Abstract Electronic Solutions Inc, ESI is a company that has recently gone through Bankruptcy liquidation as a result of a slow

economy and poor management. The company name, and assets including equipment were purchased by a group of investors. This report has been created to represent strategic formulation, the first step of strategic planning to aid in turning ESI into a successful entity. The recommendations in the document are to be presented to the new Board of Directors of the company in sixty days for their approval. Strategic planning represents a roadmap of how ESI will attain set goals. Clearly, it is more important in this case to reevaluate goals and the route to get to them because ESI has currently gone through Bankruptcy Liquidation and acquisition. The different components that may form part of the eventual Strategic plan for the new ESI include: Formulating a mission and vision statement Identifying the organizations external opportunities and threats Determining internal strengths and weaknesses Establishing long-term objectives Generating alternative strategies Choosing the best alternatives from generated alternatives to pursue

Strategy formulation will commit ESI to specific products, markets, resources and technologies for a long period of time. Strategy formulation for the ESI must include all members of the new organization to ensure high performance and effectiveness in the long run. Both managers and employees must be dedicated to participating the formulation process for it to be a success. Developing a mission and vision are key elements in bringing about clarity in the companys core values and what ESI wants to achieve. Creating a vision statement for the new ESI will help define where the company wants to go, an effort to look into the future of its operations. The suggested Vision Statement for the company will read as follows: The Electronic Solutions, Inc. (ESI) vision is to continuously provide high quality

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electronic systems for different types of businesses at affordable prices.

The Mission Statement is a more enduring statement of purpose, is one that explains what the new ESI will do currently. The Mission statement should make the company stand out and serves as a framework for the current goals of the organization. During the creation of the Mission statement for the new ESI, it is imperative to keep in mind that a clear mission statement describes the values and priorities of the new ESI organization (David, F.R., 2010). After identifying that the mission statement for the new ESI will serve as a reminder to its employees of why the organization exists, a mission statement for the new ESI is as follows: Welcome to Electronic Solutions Inc, a fully licensed company, whose mission is to provide superior services and products, unparalleled workmanship and a total solution approach to all of your electrical systems needs. ESI has the knowledge and experience to get the job done right, on time and within budget. We strive to be company who has earned a reputation for quality, dependability and cost effective service. Although the new ESI will provide similar services to those furnished by the old management, part of Strategy formulation is to develop suggestions that will be indicative of the new ESI improved services. Suggestions for change in services include: Design / Build of quality electronics as needed by clientele Fire Alarm / Life Safety products Voice / Data / Video products Security electronic systems Temperature Control systems 24-Hour Emergency Service systems Maintenance systems/ services Emergency Generator System Installation & Maintenance Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) System

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Solar Power/ Green and renewable energy systems

Other suggestions for change in the new ESIs product offerings include not just offering services but complementary electronic system services too. The old ESI provided electronic systems for different types of businesses. ESI recommended the type of electronic equipment that would best serve a particular customers needs, and then set up the electronic system at the customers premises. As part of their service, they also trained the clients personnel and employees to use the equipment, ensuring that each customer would receive a maximum benefit from its investment. This description of service illustrates that ESI was providing highly customized services. Considering that the company went bankrupt, that system was not working well for them in terms of returns on investment. Although some would think that offering a customized service would serve as a competitive advantage, it may have taken more resource inputs such as materials, labor and company time than profits. Moving forward with the new ESI, the company needs to undergo product development processes to increase sales on the products they have currently. Product development strategies discussed below are ways in which the new ESI can increase sales by modifying and improving its present product offerings. A more standard version of services provided by the company is needed. The new ESI should build brand service recognition and should be identified in the market for being the best at providing one unique service that all its other competitors do not provide. It would be profitable for the business to standardize its services and units so that materials needed to provide services could be mass-produced and services more expedient. The new ESI organization should develop best practices in form of services that customers come especially to their firm to be serviced. I believe this as well as providing special customized services will help the company gain market share in its business industry. To help with restructuring and creating a new product service, the new ESI should conduct thorough research to find out the most commonly requested electronic services they offer to their clients. They should then follow up by streamlining this service to find Moma 3

out the fastest, most cost-efficient manner in which to provide this product and service to increase performance and effectiveness. Additionally, after research has been conducted and the new ESI highest selling electronic system has been identified, the company may also research designing electronic systems with recyclable parts. Green management is becoming increasingly important in business processes and practices across the board, and the new ESI can incorporate Eco-conscious principles into their business design. The new ESI can also incorporate its green management practices with Eco-marketing strategies to encourage more customers concerned with leaving a light footprint on the earth to join in on the ESI quest for a better environment by using their electronic systems that are recyclable. This is a strong way for even new customer acquisition and retention. Once the new system is in place, the new ESI will be in a stronger business position; being able to provide some customized services but also has standard service options that the company is identified with. Another suggestion includes creating a training center within the organizations walls where interested clientele can send their employees in for training in how to use ESI products. Moving the training to use ESI systems in house and streamlining efforts by setting up classes in which more than one employee from one than one company can attend will ultimately save the new ESI company additional time and resources being spent on sending out technicians to repeat the same training session at different locations. Finally, in an effort to develop a focus differentiation strategy that sticks, the new ESI should advertise its new services and products to raise product awareness and let its clients know about its new offerings. An e-newsletter can be developed to promote this endeavor and is fast and cost effective as opposed to mailers or using snail mail to share information. Using management information systems can be incorporate into the new ESIs strategic plans of keeping employees and management informed of activities within the company. The intranet system will be a fast and effective platform to disseminate information and even receive feedback from employees. Company-wide discussions can take place on these networks and the company will have detailed records and input form its valuable employees. Additionally an extranet that allows other company shareholders

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such as suppliers and clients can be made available using the internet and a website to provide a way that the companys shareholders can reach out all the time, anywhere in the world. An Organizational Chart for the new ESI is a visual representation of how the organization intends authority, responsibility, and information to flow within its formal organizational structure. The organizational chart for the new ESI will depict different management functions (accounting/finance, customer relations, marketing, production/operations, R&D, and Management Information Systems.) and their subdivisions as boxes linked with lines along which decision making power travels downwards and answerability travels upwards. It will be imperative for the new ESI to build its staff and employees very diligently. Picking the right person for the right job will ultimately benefit the company. To ensure optimal performance and effectiveness clarity in communication of job responsibilities is important to the development and growth of the new ESI. Training for employees within the company may also be necessary to attain desired results.

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Suggested Organizational Chart of the Key Players within the new ESI Chief Executive Officer

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As the top executive within the Organization, The CEO will be responsible for the new ESIs overall operations and performance. As the leader of the company, he/she will serve as the main link between the companys various parts, and held solely responsible for the firm's success or failure. One of the major duties of a CEO will be to maintain and implement corporate policy (to ensure effectiveness). This person holding this position will plan, organize, lead, motivate, control and help make critical staffing decisions within ESI. Board of Directors The major duties of the Board of Directors at the new include: Provide continuity for the organization by setting up a corporation or legal existence, and to represent the organization's point of view through interpretation of its products and services, and advocacy for them Select and appoint a chief executive to whom responsibility for the administration of the organization is delegated, including: to review and evaluate his/her performance regularly on the basis of a specific job description, including executive relations with the board, leadership in the organization, in product/service/program planning and implementation, and in management of the organization and its personnel- to offer administrative guidance and determine whether to retain or dismiss the executive Govern the organization by broad policies and objectives, formulated and agreed upon by the chief executive and employees, including to assign priorities and ensure the organization's capacity to carry out products/services/programs by continually reviewing its work Acquire sufficient resources for the organization's operations and to finance the products/services/programs adequately Account to the stockholders (in the case of a for-profit) or public (in the case of a nonprofit) for the products and services of the organization and expenditures of its funds, including: to provide for fiscal accountability, approve the budget, and formulate policies related to contracts from public or private resources -to accept responsibility for all conditions and policies attached to new, innovative, or Moma 6

experimental products/services/programs. Assess its own performance.

