Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Wenjin, I agree with Randall. I've never known any disadvantages. You certainly wouldn't consider going through a very detailed thought process to assess the market, your competitors, and your company's position, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and putting a detailed plan together to realize your full potential a disadvantage - unless you're lazy and don't want to put the effort in. That could make it a disadvantage. If you believe that you won't stick to a plan anyway then the time it takes would be a disadvantage. And in these two cases, a strat plan would be a waste because you won't be in business very long anyway. So why not go out of business sitting on your easy chair.

But, as Randall also said, why don't you put your thoughts down and we can discuss them. The professor wouldn't have asked this question if you didn't cover it in class or in books. What did you go over in class?

Wayde

Hello Wenjin,

The advantages of a plan have been covered but the disadvantages of a plan could exist if the users do not react to outside variables and adjust the formalized plan as a group when needed. I have seen businesses work their formalized business plan for months, without changes to it, even though the competitors adjusted and changed their strategy.

The implementation period of a formalized plan is usually over a long period of time and a plan will become ineffective if the users are more concerned with working the plan as oppose to reacting to changes based in the market.

In summary, a formalized business plan can not be so formalized that changes can not be made if appropriate. It is hard to manage all the important variables in a business plan, but it through the proper management and execution a business will achieve the success they desire.


Best of luck with your assignment.

Sandy

Yet more agreement with Randall. We need your inputs if you want some constructive suggestions.

Here’s some destructive input:

The disadvantages of writing a formalised marketing plan, if you are an employee, are that you spend weeks or months on it and then no one reads it.

The advantages of this scenario if you are a consultant when no one reads it, are that you still get paid and no one disagrees with your results.

More of your thoughts please!

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions