BSullivanIndividualAssignmntUnit1

Individual Assignment Brett Sullivan Kaplan University GB580: Strategic Management Unit 1 Professor Christine Pence March 13, 2012

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Strategic Management for Brett Sullivan, Inc. Introduction and Abstract The purpose of this paper will be to evaluate the current strategic position of Brett Sullivan, Inc. its corporate mission, its values and how well the two are interrelated. At that point we will analyze how well positioned Brett Sullivan, Inc. is positioned in the marketplace, both from an environmental scan of the marketplace and by performing a SWOT analysis of the situation. For the purposes on Unit 1 of this exercise, this will complete the exercise; however, in Unit 2 of the exercise, we continue the analysis by working through the formulation of strategy and objectives, and then finish by developing tactical actions and metrics to advance the strategy. Brett Sullivan, Inc. was established in the late 1980s, after Brett Sullivan completed his Bachelor of Science degree with a double major (Business Administration and Behavioral Psychology). He proceeded for the first several years to hold a number of sales and customer service roles, until he eventually landed in the investment industry, where he was a telephone sales representative for one of the worlds largest mutual fund and discount brokerage companies. He rose fairly quickly through the ranks at this company, establishing himself after five years as Vice President of Sales, Service and Operations for another company in the same field. Call Center (sales and service operations) has since been at the heart of his work, and he has worked in a few industries besides the investment business; the software industry, the broader financial services industry (student loans), and most recently, the proprietary education industry. Currently, Brett Sullivan, Inc. is employed in the proprietary education industry, heading up three admissions units for a large online university; an undergraduate admissions telephone

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unit, the undergraduate admissions live chat unit, as well as the office of returning students, which is responsible for re-enrolling students who have dropped out, been dismissed or graduated. Mission The personal mission for Brett Sullivan, Inc. is to continue to grow and advance in his career. In his current work environment, and given his background and reputation, Brett should be able to establish himself in an even more senior role, most likely as the head of admissions, or Vice President at either his current company, which is the preference, or with another reputable company in the proprietary education industry. Personal Vision The personal mission of Brett Sullivan, Inc. is to continue to do well in my career by leveraging my educational background, my work and industry experience, as well as my strengths in understanding, communicating with, developing and motivating people (people skills) to continue to do well by doing good. (Thaler, 2012). My skills and ability allow me to meet my personal income and career advancement objectives by helping employees understand and develop the skills to perform their jobs well, helping create and deliver world-class experiences for our customers, while delivering solid financial results for our investors. (Taylor & Schroeder, 2003). Environmental Considerations For the purposes of considering the environment as it pertains to Brett Sullivan, Inc., it is important to examine the industries in which he has significant experience. The majority of Bretts career has been spent in the financial services sector, and it was though when he left that sector in 2008 to pursue a career in proprietary higher education, that the financial services field

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no longer offered the types of opportunities or the security desired, and this appears to still be the case. (International Labour Organization, 2009). Leveraging his background and experience in telesales leadership, Brett Sullivan, Inc., was able to establish himself in what was at that time the rapidly-growing field of Proprietary Higher Education. This sector hit a major rough spot in 2010, with the release of a series of reports from the Government Accounting Office as well as a senate subcommittee investigating potential deceptive practices in the industry. (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2010). The results of these reports and investigations had a severe negative impact on Kaplan itself and the industry as a whole, however, since then the company has started to come back significantly. For this reason, and the reason that Brett Sullivan, Inc. has fairly well established itself in this company, and this industry, the environmental considerations will focus here. As already acknowledged, the political climate for the industry has been somewhat tenuous, although it has toned down significantly over the past 8-10 months. In particular, due to actions taken by Kaplan University, the rhetoric and perceptions around Kaplan have improved considerably. (Field, 2012). From an economic perspective, the industry and the company continue to remain relatively strong. Economically, the industry typically is counter-cyclical during bad economic times, and initially this was true during the latest downturn, however, the overall political environment did have a negative impact, as previously mentioned. One factor that is helping the industry and the company rebound is that certain demographic changes in the economy have made it imperative for people to get retrained and re-educated, which helps the market for this industry. (The Economist, 2010). Social implications are closely tied to the economic implications outlined above; negative media attention turned public perception against the proprietary education industry for a time,

