CORPORATE PLANNING AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMES) (A STUDY OF DE-PIUDENTCOM AND MULTICOM CONCEPTS NIGERIA LIMITED ENUGU)

ABSTRACT

In an unpredictable world nothing remains static for a long time. This is true for business environments. Business organizations are constantly confronted with challenges emanating from the dynamic nature of their operating environments. And, to ensure continued relevance and survival, strategic positioning (planning) is of utmost importance. This, of course is achieved through strategic management.

However, strategic management cannot exist in isolation. It is corporate planning that form the basic framework upon which strategic management is developed. These two concepts complement each other. That is, one cannot be successfully practiced without the other. Where both are operated effectively, there is a harmonious working environment/ relationship, which depict a common sense of purpose, direction and focus. This characteristic   clearly distinguishes an organization from its contemporaries. It places an organization at a comparatively advantageous position.

This   study is aimed at examining the practice of corporate planning and strategic management in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with particular reference to a segment of the telecommunications industry. Two Companies- De Piudentcom and Multicom concepts Limited will be understudied for comparison purposes.

In this work, a number of research tools and procedures were used to gather data and information. Due to the relatively small nature of the organizations, the entire population will be studied. Questionnaires are designed to suit the various information needs required from the categories of staff to be encountered in the course of the study. Direct interviews will be employed where necessary.

The chi-square method and tables will be used in the analysis, presentation and testing of the data generated from primary sources.  The study discovered thus:                                                                                        

-there are duplications of duties and lack of accountability or transparency in some areas.

-that most of the staff has no formal orientation concerning the goals aims and objectives or mission statements of their organizations.

And the study recommends that: there should be emphasis on the importance of information as a critical input for business decisions

The organizations should strive to update themselves with the global developments in the telecommunication business

Management consultants should be engaged in order to assist in the formulation of long term goals and strategies.

There should be a periodic review of plans and strategies according to the dictates of the operating environment at any point in time.

Finally, corporate planning and strategic management are veritable tools for organization development.

CHAPTER   ONE: Introduction

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

   Planning is an inescapable  part of all rational human activity. Since  business is one of those rational human activities, planning is of great importance to ensure efficiency in the discharge of business responsibilities. Apart from being one of the basic  elements of  management, planning has an aspect, which involves  charting a sense of direction and purpose in the life of a business organization. This aspect is called. Corporate Planning. Planning as it sounds is a process in which  a document known as “Plan” is  produced. To implement that plan, the art of  management comes  into focus. And  to achieve this at the corporate level, the issue of strategic  management  is addressed.

Corporate Planning and Strategic  management  are two managerial practices that ensure the continue  existence and relevance  of business organizations. According to John Thompson (1982), Corporate Planning  was popular in the 1960s. This is due  to the fact that the said period enjoyed economic stability and planners were able to convince  both themselves and their  directors that they could predict the future, several years ahead. Though, right by this assertion, they were however, proved wrong by the oil crisis of 1973. This led to a sharp  criticism  of corporate  planning, which was of  little use in a period  of turbulent change. It is this  phenomenon that then brought into perspective, the issue of Strategic  Management.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

   Many small and medium enterprises  go under, due to lack of good  corporate planning and Strategic management. Absence of this means that  many small business have no clear-cut business objective or reason why  they are in business. This unfortunate posture therefore, makes them to sail adrift with the obvious consequence  of being  tossed around by the harsh and rough terrain of the unpredictable  business environment.

 This situation somehow explains  the reason why most  small medium enterprises are seen as organizations with no proper sense of direction or purpose.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY