Functional Strategy, game plan to reinforce all 3 levels of Corporate, Business and Operations Strategy Hierarchy

Functional Strategy
Functional strategy refers to the set of initiatives (actions) taken in an organization's functional areas, i.e., marketing plan, HR, finance, etc., to enhance resources and organizational capabilities. These resources and capabilities reinforce organization's strategy hierarchy at all three (3) including: corporate, business and operations strategy levels. Functional level strategies are linked through agenda set by markets to corporate, business and operations objectives. Functional strategy is the short-term game plan for key functional areas within a company required to achieve strategic goals and objectives.

Functional level strategy advocates for business organizations to see their management decisions as specific to functional area of the organization such as marketing, human resources, finance, public relations, etc., and how they contribute to organization strategy. Function area strategies are concerned with the effectiveness and efficiency of methods/tactics used in implementing strategic choices; and commitments regarding resources, how resources are managed, skills and competencies of their workers and employees within the corporate, business, and operations levels. Functional strategy is tactical in nature, and concerned with how each individual functional area is organized to support and contribute to delivering the overall corporate, business and operations strategy. Functional strategies help in implementation of strategic choices and grand strategy by organizing and activating specific sub-units of the organization to pursue the business strategy in daily activities through tactics. Tactics are the actionable decisions that pertain to everyday moves in functional areas in a company to improve for example, its market share, competitive pricing, customer service, sales, or other aspects in response to current real world conditions, that can give it an advantage. Tactics are most meaningful in the service of long-term goals. They involve seizing opportunities and managing risks as they arise. A tactic is an immediate action/task designed to respond to fast changing realities.

Marketing
HR
Finance
Operations
Sales

Marketing Management
Marketing management is concerned with two things: (1) the creation of a customer, (2) the delivery of value to that customer. It involves the development of policies that ensure effective implementation of marketing strategy. Marketing policies ensure for example, that every part of the organization is on board and promoting the organization in a consistent manner. Marketing management involves decisions about Marketing is primarily concerned with two things: (1) the creation of a customer, (2) the delivery of value to that customer. Marketing provides the means to persuade, influence and motivate a targeted audience and generate visibility.

Marketing involves the activities, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offers that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large. Typical marketing function within an organization might include performing tasks such as: market research, producing a marketing plan, product development, as well as strategically overseeing advertising, promotion, distribution for sale, customer service and public relations, sales and communications.

Marketing Decisions and Decision Types
Marketing decisions define the scope of marketing activities of the enterprise/company. They also define the duties (accountability) and responsibilities and power of the employees of the company. Marketers must manage all types of decisions by taking into consideration the environment and organization capability. Marketing decisions can be grouped into categories including such as defined by the marketing-mix:

Product Decisions - Product strategy is concerned with decisions about the types of products or services, number products or services, diversity, and rate of change. The options selected by an organization is dependent on whether the organization is attempting to reach new or existing customers, and whether the products - goods or services - are new or already exist.
Pricing Decisions - Pricing strategy is concerned with decisions on influencing increase in volume or communicating brand value, Pricing is a complex issue because it is related to cost-volume-profit trade-offs, and because it is frequently used as a competitive weapon.
Place Decisions - The Place/distribution component/option for the marketing strategy identifies, "where", "when", and by "whom" the products - goods or services - are to be offered for sale. Place component/option of the marketing strategy guides decisions regarding channels to ensure consistency with the total marketing effort.
Promotion Decisions - This refers to the methods which are used to put products - goods or services - in the public eye. Functional strategies for promotions should provide marketing managers with basic guides for the use and mix of advertisement, personal selling, sales promotion, and media selection.
People Decisions - This refers to the service personnel whose presence and actions define the service that satisfies the wants and needs of the customer/consumer to whom the service is directed. People decisions are usually centered around customer service - how do you want your employees to be perceived by the customers?

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Marketing Function Goals and Objectives
Marketing function goals and objectives are created by managers in marketing to guide the work of employees in the marketing department. This requires managers review the total company goals and identify ways that the marketing department can support those company goals. Each supporting action represents a goal for the department to continue and improve on. Marketing objectives identify specific actions that marketing employees can perform; each objective providing a method of achieving the company's goals.

Marketing Goals
Marketing level strategic goals state "what" is to be achieved in a marketing functional area and "when" results are to be accomplished. Marketing goals are statements of what results you want to achieve with your marketing. What's the primary reason you are marketing? Marketing goals should fit into and support your overall business goals.

A marketing goal can be a number, such as a certain year-end revenue figure; it might be a number such as four new clients per month. Marketing goals can also be quantitative translations that fit with your company's financial objectives, stated in marketing terms. Some examples of marketing goals include:
The goals are the building blocks of your marketing plan, the starting point of the plan.

Marketing Objectives
Marketing objectives are goals set by a business when promoting its products or services to potential consumers that should be achieved within a given time frame. Typical marketing objectives may include:

In other words, marketing objectives are the performance goals of the marketing strategy set in order to achieve the overall organizational business goals.

Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy, according to Varadarajan (2010), consists of an integrated set of decisions that helps the organization make critical choices regarding marketing activities in selected markets and segments, with the aim to create, communicate, and deliver value to customers in exchange for accomplishing its specific financial, market, and other objectives. Marketing strategy can be categorized into categories based on how they reinforce corporate, business or operations strategy.

Brand and Image Creating
These are marketing strategies that contribute to and reinforce corporate strategy.

