Government leaders and managers of public agencies and non-profit organization face various difficult challenges (Bryson, 2004). One of these challenges is the dizzying number of events and trends that has affect the United States for the last two decades. Also there are other several problems that affect the government and non-profit organizations (Farnum, 2004). The aging and diversification of population is also another example of challenges that has a lot of impacts. Most ominously, there has been a dramatic decline in social capital in the past few decades in the USA. Citizens of the affected countries are not happy with these changes the way they were in the last thirty years. However, strategic planning has been used by these non-profit organizations and the governments of various countries to make improvement in the society. Also, strategic planning is successfully used by the general purpose governments, for example, city, state, county, and tribal government (Bryson, 2004). There are many different ways in which the Strategic Planning has produced enhanced effectiveness of wider societal systems.
Strategic Planning has helped bring people together in the society. People have been able to decide good things together, reconcile differences and ensure co-ordination of activities implementation. When this strategic planning is focused on government or an organization, there is always likelihood that most of the major decision makers are insiders; despite the fact the outsiders are the sources of information (Bryson, 2004). Therefore, when most of the decision makers are insiders, it is quite easier to get people together to have important decisions for important issues, reconcile and solve differences.
Strategic planning is becoming standard smart through various ways. One of the ways in which strategic planning has shown its positive progress is way it focuses on its use on the non-profit organizations (Farnum, 2004). Until around 1980s, strategic planning through public sector was used basically to military strategy and the exercising of statecraft on grand scale. Strategic planning for non-profit organization has shown its progress which is parallel with some of the early Barry’s publications.
Project for Pride in Living is quite important because its aim is to help people achieve self sufficiency (Farnum, 2004). After recognizing that individuals and families need to sometimes overcome complex issues for them to maintain stability, Project for Pride in Living established a program that provide their residence with the links to social services. This organization is very important especially to people who have various difficulties and challenges in life. It has even developed a natural outgrowth of linking with families who have proved to be assisting children have a strong foothold in school and in the world. Although warfare program has changed, adults are seeking employment from the government; Project for Pride in Living is also providing employment. Therefore, this project is very important and needs to join hands with the government in order for it to get more strength.
The Strategy Change Cycle is not just a strategic planning progress but also strategic management process. It is used to connect planning and implementation and to organize an organization in a way that seem to be more strategic on an ongoing basis. Te most important purpose of the strategic management is to gain a continuing commitment to the vision and mission of the both authorizing and internal environment. As some philosophers say, anything is quite possible with imagination, direction, ambition, education, intelligence, organization, training, will, and staying power. However, with the caution that strategic reasoning, acting, and getting knowledge matter most.
According to the summary of this book, there is an initial agreement that is essentially an understanding among the key internal decision makers and some of the opinion leaders about the general strategic planning effort (Bryson, 2004). The agreement made should cover the purpose of the individuals, unit, groups, or an organization that need to be involved. The major steps are as follows: the timing and form of reports; the role and membership of the strategic planning coordinating committee, if such committee exists; the role, membership, and function of the strategic planning team, if there is one formed; and the commitment of the necessary resources to commence the effort.
In the second step of strategic planning, organizational mandate need to be identified. Fundamental mistakes are quite common in the organizations. Always, organizations commit mistakes by not articulating what they must do. Another mistake that they commonly do is that they are more tightly constrained than they way they normally do.
The third step of the strategic planning process aims at clarifying organizational missions and values. Mission of an organization in tandem with the mandates provides justification for its existence in an organization (Bryson, 2004). Also, it creates a way towards the real organizational margin of making public value. For a non-profit organization, government, governmental agency, this means that there must be noticeable political or social demands on requirements that an organization seeks to fill. Entities in every collaborative, this would mean getting a collaborative and advantage to achieve by working together, this is what can be achieved together for the public value. Identifying the purpose of the mission of the organization does a lot than justifying the existence of an organization (Farnum, 2004). Clarification of purpose can remove a big deal of unnecessary organizational conflict and can pass discussions and activity productively. Also, agreement on purpose gives a definition of the arenas within which the organization will compete or collaborate in wide outline, and charts the forth-coming course of the organization (Farnum, 2004).
However there are other steps that aim at performing a common role in the strategic planning process. Some of these steps are: assessment of the internal and external environments; establishing an effective organizational vision; developing an effective implementation process; and reassessment of the strategies and the strategic planning process. These steps articulate goals and describe vision to give strategic planners a better feeling of where interlinked set of strategies should lead.
In conclusion, the initial agreement is essentially an understanding together with the internal decision makers and opinion leaders concerning the general strategic planning effort (Farnum, 2004). The agreement need to involve the purpose and worth of the effort. However, if such agreement fails, the story may not be smooth or reach conclusion.
References
Farnum, K. (2004) Creating and implementing your strategic plan. San Anselmo: John Wiley and Sons
Bryson, J. (2004), Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: a guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement, Minneapolis: John Wiley and Sons
Nolan, J. (1993). Applied strategic planning. Wisconsin: McGraw-Hill Professional
