BSBMGT517: Manage Operational Plan Management

The Importance of Operational Plans

An operational plan is a part of a strategic plan of an organization and it outlines the activities to be carried out, the workflow from the initial stages to the final results as well as the resources that will be required. AN operation plan should include key details among which include clear objectives, activities to be delivered, quality standards, key targets and key performance indicators, risk management plan, staffing and resource, implementation timetables as well as a process for monitoring progress (Buchanan, 2017). The objectives of the project must be defined clearly to avoid confusion and all the activities to be done should be outlined orderly with their respective timeline. The details mentioned above ensure efficient and effective implementation of a project.

Other members of the organization are the stakeholders in the project and therefore they should be consulted during the early stages of the planning cycle  in order to promote wide ownership of indicators. The consultation process is very important since it enhances teamwork as all members feel involved in the project.  Consultation among team members and the senior management should be done at   early stages since this will help in bringing up more ideas that will help in developing the appropriate operational plan. 

An operational plan plays a very critical role in ensuring that organizational objectives are met. The operational plan provides detailed information concerning what should be done when it should be done, how it should be done and what resources are required to ensure it is done. The operational plan enables the organizational members to monitor and regulate the activities according to the set organizational objectives, (Al Shobaki, 2017). The operational plan, therefore, provides a clear framework which organizational members can refer to in order to ensure they are moving in the right direction and this ensures organizational objectives are met. 

The budget must be subjected to frequent reviews and adjustments in order to prevent  the budget from becoming uncontrollable thus making the organization to incur losses. Budgets will need to be frequently updated and reviewed as part of the organizational process of monitoring performance against agreed targets. The economic conditions are not constant since they change frequently and the budget has to consider these changes.  The senior management is responsible for ensuring that budgets and other financial documents are accurate. In creating financial reports several documents need to be analyzed and they include the budgets, budget forecast reports, revenue reports, expenses and output report, balance sheet reports  among many others depending on the project and size of the organization.

Effective Stakeholder Consultation

.Physical resource (e.g machinery, equipment)

.Human resource (e.g staff, suppliers)

.Financial resources (e.g money)

.Goods and services

Resource efficiency refers to maximizing the utilization of capital, staff and other assets to ensure that wastage is minimized as much as possible. The five ways that an organization can reduce the amount of energy and paper wasted include improving purchasing such as procurement of cleaner raw materials, improving storage by implementing very clear and detailed inventory management, conserving energy by reducing energy wastage in the production process, conserving water through efficient water management system and recycling packaging. Recycling the packaging paper ensures that fewer waste materials are deposited in the environment and also the cost of the project   is reduced. 

It is necessary to have a working knowledge of the legislation relating to operations and associated planning in order to know what is and what is not right according to the laws of the land. Having a working knowledge of the legislation relating to operations and associated planning will ensure that the organization knows its  legal rights and as well as the legal responsibilities. Operational planning involves a lot of activities and all these must conform to the legal regulations. This is very important since it prevents the organization from breaking laws that  lead to legal battles in the courts and consequently make the organization to lose a lot of money.

A policy refers to a specific issue being addressed and an extensive account of intent or outcome for management of the issue while a procedure outlines the particular tasks to attain the policy outcome. The procedure is essentially the “who, what, where, how much and when” of your document. • An organization or a project may involve a range of policies and procedures depending on the nature of the project. The policy  has the role of providing the guiding principle, aim or course of action,  and influence decisions while procedure provides a clear outline of how the various activities should be carried out during implementing a project. Procedures and policies ensure that activities and decisions are made in an orderly manner considering several factors such as safety and environmental concerns. 

The purpose of a contingency plan is to permit an organization to return to its daily operations as fast as possible after an unanticipated incident.

Advantages of getting an operational plan approved include:

.Compliance with rules and regulation- It is important for the concerned authorities to approve the operation plan before any project begins.

Resource Efficiency for Optimal Project Implementation

.Budget assurance- Approval of the operational plan is to ensure that the required capital for the project is available.

