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Strategic Planning

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Strategic planning is a management tool, as with any management tool, it is used for one purpose only: to help an organization do a better job - to focus its energy, to ensure that members of the organization are working toward the same goals, to assess and adjust the organization 's direction in response to a changing environment. Basically, strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. The process is strategic because it involves preparing the best way to respond to the circumstances of the organization 's environment, whether or not its circumstances are known in advance; often must …show more content…

As a process that eventually defines the direction and activities of the organization, it can be an overwhelming and daunting task. Despite the overwhelming nature of the process, the benefits of planning can far outweigh the hardships. There are benefits to be gained from the actual planning process, as well as from the final planning document. The very activities that organizations conduct as part of the planning process empower them to be more effective in their roles-more informed leaders, managers, and decision makers. In addition, the final planning document becomes a tool that can be used to effectively and efficiently manage the organization.7 In your planning process from the handbook compared to several that I have reviewed during this research pretty much have the same basic concerns.
The time devoted to the planning process varies from organization to organization and depends on the resources available to devote to the process. Whether you decide to devote a three or four day retreat to the process or engage in a twelve-month process, your organization will begin to realize the benefits from the start. Some of the fundamental benefits to the planning process and the development of the final plan include:
• a framework and a clearly defined direction that guides and supports the governance and management of the organization
• a uniform vision and

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