IT Support of Strategic Planning

Assignment

Write a 2-3 page paper where you build your company’s ePolicies.

In your paper address the following:

1. Create an email policy, internet use policy, employee monitoring policy and intellectual property policy.
2. Be sure to state privacy and confidentiality clauses in your policies.
3. Explain how you will protect intellectual property and monitor employee activity.
4. Elaborate on how issues can be handled when they arise (create a step by step response plan of at least two potential threats).

Include a title page and 3-5 references.  Only one reference may be from the internet (not Wikipedia).  The other references must be from the Grantham University online library.  Please adhere to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), (6th ed., 2nd printing) when writing and submitting assignments and papers.

I have attached previous assignment. APA style is stressed.

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The following case study interprets the importance of good decision making and balancing the interests of stakeholders: Balancing Stakeholder Interests and Corporate Values: A Cummins Strategic Decision.

Read the case study and respond to the following question: How would you, as an organizational leader, apply and use the stakeholder management approach as a means for planning and implementing collaborative relationships to achieve win-win outcomes among stakeholders?

Use citations and references in APA style.

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Scenario : (1000 Words)  
The Peak Sawmill Limited (Peak) operates a timber sawmill in a large regional town. It sources its raw material (pine logs) from a number of local growers and from its own plantations. Logs are transported on large trucks that are weighed in on the company’s weighbridge and weighed out after dropping their loads in the storage area. Logs are then debarked and sawn to size in the cutting area of the mill. The various logs are then sent to other areas of the sawmill depending on what they will be used for.  
You are a senior on the audit. In the planning stage of the audit, you perform analytical procedures. In the current audit period, the average number of days to pay creditors has declined significantly from the average recorded over the past three financial years.  
Your investigation reveals that log suppliers represent more than 90 per cent of the value of accounts payable. As an internal control, details of the goods received notes are matched against the supplier’s invoice. The accuracy of the invoice is checked, after which the invoice is authorised for payment by the mill accountant. Any discrepancy between what the supplier’s invoice amount should be and the actual amount charged by the supplier is communicated to the supplier by way of a pre-numbered ‘request for credit’ form. This form provides reasons for the differences and the amount requested to be credited to the company by the supplier.  
The correct amount of the invoice is entered into the accounts payable accounting system and the supplier’s monthly statement is reconciled to the accounts payable balance per the creditors’ ledger at month end. The differences are mostly attributable to:  
 unprocessed invoices due to pricing differences  
 timing differences in the recorded date of a payment made  
 amounts requested for credit  
 settlement discounts disallowed.  
Cathy Vernon, the company’s financial controller, informs you that due to the increase in the price of timber, new contracts with suppliers have been negotiated over the past year. The accounts payable personnel have complained that management is too slow in informing them about the effective dates of the implementation of the contracts and the revised prices. A brief inspection of the accounts payable reconciliations for five of the biggest suppliers indicates that many invoices are being held back due to the lack of correct pricing.  
Required  
(a) List two key assertions at risk in relation to accounts payable.  
(b) Provide your justification for each assertion.  
(c) For each assertion, outline one substantive test of detail to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence. 

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INSTRUCTIONS: Please RESPOND to this answer from the Point of view as a student. Use credible sources and respond as if you are a manager of a marketing agency. Tell this student what your marketing agency would think of each of these answers from a Management perspective:

We have discussed in previous weeks the importance of internal analyses, understanding competitors in hopes of bolstering strategy and gaining competitive advantage. In addition to internal analyses, it is also imperative to understand the external context of the environment in which a firm operates. Not only is the external environment a source of business opportunities, it is also a source of threats, “forces that may impede the successful implementation of a strategy” (Carpenter & Sanders, 2008, p. 95). In hopes of understanding the external environment, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the macro environment, as well as the industry environment. The industry environment consists of firms operating in the same industry, in which “analysis helps managers determine the nature of the competition, the possible sources of imperfect competition in the industry, and the possibility of the firm’s earning above-normal returns” (Carpenter & Sanders, 2008, p. 102). The macro environment takes into account the larger political, economical, social, technical, environmental and legal issues that have impact on a firm (Carpenter & Sanders, 2008, p. 97).

In my workplace relating to real estate development, the external analyses are crucial components of strategy formulation. With every potential business endeavor, due diligence includes an in depth industry and macro environmental assessment. Last week I shared an example of how the VRINE model would apply to a generic situation in real estate development. In the scenario, I explain the opportunity being a piece of vacant land within a heavily developed suburban area, “prime” for development. I will continue with this example for the purpose of explaining how industry and macro environmental analyses would aid in strategy development, and in the determination of whether or not to pursue the opportunity. When an opportunity arises (in this case, a vacant piece of property), it is necessary to identify which type of development would yield the highest and best use. In real estate this highest and best use refers to the “reasonable, probable and legal use of vacant land or an improved property, which is physically possible, appropriately supported, financially feasible, and the results in the highest value” (Duncanbrown.com, n.d., n.p.). Upon determining the highest and best use, it is then possible to evaluate the industry in which the firm would be competing. (E.g. residential, commercial, etc.)

Equipped with an understanding of the industry, it is logical to further explore the external environment in a macro environmental assessment. The PESTLE analysis is a great tool that provides the framework for such an assessment. “It helps managers gain a better understanding of the opportunities and threats they face and consequently aids them in building an better vision of the future business landscape and how the firm might compete profitably” (Carpenter & Sanders, 2008, p. 98). The following is an example of how a PESTEL analysis would apply to the aforementioned generic real estate development opportunity.

Political: This is a critical component to the viability of a project. In order to develop vacant land, entitlements must be achieved. These entitlements (various permits and approvals necessary to develop) come from political agencies such as the city, county, state, and federal government. Evidently, understanding the political dynamics in the subject location is absolutely imperative.

Economic: A project is undertaken in hopes of earning economic profits, thus it is necessary to understand macro economic factors that will impact such as pursuit. “Factors such as inflation rates, interests rates, tariffs, the growth the local and foreign national economies, and exchange rates are critical” (Carpenter & Sanders, 2008, p. 98). Economic factors should also include supply and demand assessments, as well as resource costs assessments (E.g. materials, labor, etc.).

Sociocultural: Demographic assessment of the subject area is important, as they will provide insight in regards to attitudes towards consumerism, environmentalism, among many other factors. In California especially, environmentalism is a hot button, as CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) provides anyone with the legal authority to challenge a project on just about any basis. In light of this, sociocultural analysis is imperative.

Technological: With the incredible rate of technological advancement, it is necessary to gain an understanding of new technological capabilities relevant to the industry. This could include new software aiding in the design and development, new tools, new materials, etc.

Environmental: In real estate development consideration of the environmental impacts is a must. How the development can reduce it’s carbon footprint, and how the development can embrace sustainability are just a few environmental considerations. As mentioned, CEQA requires extensive consideration of the environment with respect to proposed developments. Consequently, this is one of the largest cost items in the development process.

Legal: “Legal factors reflect the laws and regulations relevant to the region and the organization” (Carpenter & Sanders, 2008, p. 100). In the aforementioned sections I give mention to CEQA, and how it is one of the largest cost items in the development process. This is because projects are constantly sued under the Act, and lawsuits drag on for years and years. The legal component in regards to real estate development is directly related to the environmental and sociocultural analyses.

Carpenter, Mason A. and Sanders, Wm. Gerard. (2008). Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective. Chapter 4. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education, Inc.

Duncanbrown.com. (N.d.). Highest and Best Use. Retrieved November 3, 2016, fromhttp://www.duncanbrown.com/highest-and-best-use

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