The Link Between Planning & Doing
Traditional Planning Methods
The traditional way for government organizations to plan
is for a group of people, usually executives/management,
but sometimes including employees, to get together for
some period of time each year. Generally, inadequate
time is allocated to the exercise, but if it is completed,
it results in a document that contains a mission statement,
broad organizational goals, and other elements as is
deemed appropriate. Then, the plan is usually hidden
away somewhere, never to be seen again. Traditional
methods yield traditional results. As a wise man once said
"If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will get
what you have always got".
It needn't be this way.
Reconceptualizing Strategic Planning
Planning should be considered as a blueprint for change.
The plan should be the basis for introducing controlled
change into an organization so it can adapt to changing
times. By anticipating shifting demands, the plan serves
the purpose of allowing the organization to control its
own direction, rather than waiting until political forces
demand change (and demand change NOW). In addition,
the plan allows for consistent monitorin~ofsuccess,~nd
re-examination of the degree to which organizational
resources should be structured and allocated to achieve
future goals.
But, if we look at strategic planning in this light, as a
blueprint for change, we also need to consider that any
organization has built-in inertia.. the tendency to keep on
doing what one has been doing. On its own, the strategic
planning process, as traditionally undertaken, is insufficient
to overcome this inertia. Other forces need to come into
play if the plan, and proposed changes get implemented.
No comments:
Post a Comment