Module 2: Planning Strategically

Course Outcome:

This course gives you an overview of strategic planning which technically begins with
determining the corporate vision, mission, goals and objectives. Hence, at the end of this
course or module you will learn to assess corporate vision, mission, goals and objectives
and specifically aiming to achieve the specific learning outcomes of the module as stated
below.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module, you are expected to;
1. Explain the basic concept of strategic planning
2. Explain the criteria in evaluating the VMGO
3. Evaluate corporate VMGO

Introduction:
Welcome to
Module 2 of Strategic
Management! This
module is designed to
give you a grasp on
strategic planning
which will further
guide you on
discovering the
significance of creating
company vision, mission, goals and objectives. Basically, strategic planning begins with
an organization's clear understanding of its mission; its vision for where it wants to be in
the future; and the values that will guide its actions. Strategic planning, a subset of
business management that involves an organization's ability to set both short- and long-
term goals. Thus, it is essential to understand deeply the corporate vision, mission, goals
and objectives to improve the strategic plans and business strategies of a corporation or
organization.
 Just before you begin, let’s do the puzzles
below!
In puzzles and riddles, as in life, you often learn more from
your mistakes. It’s particularly important to notice which
styles of thinking help you to find answers, and which get
in the way or what are the best strategies to get through it.
In fact, many of the best puzzles are designed to tempt you
into these thinking “traps.” And if you can’t crack all of
these puzzles right away, you can always try again and have a good strategy. Just have
fun!

Puzzle 1: If these nine dots were printed

on paper, how could you link all nine by
drawing just four straight lines – and
without taking your pen off the page?

Draw your answer on the right box.

Puzzle 2: If a plane crashes exactly on the

border between France and Germany, in
which country should the survivors be
buried? (Many people get this one wrong by
overlooking the obvious.)
Puzzle 3: 3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5,
5, ? What’s next in this Answer:
__________________________________
numeric code – and why?
Answer:_______________

Puzzle 4: Where in the

world does Friday come
before Thursday?
Answer:_______________

Puzzle 5: You’ve put a coin inside an empty

wine bottle and sealed it with a cork. How can
you remove the coin without pulling the cork
out of the bottle, and without damaging the
bottle or the cork?

Answer:____________________________
 Concept of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the

process of documenting
and establishing a direction
of your business—by
assessing both where you
are and where you’re
going. The strategic plan gives you a place to record your mission, vision, and values, as
well as your long-term goals and the action plans you’ll use to reach them. A well-written
strategic plan can play a pivotal role in your small business’s growth and success because
it tells you and your employees how best to respond to opportunities and challenges (Vo,
2020). Despite the benefits of having a strategic plan in place, a growing number of small
business owners aren’t focusing on the long-term strategies of their businesses. In a 2018
Constant Contact survey of 1,005 small business owners, 63% said they plan only a year
(or less) in advance.

If you’re one of these small business owners, it’s not too late to think differently.
Your future success depends on effective strategic planning. It’s a process of looking
ahead that should involve your entire business, and the discussions can lead to
meaningful changes in your business. Strategic planning consists of analyzing the
business and setting realistic goals and objectives. This leads to the creation of a formal
document that lays out the company’s views and goals for the future.
Benefits of Strategic Planning

The strategic planning process can take some time, but it’s beneficial for everyone
involved. As the small business owner, you’ll have a better idea of the goals and
objectives you want to accomplish and a path to do that. For your employees, the process
can foster an increase in productivity—contributing to the success of the business.
 Activity 1
Word Search Puzzle

Instruction: Search and encircle

the Strategic Planning Terms. There are eleven (11) terms in the box, hence, you have to
strategize on how to achieve the goals of encircling all these terms within five (5) minutes.
Please use a stopwatch or timer and crash-out the terms you have searched or encircled.
So let’s see how effective your strategy is, just Be honest and Enjoy searching!

