1. Explain the factors for the failure of strategies.

1. Having a plan simply for plans sake. Some organizations go through the motions of developing a plan simply because common sense says every good organization must have a plan. Dont do this. Just like most everything in life, you get out of a plan what you put in. If youre going to take the time to do it, do it right. 2. Having a plan simply for plans sake. Some organizations go through the motions of developing a plan simply because common sense says every good organization must have a plan. Dont do this. Just like most everything in life, you get out of a plan what you put in. If youre going to take the time to do it, do it right. 3. Not understanding the environment or focusing on results.Planning teams must pay attention to changes in the business environment, set meaningful priorities, and understand the need to pursue results. 4. Partial commitment. Business owners/CEOs/presidents must be fully committed and fully understand how a strategic plan can improve their enterprise. Without this knowledge, its tough to stay committed to the process. 5. Not having the right people involved. Those charged with executing the plan should be involved from the onset. Those involved in creating the plan will be committed to seeing it through execution. 6. Writing the plan and putting it on the shelf. This is as bad as not writing a plan at all. If a plan is to be an effective management tool, it must be used and reviewed continually. Unlike Twinkies or a fine vino, strategic plans dont have a good shelf life. 7. 8. Unwillingness or inability to change. Your company and your strategic plan must be nimble and able to adapt as market conditions change. Having the wrong people in leadership positions. Managementmust be willing to make the tough decisions to ensure the right individuals are in the right leadership positions. The right individuals include those who will advocate for and champion the strategic plan and keep the company on track. 9. Ignoring marketplace reality, facts, and assumptions. Dont bury your head in the sand when it comes to marketplace realities, and dont discount potential problems because they have not had an immediate impact on your business yet. Plan in advance and youll be ready when the tide comes in. 10. No accountability or follow through. Be tough once the plan is developed and resources are committed and ensure there are consequences for not delivering on the strategy.

11. Unrealistic goals or lack of focus and resources. Strategic plans must be focused and include a manageable number of goals, objectives, and programs. Fewer and focused is better than numerous and nebulous. Also be prepared to assign adequate resources to accomplish those goals and objectives outlined in the plan. By avoiding these pitfalls, you can create an effective planning process, build a realistic business direction for the future, and greatly improve the chances for successful implementation of your strategy.

3.Describe planning and strategic management in small firms. A small business has a choice of two goals: Increase profits but stay small, or grow into a larger business. You can devote time and effort creating a strategic plan that will help you achieve the goal you want, but the way you implement it is what makes the strategy work. A small business owner is pulled in so many directions that just creating the plan is a responsibility that takes time away from the business, let alone implementing it. The solution might be to manage your company using the elements of strategic planning in a longer-term, day-to-day effort. Assessment Take a week or two to scrutinize your industry, competition and the general state of business in the local economy. Think about how trends have changed over the last couple of years, and where they might be headed, as you go through your daily tasks. Take notes as ideas arise. After that, take time to consider your target customer, what she values, and how you can meet her needs. Last, spend time looking at each sector of your enterprise: how it operates, whether it is efficient, and how it fulfills the needs of your customers. You will immediately see problems that can be fixed with little effort. And you will already have some ideas about adapting to the competitive environment and satisfying your target customer. Positioning Positioning is just another way of asking yourself what you want to accomplish in your business. The most important aspect of positioning is that it sets a specific direction for your business. For example, if a bakery owner positions her business to increase profits but remain a small local establishment, her operations, inventory, marketing and customer service will align with creating more varieties of baked goods more cost-efficiently, and perhaps opening a coffee shop by expanding into the space next door. If her positioning is to grow into a much bigger regional or national company, then her operations, inventory and marketing will align with developing distribution channels throughout the state and, eventually, the entire nation. If you know the direction you want your company to take, align the various elements of your enterprise with that directional goal. This avoids wasting time and effort on activities that don't add to your bottom line. With alignment of your total enterprise in mind, delay making any changes until you have positioned your company and set a direction.

Write it Down It is important to write down your plan, even if it's no more than a few pages based on the notes you made. Start with your positioning statement, detailing your directional goal. Then list benchmarks toward that goal, such as leasing the space next door, hiring additional staff and buying new equipment. Include estimates of the cost. The rest of your strategic plan is an action plan for your operations, inventory, marketing and customer service, designed to meet those benchmarks. The value of a written strategic plan is that it serves as a touchstone. You can review your initial ideas when the pressure of running your business causes them to get foggy. It is also a good reference document that can be consulted in future years when searching for new ideas or reviewing ideas that worked well or didn't work at all. Update your written strategic plan so it serves as a business management diary. This way it can be a useful resource for you and your managers. Implementation Ensure the success of your strategic plan by taking steps to properly implement it. While you are scrutinizing your industry and your own enterprise, hold brainstorming sessions with your key employees. Including suppliers and customers in your sessions may also be beneficial. The cooperation of your managers, staff and suppliers is vital to the success of your plan. Keep your plan on target by holding regular meetings with managers and employees to discuss how business is progressing and how to deal with problems. Communication with your employees is the best way to ensure the successful implementation and execution of your strategic plan. It's also a good way to elicit helpful ideas for improving its effectiveness. No plan should be set in stone. If during implementation you see a better way, change the plan accordingly.

4.Explain the growth of E-Business in India.

