Part 03: You Make the Decision: Planning

Strategic Plan:

After some discussion, the group agrees that they want to create an ongoing, sustainable organization that eliminates at least 50,000 pounds of waste and raises at least $10,000 to pay for organizational expenses. Now that the team has a good idea for a strategic goal, it is important for them to identify a strategic plan that can be used to achieve the goal.

Strategic Goal: Which of the following is a question that you should ask during the development of strategic goals for the organization?

Should our company focus more on giving things away, or on selling things for a reduced price to those in need?

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Congratulations! Your answers suggest that you have a good working knowledge of planning and goal setting. You are likely to be able to use these tools to effectively increase productivity in your company. Grade: 100%

Introduction:

Every year, Shawna Stuart, the Director of Sustainability at Academic University, sees students throwing away perfectly good furniture and household items when they get ready to leave the dorms. And even though Academic U is considered to be one of the best schools in the country, 30% of the people in its surrounding communities earn poverty-level wages. Shawna knows that there must be some way to get all those chairs, couches, tables, and kitchen goods to people who really need them, but she needs some help in figuring out how to do it. Fortunately, you are the president of your school's Business Honor Society, and your group wants to create a new non-profit organization this year. Shawna's dilemma is perfect for your team, and together, you decide to create a new organization, Share Your Stuff.

Question for Plan: If your team is going to develop a contingency plan for this situation, which of the following questions should they ask?

Let's think about what we should do in the following situations: 1) If we see the same number of students in dorms next year as are in dorms this year; 2) If the number of students in dorms goes down by at least 10%; 3) If the number of students in dorms increases by at least 10%. What different, specific actions should we take in each situation?

Time-frame: What time-frame should the group consider for this plan?

Long-term (Five years or more)

Planning:

Today, you are meeting with your team of four students, Shawna, and Alfonso Alvarez, the Store Manager for your local Goodwill store. You want to do some planning for the upcoming year. First on the agenda, the group agrees to create a strategic goal for the organization.

Contingency Plan:

You are concerned that Share Your Stuff may face a problem in the future, as fewer and fewer students are choosing to live in the college dorms. Instead, they are moving into apartments near the college, and staying in those apartments for all four years of school, including over summer vacation. This means that they don't give away as much furniture as often as they used to.