GOPST Goal Objective Plans Strategies Tactics SWOT Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats

last updated 2008 Jan 22 added Simeon's comments
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For the students of Prof. W. Tim G. Richardson, Toronto, Canada
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This GOPST and SWOT unit is used in     o MGTD06     o MRK610 and MRK 410     o BCS555     o BUS203     o MGS523     o CCT322

Not all of the material in this unit will be used in each of these courses; the amount of material covered will be indicated by the actual lecture given in class by the professor. Some courses cover this topic extensively, some courses deal with it briefly.

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Key Points  for  Understanding  this  Unit

GOPST - SWOT   By 2002, most medium and almost all large sized companies have a website. Additionally, a significant percentage of small companies have a website, or at least a splash page and some pages. What are the opportunities for a college / university student who has learned about e-business and internet marketing in 2007 ???? Well, although many companies have a website up - not many companies have a "successful" website - and by 2007 this has become painfuly obvious for many companies, large and small. Part of the problem is the intense pressure of the competitive environment and the economic environment. We suggest these environmental pressures, combined with a lack of understanding about Goals and Objectives, means the website might not be achieving the purpose it was intended - which, raises the question, what was the purpose of the site?? did the content on the site relate to specific plans and objectives to accomplish the corporate goal(s) ?? WTGR

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Learning Objectives for this Unit

GOPST - SWOT Many people put up a website in 2000, 2001, and 2002 without clearly thinking how the site may fit into the corporate Goal and Objectives.  The purpose of this unit is to educate the reader about the fundamental things you must consider to properly conceive and write G.O.P.S.T. Secondly, it is intended that after reading this material, and doing the group exercise at the end, the student will be able to create wording for Objectives that will satisfy a Goal, and understand that it is important to write Objectives carefully so that you express things that can be measured and achieved. The third objective of this unit is to explain the purpose of Plans and how Plans are the time related coordination of Strategies which, when executed properly, will allow people to achieve the Objective. If the Objective is not achieved, then the Plans have to be changed. Fourth - Strategy is an over-used term and it is often applied in situations where the word "Plan" is more appropriate to use. The fourth objective of this unit is to properly explain the role of Strategies and a describe how they are created from specific action items - which we call Tactics. Lastly, we will look at the foundations for achieving Goals - that is the proper development of good tactics ;  the actual things you do, such as ... go here, read this, phone them, type this, buy that, etc,

Not only do I hope you understand this material for your course, but perhaps you can take some of this understanding and apply it to do some consulting and make some money. There are opportunities to advise companies how to re-do their websites in the context of a more clearly thought out GOPST and an e-SWOT after you have done this unit. WTGR

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E-commerce Strategy                                 E-commerce Strategy

Rob Spiegel wrote a story in the Jan 26th, 2001, E-Commerce Times titled "Report: 70 Percent of Retailers Lack  E-Commerce Strategy" Rob's story was based on a new study by Deloitte and Touche that shows that while roughly one third of retailers with a Web presence consider their online store to be  "strategic," a majority have set up  Web operations with no clearly articulated strategy, and are merely "testing the waters  to gauge Internet demand."   www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/2335.html .

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Key Points

Many people clearly misunderstand the corporate meaning of the word strategic and confuse it with the related terms "tactics" or "plans". Clearly, Rob's story, and other points we will discuss in this class, strongly suggests there is indeed a market for people to advise and consult to companies as "E-commerce Strategists". That is to say, they may already have a web site up and running, your job is to massage it and see that it fits the company's objectives. WTGR

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E-commerce Strategy

Components of a good e-commerce strategy First, understand how Strategy fits into the overall corporate planning framework Goal Objective(s) Plan(s) Strategy(ies) - the 4th most important component on the list Tactics

. This Dilbert cartoon is not only funny, but it captures very well the tendancy for people to want to use the word "strategy" instead of more simple term.
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GOALS vs MISSION  STATEMENTS

Sometimes companies also have Mission Statements in addition to a Goal. One of the big differences between a Mission Statement and a Goal is that a Mission Statement is often worded in such a way that it can be used in advertising and P.R. For example - the corporate Goal might be  "To be the largest forest products company in Canada"  the Mission Statement might be  "Contributing to our Environment, through Responsible Harvesting".  They don't like to convey the image of "cutting down trees", so they use a euphemistic phrase "harvesting". WTGR

