Strategic and Business Planning for Housing Organisations
Introduction
Acronyms?
Housing Organisations are business-oriented firms that specialise housing tenants in need of homes (Mullins et al., 2012). (Is this ok? For where you gained data from, happy for you to reword) Different Housing Organisations have various rules set to provide adequate services that support the community and area development with a vision to improve . However, the role and performance of a Housing Organisation would differ from another despite having a similar goal in the provision of services (Mullins et al., 2012) and derive actions from the available tenancies within the region. The organisations need to focus on providing a clean, managed, equitable resources with collecting rental income whilst creating peaceful neighbourhoods, and most importantly, offering new models of housing with minimal levels of expenses.
Traditional roles of housing organisations focused on offering rental services to the community, but the recent change in development and technology have seen a change in service provision where the current housing organisations have focused on bringing a technological advancement in the housing department (Mullins et al., 2012). Therefore, the current role of housing organisations includes delivering adequate houses to the tenants and minimising the cost of living and, ensuring the current technology suits the community. Lawson et al., (2014) records that Housing Organisations have recorded interest in providing social amenities within a community apart from their major role of being a business venture. An additional role of current Housing Organisation includes the provision of adequate health care within a community. Evidence shows that housing organisations work at ensuring poverty level decreases within a specific region thus, broadening the role of the organisations beyond the expectation (Mullins, et al., 2012).
The Role and Purpose of a Business Plan
Business plans are merely a set of guidance that would help an organisation in a smooth running of their activities. The role of a business plan consists of the speculated goals that would see the progressive development of the business. Therefore, the first role of a business plan is it acts as a clarification of the direction the business has taken (Kathy 2013). The success of a company or a business organisation would depend on a business plan to define the direction or the set of rules set to modify a business on its success. Similarly, a good housing organisation would depend on the availability of a business plan in the implementation of their tasks as a way of realising the growth of the company (Kathy 2013).
A business plan is useful in the context of financial benefits. Financial institutions would depend on the information drafted in a business plan to decide whether the business would receive financial benefit (Navarro 2015). A good business plan with enough explanation of every step would attract investors willing to be part of the business. Therefore, housing organisations have the mandate to prepare a better business plan for the investors, particularly the government to allocate funds to the business. The business plan acts as a forecast of what the company would make regarding revenues thus, making it a tool for financial forecast.
Managers and company officials would enquire the information found in a business plan to manage the enterprise. However, the business would have a sense of motivation working under a set of policies and stratergies. A business plan ensures smooth running and a flow of techniques securing the goal of the organisation in an effort of ensuring a steady flow of revenues as well as the incorporation of the role of the business in a community (Navarro 2015).
Developing a Business Plan
A business plan would help an organisation achieve their goals as speculated and planned. However, the process of developing a business plan would differ from one organisation to another. The business plan specifically for a housing company would start by an explanation of the purpose and the role of the business. Moreover, the Housing Organisation business plan would consist of the projected housing properties aimed at providing homes to the given community (Barringer 2012). Similarly, the plan would incorporate a draft planned at describing the vision, mission, and challenges that would face the organisation. For instance, housing organisations have a problem with facing a shortage of funds when it comes to rental income through Universal Credit.
Additionally, a business plan would focus on realising their priorities as a way of knowing what strategies to use in the accomplishment of important decisions. However, the goals of the company should include a scheduled budget that would determine the survival of the organisation (Vu 2013). The business plan should revise the responsibilities of every member of the organisation that would help the meeting of the company’s expectation.
Developing a business plan from a scheduled platform would mean taking the plan from one level to another. The vision of the company should define an appropriate way of focusing on the important strategies that aim at developing the company. Similarly, the company officials should consider strategic planning that would see the implementation of the business plan in an efficient manner. Moore and Neef (2012) suggest the business draft offers clear and precise instructions on the strategy focusing on the development of the company as well as the business plan. However, the company officials should utilise the listed modules that help in facing the challenges facing the housing organisation in the industry.
Implementing and Monitoring of a Business Plan
The best way to succeed in business is the utilisation of the strategies prescribed in a business plan. Chang (2016) depicts that a business plan offers forecasted rules that would see the development of a company. However, a business plan would have no meaning if poorly implemented or neglected. Therefore, a company with a unique strategy of business plan implementation would develop financially as well as the reaching at their goals. A clear business plan with simple objectives has a higher chance of implementation compared to unclear objectives (Jandaghi and Hosseini 2015). Similarly, a good business plan should identify every task for every individual in the organisation. The role of the officials is to ensure every task is accomplished by the business plan hence, minimising the risks of neglecting some tasks.
Implementing a business plan should include the role of the officials in the development of the company. Therefore, the business plan should include the definition of tasks every individual should partake (Daniel 2016). The business plan will only benefit the organisation if the time allocated for every task is strictly followed. Time matters in every business since most companies perform within a timely scheduled basis. As such, the organisation should work within the speculated time to fully implement the rules of the business plan.
