ABSTRACT
This long and important Step is divided into six Stages -Possible Means - Possible areas of business - Which means can be applied in the Existing Business Area - and in the New Business Areas - Voluntary Liquidation. Having decided what profit gaps the company should aim to close and having decided what constraints apply, the company needs to know what strategy will succeed in closing the gaps. There are seven categories into which nearly all possible action to earn profits can be divided: invest capital, overcome obstacles, exploit opportunities, use of strengths, overcoming weaknesses, profit improvement plans and the use of management techniques. At this stage the corporate planner should work systematically through each of these to determine what chance there is of closing the profit gaps by applying these, first in the area of business in which the company is currently engaged and then in those areas of business which the company might realistically expect to enter.
