Two SMART Goals

Week two gave us an inside look on what the six steps are during the planning process. These steps are situational analysis, alternative goals and plans, goal and plan evaluation, goal and plan selection, implementation, and finally monitor and control. The step that Tina, Joanne, and Chris thought was most important in the planning process was the role of setting up alternative goals and plans. They believe it is always a good idea to have an alternative plan just in case the original plan did not achieve the intended goal. We all were able to agree that having a backup plan was a great way of running a business.

The steps listed below served as a guide showing how the company went about improving the current work flow:

The planning process begins with a situation analysis of the external and internal forces affecting the organization.  This examination helps identify and diagnose issues and problems and may bring to the surface alternative goals and plans for the firm.  Next, the advantages and disadvantages of these goals and plans should be evaluated against one another.  Once a set of goals and a plan have been selected, implementation involves communicating the plan to employees, allocating resources, and making certain that other systems such as rewards and budgets are supporting the plan.  Finally, planning requires instituting control systems to monitor progress toward the goals.

The first step in the process is to identify and define the problem at hand. During this step, all the information is gathered and looked over. This allows for the problem to be clearly identified and hopefully making the whole process easier. Step two of the process is to begin generating possible solutions. In this step, managers can begin formulating one or several potential solutions (Lombardi, Schermerhorn, & Kramer). Before going onto step three, some additional information may be required, because step three is when a plan of action is chosen. In the fourth step, the chosen plan is implemented. It is the responsibility of the manager to make sure this portion goes smoothly. Everyone on the team should know exactly what they should be doing. The final step in the process is to review the results. In reviewing the outcome of the action plan that has been chosen, you may find things that need to be altered and you may find things that are going perfectly. At this point the appropriate changes should be made.

IV. What are some of the obstacles or challenges you might encounter as you work towards achieving this goal? How will you respond to or strive to

i) Identify the items, resources, and the tasks. Draw a process flow diagram for this process.

4. Action: List and describe 4-5 action steps to turn your plan into reality and implement the plan

Since I was a child I have always been fascinated by languages. Most likely, this passion derived from my parents trying to hide things from me by speaking Pig Latin, which I caught onto fast. However, as I got older this passion grew and has yet to cease growing. Currently, I work as an American Sign Language Interpreter and I am enrolled in Spanish 112 at Wake Technical Community College. Thus, for my SMART Goal I have decided that I would like to learn a new language, German. By the end of the time limit I would like to be able to speak conversational German and be able to travel to the country and converse with locals. The reason I would like to learn German is because of my boyfriend. Over Christmas break I went to a private island is

5. What is the next step the team members must take in order to complete their project plans?

The third goal that I have set for myself is I will receive an external job offer in form of a promotion after receiving my graduate degree in December of 2019 by utilizing my increased network of connections gained through my monthly interaction with my universities mentors. As stated before it is so important to build relationships with those that you come in contact with in order to build upon your network. By increasing my network strength over the course of obtaining my master’s degree I will have more channels available to me to seek advice and even possible referrals from. This can make or break a person when seeking a job due to how competitive the business market now is. By successfully passing my courses and receiving my master’s degree and strengthening my network, I am not only furthering the development of my professional skill, but I will also be able to land a new job in a leadership role.

The next step will be to prepare the operation plans. The operation plans should also reflect the scope and goals of the business, and they should consider several elements like competition in the market, infrastructure and many things that can be fundamental in ensuring the business gains a competitive advantage. The last step is to integrate plans. It is important to make sure that the plans have been properly balanced so that they can be able to support one another. The plans should be clearly communicated to the people implementing them. It is also important to review the plans from time to time to make sure that they in line with the trends in the business environment.

I understand that doing MBA is not an easy job; it requires lot of hard work. It is not simply learning theory and writing it in exam paper. In fact, it is a field that prepares you for the practical world of business. Therefore, I will have to do a lot more than simple learning; which will be going to different organizations for interviews, preparing thesis, designing marketing campaigns, doing internships and a lot more.

The last step to overcoming challenges involves taking action . Implementation of your action plan will be the most critical part of you being successful in overcoming your challenge. This will require your total commitment, dedication, involvement and perseverance to achieve success. You must remember that the best laid plans will not solve your problems if you do not do something to put them into motion, prepare yourself to deal with the unexpected, and be ready to make the little changes necessary to your plan to reach your goals. If you carry out the six steps of identifying the challenge or problem, defining the problem, analyzing the cause of the problem, exploring solutions to the problem, deciding to solve the problem, and taking action to overcome the problem (Pokras, 1989) you will begin to make progress to overcoming your challenges.

This journey consists of three important steps that will help us achieve our desired goals. Namely:

We’ll explore these strategies below, but before you start using them, you should create a Plan of Action for each step. A Plan of Action is a simple spreadsheet