We have explored the concept of operational plans as well as strategic plans. What is the relationship between an operational plan and a strategic plan? What similarities and differences are there between the planning process and the final product?
Both strategic and operational plans are two different types of plans that aid an organization in working towards its objectives. Notably, the strategic plan entails a plan that outlines a roadmap or a direction of an organization, and they include but not limited to; vision, mission, and operations whereas an operational plan is a plan that provides direction on how a team or department can promote the organization’s objectives and they include; lead time, quality and production (Unit 1 Lecture). Besides, operational are short term plans, while strategic plans are future-oriented. However, despite the fact that both plans might mean different things, there exists a relationship between the two. Bryson (756) points out that the relationship between operational and strategic plan is that both plans complement each other towards achieving the organization’s main objectives since the strategic plans only define what the organization aims at achieving while the operational plan outlines how the organization is going to do it to attain the goal. In a nutshell, the relationship between the two plans is that the operation plan is part of the strategic plan and therefore acts as a unit of the strategic plan. The panning process, as well as the final product, has both similarities and differences. McDonnell (15) argues that a planning process is simply a management process that entails outlining the organization’s future goals and identifying the resources required to achieve those goals; the planning process, however, encompasses 7 phases. The final product, on the other hand, is simply an organization’s output achieved after incorporating all the strategic processes and other inputs such as resources. One similarity between the final product and the planning process is that both contribute to the objectives of the organization. In addition, both are target-based, which means that they are evaluated to ascertain whether the target was met, and lastly, both are compulsory parts of an organization. On the differences part, both have the following differences. One is that, while the planning process is mainly a primary function of management, the final product is the primary function of the whole employees of the organization. Secondly, planning is flexible as it can be changed, whereas the final product cannot be changed after it has been produced. Lastly, planning increases the efficiency in operation while the final product does not.
Question 3
In the public and not-for-profit sectors, there are many more individuals and groups who impact on the functions or the organization than in the private sector. In the public and not-for-profit sectors, these are called stakeholders. Sometimes, these stakeholders are classified as interest groups. What is the difference between stakeholders and interest groups, if any?
(Unit 1 Lecture) defines stakeholders as individuals who have the capacity to place a claim on an organization’s resources, and they can either be external or internal customers. On the other hand, interest groups are persons who have an interest in the organization and who can sometimes contribute to supporting or opposing various ideas that are brought forward concerning the organization. In essence, interest groups are groups of people affected by the organization’s actions or views. More broadly, (Fidrmuc, 3) explicitly outlines that while stakeholders are organizations, agencies, and individuals, who have an identifiable “stake” within a specific organization, interest groups on the other end are sectors of the population that are apparently well represented by formal organizations who often have mission statements as well as detailed objectives. However, to put it into perspective, environmentalist, for example, represents interest groups.
Question 5
Vision and mission statements provide information about the organization. They appear in strategic and operational plans. How do you define vision and mission statements? How should they be developed and used?
According to (Lecture Notes) a vision is a future-oriented view of an organization after successfully implementing its strategic plans, whereas the mission of an organization is simply a demonstration of an organization’s fundamental purpose as well as an articulation of an organization’s values. It goes unnoticed that developing the vision and mission plans of an organization is fundamental to the success and overall growth of an organization, and therefore they should be developed in an articulate and well-organized manner. (Nagey, 20) perhaps describes the best way to develop and use these two organizational plans, and it is as follows; First is that both should have a purpose for the organization. The mission and vision statements should be developed such that it coherently outlines the organization’s purpose. Secondly, the organization should form a mission and strategy team to look into the development process. Moreover, the vision and mission team should be educated. Also, the organization should hold an interactive exchange workshop, and after this, the mission and vision should be handed over for approval by the relevant team. Lastly, after the approval, the mission and vision should be launched both internally and externally to be accessed by the key stakeholders and the interest groups. The mission and vision developed should be used in developing a roadmap that will work towards attaining the organization’s set out goals as well as guiding the employees in what is expected of them, not to mention outlining the operational and strategic plans.
References
Fidrmuc, Jan, and Abdul G. Noury. “Interest groups, stakeholders, and
the distribution of benefits and costs of reform.” Thematic Paper,
Washington, DC: GDN (2003).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228697249_Interest_groups_stakeholders_and_the_distribution_of_benefits_and_costs_of_reform
Bryson, John M., and Farnum K. Alston. Creating your strategic plan: A workbook for public and nonprofit organizations. Vol. 3. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
McDonnell, Steve. “Links Between Strategic & Operational Plans.” Your
Business, September 29, September 29, 2016,
yourbusiness.azcentral.com/links-between-strategic-operational-plans-25572.html.
Nagey, J., & Fawcett, S. B. (n.d.). Section 2. Proclaiming Your Dream:
Developing Vision and Mission Statements. Retrieved April 16 April 16, 2020,
from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vision-mission-statements/main