Discuss about the Business Continuity and Protect Vital Operations.
Pizza Kitchen Inc. is a new venture that offers take- out and delivery service of pizza in Lesotho. Pizza Kitchen Inc. is a business run by a family (David Walker and his wife Jennifer). The owner, David Walker, has the experience of 12 years in hospitality industry. David Walker’s wife Jennifer has the experience of 10 years as a cook. A pizza delivery service was successfully conducted by them in San Francisco but they decided to move to Lesotho for some family reasons.
Now the focus of the owners is to meet or exceed the expectations of the customers by offering them pizzas of exceptional quality pizzas. The company will serve the rapidly growing population over the ten- mile area with over 400,000 residents. The company is situated at the favorable location which provides it with high visibility and large number of customers. Since the company is situated at the favorable location, the rent of the place is greater in comparison with the other areas of the city (Burns & Dewhurst, 2016).
Pizza Kitchen Inc. is aware that the company cannot compete in the market only on the basis of price therefore; its prices will not beat the competition. This is the reason why the Pizza Kitchen is focusing on the assessment of the customer expectations along with its own core competencies and then makes decisions regarding which of the customer expectation can be reasonably met by it. Furthermore, it makes sure that the expectations are constantly exceeded in a wholehearted manner. In this way, it will be capable of maintaining and increasing the satisfaction level of the customers which, in turn, will act as the strong basis for the future growth of the company. The management philosophy is based on mutual respect, responsibility and team work.
The mission of Pizza Kitchen Inc. is to provide the best pizza services to the residents of Lesotho. The company is also committed to providing value and service quality expected by the customers. Pizza Kitchen Inc. will use staff, strategy and systems for providing seamless experience to the customers in terms of service delivery, service environment and service product. Each of these factors is expected to meet or exceed the expectations of the customers (McKeever, 2016). A variety of African style pizzas will be offered by Pizza Kitchen Inc. along with sodas, sauces, desserts and fruit juices.
The SWOT analysis of Pizza Kitchen Inc. assists in the examination and evaluation of the internal strengths and weaknesses along with external opportunities and potential threats.
Strengths-one of the key strength of Pizza Kitchen is its favorable location. The company also offers excellent quality of African style pizza which is presently unavailable in Lesotho. Furthermore, the management of the company has the proven experience of running a similar business earlier (McKenzie, 2017). The equipment and technology used for the preparation of pizzas are energy efficient. The company also has a clear vision of the customer expectations and the market needs which are aimed to be fulfilled with the use of latest technology.
Weaknesses- the cost factor associated with the use of latest technology and state- of- the- art equipment acts as the major weakness of the company. Since the company is in the start- up stage, it is facing a number of challenges for ensuring its survival in the market. Furthermore, Pizza Kitchen is new in town due to which it faces difficulty in making sales. Also, during the peak sales periods, the company suffers from limited operating capacity (Asif & Sargeant, 2015).
Opportunities- The population of Lesotho is increasing at a rapid pace and there is no other similar business in the same location with the five- mile radius of the location chosen. There are a number of businesses in the location which provides good opportunity for increasing the sales (Scarborough, 2016). The location is mostly surrounded with the low- to- middle class population who can take the benefit of the reasonable prices of Pizza Kitchen.
Threats- the economy is taking time in recovering properly from the current crisis. Constantly changes are taking place in the business environment which may reduce the sales of Pizza Kitchen. The taxes are expected to increase in future. Furthermore, the commercial property is not the property of the company and is on lease. The inflation and interest rates are increasing and are not in accordance with the prediction (Self, Jones & Botieff, 2015).
The population belonging to low- to- middle class is increasing in the area surrounded by the company. Approximately 500 businesses are close to the location of the business. The residents of the area are mostly families of 3 or more. The average income for the entire area is estimated to be $ 40,000.
The number of opportunities in the Industrial Park of the city related to business and employment has brought a boom in the area. However, there are some existing food service businesses that are running exceptionally well from the past few years. The area is continuously growing which offers a number of opportunities for serving the residents. The first preference of the company is to sell to individuals but occasionally it will also accept some catering jobs to companies and individuals in the area (Rothaermel, 2015).