Chief Research and Development Officer The new ESI will need an employee in charge of systematically combining both basic and applied research, aimed at discovering solutions to problems within the company or creating new goods and knowledge. The new ESI will thrive and succeed by creating innovative products, as well as by increasing company profit and utilizing costefficient methods. The in-house R&D officer is primarily responsible for ensuring that these goals are met. The new ESIs Chief Research and Development officer will work closely with the Director of Sales and Marketing unit. While the marketing department studies consumer trends by surveying and researching consumer demands, purchasing methods, product sales, the R&D department, will take action in response to the findings and proceed to keep the company on top of current market needs. Director of Sales and Marketing The Director of Sales and Marketing will be involved in developing marketing campaigns that raise awareness of the new ESIs products and services. The role includes planning, advertising, public relations, organizing events, product development, distribution, sponsorship and research. The responsibilities of the marketing executive will be focused on selling ESI products as well as raising awareness of their existence to the public and informing current clientele of new management. The marketing specialist will contribute to and develop integrated marketing campaigns. Customer Relations Executive Customer Relationship Management is primarily about managing the new ESIs clientele and making sure their needs and wants are met. Secondarily it is about managing and maintaining the reputation of the new ESI. The employee in this position will be required to have an understanding and support for clients as well as to influence

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opinion and behavior. The Customer Relations officer will utilize effective forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage the reputation of the company by communicating key messages, to defined target audiences in order to establish and maintain goodwill and understanding between the company and its stakeholders. The Customer Relations officer will monitor publicity and conduct research to find out the concerns and expectations of the new ESIs stakeholders. They then report and explain the findings to management. Other responsibilities of the customer relations manager is expected to understand and satisfy our customers' requirements and exceed their expectations if possible. The main aim of a customer service manager is to provide excellent customer service and increase customer retention. Director of Production and Operations The function of the Director of production and operations in the new ESI organization is to take resource inputs and fashion them into electronic systems product outputs for customer use. The goal of production and operations is to create an end product in the most economic and efficient way possible. Creation: The director of the production and operations department will be to manage the creation of goods or services. Profit: Another responsibility of the director the production and operations department at the new ESI is to produce a product or service that creates profit and revenue for the company. Actualization of profit requires close monitoring of expenses, production methodology and cost of inputs. Evaluation: The director production and operations department must function as an evaluator that monitors the quality, quantity, and cost of goods produced. Tasks: Common task functions in a production and operation department include forecasting, scheduling, purchasing, design, maintenance, people management, and flow analysis, reporting, assembly and testing. Fulfillment: The new ESI will benefit from the Director of Production and

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operations when he/her unit functions as a fulfillment entity that ensures the timely delivery of the output from production to customers. Fulfillment includes shipping and delivering based functions. Director of Finance and Accounting This employee will have to be able to provide a range of financial services to the new ESI. He or she will manage corporate, strategic and financial opportunities. He/she will advise and lead management buyouts, provide strategic advice especially in areas of budgeting, creating timelines with respect to funds available and identify and secure new deals for the company. Other key roles the Accounting and Finance officer is to advise on how to achieve the new ESIs financial goals and implement strategic plans. This employee will have to be dedicated to working in teams, focusing on specific transactions or market sectors. A major part of his/her job requirement will be to have a strong knowledge of the new ESIs financial standing at any given point in time. and PR consultants. It is important to stress that the new ESI top management must work and operate in conjunction with its employees and senior managers to increase performance. Employees are an invaluable information resource that has a pulse within the fabric of the industry that even top management may not be aware of. Prior employees and managers from the old organization have expressed interest in wanting to be re-hired under the new management at ESI. Considering the candidates for re-hire is very important and still, there are no guarantees that a former employee will turn out to be an ideal employee. Because it's unlikely that the job he or she once had is exactly the same as the open position. It is important to look at whether the person has required or transferable skills. Nevertheless, even in instances where jobs have changed, former employees may still be good matches under ESIs new management. It is important at this segue to determine whether this is a wise decision to re-hire or not. After presenting the advantages and disadvantages of re-hiring old employees from the unsuccessful management and those subordinates they guided, a recommendation will be

