1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The focus of every business organization is viability, profitability and continuity. The first requirement standard for the group as well as for individuals in the organization.
Bernet and Wilsted defines strategic planning as the process that involves analyzing the opportunity and threats in the market laces. Building the strength and connecting the weakness within the firm also involves setting goals for specific product market and for the firm.
It is highly imperative for business organization to adopt strategic planning in order to enhance productivity since it is received as the mediating force between the organization and its environment. Business organization nowadays need to be efficient in order to survive high price caused by tremendous increase in production coaster coupled with severe liquidity squeeze necessitated by the dwinding external value of our national currency which indeed has a serious dampening effect on consumer demand. Having being faced with a high cost of production, diminishing market and environmental uncertainties, business organization have had to compete more aggressively with one another in order to attain acceptable volumes of production, sales and good market share.
That is to say therefore, that the complexity of today’s business coupled with the turbulence in the economic waters of nation makes it difficult and very doubtful if any modern business organization of reasonable size can survive this competitive environment within adequate strategic planning. This has become increasing important to managers in recent years. Since it defines fundamental goals and objective in specific terms and determine the means frame work into which other focus of planning can fit it, also said to have a very strong influence on the survival and growth of an organization, most especially in a volatile environment.
Consequent upon that, business organization need plans to be able to predict unforeseen contingencies, minimize production cost as well as envisage and then be able to grapple with competitions in a programmed manner which is the essential of strategic planning. All business organizations need to plan ahead whatever the kind of market, competitive, oligopolistic monopolistic in which way they operate. An organization operating as a competitive market need to plan and design strategies, will ensure firms its survival and its continuity and portability. A firm operating in an oligopolistic market has more critical reason for planning because of the fierceness of the competition in such market, and even the monopolistic organization has to continually devise new strategies to maintain its position or elkse ot will soon be faced with competition. A wrong investment decision in today’s business world is likely to entail a huge financial loss. A successful organization is most efficient enterprises. One of the major focuses of management by objective (MBO) is to have managers set high performance standard for themselves. According to Akpala (1990:3). A manager performs his function by avocation and integration of human and economic resource through the process of planning, organizating, directing and controlling for the purpose of producing out put (goods and services) desired by its customers so that the objectives of the organization are achieved.
A manager work with people and other resources to realize these organizations objectives.
Since strategic planning with its environment is therefore said to be based on the principle of comparative advantage, necessary for survival and growth under competitive additions. A firm cannot survive or grow unless it maintains one or more comparative competitive advantages which provide the basic rationale by which customers will prefer that particular firm to another related firms. Thus, it is against this background that this study intends to assess the effect of strategic planning on the productivity of the Nigerian Bottling company plc (NBC). It is hoped that this study will be in the long run afford the rare opportunity of understanding and appreciating the significance of strategic planning in today’s organizational restructuring planning and improvement.
Brief History
Cocoa-cola first arrived in Nigeria in 1951 that same year, the Nigerian bottling company ltd (NBC) was incorporated to bottle and sell carbonated non-alcoholic beverages. NBC has the sole franchise to bottle coca-cola products in Nigeria.
Coca-cola was an instant hit with the Nigerian consumer and has remained so over the next six decades, NBC has continued on its joiurney keeping its promise of refreshing consumers, strengthening its communities, enriching the workplace and preserving the environment while recording many memorable milestones along the way. To mention a few.
1953 production of coca-cola begun at a bottling facility in Ebute-metta, Lagos state. The same year the company opened its first bottling plant in Apapa.
1960 the year Nigeria gained independence, NBC exceeded the one million case a year mark 1961 commissioned its second bottling facility at Ibadan, Oyo state and rapidly expended its operation over the next couple of years.
1972 listed its share on the Nigerian stock exchange and become a publicly quoted company.
1991 Acquired the Eva premium water and Schweppes brands.
2000 Became a member of the newly formal coca-cola Hellenic bottling company S.A (an anchor bottling group with operations in 28 countries worldwide).
2001 Commissioned the first ultra-modern fully automated NBC plant in Benin.
2003 Launched the five alive juice brand
2004 Launched PET packaging for its sparking soft drinks categong.
2006 Launched the energy drink Burn
2007 Launched on the go can packaging for come brands coca-cola. Fanta and sprite in 2006
2008 Introdued the more environmentally friendly “Ulta” glass packaging for its returnable glass Bottle product segments.
2010 Today the operations stands at 13 facilities and 59 depots across the country.
2011 The company was recognized for its corporate social responsibility company in Nigeria and most environment friendly company at the social enterprise Reporting Awards.
The company obtained Nigeria’s first food safety systems certification (FSSC)2 2000.
1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
After independence was ushered in, the Nigeria policy makers placed the trust on industrialization on the shoulders of the manufacturing sector which has presented a problem of unsteady and less result oriented production activities. In some manufacturing sector, they do not adhere to the already laid down strategic plan of the organization thereby combining productivity with any available productive resources and this has caused a lot of production of sub-standard goods e.t.c.
1.3. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to:
1.4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study highlights the effect of strategic planning on organizational productivity. It is to cover the NBC office at 9th
mile in Enugu state.1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In other to analyze the research problem under study as well as providing solutions to the problem of study, the following questions are raised.
1.6. SIGNIFANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be of immense importance to various people in the society among whom are.
1.8. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Strategy: The outline is the fundamental setups that management plans to under take in order to reach an objective or set of objectives.
Planning: This is the art of choosing a course of action and deciding in advance what is to be done in what sequence, when and how.
Strategic Implementation: It is the task of analyzing the organizations external and internal environment and then selecting and appropriate strategy.
Objectives: A statement of what is to be achieved.
Goal: This is synonymous with objectives, a statement of what is to be achieved.
Strategic Managers: These are individuals who bear responsibility for the overall performance of the organization or for one of its major self-contained divisions.
Management: Is the process of doing things using the effect of others to achieve an objective.
Control: This is the act of checking current performance, over the determined targets contains in the plans with the view to ensuring adequate process and satisfactory performance whether physical or financial.
Adhered: To stick firmly to something
Organization: A group of people who form a business, club, school, manufacturing company e.t.c together in order to achieve a particular aim.
Programme: Plan of things that will be done or included in the development of something.
Monopolistic: Controlling or trying to get.