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The case study for STRATEGIC PLANNING IN SMEs- Fundamental analysis/Accrual Anomaly/ the quality of earnings of banks

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STRATEGIC PLANNING IN SMEs

INTRODUCTION

Small and medium enterprises contribute hugely to the economy of a country, they still face a low business performance and high failure rate which is mainly seen due to lack of resources such as funds, land and skilled labour. Past research and many business specialists claim that even on the availability of such resources, some SMEs still fail due to lack of strategic planning. Extent literature indicates that formal strategic planning improves business performance as it involves deriving a game plan that enables SMEs to anticipate and respond to the turbulent market by arranging their resources and capabilities accordingly. As such, the current research studies the literature gaps in small business strategic planning by studying the situation of SMEs and aims to conduct practical research on the strategic planning field of SMEs in order to gain important understanding whether SME’s use strategic planning and the benefits sought by such usage.

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

?             To conduct a practical research on the field of strategic planning with respect to SME’s

?             To gain deeper insights with respect to use of strategic planning by SME’s

?             To identify the benefits sought by SME’s using strategic planning

 

RESEARCH MOTIVATION

Most of the experts, scholars, and business people are of the notion that corporate strategic planning is meant for large enterprises and SME’s do not need it. The main reason behind this is that the so-called SMEs produce only few products and of small in size, have a relatively simple organizational structure and the quality of the personnel is low.

Hence, they are of the opinion that from a global perspective, there is no management theory and enterprise strategic planning theory is really applicable to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Thus, there is arises a need to study whether strategic planning is conducted in SMEs and if so to what extent it is being implemented. The study proposes to fill the literature gaps in small business strategic planning by reviewing the situation of SMEs.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology for the study can be explained under following:

Research Approach

The study adopted inductive research approach to analyse the impact of strategic planning on the small and medium enterprises.

 

 

 

 

Research Philosophy

The study used interpretivism research philosophy to understand the significance and impact of strategic planning on the business performance of small business enterprise.

Research Design

The study has adopted descriptive research design to collect the information and analyse the impact of strategic planning on small and medium business enterprise.

Research Technique

Both qualitative and quantitative research technique along with thematic analysis (Leary, 2016) has been applied for the study. The information with respect to impact of strategic planning on SME has been collected with the help of primary quantitative analysis and secondary thematic analysis

Data collection

The data has been collected using both primary and secondary data collection methods. Primary data has been collected through survey method (Lushey and Munro, 2015) and secondary data been collected through sources like books, journals, online blogs, and articles concerning the strategic planning significance in the small and medium enterprise.

Sampling and Sample Size

A sample of 101 employees working in small and medium firms has been selected using random sampling method

Data Analysis

The collected data has been analysed using both qualitative and quantitative research technique along with thematic analysis. Simple percentages and bar charts have been used to interpret the collected data.

Ethical consideration

The study has been conducted under ethical framework by maintaining relevancy and accuracy of the information. The data collected is related to strategic planning and its significance in small and medium enterprises. Respondents were given full freedom at the time of data collection with respect to sharing of their opinions, suggestions and thoughts.

 

RESEARCH FINDINGS

The findings of the study can be summarised under two heads:

Primary quantitative findings:

?             Majority of the respondents (75%) are of the opinion that conduct of strategic planning in SMEs can help the firm achieve its long term and short-term business objectives and can implement market segmentation, create and administer sales models and proclaim offers for clients. This helps the firms grow potentially and create a systematic path for conducting business activities.

 

?             84% of the respondents have witnessed major changes in their individual and organizational performance due to strategic planning, helping firms to maintain their existing size and develop a framework for growth. Moreover, the firm can achieve higher profit margins and cope with both external and internal changes. The operational efficiency and productivity of the firm can also be increased.

 

?             A majority of respondents (93%) are of the opinion that strategic planning has been effective for SMEs to attain their organizational goals. Systematic strategic planning helps SMEs to focus on organisational resources, skills, environmental opportunities and risk involved.

 

?             Around 88% of respondents agree that managers have taken active participation in implanting strategic planning and are of the view that strategic planning enables corporations to improve its objective, goal, mission, vision and values.

 

 

?             66% of the respondents are of the view that managers are aware and acquainted with the requirements for conducting strategic planning

 

?             78% of the respondent’s opinion that through accurate strategic planning SMEs can gain a competitive advantage and improve business efficiency.

 

Secondary thematic analysis

 

?             Based on secondary information, strategic planning is very important and helpful for SMEs as it enables them to improve their competitive position and helps to frame a systematic path for improving business efficiency, productivity and performance.

 

?             Accurate strategic planning can help SMEs achieve long term goals and thus secure a long-lasting position in the business environment

 

?             Based on secondary information, it has been observed that conducting strategic planning involves facing various issues like lack of clarity with respect to vision and mission, lack of proper information, lack of knowledge, training and experience, lack of skills and capabilities of the managers and employees. The major hindrance is lack of availability of funds with the SMEs to conduct strategic planning.

 

 

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

The study has certain important future implications for SMEs with respect to strategic planning implementation. Further study needs to be conducted with respect to overcoming the issues of strategic planning implementation in small and medium enterprises. Even though past studies and the research showcase that strategic planning benefits SMEs but it is not easy to implement it, hence and certain educational platforms need to be established to aid in educating SME to plan and successfully implement strategies.

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