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presented whether or not individuals should be hired or not and why. The advantages of hiring former employees under the weak management from the old ESI are as presented below. Retraining within the new ESI will be easier than training fresh hires In addition, former employees are known quantities and this fact is important as a predictor of job performance. Additionally, cultural fit of such employees must be considered. A former employee is familiar with the organization and has already demonstrated whether he or she and the company are compatible. It is often difficult to assess cultural fit with a new candidate. Since top management for the new ESI has changed, cultural fit may have to be assessed based on whether the rehire was removed from their job position or they left of their own free will. If the re-hire was removed, it may be detrimental to re-hire depending on reasons for removal. An employee may have left on their own noticing that there was poor management and they did not want to be a part of the sinking ship. Rehiring former employees, especially skilled ones, also keeps them out of the reach of competitors. This can be particularly beneficial in the highly competitive field of technology where skilled labor is important. Re-hiring former employees may aid in retention efforts as they tell other employees that the grass is not greener on the outside, Even as a new management team is in place, it is important to note that re-hires will point out to the new colleagues that a job at the ESI is more favorable than the old and even outside hobs they have worked in before returning to the company. Re-hiring old employees may attract old clients that may have had a good experience while working with the old ESI. Even though the company sunk due to poor management, there may have been few clients that were satisfied in their dealings with the company and having familiar faces to smooth the way to continue doing business with the new management may be beneficial.

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Disadvantages of re-hiring old employees and management include: One of the disadvantages of hiring former employees, particularly those who have left on their own: not knowing why they left. Coming from a stagnant culture, old employees may resistant to change and will not adapt well under the new ESIS organizational culture Some former employees may have been additive to the failure of the old ESI and thus will not bring any positive input to the new ESI Personal issues and individual circumstances may have changed since the person worked for the former ESI organization, and/or the employee's goals may have changed. Hence, making a quick decision should be avoided. Consequently, looking closely at a former employee's track record since leaving is important to deciding if the employee is suitable for a re-hire. A questionnaire to help determine whether or not a former employee should be hired will be administered. The feed back from this questionnaire will be a tell tale sign of whether it is wise to move forward with re-hire. The questionnaire is illustrated below: Research Questionnaire for re-hires: What was your former position at the old ESI and why did you leave? Why would you like to come back and work for ESI? What role & responsibilities do you believe you are a good fit for in the new ESI? Did you work for other companies since you have been away? Who are they and what your achievements there? What is the culture, growth opportunities and human resources policies there What did you like and dislike about the former ESI and its management? Can you provide us with a reference from your current place of work?

The questionnaire above will provide valuable information to make a decision for re-hire. It will shed light on the employee thoughts about the old management, whether they are victims in the situation, working for an employer with poor management. It will also shed light on their activities while away from the company. They may have acquired

