Introduction to Strategic Management

Strategic Planning in Health Care

Strategic Planning , Structural Contingency Theory and Complexity Science . Strategic planning is widely perceived to be an important aspect of managing a health care institution . It identifies both the external and internal stimuli that the organization must respond to in order to achieve its vision , mission and its goals (Comerford , 2007 The role of strategic planning , however , differ in structural contingency theory , which places importance on strategic planning if an organization were to deal with change . On the other hand , complexity science , places virtually no function to

strategic planning in situations and contexts of change

Structural contingency theory recognizes that organizations do not operate in a vacuum . Rather , they operate in a dynamic environment which is often beset by numerous changes . As such , the organization 's structure must adapt to the changes in its environment . For the organization to deal with the dynamics of change , it has to anticipate such changes and put measures in place to deal with such occurrences and ensure the environment-fit of the organization as well as the people working in it (Hollenbeck , Moon Ellis , et .al , 2002

Complexity science also recognizes that organizations operate in a dynamic environment but contrary to the view that an organization is a well-oiled machine , complexity thinking views the organization as a coherent system - it goes against the extreme compartmentalization of organization prevalent nowadays . As such , complexity science sees an organization as an adaptive system that could respond to various stimuli in its environment even without...