Summary:

The author highlights asset tracking and asserts that it should be more than an accountancy compliance issue. It’s an essential component of informed and sound management.That’s especially important with IT asset tracking.

IT equipment is at the heart of any business today and often realizes great changes during its operational lifetime. Some of these changes include software that is frequently installed, un-installed- or upgraded. Often, components are switched, replaced or upgraded. Many of these changes are internal and therefore normally “invisible.”

Article Quote:

“Assets must be managed both financially and physically and to do that you require knowledge of just where all your assets are. Many companies rely on a conventional spreadsheet approach to try to keep track of their fixed assets to ensure the company is compliant with national and international regulations.”

Link: http://www.tolimancorps.com/the-strategic-management-benefits-of-asset-tracking/

Asset management and tracking is another vitally important task keeping companies both in regulation compliance and more importantly, knowledgeable about their own assets.  You don’t know what you can’t see!

Central to any inventory tracking software system should be a powerful, centralised database which provides controlled access for all parties that require it. Companies that utilize strategic planning software, instead of just spreadsheets, realize better results easier than ever before.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/

Summary:

The most critical element for a successful strategic plan is the extent to which everyone in the company can see a direct link between high performance in what they do every day and the long-term prosperity of the company.

Offered are key elements of a strategic plan, including who should participate, what to include in the vision and mission statements, and short & long term goals. Resistance to change should be expected and one of the best ways to overcome this resistance is to have those who will be implementing the changes participate in determining what those changes will be.

Article Quote:

“Plan the work and work the plan.  Whether it’s an individual salesperson’s call plan for the next week or the company’s strategic plan for years to come, the principle is the same.  It doesn’t matter how great the plan is if implementation is poor, excessively late or both.  In this regard, follow-up to compare actual results with plan is invaluable.”

Link: http://www.activegarage.com/strategic-plan-critical-to-successful-implementation-of-key-decisions

Ultimately you need to make your daily calendar reflect what’s strategically important, not just a list of your scheduled appointments and deadlines. Your day is going to be a challenge between what’s required and what’s strategically important.

A great way to increase productivity is to stop multi-tasking and start chunking your time into smaller segments. By doing so, you can achieve more in the same amount of time. Strategic planning software is a valuable tool when managing tasks and people.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategic-manager/

Summary:

This paper is divided into four sections to explore and answer the question, “What makes Wal-Mart the best in the industry.” The four sections are: 1) retailing industry at the time of Wal-Mart’s innings, 2) Wal-Mart’s Competitive advantage and key components, 3) Wal-Mart’s Strategy and 4) Sustainable growth of Wal-Mart. Although these sections offer a view to understand how Wal-Mart has made itself the dominate retailing business in the world, Wal-Mart’s strategy is to be the focus of this summary.

Wal-Mart strives on three generic strategies consisting of Focus Strategy, the Differentiation Strategy and overall cost leadership. Expanding their already 4000 stores, continuing to provide goods under its own legal brand, and buying in bulk to lower consumer prices is other strategies employed by Wal-Mart.

Article Quote:

“It is learnt that Wal-Mart strives on three generic strategies consisting of Focus Strategy, the Differentiation Strategy and overall cost leadership. Managers strive hard to make their organizations unique, distinctive and identify key success factors that will drive the customers to buy their products.Thus, firm specific resources and capabilities are crucial in explaining the firm’s performance.”

Link: http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/strategic-management-a-case-study-of-walmart-inc-945260.html

Cleaver planning and implementation have given Wal-Mart the ranking of #1 largest retailing business in the world. Strategic and operational planning enabled Wal-Mart to be a cost cutting leader, giving them a huge advantage over competitors. What makes Wal-Mart standout is also that they implement their plans very well. Implementation should be an ongoing daily exercise that structures objectives and tasks with the strategic plan at the core.

For more on strategic planning, see http://www.performancesolutionstech.com/category/strategicplanning/