Furthermore, it is expected that 80% of the sales of Pizza Kitchen Inc. will be made to retail customers (individuals) and the remaining 15% will be made to the current or future businesses (corporate customers). The analysis further provides that larger orders are made by the corporate customers for their special business events or employees’ needs (Hollenbeck, Noe & Gerhart, 2018).
Presently, there is a specialized pizza restaurant nearly two miles away the location of the company. Also, there are four fast food restaurants at the nearby location whose menu includes pizzas of different styles. However, there is no match of the quality of the products offered by them and that offered by Pizza Kitchen Inc. Still Pizza Kitchen Inc. considers them as competitors as better prices are offered by them (for lower quality) and they are also located within the same locality (Burns, 2016).
Other main competitors in the area include Pizza World, Johnson’s Pizza and Pizza House. Pizza Kitchen Inc. can be distinguished from these competitors on the basis of better quality pizza at reasonable prices (Chen & Miller, 2015).
Pizza Kitchen Inc. will strive for implementing the just- in- time operating environment. This is due to the fact that the maintenance of lower levels of inventory will result in the reduction of cost of handling, financing and storage. However, lower levels of inventory can also result in unhappy customers and loss of sales (Mackay & Zundel, 2017).
Special deals are offered by elected suppliers for Pizza Kitchen Inc. such as providing sales referrals, waiving the buy- in requirements and discounts for prior payments. Also, there are negotiation of discounts on the basis of customer loyalty and increasing quantity purchase. The inventory is purchased directly from the manufacturers or the wholesalers. The management has contacts with a number of suppliers due to their prior experience in this industry (Pisano, 2017).
On the basis of the analysis of the external environment, a range of attractive opportunities can be identified. These opportunities can often act as the avenues for investment. Then the screening process can be used for selecting the options out of which strategic choice is required to be made (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman & Bamford, 2017).
The analysis provides that the corporate and retail customers show sensitivity to service value. Keeping the prices high will also not work as there are some other options also which can be preferred by the customers in such case. Therefore, the requirement arises of providing high quality pizza to the customers at reasonable prices (Nagle & Muller, 2017). The strategic choice made in this case will be that the price to be offered will not be the lowest in the area. The pricing strategy to be adopted will be competitive along the range of products but will not depend only on the selling price as it will overshadow other benefits of doing business. Choice is made in favor of price flexibility which is considered to be critical for the success of the business. The strategy will also include the adoption of certain CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices so that the company can emerge as a socially responsible enterprise. The CSR activities will include use of innovative pizza boxes manufactured from recycled materials along with targeting zero waste to landfill by the end of the year (Klettner, Clarke & Boersma, 2014).
The long- term objective of Pizza Kitchen Inc. is to become the first choice of the customers for pizza in Lesotho and to attain the position of a respected company as measured by the shareholders, customers, employees and the community we live in. Furthermore, its objective is to follow its values in its operations. The values include integrity, teamwork and performance excellence (Pisano, 2015).
Moreover, it aims to create a team of employees who encourages diversity, creativity, performance and growth. The company is also expecting to maintain a healthy financial position over the next 10 years. With the growth of the business, trending food items will also be introduced so that the requirements of the customers can be met. For attaining the competitive position in the market, Pizza Kitchen Inc. will constantly evaluate the requirements of the market so that it can have a technological leadership in the market. The company also aims at being a leader of the market due to its technological competence and experienced management.
The generic strategy of Pizza Kitchen Inc. is based on the delivery of a strong customer value proposition in the target market. A new choice in pizza options are aimed to be given to the people in Lesotho and in the nearby areas. The marketing infrastructure is being build- up for the purpose of reaching greater number of customers. The focus is on the satisfaction of the needs of the customers belonging to low- to- middle class including the residents and companies in the surrounded area (Freeman, 2010).
