Strategic issues are critical unknowns driving you to embark on a robust strategic planning process. These issues can be problems, opportunities, market shifts, or anything else that keeps you awake at night and begging for a solution or decision. The best strategic plans address your strategic issues head-on.
Conducting an environmental scan will help you understand your operating environment. An environmental scan is called a PEST analysis, an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological trends. Sometimes, it is helpful to include Ecological and Legal trends as well. All of these trends play a part in determining the overall business environment.
The reason to do a competitive analysis is to assess the opportunities and threats that may occur from those organizations competing for the same business you are. You need to understand what your competitors are or aren’t offering your potential customers. Here are a few other key ways a competitive analysis fits into strategic planning:
Learn more on how to conduct a competitive analysis here .
Opportunities are situations that exist but must be acted on if the business is to benefit from them.
What do you want to capitalize on?
Threats refer to external conditions or barriers preventing a company from reaching its objectives.
What do you need to mitigate? What external driving force do you need to anticipate?
Strengths refer to what your company does well.
What do you want to build on?
Weaknesses refer to any limitations a company faces in developing or implementing a strategy.
What do you need to shore up?
Customer segmentation defines the different groups of people or organizations a company aims to reach or serve.
A SWOT analysis is a quick way of examining your organization by looking at the internal strengths and weaknesses in relation to the external opportunities and threats. Creating a SWOT analysis lets you see all the important factors affecting your organization together in one place.
It’s easy to read, easy to communicate, and easy to create. Take the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats you developed earlier, review, prioritize, and combine like terms. The SWOT analysis helps you ask and answer the following questions: “How do you….”
Want More? Deep Dive Into the “Developing Your Strategy” How-To Guide.
Determine your primary business, business model and organizational purpose (mission) | Planning Team (All staff if doing a survey) | 2 weeks (gather data, review and hold a mini-retreat with Planning Team) | |
Identify your corporate values (values) | Planning Team (All staff if doing a survey) | 2 weeks (gather data, review and hold a mini-retreat with Planning Team) | |
Create an image of what success would look like in 3-5 years (vision) | Planning Team (All staff if doing a survey) | 2 weeks (gather data, review and hold a mini-retreat with Planning Team) | |
Solidify your competitive advantages based on your key strengths | Planning Team (All staff if doing a survey) | 2 weeks (gather data, review and hold a mini-retreat with Planning Team) | |
Formulate organization-wide strategies that explain your base for competing | Planning Team (All staff if doing a survey) | 2 weeks (gather data, review and hold a mini-retreat with Planning Team) | |
Agree on the strategic issues you need to address in the planning process | Planning Team | 2 weeks (gather data, review and hold a mini-retreat with Planning Team) |
The mission statement describes an organization’s purpose or reason for existing.
What is our purpose? Why do we exist? What do we do?
Step 2: discover your values.
Your values statement clarifies what your organization stands for, believes in and the behaviors you expect to see as a result. Check our the post on great what are core values and examples of core values .
How will we behave?
Step 3: casting your vision statement.
A Vision Statement defines your desired future state and directs where we are going as an organization.
Where are we going?
Step 4: identify your competitive advantages.
A competitive advantage is a characteristic of an organization that allows it to meet its customer’s need(s) better than its competition can. It’s important to consider your competitive advantages when creating your competitive strategy.
What are we best at?
Step 5: crafting your organization-wide strategies.
Your competitive strategy is the general methods you intend to use to reach your vision. Regardless of the level, a strategy answers the question “how.”
How will we succeed?
Want More? Deep Dive Into the “Build Your Plan” How-To Guide.
Action | Who is Involved | Tools & Techniques | Estimated Duration |
---|---|---|---|
Develop your strategic framework and define long-term strategic objectives/priorities | Executive Team Planning Team | Strategy Comparison Chart Strategy Map | Leadership Offsite: 1 – 2 days |
Set short-term SMART organizational goals and measures | Executive Team Planning Team | Strategy Comparison Chart Strategy Map | Leadership Offsite: 1 – 2 days |
Select which measures will be your key performance indicators | Executive Team and Strategic Director | Strategy Map | Follow Up Offsite Meeting: 2-4 hours |
If your team wants to take the next step in the SWOT analysis, apply the TOWS Strategic Alternatives Matrix to your strategy map to help you think about the options you could pursue. To do this, match external opportunities and threats with your internal strengths and weaknesses, as illustrated in the matrix below:
External Opportunities (O) | External Threats (T) | |
---|---|---|
Internal Strengths (S) | SO Strategies that use strengths to maximize opportunities. | ST Strategies that use strengths to minimize threats. |
Internal Weaknesses (W) | WO Strategies that minimize weaknesses by taking advantage of opportunities. | WT Strategies that minimize weaknesses and avoid threats. |
Evaluate the options you’ve generated, and identify the ones that give the greatest benefit, and that best achieve the mission and vision of your organization. Add these to the other strategic options that you’re considering.
Long-Term Strategic Objectives are long-term, broad, continuous statements that holistically address all areas of your organization. What must we focus on to achieve our vision? Check out examples of strategic objectives here. What are the “big rocks”?
Outcome: Framework for your plan – no more than 6. You can use the balanced scorecard framework, OKRs, or whatever methodology works best for you. Just don’t exceed 6 long-term objectives.
Once you have formulated your strategic objectives, you should translate them into goals and measures that can be communicated to your strategic planning team (team of business leaders and/or team members).
You want to set goals that convert the strategic objectives into specific performance targets. Effective strategic goals clearly state what, when, how, and who, and they are specifically measurable. They should address what you must do in the short term (think 1-3 years) to achieve your strategic objectives.
Organization-wide goals are annual statements that are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, responsible, and time-bound. These are outcome statements expressing a result to achieve the desired outcomes expected in the organization.
Outcome: clear outcomes for the current year..
Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are the key measures that will have the most impact in moving your organization forward. We recommend you guide your organization with measures that matter. See examples of KPIs here.
Outcome: 5-7 measures that help you keep the pulse on your performance. When selecting your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), ask, “What are the key performance measures we need to track to monitor if we are achieving our goals?” These KPIs include the key goals you want to measure that will have the most impact on moving your organization forward.
To move from big ideas to action, creating action items and to-dos for short-term goals is crucial. This involves translating strategy from the organizational level to individuals. Functional area managers and contributors play a role in developing short-term goals to support the organization.
Before taking action, decide whether to create plans directly derived from the strategic plan or sync existing operational, business, or account plans with organizational goals. Avoid the pitfall of managing multiple sets of goals and actions, as this shifts from strategic planning to annual planning.
Department/functional goals, actions, measures and targets for the next 12-24 months
Now in your Departments / Teams, you need to create goals to support the organization-wide goals. These goals should still be SMART and are generally (short-term) something to be done in the next 12-18 months. Finally, you should develop an action plan for each goal.
Keep the acronym SMART in mind again when setting action items, and make sure they include start and end dates and have someone assigned their responsibility. Since these action items support your previously established goals, it may be helpful to consider action items your immediate plans on the way to achieving your (short-term) goals. In other words, identify all the actions that need to occur in the next 90 days and continue this same process every 90 days until the goal is achieved.
1 Increase new customer base. |
1.1 Reach a 15% annual increase in new customers. (Due annually for 2 years) |
1.1.1 Implement marketing campaign to draw in new markets. (Marketing, due in 12 months) |
1.1.1.1 Research the opportunities in new markets that we could expand into. (Doug) (Marketing, due in 6 months) |
1.1.1.1.1 Complete a competitive analysis study of our current and prospective markets. (Doug) (Marketing, due in 60 days) |
1.1.1.2 Develop campaign material for new markets. (Mary) (Marketing, due in 10 months) |
1.1.1.2.1 Research marketing methods best for reaching the new markets. (Mary) (Marketing,due in 8 months) |
Want more? Dive Into the “Managing Performance” How-To Guide.
