Modern Business Planning - "A Political cat amongst the pigeons" It would seem that every national organisation we would look at is in some form of disarray. But why do such abnormalities exist and where is change possible where value is a focus of analysis? There are other regulated industries such as the energy market which operates in wonderment of us all but why and here again can the system be changed? The government insists there are problems with transparency yet HM Revenue and Customs would seem to access company details? There are of course various reasons that give rise to such deficiencies which are seen to be highly visible. Solutions however are not readily accessible without further analysing existing methods of business analysis. For the first time business plans can now be expressed as competitive or passive which provides more of a focus of evaluation. Passive plans incorporate more of a focus of business objectives provided by individuals or organisations not forming part of one's own company such as the government or associated regulative authorities. Can such an evaluation suggest that some of these organisations could be defined in the same way as "Cowboy Traders"? The manner in which politics can influence or has the potential to influence business cannot be underestimated. The wars in Beirut and Kuwait are seen to be typical examples. There is however other fundamental issues where other nations pursue a different focus to those normally acceptable within the UK which can be seen to be to the detriment of us all. "Who is right and who is wrong"? Many examples are provided that allow others to gauge how to accommodate the Political cat amongst the pigeons.

On what basis do companies prepare their business plans? How do they know that they are maximising their opportunities as well as limiting their risks with their existing or planned resource base? How can they plan revenue generation if the market mix does not have a foundation in relation to macro environmental factors? The intent of the book is to remove some of the complex specific marketing criteria alluded to by text book authors. One can then appreciate how a marketing plan can be used for the creation of a business plan. Major benefits are associated with this title, these are: - A. It provides a more simplified corporate management tool. A subject that attracts limited text book coverage by marketing strategy authors. A. It allows readers to gauge the importance of their own positions within a company environment and the overall impact their actions may have. A. It is most useful as tool to gauge more effectively training requirements within a given company environment. A. It is of paramount importance for SME's who may not employ a sales person. A. Last but not least is the importance placed upon research journal authors to limit their "Micro" environmental focus and to concentrate more on "Macro" environments. The book consists of a 10 stage marketing plan (see page 32). Each stage has its own chapter that is both chronological and iterative in terms of its impact upon a company's profit and loss (P and L) statement. The company's P and L is that which states the revenue one can expect to generate by way of the business plans proposed by way of each marketing plan activity. Added to this is cash flow and the manner in which is corresponds directly with the P and L.