A good business plan should have a table of information that describes the progress of events. One event should follow another in the way of ensuring every task is catered for in the context of the company’s performance. For instance, the business plan should incorporate the role of officials in allocating work to the employees in an effort of reaching their goals as well as completion of their targeted tasks (Power and Hahn 2015). Therefore, a good business plan would be followed by a strict strategy that would ensure full implementation of the information found in the business plan and a comprehensive monitoring of events if the managers monitor the flow of the events.
Changes in Government Policy regarding Housing Organisations
The recent government has tried to interfere with the housing business in an effort of protecting the interests of tenants. The new legislature and policies focus on minimising the costs of housing as well as improving the living standards of the housing organisation employees. For instance, the government accredited an increase of salary with 1% to persons working in the housing business (Schwartz 2014). The idea would help the employees, but the long term effect would see the expenses of the company hiking if the revenue would be constant. Similarly, the government intervened on rent issues advising the housing departments to reduce the costs of renting with a decrease of 1% hence; making it hard for the department to make the estimated profits (Schwartz 2014). Alcock (2014) indicates how the housing department had speculated a budget of a certain amount that would rise after a financial year but the government policies would halt the projected revenues. Therefore, the housing organisations would not make as much as they used to but the business plan prospects on the possible outcomes after the returns have gone back to the norm.
Additionally, the government has imposed inflation charges that would welcome a cost of 1% in salary estimate. The inflation percentage would make the company raise salary at every subsequent year hence, bringing a conflict towards the housing organisation (Ball 2013). Didn’t realise 1% increase in wages in England? However, the plan would incorporate the strategy by offering financial benefits to the employees that would become part of the company. The Company would offer some shares to the employees who would later be part of the organisation beyond the term employees. Therefore, the problem of inflation in salary increment would not bother the management when the measure takes full effect. (Don’t think this has happened in our business as local authority) could we introduce Welfare Reform changes instead?
Business Plan Outline
Executive Summary
- The purpose of the Company is to provide housing services to the tenants and its environment. Therefore, the company focuses on reshaping and developing tenants’ requirements (Ball, 2013).
- The Housing organisation has decided to help tenants have a peaceful and affordable life in the sector of living. Rental rates would decrease as well as sustaining attainable commodities.
- The Great Yarmouth Housing department suggests for welfare at some parts of their locations such as Norfolk where tenants can shift their homes at their will. I don’t understand – sorry?
- The Housing Organisation offers services to all tenants regardless of their income. Tenants experiencing financial difficulties can benefit from the services offered by the organisation.
- The financial purpose and objective of the organisation are to sustain their business as well as generate enough revenues that would help the communities within their borough.
Legislative Framework
- The Housing Act changed to a self-financing strategy that aimed at retaining the revenues generated from rents. The revenues are kept to reduce England’s housing debt of £58 Millions (Ball, 2013).
- The Housing and Planning Act requires all the landlords to reform their tenancy policies that would meet strategic housing strategies.
- The Act asks the housing department to meet regulatory standards that would demonstrate different communication methods with their tenants and the authority.
- The regulators require landlords to involve tenants in empowerment as well as improving service delivery. Similarly, the Act provides a framework where tenants are commissioned in repairs as a way of enhancing cost sharing in the business (Beuren, et al., 2013).
- The welfare reform changes, reduces working age tenants benefit entitlement where the required number of bedrooms exceeds the need. Those with more than the required bedrooms will be reduced by 14% of the total entitled benefits. However, the strategy would cost the company a significant loss in the revenues. Universal Credit in Great Yarmouth is increasing rent arrears.
- The regulatory pledges the company to provide affordable homes to the tenants in the strategy of “Right to buy discounts” where the company is asked to build a new home after every sale of a discounted home. Therefore, the platform would set new homes leading to an increase in homes for the tenants.
- The business plan aims at reducing the rent with a 1% at every year in the subsequent four years aiming at providing affordable rates to the tenants (Teck-kong 2012). However, the reduction might affect the business financially since they would not reach the targeted 80% of rent revenues but would enhance affordability and availability.
Regulatory Framework
- The company has aimed at changing the regulatory framework on the issue of value for money. The company aims at maximizing profits as the priority in the business.
- The business plan would reduce cases of rent arrears that would slow their operations. Similarly, tenants would be asked to cater for repairs hence; reducing the expenses incurred in repair and development.
- The company would aim at reducing procurement costs by involving the Eastern Procurement Consortium (Beuren, et al., 2013).
- The business plan would advise the company to review their expenditures to minimize the unnecessary expenditures.
- The framework requires the company to reduce rents, but that would weigh down the strategies for repairing, development, and servicing the rental homes. Therefore, the company aims at providing adequate procedures that would reduce costs of maintenance and repairs hence; providing a platform that would maximize their profits. Similarly, the company would remove the ‘pay to stay’ strategy and enhance the purchasing of homes at a discounting rate. Tenants would not need to pay for rents at every month. (government have halted pay to stay)
- The company aims at providing homes to the tenants as well as creating job opportunities. The strategy would boost the country’s economy; promote infrastructure, education, health services, and other social amenities (Teck-kong 2012). Therefore, the business plan would recommend strategies that would help the England’s economy reach their target.