These are inbound strategies. The idea is to create and distribute relevant and valuable content that customers want. This involves promoting your website and business with various forms of quality content through blogs, search engine optimization, social media, infographics, newsletter, podcasts, white papers, eBooks, etc. The useful content pulls visitors towards your website, brings them closer to your brand, engages them and converts them into customers as well as loyal followers.

Market Positioning Strategy
These are marketing strategies that contribute to and reinforce the business and competitive strategy. They are concerned with decisions and choices from elements of the marketing-mix. An effective market positioning strategy combines elements of the marketing mix . It is designed to meet the organization's marketing objectives by providing its customers with value. It focuses on business opportunities and concerns such as: customer retention, diversification of the customer base, market share growth, market value growth, becoming the market leader, increasing purchase frequency, etc. Marketing strategy may grouped under the following categories:

Transaction Marketing Strategy
Transaction marketing has one focus: the sale and nothing but the sale. In transaction marketing the retailers encourage customers to buy with shopping coupons, discounts and huge events. It enhances the chances of sales and motivates the target audience to buy the promoted products. Transaction marketing as a strategy is built around single purchases and doing a lot of volume as opposed to nurturing customers through distributing content, building bonds, and fostering loyalty. Transaction marketing has its roots in the ''four Ps'' of the marketing-mix, a set of tactics used to help convince consumers to make a purchase.

Outbound Marketing
Any kind of marketing where the company initiates the conversation and sends its message out to an audience. This includes traditional approaches such as direct mail, cold calling, radio ads, TV ads, trade shows, and telemarketing.

Marketing strategy is a series of steps or actions taken by a business to increase sales, grow a brand or feature the value of the product (value proposition of goods or service). Marketing strategy is comprised of a number of options/components concerned with matching existing or potential products - goods or services - with the needs/wants of customers. These options cover a range of decisions involving the marketing-mix informed by the particular generic strategy adopted by the business.

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Strategic Positioning and Market-Mix
Marketing mix refers to the various elements of a company's offering in the market that help position the business strategically . And it's an essential tactical tool in building and implementing an effective marketing strategy. The marketing-mix are variables that managers and owners control satisfy customers in their target market, add value to the business and help differentiate their business from competitors.

In goods-based Goods-Based Marketing, the of marketing is to bridge the gap between production and consumption of products through values assigned to the marketing-mix variables. The goods-based marketing-mix is a combination of factors that can be divided into the following four (4) groups of variables, commonly known as the 4Ps.
The role of marketing in a traditional goods-based marketing is to bridge the gap between production and consumption though the values assigned to the marketing-mix variables.

In the service context there isn't a gap between producer and consumer (as in the goods-based case), since the service production occurs right between producer and consumer. Service-Based Marketing mix is a combination of the goods-based factors in addition to the a fifth factor; People.

The center of the marketing of service is how the service production and service expectation match to each other, so that consumers perceive good service quality and are persuaded to continue coming to get the same service.
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Marketing Plan
A Marketing Plan consists of several key pieces of information which can be divided into sections based on the organizations preference. The purpose of the marketing plan is to describe who your clients are and where they are, and how you can reach them. Marketing plans detail specific strategies to reach the company's goals, and contain the time tables for when certain marketing strategies will take place and details the logistics of marketing campaigns. The marketing plan goes into the logistical details of executing your strategy such as budgets, more detail time scales for objectives and goals, who in the organization will manage the various points in the strategy, the logistics of various distribution channels and their incumbent costs. etc. The marketing plan is vital for small businesses; it help small businesses leverage their resources and audience for maximum impact at minimum cost.

A marketing plan sums up the ideas for what a company wants to accomplish. The marketing goals are the building blocks of your marketing plan, the starting point of the plan. For any given company's situation not all these goals will be relevant, a subset of these goals will be part of the marketing plan. The right number of goals is the one that offers reasonably high probability of success over a given period of time. "Reasonably", "period of time", and "success" all have to defined by the company, and should be consistent with the overall business goals and management commitment. The marketing plan is a more lively document than your strategy, and will need to be updated more frequently and adjusted to accommodate changes in costings, market conditions, economic conditions and other factors.

To Increase/Raise brand awareness
Increase sales
To Generate high quality leads
To Grow and maintain thought leadership
To Increase customer value - Customer Value may include Life time value, Referral Value, Influence Value, and Knowledge Value.
To Empower colleagues to become brand ambassadors