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new skills from a competing firm that may be used as leverage to increase performance. Asking former employees for a reference helps to give credibility to their dialogue about activities they have been partaking in while gone. Also, references will help provide information as to whether the returning employee showed signs of being part of the poor management team that failed under the former ESI. Although companies are often reticent to share negative comments about employees, an oral reference provides an opportunity to get a feel for lack of enthusiasm. Being sensitive to the tone of the reference will be particularly important when searching about information for a re-hire Sometimes one can learn a lot by what is not said. The recommendation for re-hiring new employees is thus to weigh all things, and weighing them just as you would if the employee were a first-time hire. Among the primary considerations is how the individual will fit with the culture, position and the team with whom they will work. Having an excellent match for the individual and the company is at the top of the list of selection considerations. But because a former employee does have a history with the new organization, there are practical considerations. The waiting period for benefits, retirement plan participation, and performance appraisals may be impacted by rehire, and former employees are likely to ask questions about these matters during the interview process. Organizations should have clearly defined policies, with an emphasis on consistency. Old employees should therefore be re-hired if they have positive input such as a new skill set or new knowledge of a competitor. They should also be considered if their job history shows that they are skilled and left the old management (in good standing) on their own because they noticed the poor leadership. Reasons not to re-hire old employees include receiving a less than stellar reference from their current employer (they may have been part of poor management team at ESI). Employees are a valuable resource within the organization and re-hiring former ones should be seriously considered. They represent internal inputs that can affect an organizations performance. Both external and internal factors that may affect the performance are discussed below and ways to make factors work for the company. The external environment, a key input, can be described as: 1. The general

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environment and 2. The task environment or industry structure. Both of them are the key inputs that directly and indirectly impact on how an organization designs its strategic orientation. Strategic Orientation is a combination of deliberately coordinated and structured activities of design components that make up an organization. The strategic management process is based on the belief that organizations should continually monitor internal and external events and trends so that timely changes can be made as needed. The more employees and managers involved in the process of fighting external forces the that affect the new ESI, the better. External forces such as social, technological, economic, ecological, and political/ regulatory forces are the environmental factors that have influence on an organizations effectiveness. The new ESI is to be situated in Manhattan, New York. In the electronic systems industry in the New York area, Briefly using Porters Five Forces model to examine the new ESI will give a perspective of issues to consider while developing the new company, and also help identify areas where the company efforts can be fortifies to increase effectiveness; Porters Five Forces include: Power of Buyers: The new ESI must develop ways to retain its customers. Customers have the power to choose to buy electronic systems from other companies. However, ESI can be competitive by offering affordable products and services in conjunction with the customized services provided by the old ESI. Rivalry (Competition); The new ESI may face high competition from online companies offering electronic systems solutions. To counter this, an online presence will be helpful ad well as developing a product that other companies do not currently offer. Electronic Systems companies do not offer their stakeholder membership opportunities to renew their service. This may be an avenue for the new ESI to remain competitive. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: It is not mentioned whether the old or new ESI develop their own products. However, I suggest that if they are dealing with suppliers to acquire raw materials and or finished goods, they can develop a Service Level Agreement that is to their satisfaction. The Moma 13

SLA will work to protect their interests when conducting business with suppliers for the organization and will not be at left a their mercy when it comes to input delivery. Threats of New Entrants: It is not mentioned whether the new electronic systems industry has weak or strong barriers to entry. However, after conducting research the major barrier for new entrants to enter this industry and compete with ESI is having the financial muscle to enter into the competition. It is expensive to do business in this industry because the investing producing needed electronic systems for sale is not cheap. The new ESI can gain competitive advantage if they develop their own special brand of electronic systems that are created under special green management operations. This is because customers across the board are becoming increasingly Eco and environmentally conscious. Threat of Substitute good: It is recommended that for the new ESI to remain competitive they have to provide a varying range of services, from standard to customized with a varying ranging of pricing for their services. The dialogue about how the new ESI stands against Porter Five Forces will help the organization start to determine ways in which to gain market share an remain competitive. External opportunities and threats refer to economic, social, cultural, demographic, environmental, political, legal governmental, technological and competitive trends and events that could significantly benefit or harm the new ESI organization in the future. Opportunities and threats are largely beyond the control, thus external. In the current global economic recession, some of the opportunities and threats that the new ESI may face are listed here: Availability of capital can no longer be taken for granted. The former ESI went bankrupt, and thus, if there is anything to learn, the new ESI should be more aware of how it manages its resources Consumers are demanding more and more green operations and products. The new ESI needs to address this issue and turn it in to an opportunity to develop green management operations within the organization. One suggestion is to Moma 14

