An Examination of the Effectiveness of Corporate Planning in Management Process
CHAPTER ONE
Purpose of Study
The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of the corporate planning as the management process and also to evaluate its contribution as a catalyst to the survival, growth and profitability of the organization. The motive is basically to assess the following components of the corporate planning which are:
- Strategic planning, process and implementation.
- Operational planning and its sub-components like, singles use plan and standing plans.
The study is to examine corporate plan formulation and implementation in the organization.
It will highlight how the consultations deliberations and condition for effective planning are properly taken care of it will also show how the dependence of the management functions like organization, staffing, coordinating, reporting, leading and budgeting on effectiveness of the discharge of these functions depend on the corporate planning. Thus the pitfalls in Nigerian business environment will be highlighted and how the situation can be improved.
The dynamic of planning in the chosen organization will be appraised. The evolution implementation, success and benefits of corporate planning in the company shall be discussed. This will help to motivate and encourage other companies who are yet to embrace the practice and convince them that successful discharge of management function in order to accomplish that set of goals, objectives and purpose depend on adoption and implementation of a corporate plan.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Historical Background of Diamond Bank Plc
Diamond Bank Plc was established in 1991, Diamonds remains one of the strongest in Nigeria and its’ core strength lies in it’s unique SME business model and its solid brand associated with integrity professionalism and good corporate governance.
The bank consider itself to be a true “Universal Bank” in Nigeria, offering financial services across the entire client spectrum, through over 139 business locations in Nigeria with absolute Commitment to quality. The Bank believes that it is well –placed to leverage its historical experience in the middle market to access corporate clients Members of the Group include one offshore banking subsidiary Diamond Benin, which operate seven branches in the republic of Benin and five Non-bank financial institutions (NBFIS).
The remarkable performance of the bank was as a result of the growth in business activities following the successful Implementation of the bank’s business strategy post-consolidation. In recent times, the bank has introduced some innovative products and significantly enhanced its business model, gaining substantial mileage in the retail segment of the market. It has also strengthened its presence in the middle market where it has traditionally done very well.
The Bank has introduced cutting edge products in its resolves to customers’ business problems.
Some of the value-adding products introduced recently include Diamond reach, a non-resident
account designed to offer Nigerians resident abroad the opportunity of maintaining account in their home country Nigeria.
The Bank also introduced novel product called Diamond Business press Account. This is a specialized current account designed to support the growth of micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) with attractive features like free transaction cost and easy access to credit facilities. In the recent times across the shore of land as it became the first West African Bank to be listed on the professional securities market (PSM) of the London stock Exchange (LSE).
Diamond Bank’s market capitalization post-offering is now #263.2billion (us $2.3billion) as at January 02, 2008, while its shareholders fund is in excess of #100billion.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This aspect of the research project shall contain the following: restatement of research questions and hypotheses, study of the population, research design, data collection instrument, data collection administration, data analysis techniques and limitation of methodology.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction
After the questionnaires were collected and the required data obtained, the following statistical techniques were then used to analyse the numerous response. There were the percentage, frequency distribution, means ordinal rank and chi square test. The percentage and frequently distribution tables were used to analyse the employee’s personal data, in order to obtain more accurate and precise result. Means ordinal rank was also adopted, to established the relationship between the responses and perceptions of both the officers and managerial staff the use Of Chi-square statistics were engaged to test the relationship between the expected and actual or observed events and subsequently determine the acceptance or rejection of each of the research question or hypothesis the study intended to test.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of Findings
Corporate planning is a retraceable reason as to why a company has specific aims, what these aims are and how they are to be achieved. As previously been highlighted corporate planning is a tools to fashion the corporate future of an organization. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine corporate planning where it was being practiced and the operators were sincerely committed to its effective functioning and successful accomplishment of the corporate objective, purpose or goals. This was necessary because corporate planning happens to be an issue most Nigeria managers do not appreciate and recognize. The fact of the case is that there was nothing like corporate planning in most Nigeria organization even in so many public quoted companies. The managers and operators of these companies believes that since they can balance operations and operate in a way that earns them whatever to profit they can get in short run there is no need whatsoever to invite the under stable headache of corporate planners. Hence, they have been eluded by the inherent gains and benefits of the practice and consequently quite so many of them have been wiped away by events that could have been predicted and properly taken care of in the past. This thinking has also perpetuated the few that could survive the changes in the business environment grossly by slicer luck into reactive and passive organization. It was also observed that quiet a few others, especially the multi-national and some of the new generation banks had seen the light and have been able to adjust their seats, and sit properly and comfortably in tile and able to manipulate the marketing variables in their favour. They had studies identified and analysed the needs of their customers, the intricacies national economy, and their dynamic of behaviours of their customers.
