• Writing the Strategic Plan

Writing the strategic business plan document is typically done by writing two sections. The main section will be a narrative section that highlights different aspects of significance in understanding a plan. A supporting section of appendices will contain the specifics that help implement a strategic plan on the ground. Usually, only the narrative part is distributed to external stakeholders such as investors and lenders. The appendices containing specific details will be available only to the top management. It is also a good practice to provide summaries of a strategic plan to all employees, even new recruits so that they get a clear idea of what they are working for.

The main section will include:

• An executive summary that outlines an organizational mission, major issues and business goals, and the key strategies

• A perspective on the organization outlining its history, products and services, and major achievements

• The organization’s philosophy as articulated in its Mission, Vision and Values statements

• A more detailed description of a strategic plan, listing the major business goals, a competitive analysis, and key strategies. [4]

The appendices section will include:

• Action plans breaking up broad goals into specific objectives, assigning responsibilities for achieving the objectives and indicating the time targets for achieving these

• The findings of the strategic analysis providing insights into the environment in which business will be operating, the strengths it has accumulated and the weaknesses identified

• Budgets that estimate the resource requirements to execute the planned actions and their monetary costs

• Financial reports usually including current and last year budgets, a balance sheet and a projected income statement. These will be supplemented with a cash flow estimate. [4]

Strategic planning provides business with broad strategies that will ideally be tailored to the environment in which it will operate, and will also be an excellent fit for its competencies. The plan development will be preceded by an environment analysis as well as an analysis of business – its strengths and weaknesses.

So, there is a technical part of a definition of a business strategy. But it is important for any businessman to have in mind that a company’s strategy is more than planning and writing of plans.

2. Types of a business strategy and their models

2.1 Types of a business strategy

There are a majority of different organizations. All of them are individual, they action in different industries and markets, have different material resources, and economic basis, etc. And it is natural that every organization has its unique strategy. However, in spite of it, many experts assume there are a few types of a business strategy, according to which strategies may be classify.

• Competitive advantage. This strategy consists in presence of something which gives the organisation some advantage over its rivals.

• Cost advantage is a strategy to seek out and secure a cost advantage of some kind - lower average costs, lower labour costs, etc.

• Market Dominance. In accordance with this strategy, a company makes a progress through: internal growth and acquisitions – mergers and takeovers.

• New product development: to keep ahead of rivals and set the pace.

• Contraction/Expansion. Companies which follow this strategy focus on what they are good at (core competencies) or seek to expand into a range of markets.

• Price Leadership. Success is achieved through dominating the industry – others follow company’s price lead.

• A global strategy means seeking to expand global operations.

• Reengineering. This strategy is manifested in thinking outside the box – looking at news ways of doing things to leverage the organisation’s performance.

• Downsizing consists in selling off unwanted parts of the business – similar to contraction.

• Delayering means flattening the management structure, removing bureaucracy, speed up decision making

• Restructuring strategy supposes complete re-think of the way the business is organised.

One should not think that choosing of a company’s strategy is all-purpose. First and foremost an organization should evaluate its features, opportunities, resources and goals and then proceed to forming of its strategy. The public in general tend to classify companies, but one of the most striking aspects of this problem is a rarity of pure type of a business strategy. In the modern world events change so quickly that an organization have to use different strategies and combine various types.