.Involving stakeholders- the approval process makes sure all the stakeholders agree to the plan

IP refers to intellectual property. The intellectual property of the organization is highly associated with the operation plan in terms of formulation and its implementation, (Miller, Maxwell, Key & Reimer, 2018). A strong IP in an organization influences the model of operation chosen by the organization as well as the assets to be used in accomplishing the operational plan so as to maintain a competitive advantage.

Task 2

It is important for me to communicate my operational plan to all the stakeholders effectively so as to ensure that they understand what the operational plan outlines. The process of communicating with the   various stakeholders I would do it in the following steps:

. Setting communication objectives- This will ensure that the communication among the   stakeholders is object-oriented to improve communication efficiency.  

. Setting key messages for the organization- I should clearly outline how the oper  ational plan is aligned with the organizational objectives and mission.    

. Defining and prioritizing key stakeholders- In order to ensure communication with the stakeholders, I have to identify all the stakeholders involved in the project. I should then prioritize them and   ensure the key stakeholders are involved in the formulation and implementation of the operation plan.

.Developing effective communication tactics for each target stakeholders- After determining and analyzing the stakeholders I shall come up with the most appropriate communication tactic for each target audience. The medium of communication may be different for instance the senior management I can use email as a medium of communication and a memo for the rest of the team members.  

I strongly agree that setting SMART goals can help you get your work teams engaged. SMART goals are very critical in any project implementation since they provide a way to monitor the various activities and regulate them in alignment with the goals, (Dibrell, & Neubaum, 2014). The goals act as a measure of performance hence the team members will really work hard since not meeting the goals will raise a red flag for poor performance. SMART goals ensure accountability and collective involvement since the goals require the involvement of every team member to achieve them. 

The operational plan has to be approved by the key stakeholders so as to be considered as a formal documentation. The operational plan has to be evaluated based on how realistic and specific it is to the project. The operational plan has to be checked to see if it has considered all the possible risks that may arise in the process of project implementation. The plan has to be checked to ensure it has followed all the policies and regulations before it is approved and documented.

Creating and Implementing SMART Goals

.Patent- since one of the goals of the operational plan is to expand the market share in the high-end, high-price point, luxury goods market this entails coming up with new technologies that have to be patented (Bryson, 2018). This will prevent other organizations from copying the technology thus maintaining a competitive advantage.

.copyright- the operational plan has to be copyright protected so that it cannot be duplicated by rival organizations that produce similar products.

 .Trade secret- the organization should keep information related to the operational plan confidential so that competitors cannot access it. The market and production data should be safeguarded to ensure the organization has the competitive advantage over their competitors.

Organizational policies on documenting performance should cover the following things, ongoing Performance Communication, Performance Planning (includes employee goal setting/objective setting), Performance Appraisal Meetings, Data Gathering, Observation and Documentation, Performance Diagnosis and Coaching.

The legislative and regulatory context of the project is very important in any project formulation and implementation.  In this case, this may include safe working environment for employees,   Electronic Transactions Act 1999, Electronic Transactions Regulations 2000, and the  Fair Work Act 2009 among many more. The legislative and regulatory context varies depending on the type of project and the nation where the project is implemented. 

In the event that I am left with no option but to introduce some variations in the original operation plan, I will have to do so but also ensure that all the key stakeholders are informed of the changes. The variations should be introduced considering the risk assessment plan as well as the implications they will bring to the entire operational plan. I would ensure that the variations conform to the project objectives and ensure the stakeholders are fully involved in this process.

References

Buchanan, S. (2017). Operational planning and control. In Airline Operations (pp. 134-142). Routledge.

Al Shobaki, M. J., Amuna, Y. M. A., & Naser, S. S. A. (2017). Strategic and Operational Planning As Approach for Crises Management Field Study on UNRWA.

Miller, J., Maxwell, S., Key, B., Glick, W., & Reimer, A. (2018). Operational Plan: Late Run Kasilof River Chinook Salmon Sonar Assessment, 2018–2021.

Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. John Wiley & Sons.

Dibrell, C., Craig, J. B., & Neubaum, D. O. (2014). Linking the formal strategic planning process, planning flexibility, and innovativeness to firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 67(9), 2000-2007.

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