Action | Who is Involved | Tools & Techniques | Estimated Duration |
---|---|---|---|
Establish implementation schedule | Planning Team | 1-2 hours | |
Train your team to use OnStrategy to manage their part of the plan | HR Team, Department Managers & Teams | 1 hr per team member | |
Review progress and adapt the plan at Quarterly Strategy Reviews (QBR) | Department Teams + Executive Team | Department QBR: 2 hrs Organizational QBR: 4 hrs |
Implementation is the process that turns strategies and plans into actions in order to accomplish strategic objectives and goals.
Once your resources are in place, you can set your implementation schedule. Use the following steps as your base implementation plan:
Monthly strategy meetings don’t need to take a lot of time – 30 to 60 minutes should suffice. But it is important that key team members report on their progress toward the goals they are responsible for – including reporting on metrics in the scorecard they have been assigned.
By using the measurements already established, it’s easy to make course corrections if necessary. You should also commit to reviewing your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) during these regular meetings. Need help comparing strategic planning software ? Check out our guide.
Never lose sight of the fact that strategic plans are guidelines, not rules. Every six months or so, you should evaluate your strategy execution and strategic plan implementation by asking these key questions:
Guidelines for your strategy review.
The most important part of this meeting is a 70/30 review. 30% is about reviewing performance, and 70% should be spent on making decisions to move the company’s strategy forward in the next quarter.
The best strategic planners spend about 60-90 minutes in the sessions. Holding meetings helps focus your goals on accomplishing top priorities and accelerating the organization’s growth. Although the meeting structure is relatively simple, it does require a high degree of discipline.
Strategic planning frequently asked questions, read our frequently asked questions about strategic planning to learn how to build a great strategic plan..
Strategic planning is when organizations define a bold vision and create a plan with objectives and goals to reach that future. A great strategic plan defines where your organization is going, how you’ll win, who must do what, and how you’ll review and adapt your strategy..
Your strategic plan needs to include an assessment of your current state, a SWOT analysis, mission, vision, values, competitive advantages, growth strategy, growth enablers, a 3-year roadmap, and annual plan with strategic goals, OKRs, and KPIs.
A strategic planning process should take no longer than 90 days to complete from start to finish! Any longer could fatigue your organization and team.
There are four overarching phases to the strategic planning process that include: determining position, developing your strategy, building your plan, and managing performance. Each phase plays a unique but distinctly crucial role in the strategic planning process.
Prior to starting your strategic plan, you must go through this pre-planning process to determine your organization’s readiness by following these steps:
Ask yourself these questions: Are the conditions and criteria for successful planning in place now? Can we foresee any pitfalls that we can avoid? Is there an appropriate time for our organization to initiate this process?
Develop your team and schedule. Who will oversee the implementation as Chief Strategy Officer or Director? Do we have at least 12-15 other key individuals on our team?
Research and Collect Current Data. Find the following resources that your organization may have used in the past to assist you with your new plan: last strategic plan, mission, vision, and values statement, business plan, financial records, marketing plan, SWOT, sales figures, or projections.
Finally, review the data with your strategy director and facilitator and ask these questions: What trends do we see? Any obvious strengths or weaknesses? Have we been following a plan or just going along with the market?
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Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.
Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
A business plan is a document that outlines a company's goals and the strategies to achieve them. It's valuable for both startups and established companies. For startups, a well-crafted business plan is crucial for attracting potential lenders and investors. Established businesses use business plans to stay on track and aligned with their growth objectives. This article will explain the key components of an effective business plan and guidance on how to write one.
Investopedia / Ryan Oakley
Any new business should have a business plan in place before beginning operations. Banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before considering making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.
Even if a company doesn't need additional funding, having a business plan helps it stay focused on its goals. Research from the University of Oregon shows that businesses with a plan are significantly more likely to secure funding than those without one. Moreover, companies with a business plan grow 30% faster than those that don't plan. According to a Harvard Business Review article, entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than those who don't.
A business plan should ideally be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect achieved goals or changes in direction. An established business moving in a new direction might even create an entirely new plan.
There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. It allows for careful consideration of ideas before significant investment, highlights potential obstacles to success, and provides a tool for seeking objective feedback from trusted outsiders. A business plan may also help ensure that a company’s executive team remains aligned on strategic action items and priorities.
While business plans vary widely, even among competitors in the same industry, they often share basic elements detailed below.
A well-crafted business plan is essential for attracting investors and guiding a company's strategic growth. It should address market needs and investor requirements and provide clear financial projections.
While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.
Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.
The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, gathering the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document is best. Any additional crucial elements, such as patent applications, can be referenced in the main document and included as appendices.
Common elements in many business plans include:
Investors want to see a clear exit strategy, expected returns, and a timeline for cashing out. It's likely a good idea to provide five-year profitability forecasts and realistic financial estimates.
Business plans can vary in format, often categorized into traditional and lean startup plans. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.
A business plan isn't a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections. Markets and the economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All this calls for building flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.
How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on its nature. Updating your business plan is crucial due to changes in external factors (market trends, competition, and regulations) and internal developments (like employee growth and new products). While a well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary, a new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.
The lean startup business plan is ideal for quickly explaining a business, especially for new companies that don't have much information yet. Key sections may include a value proposition , major activities and advantages, resources (staff, intellectual property, and capital), partnerships, customer segments, and revenue sources.
A well-crafted business plan is crucial for any company, whether it's a startup looking for investment or an established business wanting to stay on course. It outlines goals and strategies, boosting a company's chances of securing funding and achieving growth.
As your business and the market change, update your business plan regularly. This keeps it relevant and aligned with your current goals and conditions. Think of your business plan as a living document that evolves with your company, not something carved in stone.
University of Oregon Department of Economics. " Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Business Planning Using Palo Alto's Business Plan Pro ." Eason Ding & Tim Hursey.
Bplans. " Do You Need a Business Plan? Scientific Research Says Yes ."
Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."
Harvard Business Review. " How to Write a Winning Business Plan ."
U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."
SCORE. " When and Why Should You Review Your Business Plan? "
A gap analysis is the process of comparing your actual business performance with your desired performance to see what’s missing. You can use these analyses to create company strategies and identify possible shortcomings in your business. Learn how a gap analysis can help fortify your business goals and the four steps to perform your own.
Here's a scenario: your team is about to start their strategic planning initiatives for the next year, but they don't really know where to start. What do you do next?
A gap analysis (also known as a needs analysis) is the process of comparing your current business performance with your desired performance. It helps you identify the "gap" between where your business currently stands versus where you want your business to be. In short, you’re looking for what’s missing.
A gap analysis (also known as a needs analysis) is the process of comparing your current business performance with your desired performance. The "gap" in a gap analysis is where your business currently stands versus where you want your business to be.
Creating a gap analysis can help your business in a few ways. Here's how:
Brainstorm strategies . Creating a gap analysis can help strategic teams figure out potential action plans they can use to hit their goals.
Identify weak points . If your business didn't perform as expected, using a gap analysis can help your team figure out the root cause of certain performance gaps.
Creating a gap analysis is a way to review your current strategies to see what’s working, and what’s still needed. Performing one can help your business in a number of ways, including:
Identifying weak points . If your business didn't perform as expected, you can use a gap analysis to help your team figure out the root cause of performance gaps.
Measuring current resources . If your team has a surplus of resources at the end of the year, a gap analysis can help identify specifically how resources were allocated so they can be used more efficiently in the future.
A gap analysis is a useful project management tool to help you identify how to get from point A to point B. While a gap analysis can be used at any time, you can get the most out of your analysis when you apply it strategically to a specific project or initiative. Here are a few scenarios where using a gap analysis can help you gather the contextual data you need to improve your business.
If your team is looking to create a strategic growth plan, using a gap analysis early in the strategic planning process can help give your team a good starting point. A gap analysis provides data-driven guidance on how your team goes from their current state to a specific end goal. For example, if you’re planning next quarter’s strategy, you can use a gap analysis to review what you achieved in the current quarter. Compare that to the goals you had originally set and you’ll be able to identify opportunities to improve in the coming months.
