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Strategic Planning and Management
What is Strategic Management?
Strategic planning is a process to provide direction and meaning to day-to-day activities. It examines an organization's values, current status, and environment, and relates those factors to the organization's desired future state, usually expressed in five- to ten-year time periods. The organization may be a program, school, school district, public or private agency, or any other institution that wishes to control its future.
If the organization existed in a static environment in which no change was necessary or desired, there would be no need for strategic planning. But, our environment is changing -demographically, economically, and culturally. Thus, strategic planning is both a reaction to, and a tool for adapting to, those changes and creating an organization's future within the context of change.
McCune describes strategic planning as a process for organizational renewal and transformation. She identifies another difference between long-range planning and strategic planning: in long-range planning, goals and projections are based on the assumption of organizational stability, while in strategic planning; the role of the organization is examined within the context of its environment. Strategic planning provides the means for an organization to adapt its services and activities to meet changing needs in its environment. It provides a framework not only for the improvement of programs but also for the restructuring of programs, management, and collaborations, and for evaluation of the organization's progress in these efforts. (1)
What Does It Involve?
As a process, strategic planning involves an orderly sequence of activities, each vital to the success of the whole. Strategic planning activities include:
1. Assessing the external environment.
2. Assessing internal capacity.
3. Developing goals and objectives.
4. Implementing the plan.
5. Measuring progress and revising the plan.(1)
The planning process depends on a formal information system. The external and internal assessments provide a reality base on which to build future plans. The vision or mission identifies the organization's purpose and its desired future state.
The process of internal assessment and future visioning may uncover, with in an organization, differing views of its purpose, its curren...
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...eloping a strategic plan to ensure an adequate base for further development. Additionally, the environment is not static during the development of a strategic plan. Revisions may be necessitated by changing events or changes in personnel, funding patterns, or needs.
Summary
Some groups of people, or inspired leaders, have a natural ability to respond quickly and effectively to new challenges and opportunities, making strategic planning superfluous. However, for most organizations and most organization members, strategic planning provides a powerful framework. Developing a strategic plan can be expensive, especially in terms of personnel time and energy. This cost must be considered in relation to the expected benefits. For some organizations or units within an organization, strategic planning is a burden imposed by a higher authority - a funding source or an umbrella organization. If there is no internal commitment to the plan, and no intent to implement it, strategic planning is a waste of time and energy. In sum, strategic planning is for those who are willing to be honest, who want to focus on revitalization, and who are committed to influencing and creating their future.
Both, vision and mission statements provide purpose to organizations. Therefore, they should set the foundation for the strategic planning process. However, if and organizations strategic direction evolves, leaders should consider revising the organization’s mission and vision
The benefits to those organizations that choose to embark on the process of developing a long-range plan are numerous as well as invaluable. Organizations that commit to such planning are able to establish objectives and priorities, make clear their future direction, adapting to both internal and external environmental changes, resolve major issues that impact the organization and obstacles and provide a clear and justifiable rationale for decision making (Bryson & Einsweiler, 1988, p. 3). Ultimately, the public is better
The strategic planning process is helpful and very challenging. According to Dess, Gregory G., G.T. Lumpkin and Marilyn L. Taylor, an organizations strategic management process consists of “the analysis, decisions, and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages” (2005, para. 1). A strategic plan is a roadmap, a blueprint that an organization can follow that allows an organization to formulate fundamental decisions by engaging in a long-range view of what it anticipates to achieve and how it will do
A strategic plan is a tool that delivers guidance in achieving a mission or goal with maximum proficiency and control for an organization. Strategic planning is used to transform and revitalize organizations. The plan helps provide an inclusive understanding of opportunities and challenges both internally and externally for the organization. The plan delivers an assessment of the strengths and limitations that are realistic within the company. A well-developed strategic plan will offer a comprehensive approach and empowerment for the stakeholders involved. It is an opportunity for learning and understanding priorities that will drive the business to succeed. Jones (2010), describes how in health care organizations, strategic plans characteristically concentrate on operational and organizational goals such as when to obtain new technology, how to meet competitive challenges, and what staffing, tools, or facilities are needed to ensure organizational survival. The mission and value statements are significant in determining the quality of a strategic initiative. Forcing the organization to look toward the future creates proactive objectives in which both short-term and long-terms plans and goals are necessary in order to succeed.