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GOPST explained GOALS

Goals-- Goals are the ultimate thing you want to achieve. Usually a Goal is a single thing, but in some cases it can be two things. If there are more than three Goals - then maybe they aren't Goals, but rather Objectives. Goal are the statements that a company uses to motivate employees and statements used to judge and measure challenges that you face.  Goals are supposed to be what you end up with , if you have achieved your objectives. Excellently worded goals should include statements indicating something that can be accomplished from Objectives that are met. Examples:  To be the largest on-line cosmetics retail site on the planet.

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GOPST explained OBJECTIVES

Objectives--"Every successful online campaign starts with clear objectives. Each objective should be attainable and tie-in to off-line marketing activities. These objectives will drive the overall direction of any plans, and will always help you judge whether a plan is working or not by how it can achieve the objectives. If the Goal is to be "the largest on-line cosmetics retail site on the planet", then logically speaking one would have to have measurable objectives such as to be the largest cosmetics retailer for Asia to be the largest cosmetics retailer for Europe to be the largest cosmetics retailer for North America - because if you were not one of these three, then you could not say you are the largest in the world To be "the largest on-line cosmetics retail site on the planet" requires some measurable Objectives to meet that goal. Other than the "geographic" aspect noted in the three points above, the following examples could be typical Objectives, which, if accomplished, would allow you to state that you had achived your Goal Examples:  To have the largest on-line product offering of cosmetics (theoretically if you have the largest product offering, you have the potential to make the largest sales, which helps fulfill the goal) To have the most competitive prices for cosmetics sold on-line (theoretically if you have the best prices, then you can sell the most) To carry  the largest brand selection of cosmetics sold on-line (if you carry the greatest selection, then you have no competition for people to buy elsewhere).

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It may seem like a joke, but it is not funny

This Dilbert joke might seem funny, but the real truth is that many employees find it frustrating when a company establishes objectives, and it is not clear how those objectives are to be achieved. The boss responds "... it takes to much effort for me to be clear" Although this is said in fun, in reality, it is close to the truth. Many senior managers who are writing objectives, find it difficult to express things in clear language that everybody can understand - nevertheless it is critical to do this otherwise the objectives will not be met because people can't understand what they are about. WTGR

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GOPST explained OBJECTIVES

Objectives Here is another example of a well worded Objective By Q2 2004 we will have acquired 40% of the marketshare in Western Canada Objectives that have time elements make it easier to make Plans since the plan will necessarly have to discuss what needs to be done in order to meet the deadline. Time elements and quantifiable amounts mean the Objective can be measured.  You can measure if you have 40% of the marketshare - if you do get 40%, you met the Objective, if not, then you have to go back to your plans and change them to make sure you can meet this objective.

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GOPST explained PLANS

Plans -- Plans are the ordered sequences of several strategies with a time element and additional information identifying supporting resources (human resources, technical resources, inventory, etc.).  Plans can include such concepts as  generating leads,  increasing sales,  increasing store traffic,  reducing customer service costs or  improving brand awareness. In the case of the cosmetics company, if one of your objectives was to "carry  the largest brand selection of cosmetics sold on-line", then you would have several plans developed to allow this to happen

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GOPST explained OBJECTIVES and PLANS - this box added Oct 2nd 2005

Objectives and Plans and the Competition -- A significant part of being able to achieve Objectives is the degree to which you may, or may not, have competition. If there is strong competition from another company, than it would be necessary to have some Plans written to deal with this.  It could be       o  plans to develop information about the competition's price,       o  plans to deal with some new marketing promotion activity                the competition is using      o  or plans that will help you discover any new models or product                 features being launched by the competition.  In a highly intense situation you could even have human resource plans to hire special people to help you deal with the threat from a competitor, or, hire the best people from the competition to come and work for your company. So, getting back to Objectives, if your Objective is to have the lowest price for a product, which is part of your Goal to be the # 1 in Sales, then your Plans may includes things like cutting packing costs, or Plans to cut shipping costs, but, part of achieving the lowest price, would be some Plan to find out what the competitor's price is - otherwise you will not know if your price is in fact the lowest.