If your team is unexpectedly underperforming, a gap analysis can be a useful tool to identify any shortcomings. Once you identify the root cause of the gap in your current situation, your team can improve processes to fix the issue without interrupting production. For example, a project manager at an assembly line may notice that production is not meeting expectations. After completing a gap analysis, they find the root cause to be an issue with some machinery. Now they know exactly what to fix to improve production.
If your team is compiling business information for investors or for other business requirements, a gap analysis can be an extremely helpful tool. A gap analysis is useful in this situation because it provides more contextual information than just hard numbers. If management is worried that your team is underperforming for whatever reason, a gap analysis can quell any worries with a detailed plan of how your team is going to close the gap.
The best time to use a gap analysis is when you’re looking for ways to improve, or you’ve realized something isn’t working quite as expected. In practical, real-life examples, here’s what that might look like:
Software development: Gap analyses can show you missing items in your software, helping you to potentially catch errors before you go to market.
Project management : Use gap analyses during the project planning or review stages of project management to show you the areas that aren’t up to speed with the rest of your project. Then, you can make requests for and allocate resources to that work as needed.
Human resources: If you’re on an HR team, you can use a gap analysis during the hiring processes to show you what’s lacking on a team, which in turn, you can look for in a new candidate.
Team leads : As a lead, you’re often looking at the big picture problems. So sometimes, details slip through the cracks that can cause delays or issues down the line. A gap analysis can help you identify when you may have overlooked something, and it might be able to catch them before they create a bigger problem.
Competitive research: Competitive analyses are important tools to boost customer satisfaction. One way to perform the necessary competitive research is through a gap analysis, where you look at the market gap for your industry and strategize ways that your business can fill it.
While it may seem complex, using the gap analysis process is not as complicated as it seems. Try this four-step process to create a gap analysis for your team.
In order to compare current performance to desired performance, you first need to define what your ideal future state looks like, or, in other words, set goals. Any goal setting methodology works. If you don’t already use one, try using objectives and key results (OKRs) or key performance indicators (KPIs) to create targeted, specific metrics and business goals . Regardless of which goal type you use, make sure your objectives are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. The goals you're setting here define how you’ll measure performance and represent the desired state you want for your business.
Use goals, historical data, and past gap analyses to benchmark your current business performance , processes, or workflows , and set the standard for how you work.
At the same time, evaluate your current processes with a business process analysis (BPA). If you're aiming to make process improvements as part of your strategy, looking at the current state of your business process is important. This can help you identify which process improvement methodology your team should use to reach the desired target state.
Remember that the “gap” in a gap analysis is the difference between where your business currently stands and where you want your business to be. Now that you understand the difference, it’s time to hypothesize different strategies and tactics your team will need to close that gap.
The next step in this process is to ensure your goals are actually achievable, and not too far out of your team’s reach. You don’t want to set a goal so high that it feels impossible. In the same vein, it’s important to ensure that your team is able to complete their goal in the set time period. If you make changes to your current performance strategy, will your team still be able to achieve the goals you set based on the desired time frame?
It's during this step when you meet with your stakeholders to brainstorm strategic planning initiatives to hit your goals.
Once you've solidified all of your numbers and business goals, create an action plan that clearly dictates how your team plans to close the gap. It's important to use both quantitative data, like the benchmark data you compiled in step two, in addition to qualitative data, such as current processes and past process improvement strategies.
A SWOT analysis is a type of gap analysis that’s commonly used in project management to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a business. Usually, people complete a SWOT analysis via a 2x2 matrix.
Once this matrix is filled, use it to identify gaps that come to light as your team brainstorms each quadrant of the matrix.
Mckinsey 7s model.
Developed by Robert H. Waterman and Tom Peters, the McKinsey 7S framework is a management model that is often used for organization analysis. The idea is that an organization needs seven elements that are all aligned and reinforcing one another. If one part of the seven elements is off, it can affect the entire business.
The seven S's in this model stand for:
Structure : How your business is organized. This could mean how activities are divided and how teams communicate with each other.
Strategy : The hard set of plans that your team uses to move the business forward.
Systems : How performance is measured, along with procedures the team uses to do business.
Skills : The competencies your team members provide for your business.
Style : The behavior patterns of certain groups within your business.
Staff : The individuals that work for you. This also refers to their characteristics and ways the company nurtures and develops their team.
Shared values : Values are the core principles that define how your company approaches work.
You can use this model by testing the relationship between each of the seven S’s. When you change something in strategy, how does that affect systems? Performing a gap analysis here can give you concrete answers to how each of these facets of your organization relate to each other.
The Nadler-Tushman congruence model is a business management tool that identifies the root cause of performance issues. It was developed by organizational theorists David A. Nadler and Michael L. Tushman in the early 1980s.
The idea of the Nadler-Tushman model is that there are four main elements to a business and they each have unique relationships to one another.
Those four main elements are:
Work : All of the individual tasks that make up your business's performance. There are two different perspectives on how to look at work: what is done and how that work is processed.
People : The interaction of individuals during work. Some examples of this include a manager and their direct report, or a team lead and a contractor.
Organizational structure : How your business organizes itself, like how work is delegated , what teams work on what, and how processes are built.
Culture : This is how your team implements group norms , best practices, ideals, and shared values throughout your company.
The Nadler-Tushman model then pairs each of these elements off into six different combinations, so teams can analyze how their business is performing. Those six pairs look like this:
Work and people : This looks at which employees are doing what work. Are the right people completing the right tasks?
Work and structure : This is how your team develops processes to complete work. Is there enough structure and organization that clearly dictates what work needs to be completed?
Work and culture : This focuses on the environment that's created. Does your company culture promote habits that are beneficial to performance?
People and structure : This identifies the organizational structure of your team. Is your team organized in such a way that individuals can produce their best work?
People and culture : This focuses on the attitudes of employees. Are your employees working in a culture that is productive for them? Are they able to identify resources to help themselves be successful at work?
Culture and structure : This pair relates to how culture and company organization may affect one another. Does the organization of your business compete with the company culture , or help it?
Similar to the McKinsey 7s model, when you pair off each of the elements of the Nadler-Tushman model, you can see how those two relate to each other and how changing one facet can affect the other.
Gap analyses work best when shared with stakeholders in a convenient and organized manner. A work management tool like Asana can help your team organize information and streamline communication with stakeholders, so everybody is on the same page. Learn more about how you can use Asana to assist with work management.
Whether you're new to the concept of current state vs. future state diagrams, or an experienced professional, we've got you covered with everything you need to know.
In this guide, we’ll show how a current state vs future state diagram can help set your business up for success by comparing where you are now with where you want to be. You’ll learn what these diagrams are, why they matter, and how to create one.
Let's dive in.
A current state vs. future state diagram is a visual tool that shows an organization’s current operations and its envisioned future scenario — using standardized symbols and notations. They’re especially helpful for business analysts, project managers, and organizational leaders who need to plan major changes or improvements.
To make the most out of these diagrams, it's important to understand the key elements that define your current and future states. These elements help you clearly identify gaps and plan strategically for future success. The current state diagram captures your organization’s existing processes, roles, and resources, including:
• Detailed workflows : The step-by-step processes currently in place within your organization.
• Responsibilities : The specific roles and duties assigned to individuals or teams.
• Allocation of resources : How resources, both human and technological, are distributed across the organization.
The future state diagram outlines your goals and the changes needed to achieve them, including:
• Process improvements : Streamlining workflows and removing inefficiencies.
• Resource reallocations : Optimizing the use of tools, technology, and personnel.
• Organizational changes : Adjusting roles and responsibilities to better align with future goals.
• New initiatives to drive growth and improvement : Introducing new projects or strategies to achieve your objectives.
Using the right notation is crucial for making your diagram clear and understandable. Standardized symbols help make sure that everyone can easily follow the processes your diagram visualizes. Here are some common symbols for creating current state vs future state diagrams:
• Arrows indicate the flow of processes, showing the direction from one step to the next.
• Ovals represent the start and end points of processes, providing clear markers for where processes begin and end.
• Diamonds represent decision points where different paths can be taken based on certain conditions or criteria.
