Bus_475_Week_2_Individual_Strategic_Plan

Strategic Plan, Part I: Conceptualizing a Business Tiffany Camphouse University of Phoenix BUS 475 March 31, 2013 “A strategic business plan helps the company to define its mission and vision, giving the company a sense of purpose and direction that sets them apart from competitors,” (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). “A mission statement also discusses the product or services conducted by the company,” (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). Developing a strong mission and vision statement helps to clearly present to the clientele what the company has planned in the future as well as what the company is about. The paper will be discussing Little Tot’s. Little Tot’s is a daycare center and the paper will be discussing the mission and vision statements as well as the values of the company and how each of these will help to determine the strategic direction of the company. Little Tot’s is an early childhood development and care center focused on providing a memorable experience for both the child and the parent. Little Tot’s is not the everyday daycare facility; the daycare center includes certified teachers who dedicate their time teaching children what he or she needs to know to reach greatness in years to come. The center also offers extended hours for parents who may work late shifts. Little Tot’s provides weekend hours for parents who just want to be able to go out to run errands or even go on a date. Little Tot’s believes in a healthy balance of fun and learning to keep the children content with their environment. In addition, Little Tot’s teaches children the importance of cleanliness to prevent the children from passing germs along to others in hopes to provide a healthy environment. Little Tot’s is commits to develop educational opportunities for children, families, and the dedicated staff who operate the facility. Little Tot’s accomplishes this by providing programs and an environment that upholds admiration for children, enrich the developmental stages of children, and commemorate the wonder of childhood. Mission Statement Little Tot’s is your child’s home away from home. The facility believes in providing a clean and fun facility to foster the growth of your child. Little Tot’s is committed to enriching every child’s education to prepare him or her for the following years. The focus of the programs offered helps develop the children into extraordinary young adults, contributing to their individual gifts for the advancement into society. Vision Statement Little Tot’s vision is to uphold the development and growth of children while providing assistance to families by offering flexible, developmentally appropriate, and high quality care options. The central theme of this vision is to grow to be an activist for family and children issues that enhance and promote the well-being of the families and children we serve, in addition to fostering their development and growth in the community. Guiding Values and Principles The next important element in the company is the guiding values and principles. The largest responsibility of the company is to protect and ensure the safety and health of every child in the custody of Little Tot’s. The company commits to define the children’s individuality and esteem daily to help express his or her differentiation from other students. Little Tot’s believes a large deal of caring for children is to communicate frequently and to achieve this goal the staff includes bilingual and multicultural individuals to meet the needs of all the diversity of the children. An imperative core value of Little Tot’s is the value of honesty and upholding the utmost integrity of the employees. Core Values • Help children develop a healthy self-esteem by positive reinforcement of good behavior. • Encouraging the creative learning of the children’s physical, intellectual, emotional, and social growth. • The staff must work with commitment, passion, and enthusiasm to make learning fun and play time stimulating. • Value and respect the children and parents who receive our services and the trust that he or she places in the company. • Laying an educational foundation for the students by promoting learning for the parents as well as professionals within the company. • Embrace diversity among children, faculty, and staff as well as members of the community, and promote acceptance of wide-ranging perspectives. Analysis of How the Vision, Mission, and Values Guide Strategic Direction The mission and vision statement are highly relevant to support a solid guideline or direction of the strategic plan for Little Tot’s. The mission and vision statement secures that the organizational management and employees who lead the daycare facility is aware of what direction and goal the company has for the present-day and in the future. In addition, Little Tot’s provides a strong path to formulate other short and long-term goals and objectives of the company. A company that has a strong mission and vision statement that includes core values instills motivation among the employees and management to aid the company in reaching their objectives and goals. Implementing the vision, mission, and values of the company helps to mold the strategic direction of the company. “Strategic direction is a course of action that leads the achievement of the goals of an organization’s strategy” (WebFinance, Inc., 2011). Evaluating how Little Tot’s Addresses Customer Needs and their Competitive Advantage Little Tot’s provides daily logs to the parents letting them know a list of his or her children’s activities, meals, mood, and even when the child has a wet or soiled diapers if the child wears one. This prompts the parent to have questions about the daily activities of his or her child. Little Tot’s also offers appointment times with parent with the director or the teacher of the child. Addressing concerns at any time is welcome for discussion to ensure the satisfaction of the parent. Little Tot’s also provides a link on the website to post suggestions or reviews about the facility. Little Tot’s is above the competing daycare centers because of all the extra services offered to meet the needs of a parent’s busy lifestyle. Little Tot’s offers comparable pricing along with multi-children discounts and even coupons for 50% off the first week of attendance for new customers. Offering late night hours is not something most daycares provide. In addition, Little Tot’s offers weekend services to provide time not just for the parents work schedule but leisure time as well. Giving parents the option to run errands while letting his or her child have the opportunity to play with friends and trusted staff is a beneficial service for the parents. Conclusion Little Tot’s focus on their mission, vision, and values will guide their strategic direction to continue the success of the company for current success and future growth. Instilling the mission and vision of the company to the employees and management continues to motivate him or her to meet the goals and objectives of the company. This paper includes Little Tot’s mission and vision statements and the values of the company and how each of the factors that help to determine the company’s strategic direction. The strategic direction of the company assists in guiding a company down the right path to create actions to provide satisfaction to the customers. References Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. WebFinance, Inc. (2011). strategic direction definition. Retrieved from Businessdictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategic-direction.html