Running head: OPERATIONAL PLAN 1

Operational Plan

for

Professor Dr. Renee Hill

Ashford University

30 March 2015

Assignment
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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:

1. Develop an organizational chart for the proposed organization.

Include the title of positions and a brief description of the positions’ duties and

responsibilities. Figure 7.7 in Chapter 7 of the text provides an example of how to

develop the organizational chart.

2. Define the organization’s vision, mission, and values.

3. Outline the basic planning process for the organization, and describes how the three

levels of management influence this process.

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

environment where employees will be motivated and productive.

7. Compose the steps of control and types of controls included in the control process for the

organization.
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Operational Plan

An operational plan is vital to the success of an organization. A well-designed

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,

and the cost associated to complete work.

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

office in Columbus, South Carolina.

Opening a second location is a critical component of our continued success. To ensure

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
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manager, three first-line supervisors, six human resources specialist, and eight human resources

assistants.

CEO
Direct financial
activities. Appoint
department heads
and delegate
responsibilities.

Director of Human Director of Operations Chief Financial

Resources Oversee activities Officer
Advise managers on directly related to Direct the
organizational policies providing services. financial
and procedures. Establish and implement activities to
Supervise personnel policies, goals, and fund
and training activities. objectives. operations.

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.

Organization Mission and Vision

A mission and vision are standard components of an organization's plan. A mission

statement tells the company's purpose and identity. Select Few mission is to provide customers

with the world's best staffing solutions.

Organization values

Our work will be guided by our commitment to community, equitable treatment of

others, and providing premier services.

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Basic planning process

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

level of management plays a role in basic planning.

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,

controlling and assessing the results.

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

new employees by September 2016.

Analyzing and evaluating environments

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

courses of action or tactics (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 101).

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.
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Identifying the Alternatives

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

as variations of one or more different options" (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 103).

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

to conduct training classes.

Evaluating the alternatives

"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,

management should identify the pros and cons of every alternative.

Conducting training at a hotel for twelve weeks will cost the company more money, and then

paying the employees to drive to corporate.

Selecting the best solution

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.

Implementing the plan

After members of management develop tactical and operational plans, they must

implement the plan. After implementation, ongoing monitoring is imperative. Management

should monitor projects and be available to address any hurdles.

The Director of Human Resources has been given the green light to start recruitment
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efforts for the South Carolina location.

Controlling and evaluating the results

Changes are inevitable. Therefore, managers must monitor the progress being made and

be prepared to make modifications if necessary.

Bi-weekly, human resource staff will meet to discuss the project and address any issues they are

facing.

Basic planning process

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

consists of operational and tactical plans.

Upper level

Upper-level management implement change management, delegate authority and

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

baton is passed to middle-level managers.

The CEO of Select Few decided to expand the business. Now it's up to middle

management and first-line supervisors to execute the plan.

Middle level
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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.

First-line supervisors influence the planning process by developing operational plans.

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

standing program has continual use.

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

include: a quality mission, vision and policy documents.

Productivity
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Productivity and quality go hand-and-hand. "Productivity improvements can be achieved

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

desired skill set of employees.

Profitability

"Profitability improvement is the result of the increased quality and productivity"

(Beecroft, 1999, pg. 4). Therefore, management should address policies and procedures during

the planning process.

Human resource planning activities

Human resource planning is imperative because it aid organizations in identifying the

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

successful perform the job.

Human resource inventory

" The human resource inventory provides information about an organization's current
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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.

Human resource forecasting

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.

Inventory and forecast comparison

"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

externally" (Plunkett, 2013, pg. 332).

Human resources planning activities and organizational strategy

"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

is customized to meet the needs of the organization.

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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

within an organization. The control process consists of establishing performance standards,

measuring performance, comparing measured performance to established standards, and taking

corrective action.

Establishing performance standards

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

employees are on target, management must establish performance standards.

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

inspections. Comparing measured performance to established standards

This step compares actual work performed to performance standards. This comparison identifies

if performance exceeds, meets, or fall below standards.

Taking corrective action

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When employees stray from set standards, managers must address concerns, and decide

whether or not changes should be implemented.

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.

688). An example of a feedforward control is an employee-training program.

Concurrent controls

Concurrent controls apply to processes as they are happening. An example of a

concurrent control is the spellchecker function in Microsoft Word. (Plunkett, 2013).

Feedback controls

Feedback control focuses on results of operations. Managers review information to

determine if standards were met.

Conclusion

Select Few is a Georgia based workforce solutions company. As a leading workforce

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

prepare contingency plans where necessary (Job, 2012, Para. 3).

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References:

Baker, D. J., & Zuvela, D. (2013). Feedforward strategies in the first-year experience of online

and distributed learning environments. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education,

38(6), 687-697. doi:10.1080/02602938.2012.691153

Beecroft, G.D. (1999). The Role of Quality in Strategic Management. University of Waterloo.

Retrieved from http://www.bisrg.uwaterloo.ca/archive/RR-99-03.pdf

Job, A. (2012, December 21). Operational plan. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from

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

Human Resource Planning in Metallurgical Company. Metalurgija, 54(1), 243-246.