Choosing a guiding methodology will help add structure and depth to your diagramming process. Here are three widely-used methodologies:
Lean focuses on efficiency and waste reduction, making it ideal for streamlining processes and improving operational efficiency. It emphasizes continuous improvement to achieve a leaner future state.
Six Sigma helps to minimize defects and variability in processes through data-driven techniques. It's suitable for organizations aiming for high process reliability and quality in their future state.
Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) provides a standardized graphical representation for business processes. It's valuable for visualizing and documenting complex processes across departments, ensuring clarity and alignment toward achieving future state goals.
There are plenty of benefits that come with using a current state vs. future state diagram. Let’s zoom in on what they can help you achieve:
The 'Current State' serves as a diagnostic tool to pinpoint bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and resource misalignments within your organization. It visually maps existing processes to identify areas needing improvement or restructuring.
The 'Future State' acts as a blueprint for your organization's long-term goals, providing clarity on desired outcomes and milestones. It aligns teams toward common objectives and guides organizational growth.
A current state vs future state diagram facilitates optimal resource allocation by comparing current and future states visually. This helps make sure your business uses resources like budget, manpower, and technology efficiently to support progress toward achieving future goals.
To create a current state vs future state diagram, it’s best to start by gathering your team and collecting data. You can use surveys, interviews, and observations.
When you’ve gathered your information, follow our quick step-by-step guide below on how to create an effective current state vs. future state diagram. To save time, you can follow along using our fully customizable Current vs Future State Flowchart Template .
Start by documenting your current processes, challenges, and roles. This sets a clear baseline for identifying areas that need improvement.
TIP: Try Miro's Value Stream Mapping tool — or save time with our Value Stream Mapping Template .
Outline your desired outcomes and vision for the future state to set the stage for improvements and long-term goals.
Compare the current and future states to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. Consider additional resources needed to achieve the future state, and get input from important stakeholders.
Refine the diagram based on feedback from your team and stakeholders. Continuously improve to make sure your diagram accurately reflects your organization's needs. Then turn your finalized diagram into a list of actionable plans and strategies.
TIP: Streamline the feedback and iteration cycle using Miro’s powerful and seamless collaboration features — regardless of whether your team collaborates in real time or async.
To create an effective current state vs future state diagram, here are some best practices worth keeping in mind:
Start by gathering both qualitative and quantitative data through surveys, interviews, and observations. This helps you fully understand current processes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
Involve stakeholders from various departments early on. Their diverse perspectives and insights will enrich the diagramming process and ensure that the future state aligns with your organization’s goals and priorities.
While identifying current inefficiencies, always keep your future state goals in mind. This balanced approach allows for strategic planning and ensures that the diagram supports a clear path forward toward achieving your organizational objectives.
Define and track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like efficiency gains, Return on Investment (ROI), and time savings. These metrics provide tangible evidence of the diagram’s impact, helping to demonstrate its effectiveness in driving positive organizational change.
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Home » Business Process Mapping » Unlocking Process Optimization: The Importance of Current State/Future State Analysis
Businesses and organizations are constantly looking for ways to improve their operations, whether it’s increasing efficiency, reducing costs, or improving the customer experience. One way to achieve these goals is by performing a Current State/Future State analysis. This type of analysis is a powerful tool that allows organizations to identify and map their current processes, as well as define and plan for future processes that will help them achieve their desired goals.
Current State/Future State analysis is a process that involves mapping out the current state of a business process, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and then designing a future state that addresses those weaknesses and optimizes the process for better results. This type of analysis is commonly used in business process improvement initiatives, such as Lean Six Sigma and Agile methodologies.
Current State/Future State analysis is an essential tool for process improvement initiatives, as it provides a clear understanding of the current state of a process and identifies opportunities for improvement. By mapping out the current state of a process, organizations can identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks that are preventing the process from working optimally. This information can then be used to design a future state that addresses these issues and optimizes the process for better performance.
Current State/Future State analysis also helps organizations to develop a roadmap for process improvement. By mapping out the current state and future state, organizations can identify the steps required to achieve the desired results. This roadmap helps to guide the implementation of process improvements, ensuring that they are carried out in a structured and logical manner.
Another benefit of Current State/Future State analysis is that it helps to align stakeholders and teams around a common goal. By mapping out the future state, organizations can clearly communicate their vision for the process, and stakeholders can provide input and feedback to ensure that the future state is achievable and aligned with organizational goals.
Performing a Current State/Future State analysis requires a structured approach that involves several steps. Here are the steps to follow for conducting a successful analysis:
By following these steps, organizations can perform a successful Current State/Future State analysis and achieve significant improvements in their processes. It is important to note that this is an iterative process, and organizations may need to repeat some of the steps to refine the process further.
Problem: A company that manufactures and distributes products to retailers is experiencing a high rate of customer returns and complaints due to incorrect or damaged products being shipped to customers. This has resulted in a loss of revenue and damage to the company’s reputation. The company wants to reduce the rate of returns and complaints and improve customer satisfaction.
Solution: The company can perform a Current State/Future State analysis to identify the root cause of the problem and design a future state that addresses the issues. The steps for the analysis could be as follows:
The current state of the Order Fulfillment process is characterized by a high rate of customer returns and complaints due to incorrect or damaged products being shipped. The process begins when a customer places an order through the company’s website. The order is then processed by the company’s order fulfillment team, who are responsible for picking the products from the warehouse, packaging them, and shipping them to the customer.
However, the current process lacks proper quality control checks and packaging materials. As a result, many products are shipped without being inspected for quality and packaged inadequately, leading to damage or incorrect items being shipped to customers. This has resulted in a high rate of customer returns and complaints, leading to a loss of revenue and damage to the company’s reputation.
To address these issues, the company has decided to conduct a Current State/Future State analysis of the Order Fulfillment process. The objective of the analysis is to identify the root causes of the issues and develop a plan to improve the process, reduce the rate of customer returns and complaints, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Here’s an example of a completed template based on a Current State/Future State analysis:
Step 1: Identify the Process to Analyze Process Name:
Order Fulfillment Objective of the Analysis:
Step 2: Map the Current State Input:
Customer Order Activity:
Step 3: Analyze the Current State Issues Identified:
Root Causes:
Process Performance Metrics:
Step 4: Define the Future State Proposed Changes:
Expected Improvements:
Here’s a table summarizing the Current State, Target State, and Gap for the Order Fulfillment process:
Aspect | Current State | Target State | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
Quality Control | No quality control checks | Quality control checks for all products | Large Gap |
Packaging Materials | Inadequate packaging materials | Adequate packaging materials | Large Gap |
Customer Feedback | No customer feedback mechanism | Customer feedback mechanism established | Large Gap |
Performance Metrics | No performance metrics | Performance metrics established | Large Gap |
Step 5: Develop a Roadmap Implementation Steps:
Resources Required:
Step 6: Implement the Changes Actions Taken:
Outcomes Achieved:
By using this template, the organization can document the Current State/Future State analysis process, track progress, and ensure that the analysis is aligned with organizational goals.
Here’s an action plan in table format based on the analysis above:
Aspect | Action | Responsible Party | Timeline |
---|---|---|---|
Quality Control | Hire additional staff for quality control checks | HR Department | Within 2 weeks |
Quality Control | Train staff on quality control procedures | Operations Manager | Within 4 weeks |
Quality Control | Implement quality control checks for all products | Operations Manager | Within 6 weeks |
Packaging Materials | Research and source adequate packaging materials | Purchasing Department | Within 4 weeks |
Packaging Materials | Train staff on proper use of packaging materials | Operations Manager | Within 6 weeks |
Customer Feedback | Establish customer feedback mechanism | Marketing Department | Within 4 weeks |
Customer Feedback | Train staff on customer feedback procedures | Marketing Department | Within 6 weeks |
Performance Metrics | Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) | Operations Manager | Within 2 weeks |
Performance Metrics | Set up systems to measure KPIs | IT Department | Within 4 weeks |
Performance Metrics | Regularly review KPIs and adjust processes as needed | Operations Manager | Ongoing |
This action plan outlines specific actions that need to be taken to address the gaps identified in the analysis. It also assigns responsibility for each action and sets a timeline for completion. By following this action plan, the company can work towards achieving the Target State for the Order Fulfillment process and improving the overall performance of the process.
