The Benefits and Limitations of Strategic Planning for Organizations
"It was August of 1914 and Germany had committed virtually its entire
army to the invasion of Belgium and France. Few German troops remained
to defend East Prussia against the invasion of two huge Russian
armies. Despite the numerical inferiority, Colonel Hoffmann, chief of
the German Eighth Army staff, created an audacious strategy to
surround and annihilate one of the Russian armies. He began to plan a
detailed attack. At the same time, on a train traveling east, General
Ludendorff, the incoming chief of staff of the reinforced German
forces in East Prussia, identified the same opportunity and created
exactly the same strategy. Paul von Hindenburg, the new commander of
German forces in the east, implemented the Hoffmann/Ludendorff
strategy. At the resulting Battle of Tannenberg, only 10,000 of the
150,000 soldiers in the Russian Second Army escaped."[1]
When discussing the concept of strategic planning many keywords seem
to arise. Strategy, planning, detail, identify, opportunity and
implement. The article above describes briefly a situation in which
all of these keywords were practically used. Although this example has
no obvious connection with the world of business, we can start to
analyze what were the benefits and limitations of strategic planning
for Colonel Hoffman and his troops. The obvious benefits of the
strategic plan were that they would be able to take the Russian
soldiers by surprise, possibly allowing the Germans to gain an
advantage in combat. But there were also limitations of the planned
strategy. For example there was only a small number Germa...
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The New Strategy and Why It Is New By Nick Demos, Steven Chung, and
Michael Beck
http://www.strategy-business.com/press/article/?art=9084523&pg=0
Conclusion Point:
· Businesses which develop formal strategic planning systems will be
more effective in achieving their objectives than those which do not
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[1] Strategy, By Chuck Lucier and Jan Dyer
[2] http://www.yourdictionary.com
[3] Jack: Straight from the Gut (written with Business Week's John A.
Byrne, Warner Business Books, 2001)
[4] Business Policy - Strategy Formation & Management Action, Glueck
[5] Ansoff, H. Igor: Corporate Strategy, New York: McGraw Hill, 1965
[6] Glueck, F. William, Business Policy - Strategy Formation &
Management Action, McGraw Hill
How do the issues facing those doing strategic planning differ from those doing tactical planning? Can the two really be
Strategy depends on numerous analytical factors and some of these present challenges to planners. This essay will identify some of these challenges that strategists encountered during WWII. Moreover, it will present strategy as a fluid process requiring refinement throughout.
Finarelli, M. (2009). Intended consequences: How changes during strategic planning can make or break a plan. Retrieved on October 10, 2011, from http://www.hss-inc.com/documents/SHSMD-MariaNovSpectrum.pdf
Health care, and the relationship with the customer, is changing. The insurance provider and market is also changing in the wake of recent health care reforms. Reevaluation and assessment of a health systems strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as the relationship with the external and internal stakeholders is a productive and positive way promote a positive future for the health system organization. Goals and priorities must be held in a collaborative state with providers and sources of payers in order to stay valuable in today's market. Appropriate implementation planning and evaluation of this partnership can ensure the future success of not only the health system, insurance company, nursing staff, but also the patient. Strategic planning "is a process by which the guiding members of the organization envision their future and develop the necessary and appropriate procedures and operations to actualize that future” (Yoder-Wise, 2011, p. 312). This is an important concept in today’s unpredictable healthcare market.
Dess, G. G., Lumpkin, G. T., Eisner, A. B., & McNamara, G. (2012). Strategic Management: Text & Cases (6th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Leaders today need to have an appreciation for the operation process, understand a situation, envision a desired future, and to lay out an approach that will achieve that future (Flynn & Schrankel, 2013). Plans need to be created that can be modified to changes in any factors considered. However, plans should not be dependent on specific information being precise or that require things to go exactly according to schedule. Instead, the staff NCO should be flexible where they can and always be prepared for the unexpected. Today’s military members are fighting an unconventional war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The enemy constantly changes their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP’s) to counter the United States technological advances, making planning very difficult for leaders. There are multiple tools at a staff NCO’s disposal to try to anticipate an outcome of a current operation, but also assist with the development of concepts in follow-on missions. The Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) is just one tool a staff NCO can utilize. In order to stay ahead of the enemy, create effective plans and orders, it is critical for a staff NCO to assist the commander, and understand that the MDMP and planning are essential in defeating the enemy and conserving the fighting force.
Although there is a level of complexity, an inherent and deterministic logic underpins traditional warfighting operations. Planners can apply certain principles to contingency planning for traditional warfighting. Once planners understand relationships between the parts of the problem, they recognize that every action has a consequence, and although some actions reinforce the adversary system’s power, others degrade that power. The typical wargaming method of action, reaction, and counteraction significantly contributes to this oversimplification of combat, which, after all, is a human endeavor and thus subject to fog and friction. Traditional wargaming is an extremely useful tool, but planners must understand that whereas the wargaming outcome is deterministic, combat is not. In complex, ill-structured problems, wargaming is still required, but the real benefits do not necessarily come from the results. The far greater benefits are derived from the discussions of possibilities and probabilities from the interaction of systems and actors within and between
Fast Company,(139), 69-70,73,16. Retrieved from Research Library. Document ID: 1870795761. Wheelen, Thomas L. & Hunger, J. David, (2010). Strategic management and business policy.
Carpenter, MA & Sanders, WG 2007, Strategic management: concepts: a dynamic perspective, Prentice Hall, New Jersy.
The Schlieffen Plan is one of the first military plans people learn about when studying World War I. Despite, the plan being common knowledge to individuals who have studied Western military, there is much controversy over why the plan failed for the Germans. In recent decades the main question over Schlieffen’s war plan, whether the plan was meant to be used as a military strategy or not. Since, the reunification of Germany in 1989, document that were once lost are now resurfacing, and with more information, there are more arguments about the reason the Schlieffen Plan failed. The recent argument on why the Schlieffen Plan failed was because Schlieffen was not creating a military plan to follow for war and destroy the French military in one blow, instead he was sketching out the possible ways Germany could defend themselves
John G. S., 2008: Strategically thinking about the subject of Strategy [e-journal] 9(4) p.2 Available through:
Blue Nile is one of the largest jewelry companies that sell jewelry products online. Blue Nile was formed in the year 1999 (Arthur, 2007). It is recognized as the company with the largest volume of sales in the world. It was recognized by internet retailer, a US magazine, as established in terms of size more than three largest jewelry retailers that conduct their businesses online. It has won several business awards in its historical times. It has also been ranked as the leading company in internet based customer service by consumers in 2002. It is the only jewelry company known to have received this award. Blue Nile has been selling wedding and engagement rings to more than 80,000 partners between the year 2000 and in the mid 2006. Internet retailer also recognized Blue Nile as the leading with the best web in 2007. In 2006 it also received an award from Kiplinger’s as leading best online jewelry retailer.
meanings as the most important long-range planning, the most complex. and profound decisions, and the most advantageous effects from a. bombing campaign as well as leaders with the highest conceptual ability to make decisions and make decisions. As mentioned earlier, strategy is a plan whose aim is to link ends.... ... middle of paper ... ...
If asked what strategic planning is one could interpret it as simply a road map that can guide the organization in the right direction. It is very unlikely that an organization would know which direction to take without a sense of direction. Managers are faced every day with decisions that have a major impact on the direction the organization must take, therefore, strategic planning can play an important role in guiding managers in the right direction. In other words strategic planning is a tool that management can use to give them a sense of direction that will guide them in doing a better job and to ensure that all the members of the organization are working toward the same goals
Group 6 Strategic Management Strategic management is the process where organization managers reach the goals and aspirations of the organization on behalf of its owners. This is done through formulation and implementation of ways and methods to fulfill the organizational goals and objectives (Brian, 2011). This is done with in-depth consideration of both the internal and external environments that the organization operates in, in order to allow the organization to make the right decisions. Strategic management is an important element that firms must put together through strategic thinking as well as strategic planning (Nag, R., Hambrick & Chen, 2007). In order for a firm to compete within its industry, it must plan and relate to the industry dynamics, determine its strengths and weaknesses before determining the best way to match and overcome competitors.