Future Planning and Expenditure

In order to implement successful measures for ensuring that the company’s medium and long term planning and expenditure take due account of possible future occurrences, it is suggested that the following points are noted:

Detailed studies of the company’s present costs and revenues should be undertaken in order to determine how the proposed expenditure and/or changes will affect these variables.

This should, of course, be paralleled with guestimates of the future cost and revenue levels and measured against the company’s objectives (profit vs. market share to attract institutional customers and so on).

The above process should be undertaken by both the firm’s and their parent company’s management and outside consultants if required.

This would allow the parent company to ensure that its subsidiary’s objectives were being attained and would enable the subsidiary to make sure that the proposals were practical in the environment in which they operated.

Thus, harmony would exist between the firm and parents provided that any differing points of view which existed could be consolidated as to achieve the objectives of both companies.

The company could set itself guidelines regarding the maximum levels of investment which it could undertake. This level would coincide with the firm’s breakeven point and would consider the many different possible conditions of the market.

Thus, a breakeven point whereby the company is able to maintain profitability in inactive conditions and taking in to account expenditure plans would result.

Another consideration however, would be the firm’s objectives. These may not be to maximise the levels of profit, but rather market share or to build up loyalty between corporate clients.

As a result, profitability would have to suffer due to the low or net commissions which are presently gained from them.

The firm could look at its competitors’ actions in order to determine its expenditure and planning, thus enabling them to be both competitive and prudent in the investments.

Behavioural Issues
The implementation of the measures designed to curb the firm’s behavioural problems should begin at the top of the organisation.

Once the heads of the organisation have reached a decision on the steps necessary to better the firm’s position, the information should be disseminated down through the structure of the organisation.

This would create an atmosphere of openness and would quell the talk of the grapevine if the employees were told directly by their superiors. Although good communications will lessen the severity of the problems with staff moral, they will not dispel it altogether.

Thus, the sooner the company carries out and finishes implementing the measures the sooner the remaining staff can begin to feel more secure in their jobs and thus concentrate on them and not on the management’s meetings.

The remainder of the implementation issues are covered during the analysis of the recommendations. The main emphasis for the company must be on the good communication of their proposed actions and use the employee’s superiors to provide the company with a personalised and caring face.

Involving the remaining employees in suggesting ways to improve the efficiency of their operations would provide the company with cost savings and give employees a sense of importance and one of belonging to a company who listens to them.