This guide presents the latest thinking on effective business planning. From diagnosing and measuring customer satisfaction to finding innovative ways to raise capital, this fifth edition explains how to organize and implement the planning process from beginning to end and position a company for success. Students will learn how to: evaluate a business's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses; pinpoint crucial elements of the competitive environment, including market, economic, and technological factors; establish realistic goals, objectives, and strategies in areas including marketing, organization and management, production/services, R & D, finance, and information technology; develop operating and financial plans; identify and integrate customer requirements into the business plan; write the actual planning document and use it to steer a company to greater productivity and profits; obtain the capital needed to grow a business. --