Current State/Future State analysis is a powerful tool that allows organizations to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks in their processes and design a future state that optimizes the process for improved performance. This analysis is an essential part of process improvement initiatives, and it helps organizations to develop a roadmap for improvement and align stakeholders around a common goal.
To perform a successful Current State/Future State analysis, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the existing process, its strengths and weaknesses, and the desired outcome. This requires a structured and systematic approach, including process mapping, data collection, analysis, and stakeholder engagement. By following this approach, organizations can achieve significant improvements in their processes and achieve their desired goals.
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Assessing the Current State entails an examination of the market , customer , and internal factors contributing to changes in the business, and an analysis of the true root causes of the business disruption. Did the market or customer buying patterns change? Did the company not anticipate customer needs or maintain sufficiently high customer satisfaction? Did an innovative and faster-moving competitor insert itself into the customer base?
The Business-as-Usual Outcome is 1) a high-level analysis of the likely impact of these market and customer trends on future business, 2) the likely impact to the business if no changes to the company’s internal operations are made, and most importantly, 3) the timing of when those factors will manifest in the business.
The rapidity with which the Current State will transform into the Business-as-Usual Outcome will help set framing parameters for the speed and extent of the immediate-term actions outlined below. For example, a company in which a “cash cow” business is slowly declining, but with clear visibility through long-term contracts to a modest rate of future revenue declines over a multi-year period, requires very different actions than a company that is low in cash, in a loss situation, with rapid declines in its core business coupled with an acquisition in which the acquired company’s revenue declined catastrophically post-closing – i.e. both significant revenue declines coupled with significant increase in the expense basis coupled with minimal cash reserves. The former company must transform itself, but likely has a year or two to achieve significant changes; the latter must take immediate action that is likely to involve significant restructuring and workforce adjustments in a timeframe of two months or less. The actions taken must be bold to avoid a significant loss of shareholder value.
Even in situations which are relatively well-understood, it is still important to quantify the potential results of inaction in order to determine the urgency for transformation. In particular, if the need for transformation has been precipitated by a crisis such as an unanticipated and rapid decline in revenue, it may be easy to dismiss the situation as a one-time event rather than a warning sign of a more systemic problem. Especially if the company has been historically over-optimistic and focused on potential positive outcomes without adequately understanding the potential downside risks, it is very likely that no one fully understands the extent of the risk to the business. It’s highly likely the company is in denial about the potential extent of business degradation and likely outcomes if no actions are taken.
These downside risks must be discussed and understood because no leader operates in a vacuum. Transformations are extremely difficult undertakings and require focus, commitment and dedication. A leader who hasn’t built support for the end state within their management team or board will not succeed.
The Business-as-Usual Outcomes provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the result of inaction for four key metrics: Market & Competitive, Operating Results, Products & Services, and Customers. The analysis should include downside models of varying degrees of revenue and margin degradation, which will serve as the basis for determining the necessary changes in the next two steps.
Shown below is the executive summary template for the Business-as-Usual analysis:
The following example shows a filled out template, including C urrent Business State and Aspirational Business State , and changes needed for four key metrics: Market & Competitive, Operating Results, Products & Services, and Customers:
In summary, understanding the extent of the consequences of a Business-as-Usual strategy helps management and the company’s board realize the context for change and, determines the urgency with which action must be taken as well as the extent of the changes needed.
Once the context of the urgency (timeframe) and extent (degree of change) mandated by the Business-as-Usual Outcomes analysis is understood, the proper transformation process can begin.
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Need support creating your business plan? Check out these business plan examples for inspiration.
Any aspiring entrepreneur researching how to start a business will likely be advised to write a business plan. But few resources provide business plan examples to really guide you through writing one of your own.
Here are some real-world and illustrative business plan examples to help you craft your business plan .
The business plan examples in this article follow this template:
Your executive summary is a page that gives a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. It’s easiest to save this section for last.
In this free business plan template , the executive summary is four paragraphs and takes a little over half a page:
You might repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page, social media profile pages, or other properties that require a boilerplate description of your small business.
Soap brand ORRIS has a blurb on its About page that could easily be repurposed for the company description section of its business plan.
You can also go more in-depth with your company overview and include the following sections, like in the example for Paw Print Post:
Your mission statement may also make an appearance here. Passionfruit shares its mission statement on its company website, and it would also work well in its example business plan.
The market analysis consists of research about supply and demand, your target demographics, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. You might run a SWOT analysis and include that in your business plan.
Here’s an example SWOT analysis for an online tailored-shirt business:
You’ll also want to do a competitive analysis as part of the market research component of your business plan. This will tell you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to differentiate your brand. A broad competitive analysis might include:
This section of your business plan describes your offerings—which products and services do you sell to your customers? Here’s an example for Paw Print Post:
It’s always a good idea to develop a marketing plan before you launch your business. Your marketing plan shows how you’ll get the word out about your business, and it’s an essential component of your business plan as well.
The Paw Print Post focuses on four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place. However, you can take a different approach with your marketing plan. Maybe you can pull from your existing marketing strategy , or maybe you break it down by the different marketing channels. Whatever approach you take, your marketing plan should describe how you intend to promote your business and offerings to potential customers.
The Paw Print Post example considered suppliers, production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory.
The financial plan provides a breakdown of sales, revenue, profit, expenses, and other relevant financial metrics related to funding and profiting from your business.
Ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy’s financial plan breaks down predicted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.
It then dives deeper into the financials to include:
You can use this financial plan spreadsheet to build your own financial statements, including income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement.
A one-page business plan is meant to be high level and easy to understand at a glance. You’ll want to include all of the sections, but make sure they’re truncated and summarized:
A startup business plan is for a new business. Typically, these plans are developed and shared to secure outside funding . As such, there’s a bigger focus on the financials, as well as on other sections that determine viability of your business idea—market research, for example.
Your internal business plan is meant to keep your team on the same page and aligned toward the same goal.
A strategic, or growth, business plan is a bigger picture, more-long-term look at your business. As such, the forecasts tend to look further into the future, and growth and revenue goals may be higher. Essentially, you want to use all the sections you would in a normal business plan and build upon each.
Your feasibility business plan is sort of a pre-business plan—many refer to it as simply a feasibility study. This plan essentially lays the groundwork and validates that it’s worth the effort to make a full business plan for your idea. As such, it’s mostly centered around research.
Building a good business plan serves as a roadmap you can use for your ecommerce business at launch and as you reach each of your business goals. Business plans create accountability for entrepreneurs and synergy among teams, regardless of your business model .
Kickstart your ecommerce business and set yourself up for success with an intentional business planning process—and with the sample business plans above to guide your own path.
How do i write a simple business plan, what is the best format to write a business plan, what are the 4 key elements of a business plan.
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The current state identifies the existing process flow, and allows your team to analyze the related data to identify gaps in process and / or wastage which can be streamlined for efficiencies. It provides you with a single current state that acts as an incredibly effective way of managing cross functional problem solving:
– You can highlight areas of customer and internal pain on a single wall, all visible at the same time
– You can build out problem statements and the findings of your root cause analysis in a powerful visual way
– Specific points where you know an improvement needs to be scoped and defined in detail can be added to the relevant points in the current state.
So there you have it – on a single wall you have a way of facilitating a large complex, cross functional group through your traditional improvement process, but in a way that continually reinforces the performance goals of the value stream in relation to customer expectation, flow and cross functional efficiency.
Your improvements will often focus on activity within an upstream function for down-stream benefit, attacking the wait time or inventory between process steps or the ‘hand-shake’ points where different functions are handing work off to each other.
Jot down the current situation of your company’s business and create a roadmap for your company’s future strategies with this current state vs future state PowerPoint template. Current state and future state processes go hand-in-hand when evaluating business processes.
