Module 2 Session 3 Let’s Try This Activities

It’s time for a mental exercise! Do the following using the template provided:
1. Develop a Vision for your Business.
• What is your aspiration and what do you want to achieve with your company?
• State the main advantages and the benefits of your product or service for the customer.
Explain in about 7 words what you want to achieve)
2. How do you want to achieve your Vision?
• Translate your Vision into actions what you are going to do in order make the Vision come
true!
• List what you are going to do!

I. Enterprise’s Vision and Mission Statements

You have the business idea for a product or service – so state explicitly who you are and what you want
to achieve. The following questions should help you to make your company explicit:
Develop a Vision for your Vision
business.
What is your aspiration and what
do you want to achieve with your
company?
(State the main advantages and
the benefits of your product or
service for the customer! Explain
in 7 words or fewer what you
want to achieve!)
Remember the action principles
when you think about the vision
for the business.
• be brief and clear (about 7
words)!
• be challenging and future
oriented!
• be imaginable!
• be desirable and have the
ability to inspire!
• stress values that are important
for the receiver!
• depict a positive and general /
abstract image of the projected
product, service and/or
organization!
• can stress differences to your
competitors! make the eyes of
your receivers sparkle!

How do you want to achieve your Mission Statement

 Vision?
(Translate your Vision into
actions what you are going to do
in order make the Vision come
true!)

II. Enterprise’s SWOT Analysis

Review the Competitor Profile Matrix and list your strengths and weaknesses! On what attributes are
you scoring high (your strengths)? On what attributes are you scoring low (your weaknesses)? List
additional
strengths (e.g., particular resources such as skills, equipment, contacts, information, etc.) and
weaknesses
(e.g., lack of resources, bad economic situation, etc.)! Review the Trends and Future Developments
and list potential threats and opportunities that might arise from the trends and future developments!
List
additional threats and opportunities you can think of for your business! Threats are for example: Entry
of new competitors, weak economy, costly new regulatory requirements, change in buyer needs,
trends,
fashions, or technology. Opportunities are for example: New trends or new technologies, new foreign
markets due to falling trade barriers, internet bandwidth, alliances. Derive goals and actions plans
from the SWOT-analysis! State what you have “to do” to prepare for the future! The SWOT-analysis
will help you to take actions to survive and grow in your industry.
Opportunities Threats
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
… …
Strengths To Do To Do
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
… … …
Weaknesses To Do To Do
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
… … …

What is your competitive Your Competitive Advantage

advantage?
(Take a look at your Product or
Service Analysis, your Product
Attribute Map, and your
SWOTAnalysis and state
explicitly your competitive
advantage! For example, do you
offer at a cheaper price, a better
quality, or a product / service no
one else is offering?)

Let’s Try This

 Formulate an Operations Plan by employing the template provided.
III. Enterprise’s Operations Plan

You have a great idea for a product or service? This section should help you formulating how you are
going to produce the product or deliver the service. What materials and what steps are necessary to
make your product or service – or in short: how and where are your products produced?

Answer this question along the following points:

What materials and equipment do you Input Factors
need for your business?
(List and describe the following points
you need to produce your or product or
service:
• Raw materials and the suppliers
(names, credit policies) and back-up
suppliers that deliver these materials
• Equipment (e.g., tools, machines,
technology, computers)
Premises (required space, facilities,
buildings!)

If you have personnel, provide job Responsible Actors / Staff

descriptions and the functions of your
personnel! List the staff working.
Describe their jobs: What are they
doing? What are they responsible for,
who is responsible for what?

How is your product or service Production Processes

produced?
(Describe the process how all the input
factors come together to transform the
raw materials into your final product!
Make sure to mention the following
points:
• Do you transform the raw materials
into the final product yourself? If yes,
describe how you will do it and how
the necessary equipment comes in! If
no, describe how you will outsource
it!
• Provide an operations flow chart (use
an extra sheet) that depicts what
materials are processed when and
how.
• If you offer a service you can depict
or describe how you are going to
interact with the customer instead of
describing your production flow!

Some of these points might not apply to

your business. Choose the points you
need to describe how and where you are

going to produce your product or service

and add points that specifically apply to
your business, for example special
customer services you offer on top of the
product!)
What is your final product / service? Outputs and Performance Indicators
Describe the final good and performance
indicators you put in place!

What are your performance standards

regarding quality? What are your
performance standards regarding time?
How long does it take to produce your
product and how many units are you
going to produce per day / month / year?

How are you going to store your

products?

How you are going to deliver your Interaction with Customers, Delivery & Payment
product / service?
(Describe how you deal with customers!
Describe how your final product or
service reaches the customer. Do you
sell it yourself? By what means? Do you
use retailers or wholesalers? What
means of transportation do you use to
ship your product? What are the details
of payment?)
How will you ensure quality control in Quality Control
your operations / production process?
What standards will you put in place?
How do make sure that your products or
services maintain a high level of quality?
Describe your performance measures
and your way of reporting to monitor
and control the quality of your products
or services!
What problems may hinder the Potential Problems and Preventive Measures
production process? What are your
back-up plans to keep the production
process going?
(Describe potential problems and how
you are going to deal with problems!
Explain what you would do to counter
the problems and to keep the production
and delivery going! Problems might be
delay in supplies, power cuts, or
rushorders)