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Planning, an Instrument to Bundle One's Forces

Because corporate planning always starts with making an inventory of the available resources and with an analysis of the current situation, an understanding is implicitly gained of how and what to bundle (concentrate) to achieve the intended goal.

Thus planners should keep in mind that planning is an efficient tool to "bundle one's resources", the guiding strategic principle.

The indispensable analytical phase of the strategic planning process not only gives insight into the way in which to bundle (concentrate) the forces of an enterprise, but also can lead to radical and strategic changes in the organizational concept of the firm or, in military terms, "the disposition of the troops". We can discriminate between two poles.

  • Some enterprises believe that every one of its divisions, subsidiary companies and business units should operate independently as individual profit centres. This approach is often seen when the business units or subsidiaries operate in different markets with different products or services, or when a holding structure does not stimulate synergies. When a holding aligns its disparate businesses, the next approach may become more viable to them.
  • Other enterprises believe that there has to be unity and coherence between the subsidiary companies and business units to enhance the sharing of knowledge and expertise (synergy). This approach is often seen when business units or subsidiaries operate in adjacent markets with complementary products
It goes without saying that these two different concepts have a significant impact on the ability of a firm to achieve the necessary strategic concentration of its resources, and that which approach to choose is part of the strategic plan of the firm. Achieving synergy is generally seen as the more advantageous approach, but it may require time, persuasion and planning to achieve it.

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