• This study will be conducted from January to
  March with the final report to be submitted to
  top management no later than April 1.

10
Elements of an effective strategic action plan

• Identifies specific functional and operational
  tactics to be undertaken (tasks).
• Specifies resources to be used
• time frame for completion
• financial resources

11
Action Plan

• Task 1 A market study will be conducted to
  determine the shopping patterns of Latinos from
  13 to 19 years of age in New York, Chicago, Los
  Angeles and Houston.
• This study will be conducted from January to
  March with the final report to be submitted to
  top management no later than April 1.
• One hundred thousand dollars will be initially
  allocated for this study.

12
Elements of an effective strategic action plan

• Identifies specific functional and operational
  tactics to be undertaken (tasks).
• Specifies resources to be used
• time frame for completion
• financial resources
• organizational and/or human resources

13
Action Plan

• Task 1 A market study will be conducted to
  determine the shopping patterns of Latinos from
  13 to 19 years of age in New York, Chicago, Los
  Angeles and Houston.
• This study will be conducted from January to
  March with the final report to be submitted to
  top management no later than April 1.
• One hundred thousand dollars will be initially
  allocated for this study.
• The head of new market development will be put in
  charge of this market study team. Members will
  come from the marketing and sales force with
  representatives from the Latino community making
  up at least half of the team.

14
Elements of an effective strategic action plan

• Identifies specific functional and operational
  tactics to be undertaken (tasks).
• Specifies resources to be used
• time frame for completion
• financial resources
• organizational and/or human resources
• Attaches at least one performance outcome measure
  for each task. This outcome must be related to
  the strategic and/or financial objectives that
  were used to justify the recommendation.

15
Action Plan

• Task 1 A market study will be conducted to
  determine the shopping patterns of Latinos from
  16 to 25 years of age in New York, Chicago, Los
  Angeles and Houston.
• This study will be conducted from January to
  March with the final report to be submitted to
  top management no later than April
• One hundred thousand dollars will be initially
  allocated for this study.
• The head of new market development will be put in
  charge of this market study team. Members will
  come from the marketing and sales force with
  representatives from the Latino community making
  up at least half of the team.
• The market study team will submit a report on
  projected net impact on same-store sales revenues
  and store traffic for each product category in
  each sample city and at various price points.

16
Your action plan

• Should be an integrated action plan for BOTH of
  your recommendations.
• Will be graded relative to all of the other
  action plans in class.
• Must have at least four tasks, and at least two
  for each recommendation.
• Each recommendation must include all of these
  elements.
• Will be better the more details that you include
  in it.
• Make sure that you write up your action plan in
  paragraph form and assign a number to each task.

17
Action Plan

• Task 1 A market study will be conducted to
  determine the shopping patterns of Latinos from
  13 to 19 years of age in New York, Chicago, Los
  Angeles and Houston. This study will be
  conducted from January to March with the final
  report to be submitted to top management no later
  than April 1. One hundred thousand dollars will
  be initially allocated for this study. The head
  of new market development will be put in charge
  of this market study team. Members will come
  from the marketing and sales force with
  representatives from the Latino community making
  up at least half of the team. The market study
  team will submit a report on projected net impact
  on same-store sales revenues and store traffic
  for each product category in each sample city and
  at various price points.
• Task 2 Results from the report will be used by
  the RD department to adapt current Latin
  American clothing lines to American shopping
  habits