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but now it appears to be on the rebound. Society is re-awakening to the need for different educational alternatives and sees that proprietary schools can help to fill the current gaps. (NEA - The National Education Association, 2004). Technologically, both the industry and the company seem to be positioned well, as longstanding definitions of education and its deliver are evolving. Kaplan continues to be on the cutting edge of changes to the industry as they allow students to interact with their educational environment through computers, tablets, smartphones and even personal music players. This type of approach continues to give Kaplan a competitive edge. (Kaplan.edu, 2012). SWOT Analysis The greatest strengths the Brett Sullivan, Inc. brings to bear are a breadth and depth of experience running large sales, telephone sales, and specifically admissions operations units. In both his current role as well as past positions both within and outside of Kaplan, Brett has a strong track record of success. He also possesses a strong process orientation, which has helped him build a history of streamlining processes and driving efficiency and effectiveness in different roles. His job performance when measured against peers in his current role is simply outstanding and he is viewed as a leader among his peers. Bretts greatest strength is his people skills; he has the ability to engage, influence and motivate people from many different backgrounds in a variety of ways. As to the weaknesses of Brett Sullivan, Inc., the biggest concern is becoming age. Being middle-aged at this point, there may be a perception on the part of others that Brett may not be able to keep up with the pace of work and of change. Impatience can also be a factor of weakness for Brett; he sometimes loses patience and becomes frustrated when others demonstrate that they are not as quick as he is. He can use his strong people skills to offset this.

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Among opportunities present for Brett Sullivan, Inc., the greatest opportunity in his current organization is that there is somewhat of a leadership vacuum at his level. Most of the other people in the Executive Director role seem to be reluctant to take action when needed, which presents a real opportunity for Brett. This, combined with the need for change in the organization as well as the company itself, provides a huge opportunity. In addition, due to Bretts leadership of the Office of Returning Students, he unique access to senior leaders in the organization, including the Chief Operating Officer and the President of the Kaplan University Group. The biggest threats to Brett Sullivan, Inc. are a result of the regulatory and public relations turmoil that were introduced to the industry and to Kaplan beginning in 2010. While the regulatory and media scrutiny has improved significantly since then, the industry remains somewhat of a hot topic. In addition, the weaker performance of Kaplan as a result of this turmoil could conceivably have made Kaplan a potential target of merger or acquisition in the future. One other threat-related consideration for Brett Sullivan, Inc. has to do with the overall economic situation in the US the past few years. As companies have trimmed staff and taken extreme moves to boost margins, fewer executive-level positions are available, which could cause challenges for Brett in moving to a different industry or company. Strategy, Objectives and Tactical Actions and Metrics In the next unit we will expand upon this analysis by exploring strategy and objectives as well as tactical actions and metrics for Brett Sullivan, Inc.

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BSullivanIndividualAssignmntUnit1 References

Field, K. (2012, March 2). 20-Something Visionary Promotes Obama's Higher Eduction Goals. The Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. A1-A4. International Labour Organization. (2009, February 24-25). Impact of the Financial Crisis on Financial Sector Workers. Retrieved March 12, 2012, from International Labour Organization: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/meetingdoc ument/wcms_103263.pdf Kaplan.edu. (2012). Are Online Programs Right for You? Retrieved March 11, 2012, from Kaplan: Our Programs: Online Education: http://www.economist.com/node/16643333 NEA - The National Education Association. (2004, September). Proprietary Education: Threat, or Not! Retrieved March 10, 2012, from NEA Higher Education Research Update: http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/vol10no4.pdf Taylor, S., & Schroeder, K. (2003). Inside Intuit: How the Makers of Quicken Beat Microsoft and Revolutionized an Entire Industry. Boston: Harvard Business Press. Thaler, R. H. (2012, January 26). Corporate Citizens Can Do Well By Doing Good. Retrieved March 13, 2012, from Bloomberg News: Business Class: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/corporate-citizens-can-do-well-by-doinggood-richard-h-thaler.html

