LD is the owner and manager of her own florist business, LD Flowers. Although starting out initially as a hobby, it has developed into a sustainable business. LD's original business was based on using only flowers from her garden, but as the business has grown she has been forced to searching alternative supplies of flowers. Though, she has remained loyal to her ethical stance by choosing and buying her flowers only from local growers that she knows. She feels that this, together with her certain design of contemporary flower arrangements, differentiates LD Flowers from the other local florists and supermarkets which tend to offer more traditional arrangements using flowers imported from overseas.

Discuss whether or not LD is right to be doubtful about the relevance of formal strategic planning for her business.

The formal approach to strategic planning usually results in a consciously thought out or deliberately intended strategy. It supposes that strategy making is a rational process with methods based on careful analysis of the opportunities and threats posed by the external environment, and consideration of the organisation's strengths and weaknesses, relative to other players in the industry.

Whilst there can be advantages to adopting such an approach, the formal process may not be suitable for a small business like as LD's for the following reasons.

• A formal approach can be very costly, time consuming and complicated for little businesses. LD is right to be concerned about the opportunity cost, not only in terms of attending the seminars, but also in terms of spending time on planning which could take her away from the major operations of her business.