Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning Overview

Strategic planning is all about making plans for the purpose of helping an organization reach its goals. This plan will determine the direction that the organization is headed. In essence, it helps to define the organization’s objectives and clarifies the path it intends to take but more importantly, strategic planning also identifies how such goals would be achieved.

There are many strategic planning models and choosing from these should be given much consideration otherwise you could end up picking the wrong one. In order to determine which model to use, you must see to it that you fully understand your business scenario and conduct in-depth analysis to determine your company’s strength and weaknesses, values, principles, and other relevant factors.

Strategic planning is a complex process that must only be handled by those who have a sufficient amount of knowledge on how to carry it out. This is why exforsys.com has created this training program to help you learn and become familiar with strategic planning, so that you will be able to plan for your own organization.

Training Objectives

By the end of this self-paced training, you will be able to:

• Understand the concept of strategic planning
• Become familiar with the different strategic planning models
• Know how to create your own strategic plan
• Learn the various methods used in order to determine which strategic planning model to use
• Understand the importance of setting organization’s goals
• Understand the importance of research and development prior to conducting a strategic planning
• Be able to conduct strategic planning amid difficult times

Target Audience

Business owners, executives, managers, and supervisors can learn a lot from the strategic planning training program provided in this section. This is also beneficial for those who are still starting out on their careers but want to advance their knowledge on strategic planning.

1. What is Strategic Planning?

   Many scholars have defined strategic planning in various ways. Strategic planning can be defined as specific plans goals and objectives of an organization or a company that includes the policies and the resources employed to achieve the said plans goals and objectives. These plans goals and objectives basically answer two very simple questions 1

2. Strategic Planning Models

   Strategic planning models are as numerous as the various proponents to it. A quick check at a list of the greatest management thinkers and their ideas places the list at more than thirty. This does not include other management thinkers who have had ideas that are put to use but are not acknowledged by the academe. Our scope is limited to a strategic

3. Understanding Strategic Planner Responsibilities

   Unless responsibilities are clearly defined and assigned it is not possible to accomplish any  task in business or organizations. Without responsibilities people in business or organizations would not be able to establish goals for themselves and without such goals; business or organizations would come to a standstill. The strategic planner

4. Strategic Plan Creation

   Creating a strategic plan may be easy to some people. There are templates available in the market. The creation of strategic plans that do not work is of no value; it is fiction not reality. In the real world while fiction entertains amuses and provokes it does not contribute to the goals of business or organizations. Realistic Strategic Plan Can

5. Strategic Planning Foundation

   Foundations are fundamental basic and necessary in any undertaking or structure. Buildings have foundations education has foundations and in business strategic planning also has foundations. Foundations have the uncanny ability to preserve the structure of business or organizations and foundations do something else that is extremely important they

6. SWOT Analysis

   SWOT Analysis is a framework wherein it evaluates the internal and external factors of the business in attaining its objectives. It is very useful when generating an effective strategic plans or alternatives. SWOT is the acronym for Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats. It defines for different aspects of the situation within the business

7. PEST Analysis

   Strategic planning is affected not only by internal and external variables but also by the macro environment. A framework that serves to scan external macro environment factors in which business or organizations operate is grouped into the four factors of Political Economic Social and Technological and referred to as PEST analysis. These macro environment

8. How to Share Strategic Plan

   The success of business or organizations in its specific undertaking is credited to a well designed and thought out plan. Business and organizational direction is dictated by specific plans designed by the planning team. So we have business plans strategic plans marketing plans distribution plans and so on. To make these plans profitable and

9. Role of Mission Statement in Strategic Planning

   The development of strategic planning begins with an agreement on a definition or purpose for the business or organization. It basically answers the question What business are we in This question will dictate the type of products or services the business will offer as defined by the needs and wants of the specific market. This agreement on a definition

10. Role of Research and Development in Strategic Planning

    Business or Organizations who are in their infancy or who are in their maturity need a very essential tool to assure survival. That tool is none other than Research and Development or R D. Research and Development was extensively used by the pharmaceutical industry and those involved in scientific projects because it was considered an essential

11. Importance of Intelligent Strategic Planning

    Intelligence is a potent weapon to those who possess it. Without intelligence human beings simply become at par with the animals. It is intelligence that sets human being distant from all other species. It has its special and unique purpose in each individual. History tells us that the ancient Greeks won their battles not because of brute strength

12. Strategic Planning in Challenging Environment

    Every time there is a modern business is discussed the issue of a challenging environment is first on the agenda. Modern business is synonymous with a challenging environment. Theories rules and trends that have been the backbone of business have become if not less effective almost obsolete altogether. Today’ s business environment is just changing

13. Importance of Strategic Planning in Supply Chains

    Supply chains are basically networks. They are networks of facilities people and distribution options whose primary purpose is procurement and transformation of goods so that can then be delivered and distributed to potential customers. Supply chains can be pictured as arteries that supply business or organizations its industrial life. Disrupt a supply

14. Strategic Planning for IT Business

    Information Technology or IT is a byword in business or organizations. A foundational understanding of IT is however essential before the strategic planning task is to begin. Information technology or IT refers to the collective means to assembly and electronically store transmit to process and retrieve words numbers images and sounds as well

15. How to Improve your Strategic Plan

    A Strategic plan is a basic tool for business or organization. It is what gives it a written and concrete expression of its basic direction. It answers the basic question of the business or organizational direction What do we want to be in the future How do we hope to occupy that position in the future An absence of a strategic plan an indispensable

16. Strategic Planning During Downsizing

    Business and organizations have experienced tremendous change and upheaval in the last hundred years or so. Academics have identified at least three major changes and upheaval that have currently shaped the modern day business climate. The Essentials of Downsizing First there was the agricultural economy. When man started settling down instead

17. Organization Strategic Planning

    Organizations are structures. And structures are specifically designed to satisfy certain minimum provisions. Within these structures are forms and forms have to satisfy conventional specifications and requirements These specification and requirements management thinkers believe are embodied in the following clarity economy direction of vision

18. The Art of Planning Strategically

    The allure of conservatism in business or organizations stem from the conviction that pioneering efforts does not pay off. Many believe that it is better to be a follower than a leader. This is probably the reason why many prefer to wait and see and then follow. In many instances this idea may be well founded but it is not always the case. When planning

19. Strategic Planning During Uncertain Times

    Times are indeed uncertain. A particular business might exist today and disappear tomorrow. A particular customer might exist today and be gone tomorrow. A significant cost item may be so low today and become so high tomorrow. A major raw material component may be in plentiful supply today and suddenly become scarce tomorrow. Business or organizations