Oftentimes, the word strategic planning is more popular than strategic management. Essentially these two words are the same. In terms of purpose , both strategic planning and strategic management have the same objectives and goals, that is, to make a strategic mode of addressing, seering and preparing organizations to where they wanted to go.
This planning is meant as a continuing, competitive and repetitive ways of setting the objectives and goals that an organization wants to achieve, defining the reasons to attain them, and assessing the best and easy way to realize them in the act of the knowing environment while measuring performance in a set of standards, but continuously conducting reassessments.
Strategic planning exhibits the following properties:
1. It creates the blueprint of what the group wants to achieve.
2. The strategic plan presents the grand scheme of the organization and outlines all the activities, starting from the organizational to the departmental level. It formalizes all plants with respect to type and extent.
3. It is the process developing a strategic fit between the organization’s goals
and capabilities in the context of changing opportunities.
4. It is a process that involves carefully delineated steps. As stated in the meaning, strategic planning is founding, in that it starts with studying the environment, adopting, setting goals and strategic monitoring, and continuously redesigning them as the needs arise.
5. It is proactive, in that it is written in the context of anticipated future realities. Strategic planning does not make future decisions. Instead, plans are created with anticipation of future developments and changes.
6. It is a philosophical one because it evolves a way of conducting and managing an organization. Strategic planning evolves a unique a way of thinking and doing things. It is an exercise of the mind that accepts a belief that convinces organizations of their worth and importance. In other words, values are coordinated within the philosophy of an organizational evolvement in culture.
7. It aligns with the plan of organization with operational and functional plan.
Strategic planning speaks of two types of planning:
(a) the organizational grand plan;
and (b) the departmental tactical plans.
8. It is within the defined managerial functions of directing, organizing, controlling and staffing. Although strategic planning is a strictly separate and formal function of management, it is intertwined in all the other functions and responsibilities of a manager.
9. It necessitates the leadership and support of top management. Successful implementing strategic planning is very dependent on responsibilities, sustained leadership coupled and support with acceptance and employees' involvement. There should be synergistic interrelationships between departments and inter-relationships within departments.
Types of Strategic Plans
There are two principal types of plans:
1. Long or medium range plan - preparing for the context of the coming ten or more years. It defines the major forces or factors that affect the organization’s long term objectives, strategies, and resources required.
2. Annual/yearly plan - short-term; succinctly describes the organization’s present events, its objectives and goals, monitoring mechanisms, strategies and the budget for the year ahead.
Whether if the plan is annual or long-range, it can be a strategic planning when the organization forms its plans and takes the advantage of opportunities in the ongoing and updating environment while maintaining an alignment between the organization’s capabilities, opportunities and goals.
The steps involved in strategic planning are interactive, cyclic, and integrative. They include:
1. Making a situation to ascertain where the organization is at the current state;
2. Stating the respective objectives and goals of the organization, the values, its definition, and its strategy statements to determine where it wants to go;
3. Delineating appropriate strategies to carried out in order to help direct the organization to where it wants to be;
4. Identifying and then choosing the soundest strategy to determine the best way for the organization to be where it wants to be and achieve its goals;
5. Monitoring the implementation of strategies to measure performance; and 6. Making a continuous and periodic reassessments in order to make improvements and suggested changes.
Need for Strategic Planning
Why is there a need for strategic planning? As earlier stated, the reality of dynamism, complexity, and hypercompetition characterizes today’s environment. To survive, organization need to plan carefully their strategic approaches.
Therefore,strategic plans have to be prepared purposely for effective and efficient implementing this will be leading to achieving of their set goals.
Needs and Limitations of Strategic Planning
Strategic planning defines an organizations mission, vision and set objectives. It gives organizations the opportunity to make the milieu and create strategies to achieve their goals. Strategic planning helps organization to stay focused. It makes things happen. Further strategic planning help reduce the chances of committing mistakes, thus , increasing the organizations efficiency.
While strategic planning has its advantages, it also has its limitations.
Although conducted monthly or more often., the strategic planning are made in some instances are good only “in paper”.
Strengths and Limitations of Strategic Planning
Strengths planning defines an organization’s vision, mission, and set objectives. It gives organizations the opportunity to create the milieu and specify strategies to reach their goal. Strategic planning helps organizations to stay focused. It makes things happen. Furthermore, strategic planning helps reduce the chances of committing mistakes, thus, increasing the organization’s efficiency. Strategic planning helps in the more smooth allocation of organizational resources, good partnership among cross-departmental employees and functional units, and communication between managers/supervisors of all levels lastly, when cautiously, clearly, and proactively taken lightly, strategic planning gives competitive and leverage dvantage to the organization.
Written by : @Ryryry143
