Strategic Planning for Sustainability i.

Strategic Planning:

How a Strategized Plan can help a business achieve a

Competitive Advantage, which
ultimately leads to Sustainability

Joshua L. Perry
BUS& 101, Spring 2009
Instructor: Les Wiletzky
May 25, 2009
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability ii.

Table of Contents

Section! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Page

! ! ! ! ! Title Page! ! ! i.
! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! Table of Contents! ! ! ii.

I. ! Sustainability in the Workplace (Intro.) 3-4

II. Innovation: The Key to Growth 4-7

III. Maintaining a Competitive Advantage 8-10

IV. Strategic Information Systems 10-11

V. Management Information Systems 11-12

VI. Conclusion 12-13

VII. Works Cited 14-15

 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 3

I. Sustainability in the Workplace (Intro.)

! Sustainability is one of the most important pieces of an organization. It is a

corporationʼs ability to maintain the long-term viability of their business. This is a very

pro-active approach and can be reached by optimizing resource needs, reducing

environmental impacts, lowering amounts of energy usage, as well as making positive

social connections throughout the organization. By staying as productive as possible

while causing minimal negative impact, a business has a large part of what it takes to

make a long lasting and profitable company. Planning ahead and making decisions

that will have a lasting affect is the best possible way for a business to maintain its

thriving upward direction. As long as there is a strategic plan being created throughout

management and the supervisors, a successful business is the left over product. A

possible way for this to happen is through “SWOT analysis, which results in strategies

designed to reach measurable goals that promote an organizations vision” (Neitzel,

2007). By going through this analysis, a set group of goals can be created and sought

after by the involved employees in order to make a business have a longer lasting

term. When these goals turn into long term goals, it just produces a greater cause for

the business to be more sustainable.

! Not only does the company need to be socially friendly, but environmentally

friendly as well. Companies that have the largest amount of success are those that

pay attention to how their actions affect the surrounding environment. Green
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 4

companies for example are very eco-friendly, and are therefore usually highly

successful. An example of this is shown in the Environmental Leader news article.

They have been doing the math and an estimated 25% of the worlds electricity needs

can be met by 2050 using only solar energy (Greenpeace Intl., 2009). This is a huge

change that will cause many companies to “go green,” which means a larger success

rate. Because of this large success rate, they are able to sustain their high standards

over longer periods of time. Sustainability is the most important piece of a company,

and when it is attained, there is virtually no limit to how much the company will be able

to grow.

II. Innovation: The Key to Growth

! The key to sustaining a business is the allowance of innovation (Laszlo, 2008).

For a business to maintain its competitive advantage, as well as keeping and staying

as profitable as possible, a business canʼt stay with its original products and/or

development cycles. As the years go by more and more technological changes are

made, and as other companies adapt to these new technologies, they will quickly

advance. For a company that doesnʼt adapt with these new upgrades, there is an

extremely large chance that they will fall behind in the race for this competitive

advantage and that will cause a huge hit in their profits.

 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 5

! The first example that normally comes to mind is the changes in the use of

assembly lines. Think about the automotive industry. Henry Ford was one of the

founders of the automotive assembly lines. His use of “innovation” brought in the idea

of using a conveyor belt to move the vehicles down the assembly line in a much more

efficient manner. In 1913 his first Michigan based plant was the largest automotive

manufacturer in existence and the costs of his vehicles went from 525 dollars to 325

dollars because of the shorter assembly periods (Watts, 2005, p. 276). Just the

addition of a conveyor belt saved millions of dollars. Now take a look at the nearly fully

automated assembly lines that are currently used. The mass production of cars and

trucks today has made Henry Fords original factory look as though a child had created

it. The constant changes and adaptations that have been made over the last century

have made these companies grow at an unbelievably fast rate and to such a large size

that it canʼt even be imagined. Without these innovative moves we would still be hand

making Model Tʼs on conveyor belts, and thousands upon thousands of people would

be unemployed.

! Bringing it down to a smaller level, an example innovation would be the

changes in menu items that the fast food restaurants now offer. This would be

considered a change that is made to accommodate the consumer. As more and more

studies are completed by scientists and doctors, all of the negative affects of the foods

served by these franchises are being noticed by the consumers. Because the risks of

eating these foods are so great, the original consumers donʼt eat nearly as much of the
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 6

products produced by these restaurants. To accommodate these changes, restaurants

such as McDonaldʼs are now offering salads and grilled chicken burgers instead of

their original “all fried foods” line. This way, the consumer feels they are getting the

healthier, less fattening foods from the same place that they grew up eating at for the

same price of their previously purchased meals. If McDonaldʼs wouldnʼt have made

these changes to their menu items, they would have a much smaller following and

wouldnʼt be nearly as profitable as they are today.

