Planning Is The Process Of Determining Appropriate Goals And Courses Of Action

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

“Organizational Management and Leadership” defines planning as “the development of goals, which leads to the development of an overall strategy for achieving those goals. Planning can be performed at all levels of an organization. Supervisors are planning when a weekly work schedule is put together for hourly staff. Top executives are planning when they define the mission statement of the company and determine how the organization can maintain its competitive advantage.”

Planning consists of competitive moves and business approaches developed to attract, please customers, conduct operations, grow the business, gain competitive advantage, and achieve performance objectives (Huidan, 2011). There are three steps to planning. A manager must be able to decide what goals to pursue, the best strategy to achieve those goals, and how to use their available resources to achieve those goals as efficient as possible (Bethel University,

Strategic planning within a company is a tool used in companies that help mature areas in total quality management. This type of planning creates a cohesive management system for lower level employees to better adapt in. “Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more and how it 's going to get there. Typically, the process is organization-wide, or focused on a major function such as a division, department or other major function”(McNamara, 2008). In order to plan effectively one must first make a clear assessment of the plan and have an analysis on the corporations mission statement and objective.

Planning is the foundation of all the functions of management upon which the other three areas should be built. During planning, management must evaluate the company’s current situation and then developing strategies to achieve these goals, this is called strategic planning.

The planning process begins with a situation analysis of the external and internal forces affecting the organization.  This examination helps identify and diagnose issues and problems and may bring to the surface alternative goals and plans for the firm.  Next, the advantages and disadvantages of these goals and plans should be evaluated against one another.  Once a set of goals and a plan have been selected, implementation involves communicating the plan to employees, allocating resources, and making certain that other systems such as rewards and budgets are supporting the plan.  Finally, planning requires instituting control systems to monitor progress toward the goals.

Strategic planning involves taking information from the environment and deciding upon an organizational mission, and upon objectives, strategies, and a strategic architecture. There are many different ways to go about deciding on your mission. Michael Porter, a researcher from Harvard, had a few ways for developing frameworks for developing an organization’s strategy.

Strategic planning can dictate the success of any organization if properly planned as well as the failure of an organization if not implemented as planned. Strategic planning is all about making choices. It is a process designed to support leaders in being intentional about their goals and methods. Simply stated, strategic planning is a management tool, and like any management tool, it is used for one purpose only—to help an organization do a better job. This portion of the strategic plan will explain why an

Strategic Planning is the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organizations goals and capabilities as well as emerging market conditions and opportunities. This process begins with a clear company mission statement. However, this is only a small piece of a dynamic and perpetual process. Other activities involved with strategic planning also include setting supporting organizational objectives, designing a sound product mix as well as coordinating functional strategies. Strategic planning works to set the groundwork for the rest of the subsidiary planning functions in the company.

Managing a strategic plan is about setting the underpinning aims of an organization, choosing the most appropriate goals and fulfilling them overtime (Masood et al., 1995). Furthermore, managing a strategic plan can be defined as the art of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that helps as organization to achieve their objectives (Analoui & Karami, 2003, p. 5).

Strategic planning involves making decisions about the organization’s long-term goals and strategies and how the organization decides to implement their goals (Bateman, Snell, Konopaske, pg. 113). Strategies help organizations to have a clear perspective on how to go about accomplishing the goals they have in place. All organizations have a clear vision of what their mission and purpose as a company is, they know how to fulfill the mission, vision, and purpose and they know how to ensure that they accomplish all their goals. However, the route the organization takes to define these things determines how effective they will be.

Every organisation must plan every action it intends to take, in the short-term as well as in the long-term. The company, on the basis of the objectives set by the top management of the organisation should plan for growth, expansion, restructuring of business or otherwise. Every company needs to plan out its strategies according to its future plans in order to avoid surprises and to overcome any challenges they may have to face. Therefore, without planning, the organisation cannot achieve any of its goals.

Planning is a process of establishing a mission with clear goals as a means to achieve them. Good planning requires special skills and perspectives allowing decision-makers to understand the challenges they are facing and apply the most effective solution to a problem. In order to achieve success, one must plan accordingly. Planning can be short term or long term. Short term plans are done on daily basis and are easier to achieve than long term plans. Long term plans are also known as strategic plans and are used to achieve a long range vision or mission of a company. In both methods of planning, short term and long term, is necessary to achieve top notch results. Like in any other process, there are both benefits and pitfalls to a

Per John M. Bryson, strategic planning, if properly conducted, can help the leaders and managers of public and non-profit organizations think, learn and act tactically. Strategic planning enables organizational leaders and managers to first identify their organization’s mission and/or purpose. Thereafter, the planning process permits these leaders to pinpoint the actions and activities that will enable the organization to achieve its mission. Finally, the planning process requires the organizational leaders to synthesize objectives and activities into a blueprint or concrete plan of action under which the organization will conduct its business.

Planning is also called forethought. It is a process where by one thinks about and organizes the activities needed to achieve a particular goal. In organization it is a management process which is concerned with defining goals for company’s future. Planning is the first and most important function of management. It is needed at every level of management. In the absence of planning all the business activities of the organization will become meaningless. Planning directs and determines on the missions and resources to achieve the target. To meet this target there is need to develop plans such as business plan or marketing plan.