Why are strategic planning and goal setting critical to an organization?

Discussion 10

CLASSMATE 1

Why is strategic planning and goal setting critical to an organization?

Change can be challenging within organizations. It is vital for leaders and organizations to have a plan developed in the event that challenges arise. It is not wise for leaders and organizations to wait until the challenge arises before knowing what to do. However, it will be beneficial for leaders and organizations to plan ahead.

Strategic planning can provide organizations with a set of concepts, procedures, and tools that are developed to assist in accomplishing the identified tasks (Bryson, 2004, 2010). Strategic planning is essential to organizations, as disclosed above. Strategic planning can be an essential factor that contributes to leaders remembering the mission, vision, objectives, and goals of the organization. The needs of an organization may change. As the need changes, leaders want to ensure that they are in a position to adhere to the needs. Manning (2020) identified three fundamental stages of strategic planning. The stages are establishing strategic direction, enhancing management and organizational capacities, and inspiring long-term change in the organization’s performance. The first stage consists of reevaluating the mission and purpose, assessing, and prioritizing the issues at hand, and developing strategies that will be beneficial to the organization in the future (Manning, 2020). The second stage entails organizations having a stronger foundation and improvements within the organization. The last stage involves the effective functioning of the organization shifting. The shift within the organization will be beneficial as it will produce great results. With strategic planning being the foundation of an organization, I believe it is also critical to develop goals.

As with strategic planning, goal setting is quite imperative. Having an established goal and identified objectives to achieve are essential. Goals are the driving force of a strategic plan. I like to envision a strategic plan as the vehicle and a goal as the driver. You can have a vehicle, however, if there is no driver, then the vehicle will not move. Meaning without the goal, it is hard to push forth the strategic plan.  Both, the strategic plan, and goal is essential factors that are critical to the success of an organization. Without those factors, it can be hard to navigate the organization in a pivotal direction.

Bryson, J. 2004. Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide for

Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bryson, J. 2010. “The Future of Public and Nonprofit Strategic Planning in the United

States.” Public Administration Review 70 (S1): S255–67, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02285.x.

Manning, S. R. (2020). Strategic Planning in Emergency Management: Evaluating the Impacts

on Local Program Quality. Journal of Homeland Security & Emergency

Management, 17(3), 1–37. https://doi-org.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/10.1515/jhsem-

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CLASSMATE 2

Discussion 10

Topic: Why are strategic planning and goal setting critical to an organization?

Strategic planning and goal setting are critical to organizations as it demonstrates what employees should focus on and it assists leaders in prioritizing tasks. Richardson (2014) reported that, “an organization that is growing and hopes to sustain that growth needs a set of strategies to guide its program development, build a solid financial foundation, and prepare for challenges that lie ahead”. More specifically, an organization must have strategies formulated to assist in determining productive future, within the organization. “Strategy may be thought of as a pattern of purposes, policies, programs, projects, actions, decisions, or resource allocations that defines what an organization (or other entity) is, what it does, and why it does it” (Bryson, 2011). The development and implementation of a strategy can further assist the organization in carrying out their mission and vision. “Strategies should be formulated that can be adopted in politically acceptable, technically and administratively workable, results-oriented, and legally, ethically and morally defensible form” (Bryson, 2011). An effective formulated strategy can aid companies in dealing with the many issues that arise, within the organization.

In regards to an organization developing and supporting the sustainability of their strategic plan, Richardson (2014) states “to ensure that your plan is and remains ever present in the minds of your staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders, your governing committee (or its equivalent) should be tasked with monitoring progress toward the goals and objectives laid out in the plan”. The author also mentioned that the setting of directions and the act of monitoring those directions are the responsibility of the board. “Instead, the board as a whole should review the plan at regular intervals and, if necessary, suggest adjustments to keep the organization on track” (Richardson, 2014). Things are always changing within an organization Therefore, it is vital for the company to re-evaluate their business strategies to see if the current plan is working and/or needs modifications. “Strategies may need to be maintained, superseded by other strategies, or terminated for one reason or another” (Bryson & Alston, 2011). This review is significant in that it assists the organization in utilizing current strategies and lessons learned to continue building organizational success.

Bryson, J.M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Richardson, C. (2014). Strategic planning: five steps to a more secure future. Retrieved from philanthropynewsdigest.org/columns/the-sustainable-nonprofit/strategic-planning-five-steps-to-a-more-secure-future