Management Planning and Ethics

Both successful and un-successful businesses have a plan. That plan can be to produce a quality product or service with a small investment and a large return. By spending little money up front and receiving large profits, a company can succeed in the business world. Although this plan sounds so simple, many businesses fail. Is their product or service not demanded by the consumer? Did the business not foresee additional expenses during the original business concept? Did the companies evaluate what the internal and external factors that can determine the success or failure of a business? Proper business planning takes these and other questions into consideration and navigates the best path for the business to focus on. Any company can succeed or fail but the business plan can prevent some failures and elevate the successes.

Business planning is not only the basic direction or guidelines for a new business;

it can also guide an established business to profitability. By making smart, educated decisions, a company has a clear vision of the future and can predict, at least on a small scale, what issues and problems that could lye ahead. Many times established businesses change parts of the management staff and challenge the new management to devise a business plan. This is often a wise decision because of the common practice of businesses being stagnant. One thing in business that is almost always certain is change. By having a business plan the company has direction and guidelines to guide them through the future.

Metal Sales Inc. is an example of a company with a business plan. The company not only had an original business plan in 1963, but also has a constantly evolving plan that changes with the market and all contributing factors. As stated on the Metal Sales website, in the beginning the plan was only to manufacture the best product and to provide the best service at the best price. This was also the mission statement for the company. By having a proper business plan in place and educated planners guiding the company forward, the one plant operation grew over the years into nineteen locations nationwide. Becoming a leader in the industry of custom cut roofing and siding components for residential and commercial industry was not and easy feat. There is an abundance of competition in this market. Taking all legal issue into consideration the industry developed a territory guideline. This was created to eliminate the monopoly of any one area of the United States. The business plan that Metal Sales Inc. uses has prevented legal issues by guiding the company forward.

As with any company ethics are always an issue. The constant internal drive to do what is ethically right and fair to all employees, customers, and business associates is a large part of the constantly evolving business plan. Metal Sales has multiple programs in place to ensure proper ethical actions in certain situations. For instance, the company has a policy against any member of the Metal Sales team accepting any type of gift or incentive from any vendor, customer, or business associate because of the possible biases it could create. A gift or contribution could, even on a subconscious level, cause a Metal Sales employee to decide in favor of one group over another in a given situation. Metal Sales Inc. also has stringent policies on fair practices involving equal opportunity to all employees and applicants. These are two examples of the measures that are in place to create an ethically fair and consistent workplace. Ethics are always going to be an issue, but proper planning can help businesses through some of the issues that will arise.

As a leader in the industry, Metal Sales has the corporate social responsibility to set a positive example for all of its competition. By having measures in place to ensure the success of the business, the viability of the company, and security for the employees, Metal Sales sets a positive example in the industry. The company has been used as an example in other sister companies to provide positive feedback on how the implemented measures have made a positive impact on the business. Profitability is always a primary factor in the scale of how a businesses success is measured, but the social responsibility of a company is on the rise in the opinions of consumers. The company’s impact on the environment, economy, and its surrounding communities are all points that are becoming more closely examined by the public.

Proper business planning is a viable factor in the success or failure of any company. Taking all of the internal and external factors into consideration and evaluating the ethical and corporate social responsibilities of a company, as well as using past data, are forms of business planning. By setting a goal and the proper industry methods that will be used to attain the end result, a company can be successful, provided that the leadership conforms to the guidelines. Companies have the tools needed to succeed in the business world; Metal Sales Inc. is a good example of such a success story. Then why do so many businesses fail? If the information is available and helpful, then why do so many business owners, mangers, and employees ignore the path to success?