Our current era is unique in the limitless changes in the working environment at all levels, organizations no longer have limits to their potential, With those changes and the technological and information revolution that have been credited with facilitating the work environment of organizations and achieving their goals, but it has shown an aspect of competition with a highly configured and knowledgeable model, which has led organizations to intensify their strategic efforts to monitor their future and predict the challenges they may face to adjust their readiness on the competitive arena. Here Comes the strategic dimension of planning as a compass to draw a clear path for the organization and adjust its priorities accordingly to achieve its goals, But what are the elements of strategic planning that make it one of the important pillars and a fundamental pillar of the administrative field in the business sector. This is what we will touch on in our next article.
strategic planning definition
Strategic planning is a comprehensive process that studies the internal and external environment of the organization, the variables, risks, and challenges surrounding it to formulate a strategy that guides the organization toward decisions and actions that move it from the current situation to the hoped-for situation commensurate with its goals and serve its interests
Elements of strategic planning
Strategic planning contains several basic elements, namely
Vision: the vision represents the general direction of the organization and the strategic framework that defines its identity, as well as the future position that the organization seeks to reach
mission: it represents the highest level of goal structuring as it guarantees the overall purpose of the organization’s existence as it clearly answers questions such as: what is the organization doing? And what distinguishes it from other organizations?
Strategic goals: strategic goals come as an analysis of the vision and mission in the form of specific steps that must be taken to achieve the goals of the organization, they help in moving from indicative data and basic strategies to the actions that the organization will take to make it a tangible reality and of course the development of realistic and actionable standards and quantitative
Values and principles:
Values are the umbrella that brings the behaviors, principles, and professional practices adopted by the organization together to achieve its strategic vision
As for the principles, they are associated with a high-quality management culture, which facilitates the work of the organization and directs it to the right path that leads to its development and the application of its policy to achieve its desired goals
Action plan: the action plan represents an essential step in strategic planning, as it facilitates the completion of the tasks set and increases the sense of responsibility, and also includes the process of implementation and periodic follow-up to avoid planning errors, and the goals are divided into short-term and long-term those that are related to the vision of the organization
The importance of strategic planning
The importance of strategic planning lies in the fact that it is the way for the organization to plan its future, stay firm on its goals, and add real value to the target segment that was established to serve it
- Planning ensures the optimal use of resources by focusing on the main priorities of the organization, which increases its efficiency and effectiveness
- It focuses on preparing cadres for the higher administrative levels by training them to think about the problems that can be faced and how to deal with them through a set of skills required for the success of the organization and its development to reach a high degree of progress and achieve the goals
- Creating a suitable working environment for innovation and coming up with different and new ideas to compete in the market and prepare for any future opportunities or challenges
- It helps to study external factors, changes in the industry and, consequently, the organization’s ability to adapt to current situations and plan the future path of the organization
- It works to provide business organizations with strategic thinking, which is one of the most critical elements within the organization because of its importance in the formation and evaluation of each of the goals, plans and policies followed
Statistics have shown that organizations with a strategic plan are 30% more successful and more developed than those without a strategic plan. That sample was taken from a group of institutions ten years ago, so what about it now? Organizations exist in the context of intense global competition, openness, and global economic integration.
From the above, we conclude that strategic planning is one of the most important modern means by which the success of organizations in the business sector lies. planning represents a comprehensive methodology for the changing industry, as it uses typical methods to reach the best possible results in the organization.