Planning Strategically

Factors influencing various plans

Strategic Planning - Strategic planning is the process of developing and analyzing the organization 's mission , overall goals , general strategies and allocating resources . It usually has long-term goal , vision and mission . These are usually prepared by top level management of the company . These strategies are usually prepared for a period of 5 or more years . This time frame , however , is arbitrary and is dependent on the long-range planning capabilities of the company 's executives , based on its resources . It lays a lot of emphasis on the future implications of

a present decision , and hence aids in the organization 's adaptation in an ever-changing environment . The factors which influence the strategic planning are external environment , market dynamics over a period of time , financial , operational and process stability of the company . The SWOT (Strengths , Weaknesses , Opportunities , and Threats ) analysis of the company is critically important in the formulation of its strategic plan . After this strategic goals are made to show a path of reaching the vision of the company with its present capabilities ( HYPERLINK "http /horizon .unc .edu /courses /s /Scenario_wksp .html http /horizon .unc .edu /courses /s /Scenario_wksp .html

Tactical Planning - Tactical planning is the continuous process of translation of broad and many a times ambiguous strategic plans , into specific goals and plans that are aimed at a specific division of the organization . Hence , it can be said that tactical planning deals with the implementation part of the planning process . It has a shorter time frame than a strategic plane , usually 1-2 years , and is also narrower in scope . The factors influencing tactical planning are the annual budget project reviews , quality evaluation processes , target turnovers , market dynamics , government policies , consumer needs , available expertise and finally an evaluation of possible alternative solutions

Operational Planning - Operational planning is the planning done at the lower levels of the organization . It is used to detail specific processes and procedures used in a department . It primarily focuses on the daily routine tasks and is usually made for a short period of time Operational plan is generally derived from a tactical plan to achieve one or more operational goals . The factors influencing an operational plan hence are the intra-departmental structure of an organization and efficiency of the manager . Another factor is the time-period for which an operational plan is made . Since the operational goal is either a single-time or a repeatable goal , some factors which effect the planning are the policies , reward system , and even the goal itself or the lack of a specific goal . To take care of such factors , the goal setting and planning should be collaborative

Contingency Planning - Regardless of how carefully strategies are formulated , implemented and evaluated , unforeseen events always can make a strategy obsolete . To counter this , organizations should develop contingency plans , as a part of their strategic planning process , in the evaluation stage . Only high-priority planning areas require contingency planning , which should be as simple as possible . The prime factor influencing contingency planning is the degree of volatility...