Bring in more customers - "To increase sales by 50% within 12 months"
Build Brand Awareness - Achieve 75% customer awareness of our brand in our target markets.
Grow Market Share - Achieve market share of 10%
Target new customers - Bring in 20 new customers per month
Enter new markets internationally, or locally -
Open a new distribution channel in a new market geographically -
Improve shareholder relations
Enhance customer relationships - i.e., customer loyalty
Improve internal communications - "To increase the number of enquires from our marketing communications activities by 20% by the end of the month"
Relationship Marketing Strategy - This type of marketing is basically focused on customer building. Enhancing existing relationships with customers and improving customer loyalty. The goal of relationship marketing (or customer relationship marketing) is to create strong, even emotional, customer connections to a brand that can lead to ongoing business, free word-of-mouth promotion and information from customers that can generate leads. Relationship marketing is a facet of customer relationship management (CRM) that focuses on customer loyalty and long-term customer engagement rather than shorter-term goals like customer acquisition and individual sales. Webster (1992) notes that long-standing customer relationships should be at the core of marketing strategy, because customer interactions and engagement can be developed into valuable relational resources. Organizations capitalizing on long-term and trustworthy customer relationships can help design value-enhancing marketing strategies that will subsequently generate competitive advantages and lead to superior performance.
Social Media Marketing - Social Media Marketing Strategy is a form of digital marketing strategy.
Content Marketing - This strategic marketing approach focuses on creating and distributing information relevant to prospects' needs in order to attract those best aligned with - and most likely to purchase - your products (goods or services).. content may be distributed in varied formats including infographics, web pages, blogs, white papers, webinars, and eBooks. Content marketing emphasizes education over selling to influence buying behavior.
Brand Marketing Strategy - Brand marketing strategy is to link your identity, values, and personality with communications to your audience. Essentially, your brand is the bridge between your product (goods or services) and your customers.
Search Engine Optimization - Search engine optimization is one of the easiest fields to break into, but one of the hardest to succeed in. However, taking advantage of true search engine optimization skills and incorporating SEO into content on a blog or website is the best way to stimulate traffic and unique visitors.
Advertising - Television, radio, and print media will be the offline focus. Used for introducing your audience to new products and services.
Direct Marketing - Directly connecting with carefully targeted individuals to cultivate a lasting relationships. Used for direct outreach to prospects in a database or sales list.
Email Marketing - Collecting an email list and providing customers with various promotions, discounts, and exclusive offers is a great way to market within a select group of people who are already more likely to buy the product as opposed to people who aren't subscribed to a company's email list.
Paid Advertising - This includes traditional approaches like TVs and print media as well as internet, and Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
Word of Mouth Marketing - It totally relies on what impression you leave on people. It is traditionally the most important type of marketing strategy. Being heard is important in business world. When you give quality services to customers, it is likely that they’d promote you.
Targeted Marketing Strategy - The selection of potential customers to whom a company wants to sell its products or services. The strategy involves segmenting the market, choosing which segments of the market are appropriate and determining the products/services that would be offered in each segment.
Public Relations - Press releases, exhibitions, sponsorship deals and conferences. Used for getting news worthy attention.
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Products/Market Selection - These are the goods and services offered to customers in selected markets to meet their interests or demand. Attributes under consideration include: variety, quality, design, features, brand name, packaging, and services.
Pricing - The cost people pay for a "product"; provides the means to capture value. Attributes under consideration include list price, discounts, allowance, payment period, and credit terms.
Place (Distribution) - Home where the "product" resides; this includes Channels of Distribution (or Location Outlets); these define the places where, when and by whom the products and services are delivered to customers. Attributes under consideration include: channels, coverage, assortments, locations, inventory, distribution, transportation, and logistics.
Promotion (Communication) - "Product" exposure and public relations effort - this includes all the activities which are undertaken to communicate the product features and customer value to the customer and increase the sale- such as promotion functions like advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, word of mouth, publicity, etc. Attributes of concern include: advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations.

People - This refers to the service personnel whose presence and actions define the service that satisfies the wants and needs of the customer/consumer to whom the service is directed. People decisions are usually centered around customer service - how do you want your employees to be perceived by the customers?
Product strategy - Product strategy is concerned with decisions about the types of products or services, number products or services, diversity, and rate of change. The options selected by an organization is dependent on whether the organization is attempting to reach new or existing customers, and whether the products - goods or services - are new or already exist.
Pricing strategy - Pricing strategy is concerned with decisions on influencing increase in volume or communicating brand value, Pricing is a complex issue because it is related to cost-volume-profit trade-offs, and because it is frequently used as a competitive weapon.
Place strategy - The Place component/option for the marketing strategy identifies, "where", "when", and by "whom" the products - goods or services - are to be offered for sale. Place component/option of the marketing strategy guides decisions regarding channels to ensure consistency with the total marketing effort.
Promotion strategy - This refers to the methods which are used to put products - goods or services - in the public eye. Functional strategies for promotions should provide marketing managers with basic guides for the use and mix of advertisement, personal selling, sales promotion, and media selection.
Product Option - Product strategy is concerned with decisions about the types of products or services, number products or services, diversity, and rate of change. The options selected by an organization is dependent on whether the organization is attempting to reach new or existing customers, and whether the products - goods or services - are new or already exist.
Pricing Option - Pricing strategy is concerned with decisions on influencing increase in volume or communicating brand value, Pricing is a complex issue because it is related to cost-volume-profit trade-offs, and because it is frequently used as a competitive weapon.
Place Option - The Place component/option for the marketing strategy identifies, "where", "when", and by "whom" the products - goods or services - are to be offered for sale. Place component/option of the marketing strategy guides decisions regarding channels to ensure consistency with the total marketing effort.
Promotion Option - This refers to the methods which are used to put products - goods or services - in the public eye. Functional strategies for promotions should provide marketing managers with basic guides for the use and mix of advertisement, personal selling, sales promotion, and media selection.
People - This refers to the service personnel whose presence and actions define the service that satisfies the wants and needs of the customer/consumer to whom the service is directed. People decisions are usually centered around customer service - how do you want your employees to be perceived by the customers?

