Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Operational Plan
for
Ashford University
30 March 2015
Assignment
OPERATIONAL PLAN 2
Develop an operational plan for an organization of your choice. Read the article, "Operational
Plan" for an overview of the required elements in this type of plan. Create a fictional
organization that includes the name, type of business, size of organization, and the product or
service that the organization offers. The paper must be between 10-12 pages in length and
include five scholarly sources, in addition to the text. Your paper must:
Include the title of positions and a brief description of the positions’ duties and
3. Outline the basic planning process for the organization, and describes how the three
4. Explain why the quality, productivity, and profitability are important elements in the
planning process.
5. Evaluate the relationship between the human resource planning activities and the overall
organizational strategy.
6. Discuss the philosophy of management that will be applied to the management of the
organization and how the structure of the organization will foster a positive work
7. Compose the steps of control and types of controls included in the control process for the
organization.
OPERATIONAL PLAN 3
Operational Plan
organizational plan is a roadmap for people to perform the everyday jobs efficiently within the
organization. The operational plan identifies the following: what task must be completed, the
personnel responsible for completing said task, the timeframe or deadline for completing a task,
Select Few is a staffing firm located in Pooler, Georgia. The company provides
workforce solutions for several businesses in the Savannah/Hilton Head area. Services include
but not limited to temporary staffing, temporary-to-hire, and direct hire services. The company
operates under the leadership of a CEO. The decision-making process involves all levels of
management, but the CEO has the authority to make the final decision for the organization.
Select Few has approximately 125 employees that work together to deliver exceptional service to
customers. In the near future, Select Few would like to expand operations by opening a new
that we have the human resources, funds and avoid risk, we will prepare an operational plan.
Below is the company's organizational chart with a brief description for each position.
Organizational chart
Each position at Select Few has some importance in accomplishing set goals. Regardless
of its position on the hierarchy, the position has an impact on the success of failure of the
organization. Select Few is dedicated to providing World class service to its employees,
customers, and community. The South Carolina office will consist of 18 employees: one
OPERATIONAL PLAN 4
manager, three first-line supervisors, six human resources specialist, and eight human resources
assistants.
CEO
Direct financial
activities. Appoint
department heads
and delegate
responsibilities.
Human Resources
Human Resources Manager First Line Supervisor Accountant
Assistant
Specialist Plan and direct Train and evaluate Examine accounting
Process personnel activities records, financial
nterpet and explain employees. Plan and
documents. concerned with statements, and other
HR policies, prepare work fianancial reports.
Record data for production.
procedures ,and schedules, and assign Analyze business trends
employees and
laws. Recruit employees duties. and cost.
manage files.
qualified
canindates.
statement tells the company's purpose and identity. Select Few mission is to provide customers
Organization values
Basic planning is the process of evaluating organizational goals and creating a plan for
achieving set goals. A basic plan addresses both short-term and long-term objectives. The
primary planning process is the manual for organizations to follow to accomplish goals. Each
A basic plan can be used to create tactical and operational plans. (Plunkett, 2013). The
primary planning process consists of seven steps: setting objectives, analyzing and evaluating the
environments, identifying the alternatives, selecting the best solution, implementing the plan,
Setting objectives
The first step of the basic planning process is to identify organizational goals. In this
phase, management should include a detailed overview of each target with their approach to
achieving them.
Opening the location requires the company to recruit for eight-teen positions. The current
projection to open the site is January 2017. The company will need to recruit, select, and train
Once objectives are established, managers must analyze their current situations and
circumstances to determine what resources they will have available and what other
limiting factors such as company policies they must consider as they evaluate possible
Our South Carolina location will be under construction until December 2016. This poses a
problem because the new employees will be unable to train at that place.
OPERATIONAL PLAN 6
In this step, management should identify as many avenues as possible to reach goals.
According to the text, "these alternatives may be entirely separate ways to achieve a goal, as well
The two locations are forty-five minutes apart. New employees could be paid extra to travel to
headquarters for training. Another option would be to reserve a conference room at a local hotel
"Each alternative must be assessed to determine which one or which combination is most
likely to achieve the objective effectively and efficiently" (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 103). In this step,
Conducting training at a hotel for twelve weeks will cost the company more money, and then
After conducting an analysis, management should choose the solution that has more pros
than cons. At the moment, it is better for the South Carolina team to travel to Georgia for
training. Facilitating training in the headquarters building will allow the employees to gains
hands on experience.
After members of management develop tactical and operational plans, they must
The Director of Human Resources has been given the green light to start recruitment
OPERATIONAL PLAN 7
Changes are inevitable. Therefore, managers must monitor the progress being made and
Bi-weekly, human resource staff will meet to discuss the project and address any issues they are
facing.
Basic planning is the process of evaluating organizational goals and creating a plan for
achieving set goals. Managers and supervisors have a fundamental role in the day to day
operations of a company. They also are actively involved in the planning process. Most
businesses utilize three levels of management to efficiently function. The three levels of
management are upper level, middle level, and first-line supervisors. The level of management
determines the chain of command and the amount of delegating authority. A basic plan typically
Upper level
empower lower level management. Members of top management influence the planning process
by answering the who, what, when, why, how, and how much for achieving objectives. Upper-
level management establishes long-term goals for the organization. Once the goals are set, the
The CEO of Select Few decided to expand the business. Now it's up to middle
Middle level
OPERATIONAL PLAN 8
Middle-level management problem solve, team build, and monitor performance. Middle-
level managers influence the planning process by developing tactical plans. A tactical plan is
very detailed. They are designed to be accomplished in a shorter period; usually one year or less.
