Course Project: Developing a Strategic Plan
- Review your work on the summary of the issue and SWOT analysis from previous weeks.
- Review the information about and examples of balanced scorecards presented by Dr. Carol Huston in this week’s media program and in the other Learning Resources. Conduct additional research to see additional examples of balanced scorecards and to deepen your understanding of how balanced scorecards are used in various organizations.
- Reflect on the comments related to balanced scorecards exchanged in this week’s Discussion.
- Conceptualize a balanced scorecard that could be used to measure and evaluate the impact of your planned change on performance, and determine if the costs are justified in terms of the outcomes. Consider what you would measure in terms of finances, customers, internal process, and learning and growth.
- Think about how you would gather valid and reliable data.
- Begin to create your balanced scorecard, which will be submitted next week.Course Project: Developing a Strategic Plan
Section 3: Balanced Scorecard
To prepare:
As introduced in Week 8,continue to refine your balanced scorecard. (Refer to Week 8 for the preparatory instructions as necessary.) Your balanced scorecard is one tool you can use to evaluate the effects of your planned change on performance.
To complete:
- Create a balanced scorecard that could be used to measure and evaluate the impact of your planned change on performance, and determine if the costs are justified in terms of the outcomes.
- Include what you would measure in terms of finances, customers, internal process, and learning and growth.
Section 4: Budgeting and Timeline Tools
As you have been examining this week, budgeting and timeline tools are vital for determining necessary resources and planning for a proposed change. For your Course Project, you use these types of tools to assess resources that may be required for the successful implementation of your strategic plan.
To prepare:
- Review the information on budgeting in this week’s Learning Resources. Which tools (e.g., Revenue Projection Model, Capital Budgeting Analysis, Depreciation Calculator, Profit and Loss Projection) would be most useful for developing your strategic plan?
- Use one or more budgeting tools to outline the financial resources for your proposed change. Reflect on any challenges that arise as you evaluate the financial resources required for this change now and in the future.
- Review the information on PERT and other timeline tools in this week’s Learning Resources, including Dr. Huston’s presentation in the media program.
- Use PERT or another tool to analyze and represent the activities that need to be completed to successfully plan and implement your proposed change. Be sure to note dependencies (e.g., a task/milestone that must be completed in order to trigger the next step) and realistically assess the minimum time needed to complete the entire project.
To complete:
- Outline the financial resources for your proposed change. Describe the budgeting tool(s) you used to arrive at these determinations. Explain what challenges, if any, you encountered through the budgeting process. Provide documentation (e.g., Excel worksheets) to support your analysis.
- Outline the timeline for the implementation of your proposed change using PERT or another timeline tool. Consider how your timeline can allow leeway for variance.