Strategic Terms: Strategic Planning Vision Mission

Goals Objectives Clear Challenging Understandable Motivating
Feasible
 Vision has been defined in several different ways,
Kottre (1990) defines it as a “description of
something (an organisation, corporate culture, a
business, a technology, an activity) in the future”.
El-Namaki (1992) considers it as a “mental
perception of the kind of environment an
individual, or an organization, aspires to create
within a broad time horizon and the underlying
conditions for the actualization of this
perception”. Miller and Dess (1966) view it
simply as the “category of intentions that are broad, all-inclusive, and forward thinking”. The common
strand of thought evident in these definitions and several others available in strategic management
literature relates to ‘vision’ being future aspirations that lead to an inspiration to be the best in one’s field
of activity.

Characteristics of Effective Vision (if you want to read more, just click this hyperlink)

•An effective vision answers the question “what will our business look like in 5 to 10 years time?” It describes the
Future organisation’s desired future. Vision provides the “big picture”.
Focused

Directiona
•An effective vision provides direction and makes clear where the organisation is going.
l

•An effective vision provides guidance for decision-making and independent action.
Clear

•An effective vision is grounded in and an extension of the organisation’s past. The vision must be relevant to the
Relevant organisation and the times, it reflects the organisations response to the challenges of the day.

•An effective vision provides a larger sense of purpose for the organisation and it’s people. That purpose must be
Purpose- more meaningful than getting bigger or beating the competition.
Driven

•An effective vision connects people to the oganisation’s core values. Values are the beliefs or ideals that the
Values organisation shares about what’s good or bad.
Based

Challengin
•An effective vision challenges us, it’s an invitation to greatness.
g

•An effective vision reflects what’s unique about the organisation, it recognizes what makes it different.
Unique

•An effective vision engages and inspires people to commit to a cause. Vision is inspiring when it captures the hearts
Inspiring of people.
 A mission was earlier
considered as the scope of the
business activities a firm
pursues. The definition of
mission has gradually
expanded to represent a
concept that embodies the
purpose behind the existence of an organization. Thompson (1997) defines mission as the
“essential purpose of the organization, concerning particularly why it is in existence, the
nature of the businesses it is in, and the customers it seeks to serve and satisfy”. Hunger
and Wheelen (1999) say that mission is the “purpose or reason for the organization’s
existence”. This an indication that there is not much difference of opinion about the
definition of mission. Yet, one finds instances of organizations confusing mission with
vision or objectives. In strategic management literature, mission occupies a definite place
as a part of strategic intent.

Characteristics of an effective Mission Statement (if you want more, just click this
hyperlink)

Organizations legitimize themselves by performing some functions which are

valued by society. A mission statement defines the basic reason for the existence of
that organization. Such a statement reflects the corporate philosophy, identity,
character, and image of an organization. It may be defined explicitly or could be
deduced from the management’s actions, decisions, or the chief executive’s press
statements. When explicitly defined it provides enlightenment to the insiders and
outsiders on what the organization stands for. In order to be effective, a mission
statement should possess the following seven characteristics:

•A mission should always aim high but it should not be an

Feasible impossible statement. It should be realistic and achievable – its
followers must find it to be credible.
•A mission statement should not be so narrow as to restrict the
Precise organisation’s activities nor should it be too broad to make itself
meaningless.

Clear •A mission should be clear enough to lead to action. It should not

be a high-sounding set of platitudes meant for publicity purposes.

Motivating •A mission statement should be motivating for members of the

organisation and of society, and they should feel it worthwhile
working for such an organisation or being its customers.

Distinctive •A mission statement which is indiscriminate is likely to have little

impact.
 Goals denote what an
organization hopes to
accomplish in a future
period of time. They
represent a future state or
an outcome of the effort
put in now. Objectives
are the ends that state
specifically how the goals shall be achieved. They are concrete and specific in contrast to
goals which are generalized. In this manner, objectives make the goals operational. While
goals may be qualitative, objectives tend to be mainly quantitative in specification. In this
way they are measurable and comparable. In strategic management literature, there has
been confusion with regard to the usage of these terms: goals and objectives. The
meaning assigned to these terms is sometimes in contrast to what we have adopted here.
Also, often they are used interchangeably. Goals connote the broader sense of the term
objectives. However, we would prefer to use only the term objective to denote both.

