Introduction
Business today is characterized by change which presents numerous challenges to anyone attempting to lead and manage a business. Thinking ahead into the new millennium requires us to have foresight and flexibility and to be able to differentiate between what is urgent versus what is important. In this workshop we will attempt to demystify the complexities of business and provide practical skills to the participants through an experiential environment.

At the heart of the Workshop is an exciting and dynamic computer-based business simulation which provides participants with a broad perspective on running a business as part of a senior management team. Teams make strategic and tactical decisions, evaluate performance results, and compete for market share and business opportunities. They learn how to gain a competitive advantage in a ‘real life’ marketplace. Management teams make decisions on every aspect of business including: marketing, operations and finance.

Objectives
By the end of this program, trainers/potential trainers will be able to:
Understand the importance of Business Strategy and identify strategies for their respective business areas.
Practice building a Strategic Business Plan.
Apply techniques to facilitate strategy formulation and planning in a discontinuous environment.
Understand the trade-offs and implications in developing and implementing strategies.
Develop a strategy and make decisions consistent with that strategy.
Learn to link business unit goals and objectives to corporate goals and objectives

Who should attend?
Professional, managers or executives who have to develop and implement strategic
business plans.
Individuals who must develop strategies for a business unit, subsidiary, division, department or for the organization.

Key Topics
Strategic Planning/Managing
- Understand the Strategic Planning Process and be able to develop Mission, Objectives, Goals and Strategies. Business Planning Tool
- Use of SMG’s tool for Business Planning focused on a step-by-step approach to Strategic Business Planning.
Business Simulation
- Computer-based interactive case study covering selected modules on Financial Management, Differentiation Strategies, Competitive Analysis and Marketing Strategy.
Market Structure Analysis
- Analysis technique to examine the external environment consisting of customers, competitors, industry and the environment.
Strategy Formulation
- Developing strategy and current ideas on strategy formulation. Focus on value innovation.
Core Competencies
- Understand the approach of identifying core competencies within a business. Apply the competency test to identified core competencies.
Measures of Business Performance
- Focus on Key Performance Indicators and the approach of the Balanced Scorecard