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"Strategies" - unlike the Dilbert cartoon, is more than just a kewl word to through out there to the client.
Often people do something and call it a strategy when in reality it should be called a Plan. A stretgy by itself is useless, unless it is part of a plan, that has a time relate component so that you'll know when to do the particular Strategy.
 

GOPST explained STRATEGIES

Strategies--Strategies are the collection of various tactics (organized and structured sequences of actions). Examples:  Develop online giveaways to drive consumers to our product. By having on-line contests with prizes given away by other companies, you associate your brand with other circumstances, thereby increasing your brand depth Build links from the web sites of famous cosmetics brands and have reciprocal links.

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GOPST explained TACTICS

Tactics--"Tactics are the specifics of strategies". These are the specific ways and options you do things in order to carry out various strategies. Depending on which tactics you are able to employ (based on your access to resources) some strategies will work, some will fail. "Tactics are the who, what, when and how of the broad-stroke strategy." Examples:  Establish ongoing monthly contests giving away sample product to 10 lucky winners.  To enter, consumers must complete a data sheet, providing demographic information. Winners will be announced in the product category of the Web site to ensure consumers see our product line.

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GOPST in e-commerce some examples

Simeon K, a student in MGD415 at UTSC in Jan 2008  sent in an email in which he discusses an article in ecommercetimes.com that notes the GOPST terms we discuss in class Simeon said "Good day professor Richardson This morning I read an article in ecommercetimes.com about "Pleasing Customers, Securing Transactions: Having E-Tail Both Ways". I will try to summarize it ... It looks a little odd for online retailers to meet both challenges successfully but if somehow this is done, it will result in higher customer satisfaction, cleaner final reports and better risk control. According to Ecommercetimes.com, it will be up to retailer's executives to provide the performance metrics [like customer (speed), assurance (accuracy) and confidence (security and accreditations)] to the risk management. The interesting thing about the article is that it gives a good example of GOPST. As the article states, the ultimate goal is repeating customers and growing sales. The objectives, leading to the achievement of the goal are improving customer satisfaction and enhancing security for a better protection of transaction information. The plans to achieve these objectives would include: enhancing the easiness of managing customers' accounts, shortening the process of verification of customers' information, reducing delays resulting from the time it takes to navigate through implemented safeguards, reducing chargeback costs and ensuring the accuracy of the financial results and others . As we discussed in class, they have to be measurable, so that efficient risk management metrics are established (as mentioned before)."

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GOPST in e-commerce some examples

the article Simeon refers to is at http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Pleasing-Customers-Securing-Transactions-Having-E-Tail-Both-Ways-61303.html (handed out in MGD415 Jan 22 2008) WTGR responds "thanks Simeon, yes that is a good example. I particularly like the idea of "Setting Up Efficient Risk Management Metrics", one of the big problems companies having doing GOPST, is they don't put in place the required circumstances to find out of the Objectives are going to be met... cause...... if not, then you change your plans to do something different to meet the Objectives"

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GOPST related to SWOT

How does GOPST relate to SWOT? If you develop a GOPST, it seems obvious that you don't just want to create Goals for the sake of a theoretical exercise, you must want to actually accomplish those Goals through meeting Objectives which come from carrying out Plans. For those Plans to work, you need to know your strengths and weaknesses so when you are developing Strategies to achieve the Plans, those Strategies will take into account the things you are good at, and can do. So before you can define the specific Tactics which will be used to carry out the Strategy, a SWOT analysis must be done. WTGR

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SWOT

SWOT - Strength Weaknesses Opportunities Threats - this is a concept which students should know from "intro to business" and "intro to marketing" courses. Basically, in simple terms, SWOT Analysis is done to show what you are good at and where you suck, what do you have a chance at doing,  and who is out to make your life miserable ! Many of the business and marketing concepts we refer to in marketing and business, such as the 4Ps, the 5 environments, GOPST, SWOT etc, are all fundamentally important - what is required in the online age is to put them into a context that allows for the cyber dynamic. WTGR

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SWOT - Strength Weaknesses Opportunities Threats   SWOT analysis is important, and here is an example of SWOT mentioned in a recent newspaper article related to maintaining a competitive situation in the face of great challenges  Charles Belford  Thursday, August 30, 2001  Globe and Mail  Belford says that we should think of our corporate web sites as vehicles for other than just selling  "To understand how new value is being created, dump the notion that the site is simply another medium for retail advertising, only without the retail. Think, rather, of how many different relationships you can have with your customers and how much choice and control you can give them on the site."    ..

