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Espacios. Vol. 37 (Nº 17) Año 2016. Pág. 4

Follow up through the strategic planning of a bread factory in the region of Campos Gerais for the implementation of a franchising system

Acompanhamento através do planejamento estratégico de uma fábrica de pães na região dos Campos Gerais para a implementação de um sistema de franquia

Sérgio DITKUN 1; Adriano Mesquita SOARES 2; Daniel PRIETO 3; João Luiz KOVALESKI 4; Rui Tadashi YOSHINO 5

Recibido: 22/02/16 • Aprobado: 12/03/2016

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Defining Technology

3. Becoming a century-old company

4. Franchising as a strategic way to survive

5. Methodology

6. Results & Discusion

7. Conclusion

References

1. Introduction

With the advent of modern globalization, from the twentieth century, companies found themselves forced to upgrade their production methods, empower their workforce, reduce rework production, and eliminate waste. They also thrived to deliver a product with higher value added service to consumers through the innovations created in the productive environment in order to improve their market competitiveness. Therefore, they are specializing especially when it comes to strategic planning and technology transfer.

Developing countries were only able to improve their economic conditions when they gained access to new production methods applied in technologically advanced countries. These technology transfers have been consolidated as a major source of innovation in these countries. This has made them increasingly productive and competitive. Kovaleski (2004, p.6) comments that "investments in technology and personnel are compensated by increasing the competitiveness of enterprises, allowing them to have a more aggressive strategy to win new markets."

The access to these technologies can occur in various forms; through participation in events, fairs, seminars, trade agreements between countries, partnerships with suppliers, business partners, industrial espionage, piracy, among others. The results of these interactions naturally provoke innovations in organizational and market environment. Afterwards it constitutes an indispensable element to the planning, development, identification, evaluation and selection of technologies, generating technological innovation, negotiation, acquisition, hiring or sale of technology through technology transfer between organizations, sectors and countries (RODRIGUEZ 2012; Porter, 1995).

For the successful implementation of these new technologies, the personal factor is a significant weight. As a result, people need to be aware of their role in the innovation process, have innovative profile, and be in an appropriate organizational environment that fosters the necessary improvements. Nobrega (2009) highlights some features that stimulates the innovative profile in developed countries and can also be developed here in Brazil with entrepreneurs. Among the features of this profile are: high dose of trust in personal relationships, pragmatic leadership, meritocracy, transparency and innovation. These initiatives that stimulate the innovative profile of the developed countries can only be applied in Brazil as a decision is made by top management in the organizations set forth herein. In the case of a country, this initiative is part of a government plan.

Freitas; Martins and Souza (2006), speeches about the process of decision-making as a process of analysis and choice between several possible alternatives for a solution. In Brazil for encouraging innovation in order to make it more competitive through specific laws, such as the Innovation Law No. 10.973 / 2004 This law directly affects Brazilian companies, since they are responsible for the production of a nation thus making them more competitive compared to the other countries.

In this context, strategic planning is of great importance for both countries and for companies leaving the technological backwardness and improving their production processes. In the decision making process we must choose to have products and services ready for consumption or develop their own technologies to improve the quality, productivity and competitiveness? This question allows the country and companies keep in constant motion, adapting continuously to the market through new technologies and new ways of running a business. These are developed in-house or transferred into the organizational environment. According to Barbosa (2009) to keep ahead of other competitors is necessary to add the new technologies acquired with the knowledge existing in the organization and improve it, without the competition can copy, thus creating a competitive advantage.

One of the ways for the company to be productive and competitive is through good planning with a view to innovation. To this end it is necessary to elaborate strategic planning in companies and involving people in the process of continuous improvement. Ditkun (2013, pg.16) created a meaning for the word innovation, "Inevitable Need to Get Highly Competitive Advantage in Organizational Environment". The author notes that for companies to achieve this competitive advantage will need to engage people in strategic planning as a way to get them innovations to make them more competitive. "People in these companies, are the carriers of knowledge and therefore the source of competitive advantage" (GEUS, 1999, p. 5).

The purpose of this article is to study a case of a small company in the bakery sector, located in the region of Campos Geraite to innovate their way of management and a franchise bakery was chosen. This analysis aims to describe how the strategic plan is being developed.

2. Defining Technology

Technology, competitiveness, creativity, innovation, leadership, competitive advantage by generating value. These and other expressions became more pronounced between government proposals and have become matters of great discussions on university benches and has become a latent need in the business.

In the last two decades, Brazil has awakened to the innovation in its way of management in order to put the country in the ranking of global competitiveness. Technological innovation is one way to find solutions that impact positively on the competitiveness of companies, consequently Brazil.

