STRATEGIC PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

Strategic Planning and Implementation



Strategic Planning and Implementation

Introduction

The pace of change in organisations is accelerating. Consequently, high-performing organisations or units within them attempt to engage in planning, designing, and managing their own desired future rather than simply reacting and responding to changes imposed on them by the environment. Strategic planning is believed to be an important aspect of organisational health, and processes outlined to complete this task are thought to be unifying for the organisation.

Discussion

Bryson (1995) mentions strategic planning may be defined as a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions about possible actions that will frame what an organisation is, what it does, and why it does it. Whether an organisation chooses to select a process developed by a consultant or they opt to design their own process, it should be compatible with the culture of the organisation. While there is no standardized method for engaging in strategic planning, there is some consensus about what constitute key tasks of the process. The leader of the unit involved in strategic planning should appoint a coordinator(s) for the process, and together they should select a representative steering committee (Bryson, 1995). The steering committee members will serve as leaders of the small groups, who will facilitate the selected and/or designed process. The unit leader can write a charge to the steering committee that outlines the ultimate expectation of what is to be accomplished and the time frame for completion of the strategic-planning document.

A broadly participative process should be selected or designed that will allow stakeholders or constituents in multiple locations to be involved. Teleconferencing and videoconferencing, in addition to small groups, should be utilized as tools to facilitate broad participation in the planning process. Broad participation and having input into the planning process elevates commitment (or buy-in) to the outcome and the eventual, long-range plans that emerge for the planning unit. A 3- to 5-year plan for the future defines the life of the plan (Bryson, 1995).

Reviewing, revising, or writing the mission statement of the planning unit should be a precursor activity for strategic planning, because unless an organisation honestly knows who it is, whom it serves, and why it exists, the strategic-planning process may outline great plans that do not meet the needs of the stakeholders.

The planning coordinator(s) and the steering committee can work together to design or select a process that will meet the needs of the organisation. At least two approaches exist to identify themes that will provide the organisational direction in planning for the future: a strengths (Kaufman, Herman & Watters, 1996), weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis or a strategic-issues focus. The SWOT analysis can involve people both inside and outside the organisation, while a strategic issues approach involves interviewing the people within the organisation to determine what the themes are for the unit. Either approach has its positives and negatives, but both will generate information the organisation should consider in creating its strategic plan (Kaufman, Herman & Watters, ...