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Belford's article (mentioned above) has some good examples  "Visit the Bass Pro Shops site at www.basspro-shops.com. Sure, they have on-line shopping, but look at the many ways they attract and  hold the visitor, apart from the products. The site abounds with sub-sites providing information to hunters and fishermen."  . KEY POINTS examples of basspro-shops.com and other sites that have a community for visitors is something we will explore in more detail in the part of the course that deal with building an "online community". Before you begin worrying about an Online Community - you have to have some idea of your goals and objectives, and you should do a SWOT analysis if you are not sure of what Strengths and Weaknesses you have related to your GOPST. WTGR .

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Examples of information about SWOT analysis in the context of e-business and internet marketing can be found in many places on the Web. We have shown a screen capture below of Dr. Wilson's site - he has a good explanation of SWOT in the context of online circumstances.

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SWOT    If you go to this site, and scroll down, you can see how Dr. Wilson describes an example of how a SWOT Analysis might look for a fictional animal greeting card company.   ..

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www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm

Peter Doucas of BCS 555 in Sept 2005 found this site about Understanding Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Peter checked their site for permission to link/quote and they have a blanket consent option to permit linking, quoting

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According to mindtools.com, there are several considerations to using a SWOT analysis

mindtools.com suggests that to carry out a SWOT Analysis write down answers to the following questions.

Strengths:

  o What advantages do you have?
  o What advantages do you have compared to your competition?
  o What do you do well?
  o What relevant resources do you have access to?
  o What do other people see as your strengths?

Weaknesses:

  o What could you improve?
  o What do you do badly?
  o What should you avoid?
  o Are there some things you cannot improve, and must therefore hide, or avoid
  o Are there some things you can improve, but it would cost resources (time, money)

Opportunities:

  o What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
 

Useful opportunities can come from such things as:
           o Changes in technology and markets on both a broad and narrow scale
           o Changes in government policy related to your field
           o Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, etc.
           o Events & activities, local, regional, national - piggyback on someone else's energy

  o Threats from the changing Technological Environment
  o Threats from changes to rules and regulations established by the Political Environment
  o Threats from changes in the Economic Environment (inflation, currency exchange rate fluctuations, etc.)
  o Threats from extreme weather (Geographic Environment) - ice storm, tidal wave, hurricane, earthquake
  o Threats from the Competitive Environment
  o Threats from changes in the Social-Cultural Environment - demographic changes, aging population, gender issues, other languages, etc.

Some of the items on the above list come from mindtools.com, and some come from witiger.com
 

GOPST -  Does witiger know what he is talking about? Searching Google with the words Goal  Objective  Plans  Strategies  Tactics yields  52,000 hits (2004)  4,210,000 hits (2006), with www.witiger.com/ecommerce/GOPST~SWOT.htm ranking # 1 !!  (in Feb 2004)  (also in Oct 2006

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IN CLASS ACTIVITY.

For some classes doing this witiger unit on GOPST/SWOT, (MGTD06, CCT322, MRK410, BCS555) after studying GOPST and SWOT in class, we will break up into groups, and each group will write a GOPST for an imaginary situation.  The purpose of this exercise is to understand, by doing, what GOPST is - most people make a mistake in differentiating between Goals and Objectives - do not make that mistake. If your group produces a GOPST which makes sense, you will earn class participation marks. The main purpose of this exercise is that you will understand that  many companies have poorly conceived goals and objectives if the goals and objectives are not clear, a website will not help You should then make sure that you have a section on GOPST in your Team Project  (MRK 410, BCS 555, MGTD06) and clearly explain what is the Goal of what you are doing and what are the measurable Objectives that you can accomplish to reach that Goal. 1. Pick someone to write down the thoughts of the group 2. put everybody's name on the paper, spell the last name clearly 3. write down one single Goal 4. write down 2, or 3 or 4 Objectives 5. write down some Plans to achieve those Objectives 6. when you are done, hand it up to the front so the professor can read it out in class WTGR

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