Characteristics of a Good Goal/Objective (if you want to read more, just click this hyperlink )

Understandable
•Because objectives play an important role in strategic management and are put to use in a variety of ways,
they should be understandable to those who have to achieve them.

Concrete and Specific

•To say that our company plans to achieve a 12 percent increase its sales’ is certainly better than stating that
our company seeks to increase its sales’.

Be related to timeframe
•If objectives are related to a timeframe, then managers know the duration within which they have to be
achieved.

Measurable and Controllable

•If measures like the number and quality of job applications received, average remunerations offered, or staff
turnover per year could be devised, it would be possible to measure and control the achievement of this
objective with respect to comparable companies in a particular industry, and in general.
Challenging

•Objectives that are too high or too low are both demotivating and, therefore, should be set at challenging but
not unrealistic levels.

Correlate with each other

•Obviously, tradeoffs are required to be made so that different objectives correlate with each other, are
mutually supportive, and result in synergistic advantages.

Be set within constraints

•There are many constraints – internal as well as external – which have to be considered in objective-setting.
 Activity 2
VMGO Critiquing

Instruction: Based on the characteristics of an effective vision-mission statements,

goals and objectives of a company, try to evaluate the following VMGO’s of different
companies worldwide and answer the questions on the space provided. Your answers
will be assessed based on a rubrics presented at the end of the module.

What can you say on ebay and nike vision

statements? Please write your critique here.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
________________.
Which among the three companies has a motivating
and distinctive mission statement? Explain your
answer.

______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
_________________.
Critique on the corporate objectives
of McDonalds.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
___________________________________________.
Assess the company goal of Coca-
Cola.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
___________________________________________.
 Activity 3
Case Analysis

Instruction: Read and evaluate the Samsung’s Case Study and answer what is asked
on the space provided. This is your main task, so please really take time to read,
understand and analyze. There will be no time limit for this activity. Your answers will
be assessed based on a rubrics presented at the end of the module.

Samsung’s Mission Statement & Vision Statement (An Analysis)

VICTORIA MARTIN, March 18, 2019
(retrieved from: http://panmore.com/samsung-corporate-vision-statement-corporate-
mission-statement-analysis)

Samsung is a
technology
conglomerate whose
corporate mission
and vision statements
focus on innovation
for global societal
improvement
through technological
products. The
company’s mission
statement indicates
superiority, which
implies excellence
and leadership in the
semiconductors,
electronics, and other markets. On the other hand, Samsung’s vision statement promotes
an inspiration-focused strategic objective that makes the business an influencer among
people and societies around the world. Thus, the combination of the corporate vision
and mission statements creates the idea of a technological conglomerate that aims for
industry leadership and global influence. In order to follow Samsung’s corporate mission
and corporate vision, the business organization must ensure competitive advantages
against major technology companies, including Apple, Sony, Intel, Microsoft, and LG.
This competitive landscape imposes strong forces and strategic challenges that require
high rates of innovation and high quality standards in Samsung’s operations and
technological product development and design, as well as the utilization of advanced
technologies to support operations.
 Samsung’s mission statement is “We will devote our human resources and
technology to create superior products and services, thereby contributing to a better
global society.” This corporate mission was published in the 1990s, when the company
was undergoing rapid global expansion in various semiconductors, electronics, and
related technology markets.