Human Resource Management and Strategies
Human Resource Management (HRM) can be defined as the set of programs, functions, and activities designed and performed in order to maximize both employee as well as organizational effectiveness. It is a management function that helps organization in recruiting, selecting, training, developing and managing its members. HRM is concern with the management of people in the organization from Recruitment to Retirement. HRM is the function within an organization that focuses on planning of, recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers. Human Resource Management is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. The functions of HRM include workforce planning, recruiting and hiring, performance management, and learning and development.

Human Resource Management Goals and Objectives
The management must be able to constantly look at new ways to keep the employees happy, motivated and productive (on the right track). Management must understand the current environment including, current employees and their skills.

Goals
Human resource management function goals provide clear direction for managing the company's workforce. These include:

Maintain Productivity with Staff Planning- This goal requires providing the organization with an adequate number of skilled and efficient workers. HR managers must continually analyze the workload and know when there are potential problems with manpower, and when its time for additional help. Similarly, understanding turnover within the company will help identify problem areas and allow for policy corrections or other adjustments. To speed up the hiring process, develop a staffing plan including complete job description, roles and responsibilities as well as a clear understanding of the type of personalities that will fit well in your corporate culture. hen the HR Manager is familiar with the company's personnel needs, they will be able to attract and hire the most qualified candidates to open positions.
Develop Evaluation Processes and Training Programs - Retaining skilled workforce should be a key focus within the HR department. Workers who are appropriately compensated and feel that they can develop professionally are among the most satisfied. Increasing the number of training and professional programs in your company will create a more skilled and productive staff. Employees desire to know if they are performing their jobs well through frequent feedback, rather than waiting for formal performance reviews. A "designing my success" review helps employees to honestly evaluate weaknesses and strive for improvements while setting goals for future advancement. These career assessments help HR department to be connected with the developing skills of employees; this knowledge informs management decisions when filling open management positions.
Increasing Employee Engagement - The HR department's job is to develop and foster a corporate culture where employees feel included, engaged, and eager to perform well in order to achieve company;'s wide goals.Companies function well when employees are working at their best and they feel valued as important members of the corporate mission.
Policy Creation and Education - Every organization should maintain a formalized set of policies and procedures. The HR department is responsible for creating policies and procedures that create a safe work place and competent workforce. HR policies and procedures establish guidelines on expected behavior of employees in how to appropriately relate to fellow workers and be in compliance to company and sometimes government regulations.
Streamline Processes for Efficiency - Streamline routine processes so that more time can be spent on people-focused activities. HR Management Systems are software programs that allow repetive tasks to be completed easily and more efficiently than if performed manually. The tasks handled by HR Management Systems include: job postings, scheduling, time tracking, computing payroll, and routine communications about corporate policies.

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HRM Objectives
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To help the organization reach its goals.
To ensure effective utilization and maximum development of human resource.
To ensure respect for human beings. To identify and satisfy the needs of individuals.
To ensure reconciliation of individual goals with those of the organization.
To achieve and maintain high moral among employees.
To provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees.
To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self- actualization.
To develop and maintain a quality of work life.
To be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society.
To develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect.
To enhance employee’s capabilities to perform the present job.
To equip the employees with precision and clarity in trans-action of business.

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Human Resource Management Goals
The key HR management goals include:

Achieving consistent employee engagement in the workforce - [Employee Engagement]: The HR department's job is to develop and foster a corporate culture where employees feel included, engaged, and eager to perform well in order to achieve company;'s wide goals. Companies function well when employees are working at their best and they feel valued as important members of the corporate mission.
Creating a safe environment that is supportive of productive relationships by aligning company policies with federal, state, and city employment laws - [Compliance Targets]
Improved Recruiting - Providing the organization with well trained and motivated employees. - [Improved Staffing]
Improved Retention - Reduce employee turnover or increase employee retention - [Improved Staffing].
Increased employee satisfaction - To be employer of choice; employees are happy to be part of the company for which others want to work - [Employer of Choice]
Improved Labor Cost Management - Ensuring effective utilization and maximum development of human resources - [Improved Staffing].
Achieving and maintaining high morale among employees.-
Enhancing employee capabilities to perform the present job.
Inculcating a sense of team spirit, teamwork and inter-team collaboration.
Open and Honest Communication
Open and Friendly Management style
Organize leadership development courses for managers and employees
Managers and employees tasked to define target organizational culture
Design and development of corporate culture

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In small businesses without a dedicated HR department, it is possible to achieve the same level of efficiency and workforce management through outsourcing HR functions or joining a professional employer organization.

Human Resource Management Objectives
Human Resource Management objectives ...

Creating the right match between employee skills and job assignments- [Goal #1: Employee Engagement]
Coordinating promotional opportunities and workforce capabilities - [Goal #1: Employee Engagement]
Regular employment file audits to assess equity of compensation practices - [Goal #2: Compliance Targets]
Regular employment file audits to assess workforce diversity practices - [Goal #2: Compliance Targets]
Attracting qualified applicants - [Goal #3: Improved Staffing]
Motivating existing workforce and inspiring long-term commitment - [Goal #3: Improved Staffing/Retention].
Strengthening Employer-employee relationships - [Goal #4: Employer of Choice]
Offering innovating compensation and benefits packages - [Goal #4: Employer of Choice]
Investing in employees' development - [Goal #4: Employer of Choice]
Identifying and satisfying the needs of individual employees - [Goal #3:Improved Staffing/Retention]
Improve scheduling - This helps reduce labor costs by avoiding overtime, reducing turnover and the need to add more work
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Human Resource Strategy
HR Strategy is a business's overall plan for managing its human capital to align it with its business activities. The focus of HR strategy is to establish the number of employees needed by an organization to carry out their mission, their skills sets and levels, effective training needs, and compensation and rewards systems. Human Resource Strategy in concerned with the choices and commitment regarding the direction of hiring, training needs, skill level requirements, performance appraisal, development, labor union relationships, and compensation. The HR strategies include:

Sourcing and Recruitment Strategy - []
Performance Management
Learning and Development
Reward and Promotion - []

To better apply HR strategy HR management must have a finger on the pulse at all times when it comes to the company's goals and objectives. There are many different types of HR strategy but at their heart, they all start with the same foundation; to create a work environment that's synonymous with engaged, productive and loyal staff - employees and contract workers.