The current state vs future state PowerPoint template is ideal to show the transformation process that can lead to improvement and growth in a business. The current state looks at what is happening now while the future state looks at things to be done to achieve success.
The infographic in the first slide picture the current state and the future state, their statuses and what gap barrier needed to be broken. Show the winning transformation from the current state to future state over a period of time with the infographic in the second slide.
Elaborate the transformation journey with the third and fourth slides. The bus on the bridge and the race scenarios are metaphor of the transformation journey and the milestones to be achieved while on transit from the current state to the future state.
This template will be useful to managers in preparation for the strategic session with the shareholders of the company. You can present in detail your company development plan for several years ahead. For example, you can indicate which sales are planned in the coming years, which sales markets will be involved for the sale of goods.
This pattern will also be useful to startups when preparing for a meeting with investors and business angels. University teachers and business coaches can use this pattern when preparing their courses on strategic planning or setting goals. Team executives can also use this template when preparing for weekly sprints with team members.
Ideal for use by business analysts, strategic planners, business owners, big and small entrepreneurs. Present the current future state analysis to your audiences and help your company’s business grow into the future. This template contains all the necessary tools for building a professional and modern presentation. If necessary, you can independently change the size and color of infographics, location and font type according to your corporate requirements. This template will be a worthy addition to your collection of professional presentations.
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Simone Biles of the United States prepares to practice during a gymnastics training session at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
The mascot for the Olympics greets fans prior to the women’s Group A soccer match between Canada and New Zealand at Geoffroy-Guichard stadium during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Saint-Etienne, France. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Players from the Netherlands, left, and Switzerland, practice beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The United States team from left to right, Hezly Rivera, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles pose for a picture during a gymnastics training session at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
PARIS (AP) — On the heels of low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers, a poll from Gallup released Thursday found.
Simone Biles and women’s gymnastics are poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most anticipated sport.
But according to the poll, 30% of respondents said they will not watch any of the Games, 34% said they will not watch much and 35% said they would watch at least a fair amount. That last figure is down from the 48% measured before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Gallup did not measure viewing intentions for the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed a year.
NBC’s prime-time coverage of the Tokyo Olympics mostly drew about half the audience of its Summer Games predecessor. The Beijing Olympics had the lowest-ever U.S. audience for a Winter Games. Both Games were held under severe restrictions, limiting spectators and dampening the typical fanfare. NBC, which holds the U.S. broadcasting rights through 2032, is trying to turn around that trend by enlisting a slew of entertainers and non-Olympian athletes in its coverage.
The last three Olympics, including the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, were held in time zones that limited how much live action NBC could air in prime time.
The network did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment on the poll. Biles and the rest of the U.S. gymnastics squad could bring in high ratings, though, with Gallup finding in general that women’s sports were as anticipated as men’s. Forty-two percent chose women’s gymnastics as their most anticipated sport, while around two-thirds of respondents ranked it in their top three. That competition begins with qualifying on Sunday.
For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games .
Frequently asked questions, what happens if i work and get social security retirement benefits.
You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time. However, if you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, we will reduce your benefits. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, we will not reduce your benefits no matter how much you earn.
We use the following earnings limits to reduce your benefits:
For 2024 that limit is $22,320.
If you will reach full retirement age in 2024, the limit on your earnings for the months before full retirement age is $59,520.
Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, you can get your benefits with no limit on your earnings.
Use our Retirement Age Calculator to find your full retirement age based on your date of birth.
Use our Retirement Earnings Test Calculator to find out how much your benefits will be reduced.
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When we figure out how much to deduct from your benefits, we count only the wages you make from your job or your net earnings if you're self-employed. We include bonuses, commissions, and vacation pay. We don't count pensions, annuities, investment income, interest , veterans benefits, or other government or military retirement benefits.
Your benefits may increase when you work:
As long as you continue to work, even if you are receiving benefits, you will continue to pay Social Security taxes on your earnings. However, we will check your record every year to see whether the additional earnings you had will increase your monthly benefit. If there is an increase, we will send you a letter telling you of your new benefit amount.
When you’re ready to apply for retirement benefits, use our online retirement application , the quickest, easiest, and most convenient way to apply. If you need to report a change in your earnings after you begin receiving benefits: If you receive benefits and are under full retirement age and you think your earnings will be different than what you originally told us, let us know right away. You cannot report a change of earnings online. Please call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or contact your local Social Security office .
There is a different work test for beneficiaries working outside of the United States. If you live outside of the United States, visit the Social Security Office of Earnings & International Operations page to find the office that serves your country of residence.
More Information How Work Affects Your Benefits Examples: How We Deduct Earnings From Benefits
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Below are the most recent tuition rates with room and board estimates for an academic year (fall and spring semesters). These costs are set by the Board of Trustees each year in July. We encourage students and families to budget for additional cost including travel, personal expenses, books, and supplies. Penn State's tuition rates vary by campus, program, student level, and residency.
Please visit the Office of Summer Session website to see an estimate of the costs for Penn State's summer session.
All World Campus students pay the same tuition rate, regardless of residency. Visit the World Campus website for tuition details.
Penn State provides several tools to help you estimate the costs associated with earning a degree. We encourage students to use them in order to have a better understanding of the true cost of attendance.
Estimate essential costs of attending Penn State, then customize for a more accurate reflection of your individual expenses.
Use this tool to calculate tuition based on campus, program, and residency, and see specific rates for individual students.
Research room and meal rates for each campus to understand the costs associated with your living options.
Find detailed financial information for international students interested in attending Penn State, including costs and aid options.
Penn State’s Office of Student Aid handles loans, grants, work-study, and scholarships, and is your go-to for financial questions.
Since Penn State is a state-affiliated institution, tuition rates are different for in-state and out-of-state students. Learn more about the policy and the process if you have to appeal residency.
Generally speaking, a student needs to live in Pennsylvania for non-academic reasons for a year prior to enrollment to be considered a resident for tuition purposes. More details on Penn State’s residency policy and residency FAQs can be found on the Office of the Bursar website .
When students apply to Penn State, most times residency is set automatically based on the location of a student’s high school. If this is the case when you apply, and your high school no longer reflects your state of residency, or you believe you have been incorrectly classified as an out-of-state student, you will need to submit a residency appeal . Details about this process are available on the Office of the Bursar website.
For residency appeals prior to enrollment, please send the following documentation to the Undergraduate Admissions Office by mail or fax. Be sure to include your full name and Penn State ID or MyPennState user ID with your appeal. Appeals should include a written explanation, as well as the following items:
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Veterans using any chapter of the GI Bill®, and dependents receiving Chapter 33, Chapter 35 or Fry Scholarship benefits will be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of residency. If you are a veteran and you are not using GI bill® benefits, please contact your campus Certifying Official to determine requirements to establish eligibility for the in-state rate. All active duty military and DOD employees (their spouse and dependent children) are eligible for consideration to receive in-state tuition provided they are assigned to an active duty station in Pennsylvania and reside in Pennsylvania. Active duty military and DOD employees (their spouse and dependent children) enrolled in Penn State's World Campus will receive in-state tuition.
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T he Office of Student Aid is just one unit that offers scholarships and awards at Penn State. Additionally, scholarships and awards can be offered from academic colleges, campuses, and other administrative units, some of which will require separate applications. In addition to the scholarships and awards outlined on the Office of Student Aid website , Penn State offers the following awards to incoming first-year and transfer students through Undergraduate Admissions:
The Discover Award is awarded to first-time, first-year domestic students who enroll at a Penn State campus other than Penn State University Park or Penn State World Campus for both the fall and spring semester immediately following their high school graduation. Transfer students who enroll in a degree program that can be completed at a Penn State campus other than Penn State University Park or Penn State World campus are also eligible.
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A new law that could force homeowners across California to cover billions of dollars of insurer losses caused by a catastrophic wildfire is generating pushback from a leading consumer group, which has called it an industry “bailout.”
State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Friday he had reached an agreement with the California FAIR Plan that would allow losses suffered by the state’s insurer of last resort to be recouped by surcharges on residential and commercial insurance policies statewide in an “extreme worst case scenario.”