develop recyclable parts of its electronic systems. It should then develop incentive based programs in which clientele receive a percentage off their following purchases for recycling older ESI electronic systems with the company. Energy Prices are slowing down due to economic downturn. Energy resources are required to provide electronic systems. A suggestion for the new ESI is to turn this into an opportunity by investigating renewable energy methods. There are opportunities to invest in Solar Power for the company that may help to collect energy needed for the running of ESI facilities and production of their offerings. Technological forces such as the Internet and how it provides a platform for other electronic systems companys to make their products available to the masses. There is a reduced capital spending in response to reduced consumer spending. The new ESI can take this into consideration to develop electronic systems that cater to different types of people with different income levels. Diversifying their product offerings even in terms of pricing will help.

Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Internal strength and weaknesses are the new ESIs controllable activities that are performed especially well or poorly within the organization. Performance can be checked in management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, research and development and management information systems activities within the new ESI. Some internal factors that may affect the new ESI positively include: If the organization re-hires old employees that carry optimal intellectual capacity and skill level in the operations of the business. These may be the type employees that left because they were not allowed to flourish within their expertise and the old ESIs poor management and leadership did not give them room to grow. If rehired, these employees will help move the new ESI into profitable waters. If the new ESIs customer relationship management unit performs optimally to satisfy customer needs, the company will benefit from customer retention and in

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even new customer acquisition. If the management of the new ESI is hands on, communicative and open with plans and decision-making, and include all employees within the organization, they will see an increase in morale and performance. Developing and administering surveys geared to examine employee morale, production efficiency, advertising effectiveness, and customer loyalty will help the new ESI develop best practices Although it has been established that poor management was one of the primary issues that lead to the demise of the old ESI, it is important to know intricate details of their failure. The research and development unit can be assigned to assess and find out exactly why the old ESI was not successful and work with other units, in synergy to ensure that the new ESI does not do the same.

The above suggestion for the R an D unit to research reasons for poor management at the old ESI provides a great segue into an important section of this analysis. Another way to check performance at the new ESI is by conducting customer surveys to ensure satisfaction. It is recommended that a survey be given to customers of the old ES and existing customers to find out whether there is a continued interest in ESI products and if they are willing to do business with the company. Five key questions that can be asked in this survey as follows: As an old ESI customer were you satisfied with the companys services? Pick one: Yes / No/ Moderately Satisfied/ Moderately Dissatisfied What would you identify as the biggest problem with dealing with the old ESI management and company? Pick all that apply: Slow turnaround time on delivery of systems / Poor customer service / Low quality products / Slow Response to customer queries If there is a change in the whole management team at ESI, are you willing to

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continue to do business with the company? Pick one: Yes / No Do you prefer attending training classes to learn to use our products with other industry professionals and customers, (get to network and learn from them as well or) or it is preferable that our technicians come out to provide training services? Pick one: Yes to training classes at ESI Facility with other industry professionals / Yes to being trained at my company home office Is your company interested in being a part of the new ESI green management operations to recycle certain parts of your electronic system products? Pick one: Yes / No The questions above will give the new management certain insights to key strategies that can be used to increase customer retention. It will also give insight to the customers about certain areas in which the company is working on improving.

In conclusion, the design components of the new ESI must fit with the organizations strategy. ESI will have to keep a strong eye on current activities and changes within their industry to remain competitive. Additionally, finding new and improved ways to produce and deliver their products with faster turnaround times and minimizing waste of natural resources has to be addressed to ensure higher performance and organization effectiveness.

Please review all recommendations above with your highest perusal. I will wait to hear your decision concerning the General Manager position at your company.

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