In its mission statement, Samsung identifies human resources and technology as

the two main assets that it uses to pursue its purpose and strategic objectives in its global
industries. This component of the corporate mission requires that the company maintain
highly competitive compensation packages and related human resource administration
and development programs to attract sufficient talent while competing against
technology giants like Apple Inc. and Google LLC. Considering the significance of
human resources, Samsung’s corporate culture is a determining factor in fulfilling its
corporate mission. On the other hand, superiority of products and services is at the core
of fulfilling the consumer electronics company’s corporate mission. Such superiority
emphasizes the importance of strategic management that directs decisions at Samsung’s
headquarters toward operational effectiveness for high quality organizational outputs in
various technology markets. In a way, this component of the mission statement pushes
the corporation to ensure an effective value chain and achieve its value proposition, such
as effective and high quality consumer electronics. Furthermore, the corporate mission
targets positive contributions to improve the global society, leading to Samsung’s generic
strategy, intensive growth strategies, and strategic objectives that include the provision
of high quality products, such as smartphones, laptops, and home appliances. In relation,
to achieve a positive global impact, the company has embarked on various multinational
acquisitions, such as the purchase of Harman International Industries, which now
operates as a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. Global scope and societal improvement
are factors that link the mission statement with the technology corporation’s vision
statement.

Samsung’s corporate vision is to “Inspire the world with our innovative

technologies, products and design that enrich people’s lives and contribute to social
prosperity by creating a new future.” The company follows this vision statement to
maintain profitable technology business operations that contribute to the improvement
of people’s lives. Samsung frequently refers to a shortened version of this corporate
vision: “Vision 2020: Inspire the World, Create the Future.” The company extensively
implements this statement throughout its subsidiaries’ operations in the consumer
electronics, computing technology, and semiconductors industries. Based on its vision
statement, Samsung’s strategic objectives include the development of products that
inspire. This inspirational aspect requires the company to consider local and regional
market conditions to ensure that its technological products actually inspire people
despite differences in their societal situations. Samsung’s corporate vision also pushes
for a high degree of innovation. Technological innovation is especially notable in the
company’s products, such as smartphones and laptops. Moreover, the vision statement
indicates strategic efforts that include Samsung’s corporate social responsibility strategy
for improving people’s lives and contributing to social prosperity. This corporate vision
means that the company sees itself as a mover and major contributor to the world’s
improvement through consumer electronics, semiconductors, and other products that
add value to people’s lives and society. In a way related to the mission statement,
Samsung’s corporate vision includes a global scope of application and the aim of
contributing to societal improvement.
Questions to ponder:
a. Examine the vision and mission statements of Samsung and determine its key
components?

Answer:___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
____________

b. Based on the case, do you have any recommendations for the improvement of
vision-mission statements of Samsung?

Answer:___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________
d. How does the vision and mission statements of Samsung influence their
repositioning in the industry?

Answer:___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
____________

e. How could Samsung thrive in the dynamic and competitive business industry? Do
they need to straighten their vision and mission statements?

Answer:___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
___________________
 Activity 4
Self-Visualization

Instruction: At this point, you may conduct a self-assessment and scan your vision,
and goals in life. And try to visualize walking into a vast room, it’s five years advanced
after college graduation and you are shaking hands with yourself. Who are you? What
is your life like? What is your business like? Write down what you saw. Don’t let yourself
wake up in five years and say, ‘I’m five years older, and I just happened to get here.’
Clarify your vision so that you can grow into it.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
 Congratulations! You have done a very
good job! You must be ready for Module
3! Keep reading and enjoy learning!
Just in case you wanted to learn more, you can read or
watch videos down below.

You may want to read more about strategic planning, or may be interested to watch a
video of different vision, mission, goals and objectives which will inspire you. Please
visit the links below.

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/inspiring-company-mission-statements
https://youtu.be/o2MNNPX_x1I

Puzzle Answers:
1.

2.Survivors don’t need to be buried anywhere.

3. 4 (As the question says, it’s a “numeric” code, but it’s based on the number of letters in each number word: one (3
letters), two (3), three (5), and so on. So the next number is nine, which has four letters in it.)