The perception that a layman has to hear the word technology is that it is only referring to electronic equipment or difficult to be designed. Perhaps he is right to think that way, because the Brazilian investment in R & D focused on only one sector of the economy, the information technology. In 1991 it was created the Informatics Law No. 8248 which brought a number of tax benefits for companies in the sector as 80% rebate on the IPI. For this reason, we will start with some concepts of technology to break some paradigms established regarding the issue at hand.

The term "technology" comes from the industrial revolution in the late eighteenth century. The word itself means much more than hardware or a tool. Rabbit (2006) argues that technology is the science and technology transformed into merchandise. By the desire of companies to improve their productivity and competitiveness, they apply new forms of production or managing a business.

With competition increasingly on the rise, the more value added in the product or service the greater the competitive advantage. This advantage is due to the technological advances developed or acquired by it. Allarakhia and Walsh (2011) state: "technological development is increasingly driven by the market's advance." For Kings (2004) technology represents a wealth of knowledge of a society based on scientific methods and knowledge, establishing field of materials and useful in the production processes.

Looking for improvements in productivity and competitiveness, companies make use of numerous strategies for achieving your goals. Technology transfer is one of them. Many of these transfers can be achieved in various ways as previously mentioned through participation in events, fairs, seminars, trade agreements between countries, partnerships with suppliers, business partners, industrial espionage, and piracy, among others. This search for best practices in transforming raw materials into finished products or find new ways to run a business is the constant challenge of organizational managers. For the successful adoption of these new technologies and integrate them into its processes the company must retain new skills and/or upgrade the skill level of the existing workforce (Boothby et al, 2010; SUNG; Gibson, 2005).

When a product or service is improved, if once offered to the market it produces financial returns, means that there was an innovation. It notes that this success is due to the result of management and competence of the people who make up the company. When people are competent in planning and implementation, these companies become more competitive by increasing its market share and neutralizing competition. Some indicators can demonstrate this assertion by measurements in sales volume, profitability, productivity, customer satisfaction, etc.

The adoption of tools that provide a more reliable reading of the market make a company become more prominent than others and develop a competitive edge. These tools allow a more detailed assessment of macro and microenvironment. Strategic planning is one of them, and for its success, it is essential for people to be involved "keys" to the smooth running of the shares.

Every organization that offers products and services aims to settle and remain in the market. For this reason, adapting to the environment it operates in can become a challenge for many of them. The acquisition or adoption of new technologies allows the company to remain innovating the way they do. When do they know when change is needed? Companies that know the time to review their processes, products, services and their way of running the business have managed to stay on the market for consecutive years.

Technology is more than just products aimed at the information technology area. "The focal point of the term technology use is concentrated in products, processes, equipment and operations. That is, the higher the technological value of a product and / or process, the greater technological capability of the organization that sets this result Silva (2002)

3. Becoming a century-old company

When opening a business the dream is to remain for many years in the market and future generations deem continue the project started. No one opens a business to plan on closing so companies must adapt to the environment in which it operates and to allow greater chances of survival. There are currently in Brazil and abroad several organizations that are in the market for years and show they came to stay. How did they survive? How have they adapted and how were their processes changed? What do these companies with years of experience have in common? This paper presents examples of two companies that have become centenarians. One company is from foreign origin and one from Brazil.

Surviving in the corporate world requires a lot of management skills and a very keen sense on the part of managers to realize the time to change the course of business. Cases such as Royal Dutch and Shell Group (holdings of an English company and one Dutch) and South America (Brazil) are two examples of longevity. The first is on the market since 1890 (English foundation) and started their ventures selling kerosene lamps for the Far East. The Shell name, meaning shells in English, arose because in this place where they traded their products, seashells were regarded as money. From 1970, the group decided to diversify its products and in new market segments such as metallurgical and nuclear energy. The initiative to diversify came when there was speculation about the supply of oil in the world. The projections were that in the next three or four decades the product would be exhausted. I realize what was going on around was a catalyst for this group seeking new technologies.

Another group that is surviving for over a hundred years is in South America (Brazil). Founded in 1913 as a companion land property, marine,  accident, now has a range of options to meet different types of customers by offering products ranging from automotive insurance to dental services. This perception that it was possible to offer other kinds of products and services made it become one of the largest insurers in Latin America.

By studying these and other stories of companies that have survived and still survive in the market, it can be seen that there is something in common between them, which is being sensitivity to market environment.