Benefits Programs - e.g., Provide a consistent level of service for all employees while communicating clearly to employees on choice, value and responsibility; Control costs and create value for employees through plan design so that the programs established are market competitive and sustainable; focus on giving employees choices and alternatives.

Every organization is different and will be staffed by employees from different backgrounds, sectors, and with different goals and ambitions, values, beliefs, etc. The key to a successful HR strategy is to identify what unifies and motivates your employees, and to develop a strategic plan around that understanding.

Financial & Accounting Management
In a business, the finance function involves the accounting and utilization of funds necessary for efficient operations. The financial function is concerned with two sets of activities; strategic management - acquiring funds to meet the organization's current and future financial needs, and Operations - recording, monitoring, and controlling the financial results of the organization's operations. The accounting aspects of finance function brings business to life, and passes through every part of the firm's operations.

Financial Function Goals and Objectives
The goals of the financial function includes:

Strategic Budgeting - The goal is to create and monitor the overall company budget, and the variety of functional departments' budgets. Budgeting requires research to estimate revenue levels based on demand forecasting. Using annual budget projections, the accounting staff can help you set targets for profit goals and for overhead and production spending levels. Overhead includes costs such as phones, rent, and marketing; while production costs are those related to making your product. Create monthly or quarterly budget variance analyses to see if you are on track with your revenues and spending or if you need to make changes before expenses get out of hand.
Cost Containment - To ensure you get the best quality at the lowest price for materials, supplies, and services, make purchasing management one of the duties of the finance department. Require that employees get multiple bids or present some justification for large purchases; and have vendors, suppliers and contractors rebid their contracts every year. Look for trends in spending lvels to determine where you can cut costs without sacrificing quality.
Cash Flow Management - Cash flow management is about knowing when your bills are due and when you can expect payment from your customers, or other sales revenues; and its critical to your financial health. Its not enough to show a profit on paper, the financial function to should help you manage your working capital and credit to ensure you have enough to pay your bills at all times. Make receivables management a key role of the financial department.
Debt Service - Keep an eye on credit use, including interest amounts you are generating, the scheduling of your payments and the status of credit report and scores.
Tax Planning - Use proactive strategies to lower your tax burden, such as deprecisting assets, and offering voluntary benefits to employees that help you lower payroll taxes.
Accurate Record Keeping - The most important objective of any finance department is to keep accurate financial records. This includes you meet your legal requirements and ensuring you don't spend more than you have by accident. Consider audits to prevent fraud and institute policies and procedures for controlling contacts and payments.

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Financial Strategy
Financial strategy is concerned with the choices and commitments regarding acquisition of financial resources, analyzing cost structure, estimating profit potential, allocation of financial capital, dividend policy, or accounting functions in managing investment/working capital/cash flow. Most businesses require substantial amount of capital to both develop and operate; and therefore, cost and availability of capital have an enormous impact on the business. When demand is high, large amounts of cash is generated, and when demands drops cash gets used up very quickly. Financial strategies concern objectives in key results areas such as: profitability, liquidity and cash management, leverage and capital management, asset management, investment ratios, and financial planning and control.

Businesses respond to and operate under a variety of financial strategy options. Strategy selection is influenced by the company's overall goals, objectives, and mission statement.

Finance and accounting operations implement strategies to reduce functional and operational complexity, streamline processes, optimize the use of technology, and efficiently use resources to deliver cost effective, high quality services.

Return on On Investment Capital
The following financial strategy options can b mixed to achieve various business objectives such as accelerate growth, minimize investment, and improve returns and the timeliness of those returns. For example, for business objective such as Return on Investment, the mix of financial strategy options include:

Manage Contracts
Rollover Asset
Additional Capacity
Franchises
Management contract with limited equity investment
Buy out of negative leases
Acquisitions
Joint Ventures
Management contract with major equity investment
Ownership (Construction)

Improve Return on Investment Capital (ROIC) involves the following financial strategy options:

Rollover Asset (sale)
Manage Contracts
Additional Capacity (assumes demand is high)
Buy out of negative leases
Buy in to joint ventures with management contracts.

Cash Generation
Understanding how to generate cash in relationship to your business' time horizon is essential to survival. The fastest way to generate cash is to rollover an asset. The longest time to generate cash is to develop a concept - opening an operating business model that is successful and worthy of franchise investment - and then providing for the marketing of the franchise.