Through this, they had evolved plans and actions that kept them through the turbulent economy of the 80’s and still keeping them through structural adjustment programme meet the satisfaction of their customers on a long term basis through appropriate marketing and management strategies, innovation and diversification.
There steady impressive growth in the quiet of many others with interrupted balances generated the concern for investigation and corporate planning was found to be the magic.
The study examined the issue critically in the light of prevailing less developed economic environment and considered the following issues.
- organisational goals and objectives achievements
- Framework for decision making and resources allocation
- The prevailing organizational structure, politics, forecasting techniques and information systems.
- workers involvement, motivation and budgeting integration.
Based on these, hypothesis were formulated and tested. The first hypothesis dealt with clarity in the statement of organisational goal and objectives anyhow. The achievement was or being aided by corporate planning. This was tested and discovered that most of the respondents submitted that the purpose is being achieved. Their responses claimed that the goals and objective are clearly stated and corporate planning provides and greases the wheel of the achievement. The responses were dichotomized into managerial and officers (non-managerial staff) in order to know the perception of each category. They both supported it in testing the second hypothesis, which related to the provision of framework for decision –making, and resources allocation, it was discovered that all of the manager respondents agreed that the framework is provided while an impressive support was also provided by the officer ranks although it was broken down in the research question, nonetheless they jointly agreed that the planning is quiet effective in providing the framework, the also confirmed the third hypothesis by the discovery that it is greatly affected by the plan. This undoubtedly provided Nigerians justification of Alfred chandlers’s theory that structures follow strategy. In testing for information system and in forecasting techniques, being employed, it was discovered in third hypothesis, that they are adequately employed. In turn, they have positive influence in the plan implementation. Particularly politics was not left out, it is very fundamental and has strong effect on tile implementation of the plan. The fourth hypothesis dealt with the integration of the budgeting with corporate planning. Here, it seems some officer lack the understanding of the concepts. This was reflected greatly and submitted that they are being largely and fairly integrated. They pointed out, it is one of the plan is being effectively translated into day to day action.
Conclusion
Planning has been discovered to be a function that has no substitute it is so fundamental to the
survival, growth, and profitability of the organisation that is worth its or intends to be worth it salt should faithfully embark on it is is also necessary for organisation that has come to market to stay and survive and does not intend to be a passive and manipulative variable in the economic environment. Most organisations fall, because they fail to plan. The competitive environment is conducive and competitive for them but failed to appreciate this and capitalize in it. The owner managers were contended with short run returns and pseudo confidence. It was not long before they faced the consequence of their negligence and complacency and become historical data is statistics.
Moreover, some organization that claimed to have it do mot really understood its technicalities. What most organization call corporate plan is no more than operational planning, but corporate planning is more than this, it is a formal, systematic managerial process, organized by responsibility, time and information to ensure that operational planning, project planning and strategic planning are carried out regularly to enable top management direct and control the future of the enterprise, it is also very interesting to note the effect of no corporate planning takes time to show up, it is a gradual process and erode the potentiality of the organization each time events that could have been foreseen and prepared for occur in the environment, till it leads to eventual collapse of the organization. In addition to this, enterprise or utilize with exception of few of them like Nigeria Insurance Company Nigeria, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation and Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company, others have basically been habitual failures and losers. These organization do not plan and base their operational on committee reports studies and commissions. The recent government or current government have changed the operational autonomy and efficiency of these organization. It is also hoped that they would soon embrace the ethics of corporate planning.
Recommendations
The responses obtained from the respondents who are employees of Diamond Bank showed that corporate planning process and implementation are being embarked upon with great zeal and unalloyed loyalty and commitment on the part of the senior and junior employee alike. This enable them to achieve the target set. The workers contributions are being recognized by the management and adequate motivated. This undoubtedly is accountable for their stability and operational efficient based on this. The management of any bank is advised to adopt the following. The operational managers should adhere to the ethics of management and ensure sound relationship between the top level managers workers. There should be mutual cooperation between the workers and the management in order to ensure effective performance. Communication through unit leads should be made more effective.
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