4. In dictionary

5. Push the cork into the bottle.

References:
David, F. & David F. (2017). Strategic Management Concepts and Cases 16th Edition. Pearson
Education.
Hill, C. et al. (2017). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach Theory and Cases. New
Delhi: McGrawHill Education.
Nickols, F. (2019). Strategy, Strategic Management, Strategic Planning and Thinking.
Retrieved June 12, 2020 from https://www.nickols.us/strategy_etc.pdf

https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/strategic-management

http://panmore.com/samsung-corporate-vision-statement-corporate-mission-
statement-analysis
Rubrics for VMGO Critiquing:
Name of Evaluator: _________________________________ Date:_________ Total
Score:______

Score Content Organization Development Use of Language

4 Answer is in Clear sense of Develops each Uses technical or
coherence to the order. Begins with point with may scientific
criteria of good a topic sentence. specific details. terminology
VMGOs Supporting points Answers appropriately and
are presented in a question correctly. No
logical completely. major grammatical
progression. or spelling errors.
3 Answer is in May lack a Each point Accurate word
coherence to the proposition supported with choice. No more
criteria of good sentence, but some details than 2 major errors
VMGOs but points are and evidence. and a few minor
have one or two presented in a All important errors.
factual errors. logical points
progression. included.
2 Content relates Logic of argument Sparse details Ordinary word
peripherally to is minimally or evidence. choice; use of
the question; perceivable. Question only scientific
contains Points presented partially terminology
significant in a seemingly answered. avoided. Some
factual errors. random fashion, serious errors (but
but all support they don’t impair
argument. communication).
1 Content Lacks clear Statements are Limited
unrelated to organizational unsupported vocabulary; errors
question. plan. Reader is by any detail or impair
confused. explanation. communication.
Repetitious,
incoherent,
illogical
development.
Rubrics for Case Analysis:

Name of Evaluator: _________________________________ Date:_________ Total

Score:______

Score Content Organization Development Use of Language

4 Answer is Clear sense of Develops each Uses technical or
appropriate to order. Begins with point with may scientific
the question. a topic sentence. specific details. terminology
Content is Supporting points Answers appropriately and
factually correct. are presented in a question correctly. No
logical completely. major grammatical
progression. or spelling errors.
3 Answer is May lack a Each point Accurate word
appropriate to proposition supported with choice. No more
the question. sentence, but some details than 2 major errors
Content may points are and evidence. and a few minor
have one or two presented in a All important errors.
factual errors. logical points
progression. included.
2 Content relates Logic of argument Sparse details Ordinary word
peripherally to is minimally or evidence. choice; use of
the question; perceivable. Question only scientific
contains Points presented partially terminology
significant in a seemingly answered. avoided. Some
factual errors. random fashion, serious errors (but
but all support they don’t impair
argument. communication).
1 Content Lacks clear Statements are Limited
unrelated to organizational unsupported vocabulary; errors
question. plan. Reader is by any detail or impair
confused. explanation. communication.
Repetitious,
incoherent,
illogical
development.
Rubrics for Self-Visualization:

Name of Evaluator: _________________________________ Date:_________ Total

Score:______

Score Content Organization Development Use of Language

4 Content is Clear sense of Develops each Uses technical or
factually correct. order. Begins with point with may scientific
a topic sentence. specific details. terminology
Supporting points Answers appropriately and
are presented in a question correctly. No
logical completely. major grammatical
progression. or spelling errors.
3 Content may May lack a Each point Accurate word
have one or two proposition supported with choice. No more
factual errors. sentence, but some details than 2 major errors
points are and evidence. and a few minor
presented in a All important errors.
logical points
progression. included.
2 Content relates Logic of argument Sparse details Ordinary word
peripherally to is minimally or evidence. choice; use of
the question; perceivable. Question only scientific
contains Points presented partially terminology
significant in a seemingly answered. avoided. Some
factual errors. random fashion, serious errors (but
but all support they don’t impair
argument. communication).
1 Content Lacks clear Statements are Limited
unrelated to organizational unsupported vocabulary; errors
question. plan. Reader is by any detail or impair
confused. explanation. communication.
Repetitious,
incoherent,
illogical
development.