Rollover of an Asset
Ownership
Acquisitions
Manage Contract
Franchise

Operations Strategy
Operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of any type of operations and their contribution to the the overall organization strategy. Operations strategy drives a company's operations, the part of the business that produces and distributes goods and services. Operations strategy underlies overall corporate and business strategy; all three are critical for creating a company's competitive advantage. Operations management is the profession that encompasses planning, implementing, and supervising the production of goods and services. Operations management is responsible for managing the resources and processes needed to produce the company's goods and services.

Operations Strategy Decision Areas and Strategy Types
Operations Strategy design is concerned with some very broad questions regarding structure, and infrastructure - how major resources should be configured in order to achieve the firm's corporate objectives.

Operations strategy can broadly categorize operations decisions as Structure or Infrastructure decisions.

Structure means the physical attributes of operations, Structure decisions include: facilities, capacity to produce, process technology, and supply network
Infrastructure refers to the people, systems, and information (software) attributes of operations. Infrastructure decisions include: planning and control systems, quality management, work organization, work systems, human resources, new product development, and performance management of employees.

Another way to categorize operations strategies is top-down or bottom-up.

Top-Down - This is a representation of top-down reflection of what the business wants to do. This comes down from business strategy.
Bottom-up - This is bottom-up activity where operations improvements cumulatively build strategy.

Operations strategy has vertical relationship with overall business/corporate strategy, and it has a horizontal relationship with other functional strategies, such as marketing, sales, finance, IT, and HR.

Operational Goals
Operational goals are the workflow methods that bring the strategy to fruition, and exist at all levels of the organization, from CEO down to part-time employees. Operational goals are the short-term tactics designed to achieve the company's long-term strategy. Operational goals lay out increments called benchmarks; they streamline the day-to-day activities of the business. They measure daily, weekly, and monthly benchmarks. For example, the monthly budget report shows if a company's financial goals are on track. Manufacturing examines production reports to ensure the number of units produced meets production goals with minimum waste.

Operations Strategy
Operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of any type of operations and their contribution to the the overall organization strategy. Operations strategy underlies overall corporate and business strategy; all three are critical for creating a company's competitive advantage.

Operations strategy binds the various operations decisions and actions into a cohesive consistent response to competitive forces by linking firm policies, programs, systems, and actions into a systematic response to the competitive/strategic priorities chosen and communicated by the corporate or business strategy. Operations strategy is concerned for the long-term with how to best determine and develop the firm's major operations resources so that there is a high degree of compatibility between those resources and the business strategy.

Operations strategy provides the ability to improve products, services, and processes. Operations strategy guides the structural decisions and evolution of operational capabilities needed to achieve the desired competitive position of the organization as a whole.

Operations strategies focus on maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of production while minimizing operating costs. The actual and realized strategy involves both top-down and bottom-up approaches - a combination of intended strategy and emergent strategy - respectively.

Operations Strategy Decision Areas
A firm's Operations Strategy must be conducive to developing a set of policies in both process choice and infrastructure design (organization structure and the systems, human resources, culture and resources that support i; and are consistent with the firm's distinctive competencies).

Understanding Markets

A key dimension in understanding markets is to distinguish between order-qualifiers (necessary to get onto and remain on a customer list of internal resources) and order-winners (those criteria that win business from other qualified potential suppliers). Analyzing markets starts with executive opinion of market order-winners and order-qualifiers, and then testing them with data showing actual demands for different customers, orders and products.

Operations Strategy Formulation

To develop the strategy consider the following factors:

Corporate strategy or Business Strategy
Market/needs analysis
Distinctive competencies i.e., price, quality, service, flexibility, and trade-offs
Performance objectives - Order winning criteria such as quality, price/cost, delivery speed, dependability, and flexibility.
Management decisions and choices of structure and infrastructure.

The design of an Operations Strategy shows the long-term aspirations and intent.

Define Corporate Objectives - This involves establishing corporate objectives to provide direction for the organization and performance indicators that allow progress in achieving these objectives to be measured. The objectives will be dependent on the needs of external and internal stakeholders and so will include financial measures such as profit and growth rates as well as as employee practices such as skills development and appropriate environmental policies.
Determine Marketing Strategies to meet these objectives.
Assess how different products win orders against competitors.
Establish the most appropriate mode (structure)to deliver these sets of products/services - This involves putting the processes and resources in place which provide the required performance as defined by the performance objectives. It involves delivery system choice which concerns aspects of the organization's physical resources such as service delivery systems, and capacity provision.
Provide infrastructure required to support operations - This involves putting the processes and resources in place which provide the required performance as defined by the performance objectives. It involves Operations Infrastructure decisions describing the systems, policies and practices that determine how the structural elements are managed.

Operations strategy provides the ability to improve products, services, and processes. Operations strategies only become effective when they are implemented, i.e., the strategic plans are carried out and translated into positive actions.

Operations strategy is the collective complete actions chosen, mandated, or stimulated by corporate strategy; and its implemented within the operations function. Most firms share access to the same processes and technology, so they usually differ little in the areas of distinctive competency. What is different is the degree to which operations matches its processes and infrastructure to its strategic objectives and goals.

Operations Strategy Implementation
Implementation of operations strategy consists of all the activities that turn the vague thoughts and ideas in the operations strategy into actual operations to make products and deliver services. Implementing the strategy makes sure that the aspirations and intent defined at strategy design are realized. Operations strategy is implemented in the Operations Function and is the collective concrete actions chosen, mandated, or stipulated by corporate strategy.