Products and Services
- The business plan focuses on providing housing aid to the tenants, and the main services include offering houses to the consumers (Beuren, et al., 2013).
- The business is structured to offer other social amenities to the customers. For instance, offering cleaning services to the community.
- The business plan does not cover naming other services beyond their expertise but helps the readers in understanding the different roles of an organisation in a community.
Target Market
- The business plan aims at reconnecting the current tenants and new tenants that would understand the role of a housing organisation and the benefits behind it.
- Similarly, the company helps in understanding the role of a government regarding finance through policies aimed at protecting the welfare of the citizens.
- The business plan provides with a detailed analysis of the current and future financial overview specifically speculating the foreseeable profit maximisation (Teck-kong 2012).
- However, the plan does not cover any loss associated with any unforeseeable loss probably that would occur after a failure in the implementation of the strategies speculated.
- The target market includes the concentrated urban area with a flow of employment that would help the community to pay for rents.
Implementation Strategy
- The business plan aims at pressing the officials in convenient ways of implementing the written document.
- In the context of the business plan, the author focused on helping the reader understand the concept of the report by indicating easy objectives of the plan.
- Similarly, the business plan defines every task associated with the housing organisation and the role of every team player in the organisation hence, easing the work of task allocation. Every employee would understand their role and the tasks would be easy. (I am not sure if this is repeated but may be wrong).
- The print also indicates the role of the manager in ensuring the recording of every process involving the development of the organisation. The recording would help in determining the progress of the project.
Company Management
- The management comprises of the Organisational Officials ranking from the Chief Executive Office, followed by Director who is followed by the Group Manager. The office has a financial department who are also included in decision-making (Gainullina, et al., 2016).
- The office has other managers , clerks, housing representatives, and community engagement support.
Financial Overview
- The company aims at getting financial help from bank loans, shares, bonds, and government funding (Clatworthy and Peel 2016).
- The government helps the organisation since it regulates most practices through policies and legislation.
- The government had imposed policies inhibiting the increase of rents that would affect the tenants.
- A similar strategy was imposed into the organisation that saw the community benefiting from a 30 years plan of mortgaged houses (Clatworthy and Peel 2016). The deal was sealed in an effort of helping the low-income individuals afford houses without a high return loan rates.
- The company has targeted a minimum increase of rent revenues that has increased from 2012 with a rate of 2.6% per annum.
- Therefore, the projected profit would rise from $£20 million to $£30 million within the length from 2012-2042 government policies being constant.
Threats of Government Policies
The government has developed new policies aiming at protecting the interests of the tenants but still would affect the business of housing. For instance, Hays (2012) protests that the rate of reducing the rent by 1% per every year would make the housing organisations make losses within the subsequent years. Similarly, the role of government in interfering with the rules of mortgage that has zero percentage of interests would halt the activities of a housing organisation bearing in mind that, people would go for the strategy leaving the payment of rents to just a few. With more RTB sales less homes, less income.
Similarly, the company has been asked to increase the salary of the employees of which the company does not add more income generating activities. Therefore, the expenses level would raise beyond the revenues generated leading to a loss in the book statements. However, the government has imposed changes that would gradually affect the housing business (Liba and Harding 2015). The housing organisations should be private sectors aiming at providing services to the tenants at a fee but since the government has an interest in the business, the regulations imposed would interfere with the services offered by the housing organisations.
Conclusion
The role of Housing Organisation is the provision of rental services at an exchange of financial gains. Similarly, the housing organisations provide other services such as repairs, cleaning of an environment, and community development. Other organizations also provide health services in a given community as a way of improving the lives of individuals. A business plan is a statement that aims at providing a platform that a business would follow in an effort of meeting their goals. Therefore, the discussed business plan deemed in the context of Housing Organisation aims at forecasting on the possibilities of the company in the subsequent 20 years of service. The government has a way of intervening with other businesses with the aim of protecting the interests of the citizens thus, providing with policies and regulations that strictly discourages private organisations from exploiting a community. Housing Organisations have managed to provide adequate services to the people as well as providing revenues to the government. Therefore, the business plan is the key strategy that would help every business in implementing effective procedures in a company.
Have we answered how the organisation would should respond to these changes?
Theory of creating a business plan SWOT/PESTLE
Negative impacts for the future – Universal Credit As arrears increase
Changes to regulatory framework – Have we covered this?
Question – can the business adopt more of a commercial approach whilst protecting the service users?
Assessment Criteria – Have we been critical evaluating the role, purpose, social identity against role of commercial business?
Evaluate the theories of a strategy development and developing a vision?
Q – Assessment criteria 3.1 develop a business plan, don’t think we had to do this but show outline.
Identify critical stages for monitoring? Quarterly meetings with board members and reporting data
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