Strategic Planning, Ethics, And Competitive Advantage

Review the following scenario and consider the impact that strategic planning could have played in leading to a more successful outcome:

Samuel Woodard started working for a company that, unbeknownst to him, had no strategic plans in place. The company seemed to be doing well as far as he could tell, but he sometimes questioned some of the decisions being made by leadership. He began to feel that the company’s success was centered more on luck than on intentional effort. His feelings were confirmed when a competitor opened an office nearby and quickly began winning over clients who were once loyal to Samuel’s company. The company soon fell apart as sales decreased and employees were laid off. On the day Samuel and his manager were both let go, they went to lunch to talk about what happened, which is when his manager explained that everyone should have seen this coming. They knew that the current business model could only last for so long and they failed to create a plan to stay in business