Requirements
There are five (5) common requirements for successful implementation:

An initial stage to make sure that the appropriate operations infrastructure is in place.
Cascading decisions and actions down through the organization; initiate decision-making at lower levels, or 'strategy activation'
Monitor and control performance to make sure that planned results are actually achieved..
Develop action plan for implementation.
Exercise strategic leadership.

By developing operational strategies, a company can examine and implement effective and efficient systems for using resources, personnel, and work processes. Service-oriented companies also use basic operational strategies to link long-term and short-term corporate decisions and create an effective management team.

Implementation Management Tasks
Within the infrastructure managers have to consider the following:

The way operations function fits into the broader organization.
The Internal structure of the operations function.
Information, communication. financial, control, and other support systems.
Internal policies, methods and culture that support the implementation.
Budgets and resources for operations.
Integrated supply chains to ensure the flow of materials.
Motivation of people to pursue targets.
Leadership to drive implementation forward and to continually look for improvements.

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In Operations Strategy design some very broad questions are addressed regarding how major resources should be configured in order to achieve the firm's corporate objectives. Some of the issues of include: long-term decisions regarding "structure" - capacity, location, processes, technology, and timing; and infrastructure to enable the decisions and actions taken within operations that have a direct impact on an organization capacity to survive and prosper.

Strategic Areas
A company's Key Success Factors (KSF) define what the organization has to be good at to be successful. They typically pertain to competitiveness, such as a company's attributes, resources, capabilities and competencies.

Core Operations Strategy Areas
These can be categorized as follows:

Corporate - Overall company strategy, driving the company mission and interconnected departments/functions.
Customer-Driven - Operations strategies to meet the needs of a targeted customer segment.
Core Competencies - Strategies to develop the company's key strengths and resources.

Distinctive Competencies
Some of the generally accepted distinctive competencies include:

Price/Cost - A firm competing on price basis is able to provide consumers with an in-demand product/service at a price that is competitively lower than that offered by firms producing the same or similar goods/services.
Quality - A firm competing on this basis offer products or services that are superior to the competitors on one or more dimensions such as: Performance - a product's primary operating characteristics; Conformance - the degree to which a product's design and operating characteristics meet predetermined standards; Features - the bells and whistles of a product; Durability - mean time until replacement (how long does the product last before it is worn out); Reliability - a product's mean time until failure or between failure; Serviceability - the speed, courtesy, competence, and ease of repair; Aesthetics - a peoduct's looks, feel, smell, sound, or taste are aesthetic qualities; Perceived Quality - this is usually inferred from various tangible and intangible aspects of the product.
Service -A firm competing on Service basis can define this in a number of ways such as: Superior Customer Service; Rapid delivery; On-time Delivery; Convenient Location.
Flexibility - A firm competing on flexibility basis depends on their ability to provide either flexibility of product or volume.
Tradeoffs - []

These can be order qualifiers or winners. Qualifier means a company or product has a characteristic that allows it to be a viable competitor. An Order winner is a characteristic that causes customers to choose it over competitors.

Operations System
The Operations System, for an organization, is the joint configuration of resources and processes such that its resulting competencies are aligned with the organization's desired competitive position. Each organization strategy requires a tailored operating system, its resources and processes configured such that its competencies best fit the customer value proposition specified by the competitive strategy. An organization's Operations System provides the best match (fit) of supply (of tangible resources) with customer demand for the mix of products and services.

Order Qualifiers and Winners
In a competitive environment, offering a variety of products to meet customer demand is not enough for a manufacturer to achieve a high level of financial performance. At the same time, the products manufactured must be competitive on the basis of price, quality and product functionality. In addition, an organization must maintain high performance levels in the management of the flow of materials through an organization from the point of origin to the point of consumption and from raw materials to in-process inventory to finished goods. Achieving these latter goals requires that a manufacturer define appropriate logistics performance objectives or goals pertaining to procurement, production and distribution processes.

Performance Goals
A manufacturer can achieve competitive advantage, which is an advantage over other companies that operate in the same industry, by achieving operational performance objectives for its production and storage processes. Such objectives can be categorized as functional performance, customer accommodation performance or logistics performance objectives. For example, functional performance can be gauged according to the total dollars spent for such items as warehousing of materials, transportation and order processing as well as the number of complete orders delivered to the customer and the average number of days between order receipt and product delivery. In turn, customer accommodation performance criteria include the number of perfect orders and the level of customer satisfaction achieved by logistics processes. However, each performance goal in these categories, as well as the logistics performance objectives category, is defined for an individual business process. As Jan Olhage writes in “Advances in Production Systems,” a manufacturer can define specific objectives for the procurement, production and distribution logistics processes in particular.

Production Goals
Suitable production objectives for a manufacturer include attaining a high level of operational performance through high delivery reliability and short throughput times, which may be achieved by such activities as capacity planning and production scheduling. In turn, the manufacture may set a logistics and process costs control objective in the form of high utilization, which may be achieved by maintaining short and reliable lead times as a result of supplier relationships, internal controls and process improvements. The manufacturer may also focus on cost control by maintaining low work-in-process levels.

Distribution Goals
Olhage maintains a manufacturer’s valid distribution goals include maintaining a high service level, which may be achieved through a just-in-time inventory system that enables the manufacturer to minimize inventory levels and carrying costs, and low delivery delay, which is achieved through vendor relationships and supply chain controls. In addition, the manufacturer may set logistics process costs and inventory costs objectives, including a low storage costs goal, which may achieved in part by low inventory levels.