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The Economist. (2010, July 22). For-Profit Colleges: Monsters in the Making? Retrieved March 11, 2012, from The Economist: Business and Finance: http://www.economist.com/node/16643333 U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2010, February 23). Higher Education: Information on Incentive Compensation Violations . Retrieved March 12, 2012, from United States Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10370r.pdf

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Appendix

BSullivanIndividualAssignmntUnit1 PEST Analysis Template

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Situation being analysed: Brett Sullivan, Inc. career potential for the proprietary secondary education industry. PEST analysis (political, economic, social, technological) assesses a market, including competitors, from the standpoint of a particular proposition or a business.
criteria examples ecological/environmental current legislation future legislation international legislation regulatory bodies and processes government policies government term and change trading policies funding, grants and initiatives home market pressuregroups international pressuregroups wars and conflicts Political Significant political turmoil that was initially stirred up relative to the industry in 2010 exists, however toned down significantly, resulting in much slower job growth Politicians & media have begun to realize country cant achieve education goals without input from proprietary sector. Some studies now emerging that many in the private sector actually provide students job skills at a lower cost than many not-for-profit providers Current employer, Kaplan University, has been recognized for Kaplan Commitment, a risk-free approach that removes much financial risk from consumer. This has gone a long way to improve public image of current employer (Field, 2012)/ Economical While economy does appear to be improving, jobs growth is slow. While this is a negative trend for the economy overall, it can have positive portent for the education industry in all sectors. This can still have negative impact on peoples ability or willingness to attend school- students may not be willing to incur debt. Current employer (Kaplan) and several others are making efforts to mitigate negative economic implications through pursuit of Military & International offerings, which dramatically lower the impact of students needs to borrow. In spite of improvement in US economy, demographic changes still make it imperative for people to get retrained & re-educated, which helps the market for the proprietary education industry. (The Economist, 2010) criteria examples home economy economy trends overseas economies general taxation taxation specific to product/services seasonality issues market/trade cycles specific industry factors market routes trends distribution trends customer/end-user drivers interest/ exchange rates international trade and monetary issues

criteria examples lifestyle trends demographics consumer attitudes and opinions media views law changes affecting social factors brand, company, technology image consumer buying patterns fashion and role models major events and influences buying access and trends ethnic/religious factors advertising and publicity ethical issues

Social Technological Social implication relative to the Technology continues to reshape the proprietary education industry are educational environment, and current somewhat mixed at present. Still is employer, Kaplan, is on the cutting still some negative perception edge. This allows Kaplan to provide lingering as a result of extreme student-facing and classroom negative political & media scrutiny experience via many platforms; beginning in mid- 2010. computer, tablet, smartphone and Negative perceptions of proprietary even MP3 player. While other educational providers education industry have dissipated somewhat as politicians & the media continue to expand their offerings, have realized that many anecdotes & Kaplans early entry into this market position about the industry were helps it to stay ahead of others. exaggerated. (Kaplan.edu, 2012) Society in the US continues to recognize the need for educationKaplan & other proprietary schools go a long way toward filling that need by allowing students to meet their educational goals on their own times and on their own terms. (NEA - The National Education Association, 2004).

criteria examples competing technology development research funding associated/dependent technologies replacement technology/solutions maturity of technology manufacturing maturity and capacity information and communications consumer buying mechanisms/technology technology legislation innovation potential technology access, licensing, patents intellectual property issues global communications