The managers of these century-old companies had the ability to keep one foot in the present and the other in the future always wondering what the next trend would influence the behavior of people and the market. They prepared to meet them proactively. According to Geus there are four known factors in companies with longevity:

1. Long-lived companies were sensitive to the environment. Whether they had built their fortunes based on knowledge (such as DuPont technological innovations) or natural resources (such as the Hudson Bay Company access to the furs of Canadian forests), they remained in harmony with the world around them.
2. Long-lived companies were cohesive and endowed with a strong sense of identity. No matter the extent of diversification: its employees (and sometimes even their suppliers) felt that they were all part of a single entity.
3. Long-lived companies were tolerant ... they avoided exercising any centralized control over attempts to diversify the company.
4. Long-lived companies were conservative in finance; were frugal and not free risked their capital.

It is noticed that the concerns were well defined and were not focused on maximizing wealth or profits to shareholders. Thoughts like these lead organizations to plan the future and be alert to their surroundings. Prahalad and Hamel (1990) understand the continuous learning of the organization, the ability to perceive and integrate different technologies, the level of communication and involvement, and commitment found among the members of the organization. The profit of shareholders is the consequences of an effective sustainable management that analyzes their chances of survival.

For these companies is not enough to stay attentive to the environment. Maintaining a friendly working environment allows the commitment of its employees as well as suppliers to suggest and develop new ways to make a product or service. The management model is decentralized allowing new projects were being developed as the people in the organization realized a business opportunity. In this manner the employee himself is able to create an entrepreneurial environment. Employees who are free to share and develop their own projects and carry them out, parallel to its activities is considered an asset to the company.

The term intrapreneurial appeared in the 1980 by management consultant Gifford Pinchot III, which says that "having good ideas is not the most difficult point in the innovation process. The real challenge is to turn these ideas into profitable realities, a task that requires employees to behave like entrepreneurs. "

Finally, long-lived companies have well developed their financial planning. Its management allows you to create effective cost controls and waste in order to apply their capital consciously in what matters for the company's growth.

No company can get far if there is a no good strategic planning. Many of them, to perpetuate the market, are entering the franchise business. This is a path that successful organizations have found to make markets and positioning their brands in the market. But what are franchises and why entrepreneurs have adopted this goal in their strategic plan?

4. Franchising as a strategic way to survive

Franchises are in great growth in business and are defined by PLA (2001, p.17) as "a system of product distribution, technology and / or services. It states that the franchisor grants the franchisee the right to explore his concept, know-how and brand through a financial consideration. "

According to the Brazilian Franchising Association - ABF, Brazil is in 6th place of franchised units, behind the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines. The report also points out that of all existing franchises in Brazil, 92.4% are genuinely Brazilian and 7.6% of them work abroad. On the website of ABF members disclose the number of units of the franchise. They join to receive a personal, nontransferable password to update the data.

One of the advantages of the franchise system is strengthening the brand more rapidly. The entrepreneur does not need to make the investment in setting up a new branch. It will take the help of franchisees to make your present business and known in other regions.

As of the date of the survey, these numbers of companies offering franchises were presented in Table 1

Table 1 - Number of franchise establishments, according to the Brazilian Franchising Association - ABF

Font: ABF, 2014

From the data above the number of companies that have opened franchise is considered a high number. The advantage in working with franchises is that the interested contractors already started your business with a known brand in the market, thus your chances of success are higher, because the risks of market research, logistics study, implantation studies, among others fit the franchisor. The franchisee may be hurt in the franchisor's cases did not comply with the agreed contract. For this reason, the entrepreneur who wants to open franchises should be aware of their responsibilities and engage deeply with strategic planning before opting for this strategy of offering franchises since it is your brand that will be at stake.

Next a case will be presented of a small company in the bakery branch located in the Campos Gerais region who realized this need to open franchises in order to remain competitive in the market. The entrepreneur made his strategic planning and came up with the idea of ​​deploying a franchise. Despite the businessman joined an association, where their actions are being performed individually.

5. Methodology

Lakatos and Markoni (2007, p.15) argue that research "is a formal procedure, with reflective thinking method, which requires scientific treatment and is the way to know the reality or to find out partial truths." This article is of applied nature in which it has the basic motivation to solve concrete, practical and operational problems. Zanella (2009) also mentions that according to Trujillo; Ferrari (1982, p. 171) point that "[...] despite the practical purpose of the research, it can theoretically contribute new facts for planning new research or even to theoretical understanding of certain sectors of knowledge." The research is regarded as descriptive because, according to Hart and Bervian (2007) descriptive research notes, records, analyzes and correlates events or phenomena, without manipulation. Research can still be considered as literature because the author seeks to explain a problem from theoretical references published, among others, in articles, books, dissertations and theses.

To collect data on-site observation was used while decisions were made by the bakery entrepreneur. In the results and discussion will describe the steps of the shares raised in strategic planning and what has been done so far.