The FAIR Plan, which insures property owners who cannot get or afford traditional policies, is backed by licensed insurers such as State Farm and Allstate. As the program is structured, they are on the hook to pay claims if the FAIR Plan runs through its reserves, reinsurance and catastrophe bonds.
Major insurers have pulled back from California’s homeowners market, citing wildfires, inflation and other challenges. But there are steps at-risk homeowners can take now to secure coverage and at lower prices.
March 29, 2024
Under Lara’s agreement, if that happens the insurers would be required to cover up to $2 billion in FAIR Plan claims — $1 billion for residential and $1 billion for commercial claims. They could then temporarily surcharge their own policyholders for half of what they are assessed with the approval of the insurance commissioner.
Homeowners would not be surcharged for commercial losses — only holders of commercial policies would be. The agreement also allows insurers to temporarily surcharge policyholders for 100% of claims in excess of those amounts with the approval of the insurance commissioner.
“It’s outrageous and outside the law for the insurance commissioner to force consumers to bail out home insurance companies and then call that consumer protection,” said Carmen Balber, executive director of Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog .
Gabriel Sanchez, Lara’s press secretary, defended the agreement, saying, “It would be easy to listen to the elites and the entrenched interests defending a system that clearly isn’t working. Commissioner Lara is focused on hearing from the public, following the data and creating realistic, long-lasting solutions for everyone in this state.”
The FAIR Plan assessment is the latest element of Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, a package of executive actions intended to stabilize the California market, which has seen insurers stop writing new policies and decline to renew existing policies amid a sharp increase in claims for wildfires damage.
Just this week, firefighters are battling the massive Park fire in Butte, Tehama and Shasta counties, where 100 structures have been destroyed, 4,200 were threatened and 26,000 people were forced to evacuate as of Monday. It is the sixth-largest fire in state history.
The insurance industry will soon have the ability to use wildfire models when setting rates. Homeowners in high risk areas already know how these models have made policies hard to get and hard to afford.
July 26, 2024
As insurers have pulled back from high-fire risk neighborhoods, the number of residential FAIR Plan policies has more than doubled since 2019 to about 408,000 as of June. Commercial policies similarly increased to 11,026.
The FAIR Plan has a market share under 4%. Policyholders are concentrated in canyons, hillsides and other high-risk neighborhoods, vulnerable to fire and catastrophic insurance losses. The plan’s loss exposure was $393 billion as of June, even though the plan’s policies are more limited than those available through the regular commercial market.
Lara said Friday in a release announcing the agreement that “modernizing the FAIR Plan is a crucial step in our strategy to stabilize California’s insurance market.”
The FAIR Plan’s financial risk is overwhelmingly due to its residential policies, which account for about 95% of its $393 billion in total loss exposure, according to the insurer.
The Insurance Department downplayed a worst-case scenario, noting that even the 2018 Camp fire in Butte County that ravaged the town of Paradise, destroying or damaging more than 19,000 structures and causing some $16.5 billion in damage , did not deplete the FAIR Plan’s reserves.
The Insurance Department contended that the agreement was actually favorable to consumers because under current law there is nothing prohibiting the insurers from seeking policyholder assessments on all FAIR Plan losses they must cover.
“The agreement ... requires insurance companies to share the burden, something not clearly outlined before. That protects consumers by providing predictability which leads to stability,” Sanchez said.
Balber disputed that reading of the law and said Lara has not been able to get legislative authority for the insurer policyholder assessments, so he proceeded under questionable executive authority. “We have several questions about the legality of this proposal and are looking into it,” she said.
Consumer Watchdog has called for requiring insurers to offer policies in wildfire-prone neighborhoods to homeowners who have taken steps to reduce fire risks on their property as the best method to reduce enrollment in the FAIR Plan and stabilize the state’s insurance market.
Another key element of Lara’s FAIR Plan reforms call for the insurer to offer greater commercial coverage — up to $20 million per structure and $100 million for any one location.
Dan Dunmoyer, chief executive of the California Building Industry Assn., said the trade group has been seeking higher commercial coverage limits due to the rise of insurance premiums, which have slowed the construction of condominium complexes that builders insure.
He estimated that astronomical insurance rate increases have slowed condo construction by about 70% in the last 12 months, with fewer than 6,000 units built.
“Our view on this is: Get some competition in the marketplace, expand commercial coverage, let us build the most affordable for sale homes in California, which are condos,” he said.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Assn., an industry trade group, called Lara’s plan “an important step toward restoring the FAIR Plan’s financial stability and ensuring consumers have access to the coverage they need.”
The deal reached by Lara with the FAIR Plan is a binding legal stipulation and it requires the insurer to develop a “Plan of Operation” within 30 days detailing how it will carry out the agreement. It has 120 days to submit a rate plan for offering the higher commercial coverage.
The FAIR Plan was sued last week by four California residents who claim its policies offer subpar coverage for fire and smoke damage. The proposed class-action lawsuit seeks to represent more than 300,000 of the plan’s residential policyholders. The plan also is facing a lawsuit from more than 1,000 homeowners in Los Angeles who say the plan wrongly denied their claims.
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Laurence Darmiento covers finance, insurance, aerospace and dealmakers in Southern California for the Los Angeles Times. He joined the paper in 2015 as an assistant business editor and has overseen finance, real estate and Washington business coverage. Previously he had been the managing editor of the Los Angeles Business Journal and was a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News and other outlets. A New York native, he is an alumnus of Cornell University.
Aug. 3, 2024
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The current state of business today.
CEO of philipfsmith.com - Serial Entrepreneur and Expert in Digital Marketing and E-learning.
With Covid-19 and the evolution of technology, businesses must be agile and flexible to survive. Businesses need to pivot to changes in the market and be responsive, such as being open to experimentation and innovation. This includes being able to adapt to new ways of working, such as remote teams and virtual communication.
Based on my experience as a serial entrepreneur, here's my breakdown of the current state of business in 2023.
One major change for businesses is the shift to digital operations. The pandemic created more remote work, online retail opportunities and digital marketing campaigns, leading many companies to pivot their strategies in order to meet customer needs. This has led to an increase in cybersecurity threats.
Businesses can protect themselves from cyberattacks by implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy that includes regularly updating software and systems to address known vulnerabilities, using strong, unique passwords and multifactor authentication and avoiding malicious emails.
Best covid-19 travel insurance plans, increased attention on corporate social responsibility.
Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and social impacts of products and services they purchase and are demanding that businesses take action to address these issues. Many companies have responded by implementing sustainability initiatives and promoting their social responsibility efforts in order to retain customers.
Small business leaders can implement effective CSR by aligning them with their values and collaborating with other organizations.
Companies are also turning to gig workers to fill temporary or project-based roles, leading to a blurring of the lines between traditional employment and gig work. An increase in the use of independent contractors and freelancers can impact business leaders in a number of ways.
Business leaders will likely need to develop new strategies for onboarding and managing a workforce that may not be physically present in the office. Additionally, there may be a need for technology to facilitate remote work. Leaders can start by developing an understanding of how it affects their industry and adapting management and HR policies.
In my opinion, a company that can effectively manage a remote team can be just as efficient as an in-house team, if not more so. Remote work can provide a number of benefits for companies, such as the ability to access a wider pool of talent, increased flexibility and greater productivity. However, managing a remote team requires a different set of skills and strategies compared to managing an in-house team.
A company that can successfully manage a remote team will have a clear and effective communication plan, a robust set of tools and technologies to facilitate collaboration and communication, and a culture that values flexibility and trust. With the right approach and the right tools, a company can manage a remote team and be just as efficient as an in-house team.
Overall, the current state of business is one of uncertainty and change. As 2023 evolves, companies must be ready to adapt to new challenges in order to succeed.
Whether it's embracing digital technologies, prioritizing sustainability or adapting to the gig economy, businesses that are able to respond to the changing landscape will be best positioned for success in the coming years.
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Demonstrators voice discontent over government reforms they say have triggered high inflation and devalued the currency.