Strategic planning requires a few steps. The steps would be to appoint a strategic planning committee, interview key stakeholders, conduct an analysis that measures strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats, develop a plan, and communicate the plan
Strategic management is the ongoing process of ensuring a competitively superior fit between the organization and its ever-changing environment (Kreitner, G13). Strategic management serves as the competitive edge for the entire management process. It effectively blends strategic planning, implementation, and control. Organizations that are guided by a coherent strategic framework tend to execute even the smallest details of their mission in a coordinated fashion. The strategic management process includes the formulation of a strategy/strategic plans, implementation of the strategy, and strategic control. A clear statement of the organizational mission serves as the focal point for the entire planning process. People inside and outside the organization are given a general idea of why the organization exists and where it is headed. Working from the mission statement, management formulates the organization's strategy, a general explanation of how the organization's mission is to be accomplished. Then general intentions are translated into more concrete and measurable plans, policies, and budget allocations. Implementation is the most important part of the strategy. Strategic plans must be filtered down to lower levels to be success. Strategic plans can go astray, but a formal control system helps keep strategic plans on track. In the strategic management process general managers who adopt a strategic management perspective appreciate that strategic plans require updating and fine-tuning as conditions change. Given today's competitive pressures, management cannot afford to let strategic plans sit as is. A strategic orientation encourages farsightedness. Sun Microsystems Inc. is one company that developed a strategy to become the competitive leader and become the most reliable in the net business. I will explain how Sun's strategy integrates their marketing, management, technology, and service functions into one effective strategy. First I'll discuss who Sun is and what encouraged them to develop their strategy.
Strategic Planning is looking at where you are now, knowing where you want to be in the future and planning the steps to get you there.
Ultimately the strategic plan will eliminate or predict threats to the organization that heightens concerns or general mishaps that can put the organization at
Long term planning is essential in a successful organization. This long term planning is known as strategic planning. “During the strategic planning process, organizations usually
It identifies an organization’s philosophy, mission, vision, goals, and measures with which they will assess performance (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014). Furthermore, it explains the organization’s plan for attaining goals and details how an organization will shift direction to meet new goals as well as allows the organization anticipate what their future needs will be (Fry & Baum, ). Through various strategic planning methods such as as the Stengths Weakness Opportunities Threats (SWOT) assessment, community and stakeholder assessments, focus groups, advisory boards, literature reviews, surveys, and interviews organizations obtain the insight necessary to develop and realize their plan (Kelly & Tazbir,
Strategic Planning is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, as differentiated from tactics or immediate actions. It may employ methods like SWOT analysis to help clarify objectives and strategies. Strategic planning uses "the big picture" to pursue large scale, long term objectives. (Wikipedia - Strategic Planning, 2006).
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
Strategic planning has a focus on stabilizing the current environment, and it also support the organization's business plans and goals. Strategic planning helps to implement new projects, new technology, consolidation of data centers, data warehouses, exponential data growth, cost of ownership, and resources available in an organization to assess the future requirements. Strategic planning analyzes the business plan, potential blockage or other issues in the current architecture, processes and their implementation in new initiatives, and processes. Strategic planning helps to formulate the ideas about the key factors that are affecting the present and future development of the organization and the opportunities offered by the environment and the competence of the organization.
Strategic planning is an organizational process in which it looks towards developing and sustaining success or balance in its ever changing environment.
Strategic planning implies establishing in advance what an individual or organization wants to achieve within a specified timeframe and deriving ways on how to achieve that. A strategic plan is basically a course of action that is used to attain desired results. It means anticipating the future and having measures on how to grow into the future. Technology is a macroeconomic factor that is rapidly growing and changing. Technology has had positive effects all over across the globe to business organization and to individuals.