Strategic Plan for Adobe Systems Incorporated
A strategic plan is one of the most important components of the overall business strategy in the contemporary world. In line with this, businesses and organizations across the globe have worked on developing strategic plans for their businesses as a way of enhancing the approach as well as position in the market. It is important to note that there are different forms of strategic plans that exist in the business world. These forms of strategic plans are organized or rather classified into five major categories. Apart from these, it is also important to note that a strategic plan has various components that must be taken into account when developing the plan. This paper will look at various components of a strategic plan. This will be followed by development of a strategic plan for Adobe Systems Incorporated as well as logic model for this company.
Vision
To transform how the society perceives information and key ideas on the market.
To diversify ideas, perspectives and backgrounds that has been created by our employees as the most important competitive advantages, valuable assets and the utmost strong point.
Mission
As an organization we are committed to diversifying, strengthening and expanding our product base in the market. Our greatest goal is to develop products and services that are customer-oriented, while still maintaining a competitive advantage in the market.
Corporate Values and Beliefs
There are various core values that are held by Adobe Systems Incorporated that would play a significant role in spurring this company into the future of the Information Technology Industry. These are;
- Outstanding
- Involved
- Genuine
- Innovative
Key Strategies
There are various key strategies that would be pursued by Adobe Systems Incorporated. These are:
- Increase the rate of launching new products on the market through enhancing the research and development team.
- Increase collaboration with successful technological companies and organizations in the market.
- Seek to increase patented products on the market.
- Diversify our market segment as well as seek new markets that are yet to be explored
Similarly, the following strategies would also be pursued:
- Locate and acquire IT companies and organizations in order to increase the presence of our products on the market.
- Open up to volunteer research and development to encourage customer participation in the development of our products.
- Enhance the current products on the market to increase their functionality.
- Utilize expanding technologies such as the web and the internet.
Major Goals
It is expected that by implementing the above mentioned strategies, Adobe Systems Incorporated would be able to achieve the following goals over the next 3-5 years:
- Increase our sales by 30% by 2015.
- Secure 70% of the total market for our products.
- Transform into the largest supplier of IT products and services in more than 150 countries across the globe within the next 5 years.
- Reduce overall costs by 20% by year 2015.
Strategic Action Programs
There are various strategic action plans and programs that would be implemented as soon as possible to ensure that the strategic plan is implemented successfully. These include:
- The management, led by the CEO would develop ways and means of raising venture capital with the next 4-8 months as well as develop a comprehensive business plan for the company.
- The technical director would be required to expand the research and development teams to include prominent customers of Adobe in the development of Adobe products within the next 1 year.
- Every department to develop a market entry plan as well as development plans within the next 6 months.
Components of a Strategic Plan
There are various key components that play a significant role in the development of a strategic plan. These include: assessment – taking stock and determining whether the plan is appropriate at the time of its development, Setting direction, and refine and adopt the plan –which involves clarifying values and vision, and last, implementation and evaluation – critically looking at the strategic objectives (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010, p. 68).
Assessment
Assessment as a component of strategic plan is inclined towards looking at various issues before any change is implemented. In line with this, ideas from employees, the management and stakeholders is carried out before spending any money on the proposed changes. Note that assessment is done against the Mission and Purpose of the company or organization, threats and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses, and the need and feasibility of the project. According to Sare and Ogilvie (2010), assessment “can weed out both obvious and not so obvious misfits for and organization; we are sure that we can think many ‘miss-guided’ managers who led us off on projects that were not relevant and, perhaps more commonly, who failed to take action on necessary directions” (p. 70).
Setting Direction
Setting the direction for the strategic plan is another component that is critical for successful implementation of a strategic plan. Notably, setting direction involves defining values and vision for the involved organization or company. Values are critical in helping the organization in achieving its objectives. It has been noted that “values are nonnegotiable; they evolve from learning, intellectual inquiry, culture and belief system, and social influences” (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010, p. 73). Note that by defining clear values, it becomes easier to establish a vision for the organization.
Implementation and Evaluation
The last component of a strategic plan is its implementation and evaluation. In this regard, this component is inclined towards evaluating the strategic objectives that have been set by the company or organization during the development of its strategic plan (Sare & Ogilvie, 2010). Arguing from this perspective, it is important to note that carrying out constant evaluation of the strategic objectives help in understanding whether the strategic plan is on the path to success or failure. In addition, it is easier to identify areas that need to be refined as time goes by. Note that in the implementation and evaluation stage, it is important to develop measurement tools to determine whether the plan is progressing, whether it is addressing its objectives as well as whether it has maintained the core values and vision.
Logic Model for Adobe Systems Incorporated
A logic model for Adobe Systems Incorporated would involve looking at the inputs in terms of resources such as equipment, time, money and employees, processes, work activities and programs, the outputs, and the results or the outcomes (that are examined in terms of medium and long-term impacts of delivering outputs). Below is logic model for this company;
From the above logic model, it is important to note that Adobe would need to invest heavily in software development skills and knowledge as well as resources such as money to acquire IT companies in the market. This will widen the product base of this company, thus enabling it to gain a competitive advantage over other companies in the industry. Apart from this, considering the fact that there is a growth in the open source software industry, Adobe Systems Incorporated would also need to develop a department for volunteer developers who would share their skills, knowledge and ideas.
SWOT analysis of Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe Systems Incorporated has various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the market.
Strengths
The following are some of the strengths of Adobe Systems Incorporated:
- Adobe Systems Incorporated has a strong position in the market regarding digital media.
- According to YouSigma (2014) website, Adobe has a strong balance sheet.
- The company has diversified revenue base as a result of diverse products that it has on the market.
Weaknesses
- The company has shown a decline in profitability in the last few years, a factor that could affect its growth.
- Marketing of ColdFusion as one of the company’s products has often resulted in copying of its features by competitors, and as such, replicate the success of this product on the market. This has also resulted in reduced profits.
Opportunities
- The market for digital devices is growing at a tremendous rate.
- Globally, there is an increase in the use of the internet and web applications, a factor that has increased demand for products such as those produced by Adobe.
- Launching of new products also presents an important opportunity for the company.
Threats
- There is an intense competition on the market.
- The company relies on distributors for the distribution of its products.
- Most of Adobe products are Macintosh and Windows-based.
- There is also a growing competition from open source software (Still, 2007).
Conclusion
In summation, serious attention needs to be given to different strategies that would be followed when developing the strategic plan for this company. Note that the technology industry is evolving at a very high rate, and as such, the plan would need to be flexible enough to accommodate unforeseen changes in the industry. As well, there is need to adopt other strategies such as collaboration with the customers when developing different products in order to increase value.
References
Sare, M. V., & Ogilvie, L. (2010) Strategic planning for nurses: change management in health care. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Still, B. (2007) Handbook of research on open source software: technological, economic, and social perspectives. Strategic Plan Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc (IGI).
YouSigma (2014) Adobe Systems – Strategic Plan.