Nigerian troops and police have tightened security in Lagos and the capital, Abuja, as nationwide protests over the rising cost of living kicked off and are expected to continue for 10 days.
Africa’s most populous country is struggling with soaring inflation and a sharply devalued naira currency after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu introduced reforms a year ago aimed at reviving the economy.
Economic downturn punctures joy of festive season in nigeria, nigeria’s power grid shut down, airlines disrupted as unions strike, why are nigeria’s worker unions up in arms.
Tagged #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement has won support with an online campaign among Nigerians who are battling with food inflation at 40 percent and fuel prices that have tripled since Tinubu introduced his reforms.
On Thursday, police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Abuja, the Reuters news agency reported. In the northern city of Kano, protesters tried to light bonfires outside the governor’s office and police responded with tear gas, the AFP news agency said.
Security forces blocked roads leading to Abuja’s Eagle Square – one of the planned demonstration sites – while in Lagos, police and soldiers were placed at strategic points, including at the Lekki toll gate, where protests in 2020 against police brutality ended in bloodshed.
“Duty is very clear: to ensure that the protest is peaceful, devoid of violence, devoid of the horrific things that happened during the rising in 2020,” Adegoke Fayoade, the state police commissioner in Lagos, told Al Jazeera.
To ease the economic pain, the government on Wednesday announced some measures including delivering grain to states across the country and aid to the most needy.
But in markets across Nigeria, residents stocked up on food and essentials amid concerns over the likelihood of growing violence during the demonstrations.
“The police are brutalising the Nigerian people and people want that to stop,” activist Ismail Olushola Oladare, who participated in the 2020 protests, told Al Jazeera.
“Today, this particular protest and bad governance protest is about the standard of living of people,” he said.
Protest leaders, a loose coalition of civil society groups, promised to press on with rallies despite what they said were legal challenges trying to limit their rallies to public parks instead of marches.
Omolola Pedro, a protest organiser, told Al Jazeera that the idea of the rallies was to let the government know that Nigerians have had enough of the government’s “abuse of human rights, unstable economic situation [resulting from] the policies that they have made”.
The organisers have presented a list of 19 demands. At the core of their grievances is the removal of a state subsidy on petroleum products, which they blame for the crisis.
The demonstrations come after weeks of unrest and antigovernment protests that turned violent in Kenya, where President William Ruto was forced to repeal planned tax hikes.
In Uganda, police detained dozens of people as they took part in banned anticorruption protests organised online by young activists inspired by Kenya’s rallies.
“Some groups of people, self-appointed crusaders and influencers, have been strategising and mobilising potential protesters to unleash terror in the land under the guise of replicating the recent Kenya protests,” said Kayode Egbetokun, Nigeria’s inspector general of police.
“We will, therefore, not sit back and fold our arms to watch violent activities unleash violence on our peaceful communities or destroy any of our national critical infrastructure and assets again,” Egbetokun said after meeting senior officers in Abuja.
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It will help establish which actions to take to move your business from Point A to Point B. A current state analysis includes: Current information about the business and your business plan, including customer segmentation, value propositions, finances, and sales projections. Information on the ecosystem your business exists within.
Business problems are rarely simple, so giving short shrift to the current state assessment is likely to lead to wasted time and resources down the road. Reviewing a few reports and talking to a couple of executives will rarely yield the kind of insights needed to determine and implement a course of action with confidence.
Assessing the current state is a crucial step in the strategic planning process. It allows organizations to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By evaluating these factors, organizations can gain a better understanding of their current position and make strategic decisions for the future.
A marketing plan covers at least one year of company information and may take months to write. It describes a description of the company, the marketing plans in place and goals for the future. It also states the company's mission statement. The current business situation is one section in the plan describing the company's current state of ...
Step 1: Assess your current business strategy and business environment. Before you can define where you're going, you first need to define where you are. Understanding the external environment, including market trends and competitive landscape, is crucial in the initial assessment phase of strategic planning.
Apart from this, I believe the business plan should speak to the current state of the business and why it's up for sale. For example, if someone is purchasing a failing business, the business plan should explain why the business is being purchased. It should also include: What the new owner will do to turn the business around.
To perform a current state analysis, follow these seven steps: 1. Focus on a single product or service. List all the business' products and services. Then, select a focal product or service. Choose something that's relatively easy to produce and involves few processes.
Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It's also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. After completing your plan, you can ...
A strategic plan or a business strategic plan should include the following: Your organization's vision organization's vision of the future. A clearly Articulated mission and values statement. A current state assessment that evaluates your competitive environment, new opportunities, and new threats. What strategic challenges you face.
Business Plan: A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a ...
2. Benchmark your current business performance. Use goals, historical data, and past gap analyses to benchmark your current business performance, processes, or workflows, and set the standard for how you work. At the same time, evaluate your current processes with a business process analysis (BPA).
The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you're offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are ...
A current state vs. future state diagram is a visual tool that shows an organization's current operations and its envisioned future scenario — using standardized symbols and notations. They're especially helpful for business analysts, project managers, and organizational leaders who need to plan major changes or improvements.
How to Use Gap Analysis. Use the following three-step process to conduct a Gap Analysis. 1. Identify Your Future State. First, identify the objectives that you want to achieve, and the timeframe that you want to achieve them in. This gives you your desired future state - the ideal "place" where you want your business or project to be.
Current State - You must know your current state in order to move forward. Take a 360 degree view of your business and gather as much data as you can. A SWOT analysis would be handy here.
While your plan will be unique to your business and goals, keep these tips in mind as you write. 1. Know your audience. When you know who will be reading your plan—even if you're just writing it for yourself to clarify your ideas—you can tailor the language and level of detail to them.
Current State/Future State analysis is a process that involves mapping out the current state of a business process, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and then designing a future state that addresses those weaknesses and optimizes the process for better results. ... This action plan outlines specific actions that need to be taken to ...
Bottom Line. Writing an executive summary doesn't need to be difficult if you've already done the work of writing the business plan itself. Take the elements from the plan and summarize each ...
Understand the Results of Inaction. The Business-as-Usual Outcome is 1) a high-level analysis of the likely impact of these market and customer trends on future business, 2) the likely impact to the business if no changes to the company's internal operations are made, and most importantly, 3) the timing of when those factors will manifest in ...
A good business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your business. You'll use your business plan as a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business. It's a way to think through the key elements of your business. Business plans can help you get funding or bring on new business partners.
7 business plan examples: section by section. The business plan examples in this article follow this template: Executive summary. An introductory overview of your business. Company description. A more in-depth and detailed description of your business and why it exists. Market analysis.
The current state vs future state PowerPoint template is ideal to show the transformation process that can lead to improvement and growth in a business. The current state looks at what is happening now while the future state looks at things to be done to achieve success. The infographic in the first slide picture the current state and the ...
PARIS (AP) — On the heels of low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers, a poll from Gallup released Thursday found. Simone Biles and women's gymnastics are poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most anticipated sport.. But according to the poll, 30% of respondents said they ...
You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time. However, if you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, we will reduce your benefits.
Intel is slashing 15% of its staff as part of a $10 billion plan to reduce costs, the tech company announced in its second-quarter earnings Thursday. "Simply put, we must align our cost ...
Copy of your current Pennsylvania driver's license or state-issued photo identification card. Residency Information for Active Military Personnel or Dependents. Veterans using any chapter of the GI Bill®, and dependents receiving Chapter 33, Chapter 35 or Fry Scholarship benefits will be eligible for in-state tuition regardless of residency.
Proposed reforms of the California FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, are slammed by a consumer group as a 'bailout' for the insurance industry.
2023 And Beyond. Overall, the current state of business is one of uncertainty and change. As 2023 evolves, companies must be ready to adapt to new challenges in order to succeed. Whether it's ...
Trump's deportation plan, however, could push Wisconsin toward Harris because a 2023 University of Wisconsin survey found that "an estimated 70% of the labor on [the state's] dairy farms ...
Nigerian troops and police have tightened security in Lagos and the capital, Abuja, as nationwide protests over the rising cost of living kicked off and are expected to continue for 10 days.