The grand strategy includes the use of different forms of marketing communication for the purpose of reaching the target market in an efficient manner. In this way, Pizza Kitchen Inc. will be able to raise awareness rearing their existence and their pizza service offerings in their target market. Moreover, effective advertisement tools will also be used by Pizza Kitchen Inc. for the promotion of its business. People will be hired for holding signs near the Industrial Park of the area. The promotion with the help of door handle flyer will also be useful for advertising in the neighborhood areas (David, 2011).
The projection of promotion expenses has been made with the help of adequate funding. The marketing of the business will be done in the most cost- effective manner. During the implementation of the project, a number of other advertising options will also be evaluated for ensuring the achievement of best results.
Pizza Kitchen Inc. aims at pushing the service and delivery capacities along with creating positive word- of- mouth. The achievement of the short term objectives will be made by way of adopting an efficient sales strategy. The sales strategy will be based on the fact that there will be a regular flow of customers who will visit Pizza Kitchen for the first time as it is situated at a convenient location. Furthermore, efforts will be made for the conversion of first time customers into the regular customers of the business. In other words, steps will be taken for the purpose of establishing a long term relationship with the customers so that they visit regularly along with their friends and family (Hubbard, Rice & Galvin, 2014).
The analysis provides that the conversion of new customers into a long term relationship will cost less to the company in comparison to attracting new customers. Therefore, the sales activities will be concentrated on keeping the current customers happy and meeting or exceeding their expectations. Customer- centric and consistent service is the absolute requirement in the hospitality industry. Each and every member and employee of the team will be empowered to give prime importance to the requests of the customers and deal with them in a way as they deemed fit. No customer should be left dissatisfied. Through the organization, problem- solving will be encouraged and each employee will be considered a part of the ales team and not only the first line servers (Wallace & Webber, 2017). When the customers will be satisfied, the short term objectives of increasing sales and profit will be attained by Pizza Kitchen Inc.
The policy of the company is to purchase new energy- efficient equipment and state of the art from trustworthy suppliers in the food industry. The policy provides operating with a team of ten multi- skilled employees through which it will be able to offer high quality African style pizza at affordable prices. However, it will be impossible to compete on the basis of price only.
The company also has a continuous improvement policy that encourages all the employees to persistently look for innovative and updated ways of working with latest technology, improving the processes, reducing costs and saving time. This policy acts as the approach that serves the objective of reducing the delivery times and costs along with increasing the satisfaction level of the customers and service quality (Gordon & Brezinski, 2016).
For the purpose of maintaining strategic control and ensuring continuous improvement, a number of steps will be taken. Assessments of the risks will be made from time to time so that required actions can be taken before it affects the company. The economic downturn is assessed to be reaching its bottom and will slowly begin its recovery process. However, it will take a number of years until full growth and complete recovery is achieved. Taking the risk of major depression to be low, the strategies will be controlled in accordance with the situation (Evans, 2015).
For bringing continuous improvement, the changes in the buying pattern and competition will be analyzed. The number of competitors in the marketplace will increase from time to time. The company will adopt cost control techniques and continuous improvement management strategy for the purpose of staying on the top of customer preference. However, no change is expected in the pizza buying patterns of the customers over the next ten years. The strategies will also remain under control as the purchases will be made from a number of suppliers instead of a single supplier. The risk of facing supply constrictions is low as there is availability of large supply of ingredients and materials for the preparation of pizza. Furthermore, continuous improvement will be ensured by making the use of new and more efficient technology for food preparation equipment (Hair Jr, Wolfinbarger, Money, Samouel & Page, 2015).
Conclusion
This strategic business plan addresses all the components of the strategic management process namely environmental scanning, strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation in the form of analysis of the internal and external environment and then making strategic choices. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats along with the analysis of the market and the competitors form the basis of the strategy formulation. The analysis provided that there are not much number of competitors in the area and the company also has a strong management which acts as it strength. On this basis, the strategy has been formulated to keep the prices of the pizza reasonable. The short- term and long- term objectives have been framed that aim at increasing the number of customers along with sales and profit and lastly to become the first choice of the customers in the city. The grand strategy is based on the use of marketing communications for the purpose of reaching the target market in an efficient manner. Pizza Kitchen Inc. aims at pushing the service and delivery capacities along with creating positive word- of- mouth. The company also has a continuous improvement policy that encourages all the employees to persistently look for innovative and updated ways of working with latest technology, improving the processes, reducing costs and saving time. For bringing continuous improvement, the changes in the buying pattern and competition will be analyzed.
