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Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN GROUP PROJECT

Strategic management plan group project

Name

Institution

Author Note
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PESTLE Analysis

LMS Wiring, LLC will operate in the Tennessee Valley area of north Alabama which means that

it shall be affected by the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental

factors of the United States. The United States is a political and economical superpower which

makes the largest economy in the globe in terms of the nominal GDP.

Political Factors

For the longest time the US has enjoyed a stable political environment and continues to do so

however, the Trump presidency has raised the political temperatures in the country

tremendously. Due to the uncertainty in the style of leadership that President Trump has adopted

the politics of the country have faced numerous challenges including the impact on the

international community. The United States has a large influence on the political dynamics of

many nations across the world. Nonetheless, the country has been facing widespread criticism

for some of the interventionist policies such as the ones on immigration. US has been advocating

for democracy in the universe for decades. The country has been a choice for global

multinationals in terms of the foreign direct investment. In Alabama, due to the stable political

environment, large organisations such as Dynetics Boeing and Hexagon among others have all

invested in the area. For the new business, a friendly political environment will be critical to

succeeding.

Economic Factors

LMS Wiring will be highly affected by various economic factors such as the country’s GDP and

possibility of recession. The recession in 2009 affected the US economy negatively and the

possibility of another recession could discourage setting up of a new business. A recession would
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lead to many companies collapsing and the rates of unemployment increasing. Therefore, setting

a start-up business in a recession or in a period leading to a recession would be present high risks

and not advisable. Apart from the possibility of a recession, the rapid changing of the global

economic landscape presents a major challenge to the US. The taxes in the country are another

issue that affects the economy of the country (CIA, 2018). The inflation of the country has been

slightly rising over the years. In 2017, the inflation rate was 2.1% while in 2018, the numbers

have risen to 2.5% (Statista, 2018). As a result, the purchasing power of consumers decreases

which discourages spending on items that are not basic. This could have an effect on the demand

for LMS Wiring services. The rate of inflation has been shown in the figure below.

Figure 1 Annual inflation rate in the United States from 2010 to 2023

Source: Statista (2018)

Social Factors

LMS Wiring will also be affected by social factors in the United States. The country is the 3 rd

most populous nation in the world. Moreover, Alabama has a population of approximately 4.875
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million people while in Huntsville the population is about 184,132 people. These numbers

presents an opportunity for the new business venture to offer its services to a wide range of

people.

Technological factors

The United States is largely a global leader in science and technology and this could be proved

by the existence of large tech companies such as Google and Apple. The investment in

technology is high. LMS Wiring will therefore not be short of technology or innovative minds

that will build products and services that will make a difference in the society will pushing for

the growth of the business.

Environment Factors

The United States has extreme and diverse climate, geography and wildlife which has attracted

millions of tourists. Nonetheless, the nation has some of the toughest wealth conditions in the

globe. The country continues to experience weather disasters which leads to loss of lives and

property. Climate change has been witnessed in Alabama. However, the location of the business

will be less threatened by disasters such as Tsunami. The operations of the new business venture

will be affected by both the federal and state laws on environment. Compliance on the

environmental regulations will be necessary.

Legal Factors

Considering each state in the United States has its own legal scheme and government structure,

LMS Wiring will have to adhere to the regulations outlined by the State of Alabama.
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SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis aims to provide the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of LMS

Wiring business. The table below provides a SWOT analysis. Through the below SOWT, LMS

Wiring can make appropriate adjustments to the business plan to ensure it takes advantage of the

strengths and opportunities while addressing the weaknesses and possible threats.

Table 1 SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

 Specialisation in structured wiring  A new business venture which lacks a

 Strategically located brand name

 Excellent customer service  Less capital

 Skilled and experienced staff  Few staff

 Service differentiation

 Less competition

Opportunities Threats

 Growth and expansion opportunities  Competitors

 Adoption of new technologies  Sluggish economy

 Addition of more product/ service line  Increased government regulations

 New rivals

Source: Authors (2018)

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Monitoring and evaluating the plan

Monitoring and evaluating the plan will be critical to measure the success and failures of the

business periodically. Through monitoring and evaluation, changes could be made to the

business operations to address any underlying challenges and enhance the core areas. Generally,

to ensure the plan has been successfully monitored and evaluated a number of components will

have to be included. First, there must be a monitoring schedule that shall stipulate when

evaluation is done. It is proposed that evaluation should be done every three months during the

first three years of operation and later after every six months. For purposes of monitoring, it will

be vital that a member of staff will be assigned duties to perform monthly monitoring of the plan

and make necessary recommendations to the evaluating team. Secondly, there shall be a list of

key performance indices that shall be measured against. Some of these KPI’s will include the

actual weekly and monthly sales versus the estimated, the weekly and monthly number of

customers, the amount of complaints and positive feedback, the actual earnings versus the

projected earnings as well as the revenues and profits made. Evaluation will also be done on the

expenses and costs the business incurs. The information acquired from the monitoring and

evaluation exercises will be disseminated and utilised to enhance the business activities and

make it more competitive and attractive to the customers. Among the aspects to consider when

evaluating and monitoring is the resources both money and time which shall be required to

conduct the necessary activities. A small budget shall be made to cover for these expenses.

Individuals tasked with monitoring and evaluation shall undergo a mandatory training which will

help them gain the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct the activities accurately and timely

(Frankel, & Gage, 2007). An intervention plan will be drafted through the evaluation and

monitoring report and implemented to accelerate the growth of the business.

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Communicating the plan to internal and external parties

Communication to the internal and external parties will be done differently. The internal parties

include employees and the shareholders while the external parties are the customers, suppliers,

partners, the public and the press. In the case of internal communication, LMS Wiring will use

emails, internal memos, and formal meetings to communicate the plan. The purpose of internal

communication will be to communicate the business plan and help the employees be on track to

achieve the identified goals. The business will aim to use internal communication to create a

strong relationship with all the staff. Having a good rapport between the members of staff will

ensure that customer interactions are positive and eventual effectiveness in plan implementation.

On the other hand, communicating the plan to external parties will include channels such as

newsletter, official company email, press releases, and official social media accounts of the

company as well as through the company’s website. There shall be policies developed to guide

employees on how to communicate with the external parties. Effective external communication

will be critical to ensure that the right information is disseminated and control any negatives.
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References

CIA (2018). The World FactBook 2018. United States. Retrieved from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html

Frankel, N., & Gage, A. (2007). M&E Fundamentals. A Self-Guided Minicourse-MEASURE

Evaluation. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, University of North Carolina.

Statista (2018). Projected annual inflation rate in the United States from 2010 to 2023. Retrieved

from https://www.statista.com/statistics/244983/projected-inflation-rate-in-the-united-

states/