6. Results & Discusion

The Campos Gerais consist of twenty-six counties. The region has an infrastructure that favors the attraction of new business and is located in a strategic position near the capital of Curitiba, the Port of Paranaguá, from Afonso Pena Airport, and major shopping centers, with access both by road, as by railways. Among the major investments made in the region have recently been the major company locations as DAFF (truck maker) in Ponta Grossa, Klabin (papermaking) in Ortigueira, Cargill (grain processing) in Castro, installation Ambev in Ponta Grossa, among others.

The bakery under study is already more than twenty years in the market, being a reference in quality and service. Among the bakers in the region, this was the first to realize the market around you is changing very fast with the installation of new plants and the economic growth of the region. Consequently, new leads are settling in this region and the more shops in the region, the greater the chances of this public seeking for their services and products. Despite the bakery belong to an association, they are competing with each other, but maintains a mutual respect and unite to make purchases of raw materials to achieve greater discounts.

This bakery stands out for its ability to offer varieties of products and delivers breakfasts baskets and care of festive events in local companies. These requirements have been considered bakery forces and represent a major competitive advantage.

The bakery entrepreneur considers that strategic planning should be looked at very seriously; if it indeed wants to stay in the market. In Table 2 are defined steps raised in strategic planning so far, noting that the realization processes of actions are being implemented with completion seen in July 2015.

Table 2 - defined steps in strategic planning to offer a franchise

Font: Author (2014)

After identifying their strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the businessman had contact with a study by Sebrae (2000-2013) of Ponta Grossa and region. This study demonstrates the consumption potential of the region and its economic development on the rise. The objective of this study was to point out the main opportunities for MSEs (micro and small businesses) of the region, from the investment of big business and identify these MSEs preparation needs to take advantage of this economic movement. Using these data it was possible to further fuel the idea of ​​offering franchises.

Lifting the market threats the businessman came to the conclusion that at the moment there is no competition or other type of threat that will worry him as it is his company the strongest and most popular of the region, both for its customers and for its Providers.

In January 2014 the bakery entrepreneur visited the fair Europan occurring bi-annually in Paris, France. The event attracts people from all over the globe and it is where there are partnerships, exchange of information and exchange of experiences with other entrepreneurs in the sector and baking. In addition to this goal include meeting the new global trends and understand how the bakery works and which products can be adopted in its portfolio. Many new ideas will be implemented in new business franchises.

In July 2014, the businessman visited a bakery fair that took place in São Paulo - Fipan - which takes place annually. The Fipan is the leading trade fair of bakery, confectionery and establishments operating in the food generally of service here in Brazil. Here, several companies in the bakery sector presented new technologies, such as ovens and high-performance equipment that enable efficiency and greater productivity with less waste. The entrepreneur found what equipment you may find useful and which must be included in their franchise. The next steps are underway by the entrepreneur.

The steps shown in Table 1 is a representation, ie a "backbone" outlined for the entrepreneur to know what are the next steps to be taken to reach your goal. It may be that in the process something may appear that is not contemplated in the raised steps, but this does not invalidate your planning. This is part of a characteristic of strategic planning and it is not to be cast and the strategy can be changed at any time according to market dynamics.

7. Conclusion

The search for the survival of enterprises leads them to seek new ways of doing business management. Becoming a century-old company requires a lot of management and vision on the part of entrepreneurs. This form of strategic thinking leads them to get in touch with new technologies from abroad and in their country of origin. Technology transfer is a result of this research and will to grow. This technology transfer can occur in several ways: through participation in events, fairs, seminars, trade agreements between countries, partnerships with suppliers, business partners, industrial espionage, piracy, among others. Finding the ideal and responsible way will depend on the vision of each entrepreneur and the principles and values ​​that he carries.

It is noticed that one of the paths chosen by many companies to remain competitive is by offering franchises that have demonstrated a branch growing strongly in Brazil.Companies that look to innovation have found that innovation is no longer a choice but a necessity. This statement corroborates the Ditkun vision (2013, p.16) that innovation is an "unavoidable necessity of obtaining highly competitive advantage in the organizational environment."

We conclude that the business is on track for the pursuit of innovation of your business. As a responsible and cautious businessman, he is following the steps outlined in the strategic planning which allows to considerably reducing the risks of this new venture. The deadline set for the completion and delivery of the franchise is to be in July 2015.

THANKS. Give the best grateful to CNPq for granting the fellowship, which has contributed greatly to making our research.

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1. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, Brasil. sditkun@yahoo.com.br
2. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, Brasil. adrianosoares711@hotmail.com
3. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, Brasil. danielher_01@hotmail.com

4. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, Brasil. kovaleski@utfpr.edu.br

5. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, Brasil. ruiyoshino@utfpr.edu.br