After middle-level managers develop tactical plans, the baton is given to a first-line supervisor.
Middle managers are responsible for interviewing, selecting, and scheduling training for all new
employees. Middle managers will work closely with the HR department to accomplish the task.
First-line supervisors
First-line supervisors coach and build interpersonal relationships with the workforce.
Operational plans are designed to execute daily, weekly, and monthly activities within the
organization. According to the text, operational plans fall into two broad categories: single-use
and standing plans (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 95). A single-use is a one-time activity. Whereas, a
First-line supervisors, will discuss performance expectations and company policies with
new employees.
Planning process
The text defines planning as preparing for tomorrow, today. It provides direction and a
unity of purpose for organizations and their subsystems (Plunkett, 2013, pg.88).
Quality
Quality, like any other dimensions of business, must be managed strategically (Beecroft,
1999, pg 2). During the planning process, management should develop a quality strategy which
Productivity
OPERATIONAL PLAN 9
through quality improvement efforts" (Beecroft, 1999. pg 4). Management should focus on
eliminating errors within the organization. This can be reached by addressing training needs and
Profitability
(Beecroft, 1999, pg. 4). Therefore, management should address policies and procedures during
skills required to perform the task and the number of people needed to achieve strategies. There
are four activities related to human resource planning: job analysis, human resource inventory,
human resources forecasting, inventory and forecast comparison. Like many organizations,
Select Few plans their human resources to ensure that they have enough employees to run the
organization.
Job analysis
A job analysis determines what tasks are related to a job and the individual traits needed
to execute it. According to the text, "the first step in a job analysis is to prepare up-to-date
descriptions that list the duties and skills required of each job holder" (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 330).
This course of action will generate up-to-date job descriptions and specific skills required to
" The human resource inventory provides information about an organization's current
OPERATIONAL PLAN 10
personnel. The inventory is a catalog of the skills, abilities, interests, training, experience, and
qualifications of each member of its current workforce" (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 331). Human
resource inventory is a significant step of the human resource planning process. It gives
organizations the opportunity to analyze the skills set within the organization and introduce
training.
Forecasting is a business tool used to help budget, plan, and foresee future growth. To
predict future outcomes, organizations use management insight and past experiences. In general,
a company will make on-going changes, and changes amongst staff are no different. With this in
mind, organizations should monitor internal and external trends that can impact business.
"By comparing the inventory and the forecast, managers determine who in the
organization is qualified to fill the projected openings and which personnel needs must be met
"According to Armstrong [3], human resource planning combines three basic activities,
namely recruiting the right number of people with satisfactory skills, their appropriate motivation
to perform, and building links between the company goals and planning" (Samolejova, 2015, pg.
243).
On the other hand, organizational planning is the process of identifying long-term and
short-term objectives and how to peruse them. A human resources plan is incorporated in an
organization's overall plan. The human resource plan addresses the company's as a whole, and it
Philosophy of management
A manager's view of management incorporates and reflects personal beliefs about human
nature in the work setting, about worker attitudes and characteristics, employee maturity, and the
influence of management expectations on behavior (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 420-421). At Select Few,
managers set the example for employees. They provide guidance, direction, and feedback.
Employees are provided ongoing training to gain the skills and knowledge required to advance in
their careers. Select Few strives to provide an environment that nurtures growth.
Steps of control
The control process consists of four stages designed to measure and improve performance
corrective action.
During the planning process, managers define goals that they would like the organization
to accomplish. These objectives are expected to be achieved through human resources. To ensure
Measuring performance
After standards are created, managers must measure performance to determine the
variation from the norm. This step can be completed by analyzing reports or conducting visual
This step compares actual work performed to performance standards. This comparison identifies
When employees stray from set standards, managers must address concerns, and decide
Types of controls
Organizational controls focus on a different point of the process: before, during, and after
a process. The three types of controls are feedforward, concurrent, and feedback.
Feedforward
Feedforward controls intent and purpose are to prevent deviations from standards. This
type of control focuses on people, supplies, and money. "Feedforward offers a critical
opportunity to explain not just criteria, but also task compliance" (Baker & Zuvela, 2013, pg.
Concurrent controls
Feedback controls
Conclusion
solutions firm, we strive to meet the staffing needs of our customers by recruiting quality
candidates. Our work is guided by our commitment to community, equitable treatment of others,
and providing premier services. By creating an operational plan, we will make the process of
opening a new location seamless. An operational plan reduces the risk when possible, and
References:
Baker, D. J., & Zuvela, D. (2013). Feedforward strategies in the first-year experience of online
Beecroft, G.D. (1999). The Role of Quality in Strategic Management. University of Waterloo.
http://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/business-leadership/setting-up-
systems/operational-plan/
Plunkett, Warren R., Gemmy Allen, Raymond Attner. (2013). Management, 10e, 10th Edition.
Samolejova, A., Wicher, P., Lampa, M., Lenort, R., Kutac, J., & Sikorova, A. (2015). Factors of