! After looking at all of the ways utilizing innovation can help a companies growth,

lets look at how not allowing innovation can and will affect a company. Although

underutilizing the positive affects innovation may bring wonʼt have a negative impact, it

may instead stunt a companies growth. In order for a business to grow and build, they

need to advance in as many ways as possible. With most companies, there are

different levels of employees. This is the way most companies are ran based on the

fact that there needs to be leaders, and there needs to be people who will follow these

leaders.

! Sometimes however, a leader, or in this instance the manager, feels that they

are superior to his or her employees. When a lower leveled employee has a new and

interesting idea, no matter how much of a positive impact it may have, it wonʼt even be

taken into consideration because their status isnʼt high enough to matter. Sure the way

the manager is currently running the business may be working fine, but there is no
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 7

chance for growth. If the lower ranked employees idea was possibly taken into

thought, this idea could spark an idea that would ignite another idea. Then all of a

sudden this original “thought” has boomed into an idea that will cause a huge

advancement in the company that would allow for a huge amount of business growth.

Unfortunately, this never ended up happening because the superior manager never

gave it a chance. This is why management needs to be open to change. If a company

has a manager that is open to new ideas and changes, they will take their employees

thoughts and ideas into consideration and will try to discover how it could be used to

grow their company in the positive direction they would like. If a company has the

other type of manager, the type that doesnʼt look for the innovative factors in a

company, the chance for growth and sustainability in a company will be substantially

lower. This is why a manager with a plan is needed. As stated by Fulmer and Conger

(2004), “The succession planning process is measured in several ways. The first is by

measuring the performance goals. Is each business achieving its talent goals? Is it

positioned to do so in the future? Does it have leaders to achieve even greater

results?”(pg.114).... When these questions are asked, there is a much better chance

for these issues to be resolved. If the business isnʼt achieving its talent goals, it could

be possible that the employees should be given more chances to explore their talents

in order to help give new innovative ideas to the company. This is just one of the many

ways this can help improve a businessʼ profitability and allow it to grow at a much

faster pace.
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 8

III. Maintaining a Competitive Advantage

! The byproduct of sustainability: a competitive advantage. The ability for a

company to outlast its competitors means there is a chance for winning over more and

more customers in the long run. As Shimizu et al. (2006) stated, “Changes in the

environment can result from emerging technologies or changes in societyʼs behavior,

and thus in clientsʼ demands” (p. 32). This piece shows that as things changes in the

environment we live in, the demands of the consumers will change. This ultimately

means that the companies need to adapt in order to keep their clientsʼ coming back to

do business with them. When a company is able to deliver a distinctively better

product at the same price or a product thats the same as the competitionʼs product for

a lower price, it is known to have a “competitive advantage.” Another way a business

could have a competitive advantage is by having product differentiation. When your

company can create a product that isnʼt comparable to any other product out there, the

only place the consumer can get it from is the company that created it. This means

youʼre not only the biggest market for the product, but if anyone wants it, they have to

come to you.

! This is great for company growth and improvement, and when a company is

growing, itʼs becoming a more stable and sustainable business. This is where it all ties

together. When a company is gaining a competitive advantage, it has a great

 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 9

possibility for growth, which means there is an even greater opportunity for innovation

to take place. When a company is innovative, it will gain a competitive advantage

which could include growth in the company. Everything has an effect on one another,

and each of these opportunities means the company will have an extremely greater

chance for long-term sustainability.

! As explained by Porter, the next piece that gives a company a competitive

advantage is by building a customer base. When a business gains a patent or

trademark, its something that customers will remember (Porter, 2007). For example,

when the phrase, “Iʼm Lovinʼ It” is heard, the first thing that comes to mind is

McDonaldʼs. Nearly every single person in the United States, as well as millions of

others world wide know a recognize this trademark phrase. This slogan has given

McDonaldʼs a huge competitive advantage over other fast food restaurants because it

is a phrase that customers recognize. Recognition is what gets customers to go to a

McDonaldʼs instead of the family run burger joint next door. It is an idea that keeps

customers comfortable in a familiar environment. Another thing they do is many

donation type activities. This was a very smart idea on their part because it gave them

an even larger connection to their customers. Things such as the “Ronald McDonald

House” were created and just knowing that this company was doing their part to help

children in need made them an even more trusting place to be apart of.
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 10

! Competitive advantage is one of the larger factors in a businessʼs sustainability.

Without working toward this advantage, rival companies will grow and continuously

pull ahead and once you fall too far behind, catching back up becomes nearly

impossible. This is why many companies end up failing and going out of business.

They donʼt strive to outperform the competition, when in fact that is one of the most

important pieces of running a creative and thriving business that sustains itʼs success

over the long-term.

