Indeed, every organisation must operate based on certain strategic, operational and complementary plans aimed at attaining specified objectives. According to Chadwick (2013), a planning process entail defining organisational objectives that will govern the firm’s future operations. Moreover, according to Joseph et al. (2015), a planning process involves assessing a specific firm’s goals and objectives to ascertain whether an organisation has appropriate plans to achieve such goals.
As such, every manager is tasked with meeting certain specified goals and must therefore enact a comprehensive plan. Such plans will enable managers to ascertain the requisite conditions and strategies that could be used to attain organisational goals. Therefore, the significance of a planning process in organisations cannot be ignored by managers (Joseph et al., 2015).
Undoubtedly, to become a success franchise it is today, Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses has invested massively towards quality planning of its business operations. The company recognises the significance of unique business models that are based on wide-ranging planning processes. The company’s exceptional planning processes have enabled it build formidable business units with an expanded customer base and huge competitive edge. In essence, Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses managers have based must of the success on their planning processes that is subsequently stipulated (Joseph et al., 2015).
The basic stages involved in the planning process majorly stipulates an explicit road map that shows how the organisation will realise its every objective. Specifically, the figure below clearly illustrates a planning process that managers can use in organisational set-ups.
Source: Adapted from Joseph et al. (2015)
The first step in the Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses planning process entail the identification of the specific objectives of the firm in question. According to Chadwick (2013), organisational objectives must be clearly defines to establish how they will be attained, what relevant actions will be used to attain such and who will be responsible for achieving such objectives. Here, a manager will provide a detailed summary of every goal and objective that will also include the perceived or expected results. According to Maramba et al. (2004), every successful plan must be tied to the organisational objectives. Therefore, the process of identifying objectives will clearly facilitate and give direction to the whole planning process.
Once the managers of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses have stipulated the firm’s objectives, the next step is the development of relevant strategies in line with the objectives. For example, the manager should indicate the financial and human resource strategies and projections that will be used to accomplish every stipulated strategy.
Correspondingly, under this step, the manager will collect every relevant data and information to facilitate critical assessment of the feasibility of every organisational objective highlighted (Joseph et al., 2015). Therefore, the internal and external environment of the organisation must be assessed to identify every strong and weak points of the firm. The primary objective of every manager at this stage is to convince the organisation that their stipulated objectives are viable and attainable based on comprehensive strategies.
Under this step, a Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses manager will establish and develop a unique planning premise. According to Chadwick (2013), a planning premise refers to viable projections of the organisation’s future stability and success. In every organisational setting, predictions of future success and plans forms the primary basis of the whole planning process. Through premising, an organisation will be able to make realistic projections about future expenditures, commodity prices and sales among other factors (Cassidy, 2016). Therefore, the data and information collected in step 2 when developing strategies will provide the future trends and prospects further facilitating the planning process.
The next step involves discovering alternatives to the specified organisational plans. This will enable the organisation (Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses) to establish and prioritize the best options among the available alternatives. Under this step, the manager is tasked with establishing and recording all possible alternatives that are attainable (Cassidy, 2016).
A Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses manager should then evaluate every identified alternative based on various factors. For example, the alternatives should grouped based on the projected costs of implementation, future returns and general feasibility among other inherent factors (Mavris et al., 2016). The evaluation of alternatives will enable the organisation to select the best options among the ones available for possible implementation. Also, under this step, the manager will be able to draft a comprehensive contingency plan that will enable the organisation to implement its every objective (Cassidy, 2016).
After determining and evaluating every alternative, the Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses manager will then select the best course of action to implement. According to Maramba et al. (2004), the selected course of action should be the best among the available alternatives.
Under this step, the manager will then develop a comprehensive sub plan that will guide the implementation of the selected course of action. According to Katsioloudes and Abouhanian (2016), derivative plans are majorly drafted to provide any support to the overall organisational plans. Derivative plans should be based on the stipulated plans above and aimed at accomplishing the identified objectives.
This is the most important step in the planning process. The implementation of the identified course of action will involve every available output from the organisation’s stakeholders factors (Mavris et al., 2016). For example, the manager should clearly communicate the established plans to the subordinates and investors to enable them understand what will be expected from each of them.
To ensure successful implementation of the organisational plans, the manager must formulate a follow-up measures to help in reviewing the whole planning process factors (Mavris et al., 2016). Moreover, under this stage, a manager will compare the actual performance towards the overall plan with the planned performance or objectives. According to Maramba et al. (2004), conducting a review of the planning process will enable the manager to develop appropriate remedial action in case any short coming is identified.