Production strategy is a broad long-term action plan made for achieving the main objectives of an organization. Production strategies tell us what the production function/department must do to achieve the top aim of the organization. Production strategy deals with decisions/choices about how and where the products or services will be manufactured or delivered, technology to be used, management of resources, plus purchasing and relationships with suppliers.

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Sales Function Strategy
The Sales function/department advises the marketing department based on its feedback with customers and focuses on customer contact to drive sales. Sales operations is about supporting and enabling front line sales teams to sell more efficiently and effectively by providing strategic direction and reducing friction in the sales process. To do this, sales operations fulfills both strategic and tactical functions. Sales operations teams accomplish their goals through a variety of roles and function including: strategy, data analysis, hiring and training, forecasting, territory design, and sales process optimization.

Sales Management Goals and Objectives
There are three general objectives of sales management viz-

sales volume,
contribution to profits and
continuing growth.
Revenue Generation - One of the main objectives of sales management is to generate revenue for the organization. The sales department is solely responsible to bring in the money.
Increase Sales Volume - Through efficient sales management, the organization wishes to increase the number of units sold. This will ensure that the production facilities do not remain idle and are utilized to the fullest.
Sustained Profits - Sales management has an objective of improving the profits of the organization through effective planning, coordination and control. Sales management strives to increase sales and reducing costs, this ensures good profits for the organization.
Organization Growth - With the sustained and continuous sales management techniques, the organization tends to gain market share and results in growth of the organization.
Market Leadership - With increased sales volumes and profits, ‘sales management’ enables an organization to become the market leader.
Converting Prospects to Customers - Getting prospects to become customers is an art and a science, it requires good planning and sustained efforts. This is accomplished through sales management.
Motivate the Sales Force - One of the core objectives of sales management is to motivate the sales force. Selling is a very stressful task, achieving sales targets can become very challenging. Therefore, the sales management task is to ensure that the sales force is continuously motivated through proper incentives and reward systems.
Compliment Marketing Activities - Sales management’s task is to support the marketing functions of the organization. Marketing and sales need to go hand in hand to achieve the desired results.

Objectives often get translated into more specific goals by breaking down and restating as definite goals. Planning precedes goal setting. In planning, sales executives provide estimates on market and sales potentials the capabilities of the sales force and middlemen.

Sales management is instrumental in charting the course of future operations. The activity provides top management with informed estimates and facts for making marketing decisions and for setting sales and profit goals. Sales management and the financial results of a company are related.

Sales Strategy
Sales strategy is a plan to achieve a sales goal and is what directs the selling activities of any business. Selling is crucial to the success of any business, but it must be orchestrated to deliver success, which is what the sales strategy does. The sales strategy describes how a business will win, retain, and develop customers. Sales strategy is different from marketing strategy - an overall approach to marketing products (it is how you build sustainable competitive advantage for the company's products) through positioning, and differentiation by managing the marketing mix of the 7Ps - .Product, Price, Promotion, Place, Packaging, Positioning, and People.

A sales strategy is particularly important in addressing business challenges such as:

Stagnant sales revenues - Flat/declining sales
Merger of Sales Forces - A need to align sales teams and have them pursue common objective.
Start-up of new Venture - A need to get sales started and realizing the ambition of the founders and investors.
New Product Introduction - A need to deliver the expectations set by management.
Launch by a new competitor - A need to counter the threat from new competitors.
Expansion to new markets - When a company is diversifying and expanding.

When creating a sales strategy be clear as to which challenge(s) you are addressing.

Key Building Blocks of a Sales Strategy
A winning sales strategy has a number of elements/building blocks including:

Goal and Objectives - An effective sales strategy requires you know the goal of your business, i.e., what your overall aim for the business is.
Target Market - You need to decide who will buy your products and services.
Product and Services - Building the best products and services that meet the needs of their target markets.
"What are the competitive advantages?" - This requires identifying the "strengths" and "weaknesses" of competitors that you will need to sell against and exploit.
Route to market - How do you reach and sell to your customers?
Selling Process -

Sales Goals and Objectives

The Target Market is defined in the Marketing Plan; each plan sets out to determine the effect of the plan on a target market. This is done through market surveys or at the point of sale. Actual sales in the target market are compared to the marketing plan projections to see if any changes need to be made. For example, the target market for a marketing plan may be male airport employees of particular ethnicity. Sales can be measured in units sold, revenue generated or profit amount.

Sales Goals
[TBD]

Increase sales effectiveness and efficiency to drive greater revenue.
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Sales Objectives
[TBD]

Increasing your monthly and annual revenue
Reducing customer churn - Keeping your customers is synonymous with keeping the company afloat. Customer churn is the number of customers that leave your business within some specified period e.g., 3 months. This is an account management function that is taken on by the sales team.
Increase units sold/profit margins by 10% ot more.
Boost customer lifetime value - This involves the cash value a customer contributes to the company over a specified period, e.g., one year.
Increase number of leads qualified - []
Increase win rates
Lower customer acquisition costs
Reduce cycle times
Track sales time per week
Set activity goals - Jncrease number of cold calls/scheduled videos by 8%

Sales Plan
The tactical plan for the Sales department needs to be developed in concert with the marketing department. The sales pla should address how the volume of calls will be handled, how many people will this require and how sales leads will be followed. The marketing department will need to provide sales department with information about the TV campaign so sales can complete its own tactical plan.