IV. Strategic Information Systems

! These information systems are a huge part in the development of new and

innovative ideas. A strategic information system is a system that helps companies alter

their original business plans in order to accommodate changes that are happening

within the specific organization. There is also the use of database systems that have

the “data-mining” capabilities which allows a businessʼs current information to be used

in the best possible way, whether it be marketing, production, or most importantly, the

innovation of new ideas.

! Basically, the use of Strategic Information Systems are used to re-engineer a

business. With the way technologies are changing today, the only way to really keep

up with all of the changes is to have a system built specifically for the re-mapping of
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 11

the original business plan in order to stay a successful player in the business world.

Also, Strategic Information Systems are very reputable when it comes to keeping up

with environmental changes. When an organization is able to keep up with the

changing environment, it has the ability to grow at a much quicker rate and this

ultimately leads to a companies long-term sustainability. Being able to save energy

and keep pollution levels low gives a company a very extensive lead over companies

that are harming the environment, so staying ahead of the game in this way will create

a great competitive advantage and will make the company become much more

profitable.

V. Management Information Systems

! “An information system is a computer system that provides management and

other personnel within an organization with up-to-date information regarding the

organization's performance” (Moga and Monica, 2006, p.496). Like the strategic

information system, the management information system is designed to re-engineer a

companies original build in order to be more successful in the future. The difference

however, is what it is specifically aimed to do. Strategic Information Systems are

focused more on keeping that competitive edge on rival companies. Making sure the

business is staying in the running with the other competing companies is what it is

there for. Management Information Systems are instead aimed towards keeping the
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 12

transfer of information as smooth as possible. Instead of keeping up with other

companies at the competitive standpoint, it is more about staying effective in the

transfer of the information that is used by the strategic information systems. Its main

purpose is to sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute the needed information to the

different marketing decision makers of a company.

! All of these systems cohere eventually, leading to a final product that will

hopefully end in a successful business decision. If this doesnʼt end up happening after

round one, the system will start back over and look for new innovative ways that it can

work towards mastering a new business strategy. This loop will inevitably come back

around and as times and technologies change, these information systems will need to

create even more new and innovative business plans and the cycle will continue.

VI. Conclusion

! The overall idea of a strategic plan is a firms effort to adapt to the changing

environment around them. Itʼs what is needed in order for a company to grow and

sustain itself in the long-run by keeping its competitive advantage over its rival

businessʼs. Management needs to create a more knowledgeable and skilled

workforce, make room for innovation to take place no matter what the employees rank

is, and last but not least, be able to make the needed adaptations in order for a
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 13

company to keep advancing and not let the new technologies get out of reach. By

doing these things, a business will be able to maintain its competitive advantage that

allows it to out-do the competition, as well as be a stable company that will sustain its

success for years and years to come. Sustainability is the key to having a successful

business, but in order for sustainability, there needs to be that sense of teamwork.

Strategic information systems, management information systems, as well as the

innovators behind the scenes need to be able to communicate with one another. This

way a single, well organized idea can be created to work towards a single purpose,

which would be the growth of their company, and the sustainability of their

organization.
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 14

VII. Works Cited

Fulmer, R. M., & Conger, J. A. (2004). Growing your company's leaders: How great

! organizations use succession management to sustain competitive advantage.

! New York: AMACOM.

Greenpeace International, (2009). Solar energy can power 25% of the worldʼs

! electricity needs by 2050. Environmental Leader, Retrieved May 23, 2009, from

! http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/05/26/solar-energy-can-

! power-25-! of-! the-worlds-electricity-needs-by-2050/

Laszlo, C. (2008). Sustainability for competitive advantage. San Francisco Chronicle,

! Retrieved May 23, 2009, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/

! 2008/05/14/ED4F10LJ1L.DTL&hw=Chris+Laszlo&sn=001&sc=1000

Moga, J., and Monica T. "Management Information Systems." Encyclopedia of

Management. Ed. Marilyn Helms, D.B.A. 5th

ed. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 496-498. Gale Virtual Reference

Library. Gale. Pierce College. 27 May. 2009

Neitzel, J. (2007). Facilitating Sustainability Strategy. Green Biz, Retrieved May

23, 2009, from http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2007/04/09/

facilitating- sustainability-strategy

Porter, M (2007). Strategic management Competitive advantage. Retrieved May

27, 2009, from QuickMBA Web site: http://www.quickmba.com/

strategy/ competitive- advantage/

Shimizu, T., & Carvalho, M., & Laurindo, F. (2006). Strategic alignment process and

! decision support systems: Theory and case studies. Hershey, PA: Idea Group

! Inc.
 Strategic Planning for Sustainability 15

Watts, S (2005). The peoples tycoon: Henry ford and the american century. New York:

Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated.