The Importance of Strategic Planning

As I tried to look for some important documents in my closet, I found a piece of paper containing a draft of a poem dated May 5, 2005. I recalled back then, I was working in a Japanese company where management was not so good per se.  We faced a lot of temporary shutdowns.  We experienced working two days a week from a six-day regular working days.  Worst of all, licensed engineers were working as line operators doing some dirty jobs and they were underpaid. 

 

I was one of the pioneers of the company then.  Most of us who were hired first were engineers and were expecting that it could be a pasture for great opportunities.  Some of us resigned from their present jobs and jumped to this new company.  We thought then that was a very promising company believing it is owned by a Japanese. However at the start of operation, most of us were assigned as line workers doing mostly the jobs of the laborers. Most of the persons who were assigned as team leaders were even inexperienced in manufacturing.  They were placed on their position because of the “whom you know” basis. Most of us were disappointed. Some of those engineers who were hired resigned in less than 3 months time. Some of them were those who left their regular jobs just to have this one. (They too planned to fail.)

At first , we worked on a 2 shift basis then eventually there were 3 shifts.  There was mass hiring. The production was high. Up to ten container vans were exported to Japan weekly.  However, after around 6 months of operation, the management announced a dramatic drop of orders. Subsequently, they need to lay off some workers due to low demand. The production needed to be cut in half.  Many of the workers were hired just for weeks or few months but were forced to resign.

Apparently, there was no strategic planning done at the start. If there was any, the planners were not expert enough. As my instructor said in this subject matter, “Project failed because you planned to fail.”

As the company continued, there were series of shutdowns.  Indeed, the company failed on its first years of operation. 

At times, there were mass hiring resulting to overproduction. Followed by mass lay off of workers and even offering incentives for those regular employees who would resign. The cycle continued. High production,mass hiring followed by very low production, mass layoff. Until such time, regular employees got to work for only 2 days a week.

The production planning was not good emanating from a poor strategic planning. As well as the human resource department failed to perceive the need of additional employees. Consequently, action plans in each department of the organization were inappropriate. The organization was reactive then, not proactive. The job descriptions for each position were vague. It follows that the organization was not properly structured. Some positions were filled with incompetent people.

Decisions of  the management were affected politically within the organization.  As I observed, there was rivalry on who will get the  favor of the President, the owner itself. Most of the times, a general manager would serve for a couple of months and then leave the company to the next interested one.  Another manager would sit and bombarded with another set of issues and then left.  Obviously, crab mentality creep in the organization.

Until the quest for getting an ISO 9002 certification came. By then, the mission, vision and objectives of the company were defined. Action plans for each department was slowly aligned. The messy organization was properly structured little by little. Job descriptions were clearly defined. 

Now  l learned from this course that it was strategic planning that was not conducted at the start of this company or if there is any, planners were not good enough. The company was not properly directed to its goals.  And the process on how to achieve its goals were not clear. The organization was not designed well. A business plan may have been done but not the strategic plan which focuses more on the entire organization.

 Indeed, the company failed because the organization  planned to fail.