The budget for the new venture is US $ 150,000. A variety of costs will be incurred by this new venture for meeting the financial needs of the business and for making it popular. The expenses to be incurred include general operation expense, materials, cost of supplies, marketing and advertising, salary to the staff, cost of technology, electricity, rent, miscellaneous expenses, etc.
|
Particulars |
Amount |
|
Funding by the Co- Owners |
$ 150,000 |
|
Expected Sales for the first year |
$ 50,000 |
|
Total Inflow |
$ 200,000 |
|
Expenses |
Amount |
|
Cost of Materials |
$ 20,000 |
|
Salary to staff |
$ 10,000 |
|
Electricity |
$ 10,000 |
|
Rent |
$ 10,000 |
|
Advertisement Expenses |
$ 30,000 |
|
Technology |
$ 40,000 |
|
Purchases |
$ 10,000 |
|
Miscellaneous expenses |
$ 10,000 |
|
Total Expenses |
$ 140,000 |
The company is expected to make a profit of $ 60,000 in the first year of its operations after deducting all the expenses.
References
Asif, S., & Sargeant, A. (2015). Internal marketing tactics: Is communication really all there is to it?. In Proceedings of the 1998 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 351-355). Springer, Cham.
Burns, P. (2016). Entrepreneurship and small business. Palgrave Macmillan Limited. UK.
Burns, P., & Dewhurst, J. (2016). Small business and entrepreneurship. Macmillan International Higher Education. New York.
Chen, M. J., & Miller, D. (2015). Reconceptualizing competitive dynamics: A multidimensional framework. Strategic Management Journal, 36(5), 758-775.
David, F. R. (2011). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Peaeson/Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River.
Evans, V. (2015). The FT Essential Guide to Writing a Business Plan: How to win backing to start up or grow your business. Pearson UK.
Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge university press. New York.
Gordon, R. T., & Brezinski, M. H. (2016). The complete restaurant management guide. Routledge. New York.
Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons. UK.
Hair Jr, J. F., Wolfinbarger, M., Money, A. H., Samouel, P., & Page, M. J. (2015). Essentials of business research methods. Routledge. USA.
Hollenbeck, J. R., Noe, R. A., & Gerhart, B. A. (2018). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education. Chicago.
Hubbard, G., Rice, J., & Galvin, P. (2014). Strategic managment: Thinking, analysis, action. Pearson. Frenchs Forest.
Klettner, A., Clarke, T., & Boersma, M. (2014). The governance of corporate sustainability: Empirical insights into the development, leadership and implementation of responsible business strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(1), 145-165.
Mackay, D., & Zundel, M. (2017). Recovering the divide: a review of strategy and tactics in business and management. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(2), 175-194.
McKeever, M. (2016). How to write a business plan. Nolo Presss. USA.
McKenzie, D. (2017). Identifying and spurring high-growth entrepreneurship: Experimental evidence from a business plan competition. American Economic Review, 107(8), 2278-2307.
Nagle, T. T., & Muller, G. (2017). The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitably. Routledge. New York.
Pisano, G. P. (2015). You need an innovation strategy. Harvard Business Review, 93(6), 44-54.
Pisano, G. P. (2017). Toward a prescriptive theory of dynamic capabilities: connecting strategic choice, learning, and competition. Industrial and Corporate Change, 26(5), 747-762.
Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education. New York.
Scarborough, N. M. (2016). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management. Pearson. New Jersey, USA.
Self, J. T., Jones, M. F., & Botieff, M. (2015). Where restaurants fail: A longitudinal study of micro locations. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 18(4), 328-340.
Wallace, M., & Webber, L. (2017). The disaster recovery handbook: A step-by-step plan to ensure business continuity and protect vital operations, facilities, and assets. Amacom. New York.
Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2017). Strategic management and business policy. pearson. New Jersey, USA.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download