Ferguson Plarre’s organisational history can be traced to its sustainable focus on the provision of quality bakery services (Ferguson Plarre, 2017). Being a family-owned business that has been in operation for a very long time, company’s is more interested in its brand personality and values that has made it a successful franchise. Also, the company’s sustainable development of the wellbeing of its personnel and corporate social responsibility enabled it to attain a unique competitive advantage. Organisation commitment of Ferguson Plarre’s employees defines much of its organisational success in the Australia’s bakery industry. The company established its business around the production of innovative products such as uniquely designed and customised birthday cakes, desserts and wedding cakes. Some of the company’s products such as meat pies have won various awards for best quality (Ferguson Plarre, 2017).
Furthermore, the firm uses traditional ingredients that are also fresh to give the consumers that unique tastes. Overall, from the discussion, Ferguson Plarre’s organisational history is based on over 100 years’ strong experience in the Australian bakery industry. This long and proud history of quality products is what defines the firm’s current organisational goals and objectives. Indeed, the company is one of Australia’s success franchise story with well-refined crafts and significant contribution to the country’s baking industry (Ferguson Plarre, 2017).
Steve Plarre explains Ferguson Plarre’s very unique approach to goal setting. For instance, the company base its success purely on the satisfaction of its consumers (Ferguson Plarre, 2012). As such, the company constantly look for relevant information on relevant customer needs and complaints. After acquiring more information on its customers, Ferguson Plarre Franchise ensure that they sustain their performance levels and sustain their strong relationship with the clients (Ferguson Plarre, 2012).
The company’s goal setting majorly revolve around quality products and customer satisfaction. The company’s goal of quality products and services have also been attained through improving its performance efficiency and employee motivation. The firm also has an established feedback system that they are using to understand various consumer needs, and this has enabled it to maintain its loyal customer segments (Ferguson Plarre, 2012).
Ferguson Plarre Company is clearly aligning and tracking its goals to ensure increased efficiency in its business operations in the Australian bakery industry. From the interview, it is very clear that the firm measures the success of its goals based on its inherent ability to maximize overall consumer satisfaction (Ferguson Plarre, 2012).
The company is also directive more investments towards e-commerce website to help in attracting more consumers to its brands. The planned investment in SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is also helping the company to trace its goal of reaching to an expanded customer bases (Ferguson Plarre, 2012).
Moreover, Ferguson Plarre Company occasionally assesses and reassess its goal of producing unique and quality products. For example, after the introduction of designer cakes into the market, company has been tracking the reception of the product by the consumers through a comprehensive customer feedback system. Also, the company has created action plans that include reduced prices of the commodity to counter a possible failure of the designer cakes (Ferguson Plarre, 2012). However, Ferguson Plarre primarily focuses on the success of its market objectives, and goal setting has helped the firm to ascertain such activities that are more productive and those that need improvements.
References
Ferguson Plarre (2017) Our History. Retrieved from: https://www.fergusonplarre.com.au/about/history (Accessed on 4th June 2017).
Ferguson Plarre (2012) Interview with Steve Plarre, Part 3: Planning, Cengage Learning Australia.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2013) New developments in goal setting and task performance. Routledge.
Gardner, A.K., Diesen, D.L., Hogg, D. and Huerta, S. (2016) ‘The impact of goal setting and goal orientation on performance during a clerkship surgical skills training program,’ The American Journal of Surgery, 211(2), pp.321-325.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2015) ‘Breaking the rules: a historical overview of goal-setting theory,’ Advances in Motivation Science, 2(15), pp.99-126.
Chadwick, G. (2013) A systems view of planning: towards a theory of the urban and regional planning process. Elsevier.
Maramba, P.J., Richards, S., Myers, A.L. and Larrabee, J.H. (2004) ‘Discharge Planning Process: Applying a Model for Evidence?based Practice,’ Journal of nursing care quality, 19(2), pp.123-129.
HALEVI, G., & WEILL, R. (1995). Principles of process planning: a logical approach. London, Chapman & Hall.
Joseph, M., Joseph, B., Poon, S. and Brooksbank, R. (2015) ‘Diagnosing the Strategic Planning Process in Australian Companies,’ In Proceedings of the 1999 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 326-326). Springer International Publishing.
Cassidy, A. (2016) A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press.
Katsioloudes, M.I. and Abouhanian, A.K. (2016) The Strategic Planning Process: Understanding Strategy in Global Markets. Taylor & Francis.
Mavris, D.N., Pfaender, H., Jimenez, H., Garcia, E., Feron, E. and Bernardo, J. (2016) ‘Application of Strategic Planning Process with Fleet Level Analysis Methods,’
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