Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Research Proposal - Panera Bread


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Research Proposal - Str581

Research Proposal
"The strategic management process is a sequential set of analyses and choices that increase the likelihood that a firm will choose a strategy that enables it to perform well" (Barney, 2007).   This process is made up of many critical tasks; namely the first three steps outlined in Chapter 1 of Pearce and Robinson's Strategic Management.   The first step listed is to formulate the company's mission to include broad statements about the company's purpose and goals.   The next step is to conduct an analysis that reflects the company's internal conditions and capabilities. The third step listed is to perform an assessment of the company's external environment.   The author of this paper will begin the strategic planning process for Panera Bread.   This paper will explain how to validate Panera Bread's vision, mission, and value statements as well as the sources that will be utilized in performing an external and internal environmental analysis.

A firm's mission defines what the purpose of the organization is and is usually expressed in the form of a mission statement.   Another statement that is important to an organization's strategic plan is the vision.   The vision defines the direction of the organization and usually how the mission will be accomplished.   Values are often statements that express what the organization believes, they put the heart into the mission statement by identifying the manner in which the mission will be carried out.   At Panera Bread, the mission is actually quite short and sweet; "a loaf of bread in every arm" (Panera, 2011).   

Although Panera does not have a published vision or values statement, it does also publish its "bread leadership goal".   Their bread leadership goal is very similar to a vision statement and reads, "With the single goal of making great bread broadly available to consumers across America, Panera Bread freshly bakes more bread each day than any bakery-cafe concept in the country." (Panera, 2011).   More important that what the mission and vision statements actually say is their alignment to chosen strategies and how they are validated.

There are many ways in which a firm can validate its mission, vision, and value statements.   The first is by developing and prioritizing critical success factors (CSF) that can be identified by interviewing key managers or viewing budget reports, audit reports, and management study reports.   CSFs are the answers to questions such as "what must go right for the mission to be accomplished, what is necessary for the organization to stay competitive, and what must be changed to achieve the mission and vision of the organization?"   Another way to measure or validate Panera's statements is to benchmark.   Benchmarking is the process of examining comparative measures in the processes, services, and products of an organization.   Benchmarking performance measures and organizational goals is a useful tool in validating goal statements and refining the strategic plan once it has been implemented.   Understanding CSFs and benchmarking as well as their implications are critical components in continuous improvement.  

Creating a strategic plan for Panera Bread must include an in depth examination and analysis of internal and external environmental factors.   A firm can identify critical threats and opportunities by conducting an external analysis.   Whereas an "internal analysis helps a firm identify its organizational strengths and weaknesses" (Barney, 2007).   The most common tool used in the internal and external analysis steps of the strategic management process is a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.   This type of analysis allows management to focus their attention on both the external (opportunities and threats) and internal (strengths and weaknesses) attributes of a firm's environment.   There are a variety of factors that influence a firm's ability to attract or acquire needed resources and to profitably market its goods and services, for this reason environmental assessment is very important.

Panera Bread has several different strategies to choose from in attempting to achieve both short and long-term success.   Armed with an effective mission statement and completed internal and external analysis, they will be prepared to make the best strategic choices and decisions for implementing their strategic plan.   Management at Panera Bread must validate their goal statements as well as complete a comprehensive analysis of internal and external environments that will enable them to make the best strategic choices for implementation in order to fully realize and maximize any opportunity for expansion, growth, improvement, and success.


References
Barney. J.B. (2007). Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage. (3rd ed.). New Jersey. Pearson-Prentice Hall.
Panera Bread. (2011). Company Overview. Retrieved from http://www.panerabread.com/about/company/
Pearce, J.A. & Robinson, R.B. (2011). Strategic Management. Formulation, Implementation, and Control. (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Company.