India has an internet user base of about 137 million as of June 2012.The penetration of ecommerce is low compared to markets like the United States and the United Kingdom but is growing at a much faster rate with a large number of new entrants. The industry consensus is that growth is at an inflection point. Unique to India (and potentially to other developing countries), cash on delivery is a preferred payment method. India has a vibrant cash economy as a result of which 80% of Indian ecommerce tends to be Cash on Delivery. Similarly, direct imports constitute a large component of online sales. Demand for international consumer products (including tail items) is growing much faster than in-country supply from authorized distributors and e-commerce offerings. Users queries and concerns about e-shopping Buyers think that shopping online is insecure because their card details may be saved by vendors on their portals and they may use that information later. This is a myth. Nothing of such

sort happens. Transaction happens through secured payment gateways, which are kind of extended third party bank partners. Some of the well-established payment gateways in the Indian market are CCAvenue, Bill Desk, Pay U, ICICI Payment Gateway, HDFC Payment Gateway, etc. Another concern is that products delivered may not be of the quality promised by the portal. This may hold valid for perishable products, but it is very much safe if we buy packaged food online. I buy my monthly grocery online and I have never encountered such problems ever. Otherwise also, online vendors are vigilant enough to take such concerns on priority and they commit to replace such items with immediate effect. For any reason, if the transaction does not happen successfully, then there is a fear of losing the money paid. This is also a myth. The whole process is systematized. If transaction fails, in between, due to website failure or due to low internet speed or for any other reason and if amount gets debited from your account, intimation appears immediately and the money is reverted back to your bank account within 48 working hours. Though I would suggest saving the failure reference no, in such cases, for future communication with service providers or your bank. Clients like to shop from outlets, where they can shop on credit. This is relaxing on customers budgets. Same facility can be availed while shopping online too. Use your credit cards wisely for shopping online and you may avail credit period of maximum 50 days. Even on the payment due date, you can divide your payments in EMIs. Shoes, apparels or other such accessories shopped online may not fit in size or might carry some other similar concerns. This should not be a problem if the user is already using similar products of the same brand. In case user still faces such a problem, then vendors policies are lenient enough to change items. Benefits of shopping online To end user: No traveling, no parking struggles, saves fuel and parking money, no need to stand in queues for paying bills, healthier way to shop, can place orders while traveling using mcommerce. Better options and choices. There are portals which facilitate users to compare prices and discounts available at different vendors. To shop owner: No need to invest in real estate, reduces pain of maintaining huge inventories, easier accountancy, can collect orders 24/7/365 days, prevents stationary and staff expenses, can provide better customer service, can server bigger customer base and it allows them to receive payments faster. Social benefits: Prevents pollution and crowd on roads, saves energy (Fuel, Electricity and Manpower).

Real problems in growth of Indian online market High installation and service charges of payment gateway companies: Currently installation charges of different PG companies range from INR-30000 to 40000 and on top of this based on different payment modes and plans, these companies charge 3% to 7% commission on every online transaction. Web developer also charges fee for integrating online payment facility on vendors portal. This whole investment is too high to convince a vendor to open his online shop for an experiment. Reduction in this investment cost is mandatory for online shopping success in India. Lower internet speed: Indians are still using low speed internet services for their home use because availing higher speed, needs costlier plans. This prevents people from opting online shopping. Red tapeism in providing credit cards to people: every household in Indian metro cities carries at least one credit card. banks have their own reasons to keep a check on distributing cards, but efforts to increase credit cards user base will obviously help in growth of Indian online market. Lack of knowledge about using the services: Many have bitter experience of using Credit Cards, because they missed paying their dues on time. Proper knowledge about how can users use credit cards for efficient shopping or how can they use debit cards or Netbanking for online shopping, if they do not like to use credit cards, will certainly encourage e-commerce in India.

5.What are the benefits of Strategic Planning? Explain.

Benefits of Strategic Planning

Improved performance - Study after study has consistently proven that if conducted properly, strategic planning can positively impact the performance of the organization. In a mission-based organization that may mean the ability to serve more clients, access additional resources, or enhance the quality or scope of service. Solutions to major organizational issues/challenges - If facilitated properly, strategic planning gives the stakeholders of the organization an opportunity to

develop consensus solutions to long-term issues and/or challenges that have been affecting the organization. Forward thinking - Organizations can get so caught up in day-to-day survival that they fail to stop and view the forest from the trees. Strategic planning gives an organization the opportunity to pause and revisit the mission and create a long-term vision that provides a focus for all effort. Clear future direction - Even though change is occurring rapidly, strategic planning allows stakeholders to gaze into the future and clarify how they will plan for this future and properly respond to this change. Enhanced fundraising - More and more funders expect mission-based organizations to conduct strategic planning in an effort to become more focused and effective. Additionally, funders want to see more strategic partnerships among similar agencies developed through formal planning. Improved teamwork - By working together in envisioning your future, you will experience an enhanced sense of teamwork and commitment, which leads to better implementation. Doing more with less - With the current environment every organization has to do more with less. A well-developed strategic plan becomes the foundation for making all resource allocation decisions in a unified fashion. Improved performance evaluation - The achievement of the plan and outcomes developed during the plan become excellent metrics for judging organizational and personnel performance. Mutual understanding between board and staff - By clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the board and staff in the strategic planning process and working collaboratively to craft the plan will enhance current relationships. Be Proactive - Strategic Planning allows you to plan around and take advantage of opportunities and trends, instead of reacting to them.