Strategic planning involves elements of environmental analysis, mission, vision, goals, and strategies.
- Describe the relationship between these elements.
- Why is it important for environmental analysis, mission, vision, goals, and strategies to be aligned?
- Why is communication of the elements critical to organizational performance?
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning is the organizational management activity, which is required for focusing resources and energy, setting priorities, strengthening its operations, establishing agreements towards intended results, ensuring the employees are working on organizational goals, adjusting, and assessing the direction of the company in comparison to the changing environment. The company vision, mission, and its strategy revolve around the opportunities provided by the external environment and the internal strengths of the company. The vision provides the direction of the company and tells its purpose. The mission is similar to vision except that it is clearer on how the vision is going to be accomplished. It shows which strengths of the company that are derived from its internal environment are going to be utilized to exploit the external opportunities offered by the environment. The strategy of the company shows the final step of the process, including short and long-term goals, focusing on outcomes and present actions, and making adjustments as per the environmental challenges and needs.
The environmental analysis considers the external and internal trends which help the company in identifying its market segment. It provides the foundation of the existence of the organization, which is shown in its mission statement. While the mission statement offers the reason of existence in the present, vision provides a picture of its future. The goals represent the intermediate steps taken to achieve the vision. Strategies are the procedures through which goals are to be executed and achieved. All the five elements are required to be aligned and made sure that all subsequent levels are to be operated in line with the higher levels.
For this reason, communication is critical for effective organizational performance. It provides clarification of the expectation through job descriptions and effective feedback to the employees. Rewarding, and recognizing the efforts of the employees can act as feedback as well (Cardy & Leonard, 2014).
Reference
Cardy, R., & Leonard, B. (2014). Performance Management: Concepts, Skills and Exercises: Concepts, Skills and Exercises (2 ed.). New York: Routledge.
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