Note: PEST analysis can be useful before SWOT analysis because PEST helps to identify SWOT factors. PEST and SWOT are two different perspectives but can contain common factors. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. & SWOT analysis explanation

BSullivanIndividualAssignmntUnit1 SWOT Analysis Template

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Situation being analysed: Brett Sullivan, Inc.s personal SWOT Analysis _________________________________________________________________ This SWOT example is for a new business opportunity. Many criteria can apply to more than one quadrant. Identify criteria appropriate to your own SWOT situation.
criteria examples Strengths Breadth & depth of experience running Advantages of proposition? large sales, telephone sales and Capabilities? admissions operations units Competitive advantages? Track record of success in current role USP's (unique selling as well as past positions- both internal points)? and external to current company Resources, Assets, People? Strong process orientationExperience, knowledge, demonstrable history of streamlining data? processes & driving efficiency in past & Financial reserves, likely current roles returns? Performance outstanding when Marketing - reach, compared against current peer groupdistribution, awareness? often perceived & positioned as the Innovative aspects? leader among my current peers Location and People skills- experience as well as geographical? repeated profiles indicate that a Price, value, quality? primary component of my success has Accreditations, to do with my ability to engage, qualifications, influence and motivate people. certifications? Processes, systems, IT, communications? Cultural, attitudinal, behavioural? Management cover, succession? Philosophy and values? criteria examples Market developments? Competitors' vulnerabilities? Industry or lifestyle trends? Technology development and innovation? Global influences? New markets, vertical, horizontal? Niche target markets? Geographical, export, import? New USP's? Tactics: eg, surprise, major contracts? Business and product development? Information and research? Partnerships, agencies, distribution? Volumes, production, economies? Seasonal, weather, fashion influences? Opportunities There is currently something of a leadership vacuum at my level in the organization. My peers usually seem reluctant to step up my boss has encouraged me personally to do more to fill this vacuum. The organization & the industry both have a serious need at this time for someone at my level to develop new ways of driving efficiencies & effectiveness into the business. Since this is an area where I excel I should do more here. My position with management oversight of the Office of Returning Students gives me unique access to senior leadership of the organization, including the COO and the President. Weaknesses Age- as someone who is middle-aged, I may be perceived by others as not being able to keep up with the pace of work and of change Analytical skills as one is primarily an intuitive leader & manager, data analysis is not my initial response. I need to continue to develop & leverage expertise in this area. Impatience- While people skills are a strength for me, I often become frustrated & lose patience when people demonstrate that they arent as quick as I am. I need to remember that leaders are often teachers and work to help others understand concept & ideas. criteria examples Disadvantages of proposition? Gaps in capabilities? Lack of competitive strength? Reputation, presence and reach? Financials? Own known vulnerabilities? Timescales, deadlines and pressures? Cashflow, start-up cashdrain? Continuity, supply chain robustness? Effects on core activities, distraction? Reliability of data, plan predictability? Morale, commitment, leadership? Accreditations, etc? Processes and systems, etc? Management cover, succession? criteria examples Political effects? Legislative effects? Environmental effects? IT developments? Competitor intentions various? Market demand? New technologies, services, ideas? Vital contracts and partners? Sustaining internal capabilities? Obstacles faced? Insurmountable weaknesses? Loss of key staff? Sustainable financial backing? Economy - home, abroad? Seasonality, weather effects?

Threats Regulatory environment still represents some threats. Although controversy relative to the proprietary education sector has dropped significantly, there is still a fair amount of discussion that could result in impact. Economy- the poor US economic conditions for the past 4-5 years have resulted in limited opportunities for people at my executive level & with my skill set. Companies have reduced staff, reduced margins & driven for greater efficiency, resulting in fewer jobs at senior levels. In addition, many of the jobs that do exist dont pay what they used to. Organizational threats- while the business in which I work is getting healthier, there is still potential that, due to many changes to the industry & the company, we could become a target of merger or acquisition.