The Importance of Organizational Planning - Research Paper Example

The Importance of Organizational Planning Every organization should have a plan in place that tells them exactly what they need to do as they build their organization. There are several plans that an organization should develop that include a business plan, marketing plan, and strategic plan. These plans are usually a part of the organizations big picture and they lead them from where they are to where they want to go. Planning can make the difference between failure and success for a business. As a now famous quote by Harvey McKay states, "“Failures dont plan to fail; they fail to plan" (Thinkexist, 2006). Some organizations have business plans but they have failed to follow through with other types of planning. Often the leader of the organization is also the founder and this can mean that they keep everything about the business in their head. Planning is an essential aspect of moving a business forward and it is an ongoing process. In order to plan well, leaders must have strong decision making skills, be able to see the future needs of the business, be open to change and involve other stakeholders in the planning process. One of the reasons why some organizations fail to plan is because they know it will mean change. In some situations the board or the founder of the organization are more fond of keeping the status quo. They would rather continue to do the same things over and over because they are afraid of change. However, change must come in organizations or they will eventually close their doors. Sometimes organizations want to plan, but they do not understand what is involved in the planning. Because of this, they do nothing to move their business forward. When talking about planning, it is a good idea to give a definition to the planning process, what it does and what is expected from the outcome. The Business Dictionary (2009) defines planning as: [The] Process of identifying an organizations immediate and long-term objectives, and formulating and monitoring specific strategies to achieve them. It also entails staffing and resource allocation, and is one of the most important responsibilities of a management team. With this definition in mind, one importance of planning is that it keeps an organization fresh and open to future possibilities. The Vision And Mission Statement The vision and mission statements are central to the organizations ability to plan in the long term. Luc (2009) suggests that a vision statement: 1. Provides an image of a desired future. 2. Appeals to both our aspirations and our needs. 3. Represents a challenge that motivates a person or group to strive toward it. 4. Aligns our personal and collective efforts. 5. Helps each team member understand to what he or she is contributing. 6. Provides guidelines in decision making. (p. 105). In business a clear vision must show the image of the business, appeals to customer needs and must be clear enough that it motivates the employees to participate. When there is a clear vision it helps leaders and employees make a commitment to the organization. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do and how their jobs fit into the rest of the organization. Goals will come out of the vision and mission statements that will show the action steps that are needed to improve the organization.. After the vision, mission and goals, it is important for an organization to look at all aspects of the business including where they are now and where they want to go in the future. Challenges to Organizational Planning Leaders know there are often challenges when they are making an attempt to plan an organizations future and move it forward. Usually these challenges are with the people in the organization rather than with an outside influence. Internal politics can hurt the organization and stop it from moving forward. Weak leaders are those who are after only one agenda which may be their own rather than what is best for the company. This can move the organization towards failure. Founders Syndrome There are many organizations, especially nonprofits, that can run into a problem with founders syndrome. According to McNamara (2006.): Founders Syndrome occurs when a nonprofit operates according to the personality of the chief executive or board, rather than according to its overall mission. To continue to meet the needs of their clients/customers, nonprofits must continue to evolve through a life-cycle change (p. 1). Anytime someone builds a business, whether it is nonprofit or for profit, they can run into this phenomena. This can be damaging to the organization because the founder has a certain way they see the business moving, but they do not want to share this information with anyone. Instead, they want to stop any action that may mean change in the organization. This is often the reason why nonprofits fail because "new blood" is never allowed to come in to make necessary changes. Stopping Change Some organizations will do anything to stop change from happeining. Although they may mean well, they always find some way to make things difficult. This is like the character of "Hem" in Johnsons book, Who Moved My Cheese? Hem was an individual who was always showing his negative attitude because he was afraid of change. He did not want to change the daily routine because he was used to it and he did not want to move forward. Johnson (1998) points out that in order for people like Hem to change, they must find a reason within themselves that makes it possible. Sketchy Mission or Vision When some organizations look at their mission and/or vision statement it is difficult for them to understand. The mission should be short and concise with short details about the purpose of the organization. The vision is where they want to go. Unfortunately, some organizations have very sketchy and difficult to understand missions or vision statements. This can hinder the planning process because no one really knows what the organization does or how the mission and vision fit into the overall plan. Becoming Overwhelmed This challenge can stop planning because people are overwhelmed by the process. Instead of taking it one step at a time, the business may try to do too many steps of the planning process at one time, or they may have difficulty breaking tasks down into smaller parts. Employees or organizations that are feeling overwhelmed by the planning process have a tendency to walk away from it. Although there are other challenges for planning these are some of the major obstacles that can stop an otherwise success organization from moving forward. Major Concepts and Models of Organizational Planning in Leadership In the field of management there are literally hundreds of models for planning depending on the type of plan the organization needs. For this section strategic planning will be discussed because it is the aspect of a business that continues to drive marketing and business planning. Strategic plans tell exactly what the business will do, how it will do it, and who will be involved in carrying out the different aspects of the plan. Because so many different models exist, most organizations will choose a model that seems appropriate for their organization or they will hire a consultant to lead them through the process. Van der Werff (1998) suggests a model that is easy to follow. This model has three phases: 1. Strategic Thinking In this phase the organization concentrates on finding a clear way to express their values, vision and mission. They move towards resolving "big issues" and creating a solid base for the rest of the planning effort. This will also create a plan for developing ways to handle any "strategic issues" that may show up during the implementation of the plan. 2. Strategic Planning This step gives an assessment of the companys ability to reach their desired goals in the future with the competitive landscape in mind. It will identify any of the critical issues that they may be facing now and it creates the objectives and actions that are necessary to move the business forward. 3. Tactical Planning This is the last step of this model and it focuses on implementing the plan and connects with the people and the money needed to continue the strategic action plans; this includes the annual planning and budget cycle. Marazza (2003) suggests that there are Five Essentials that an organization must have in order to be successful. This model was used for education but here it is adopted for business: 1. Plan Strategically This first step suggests that strategic planning begins with conversation and it includes everyone who is involved with the planning. In business, this means key leaders, employees, CEOs and others who may have an solid interest in the organization. In this phase, it is important for people to stop and think about what they need to do. According to Marazza, "Without thought, there can be no conversation. Without conversation there can be no action" (Marazza, p. 2). 2. Benchmark for Excellence Marazza describes benchmarking as two activities: information gathering and the development of intelligence from that information (p. 6). In business this means that all stakeholders must be a part of the planning. From the information they receive they can move the business forward. Some of the ways that benchmarking can be useful to an organization include: 1. It integrates best practices from other organizations into the current organization. 2. Develops effective measures for various symptoms. 3. Identifies the strengths and weaknesses within the organization. 4. Employee pride and morale can be impacted by benchmarking because everyone has a chance to review their efforts. (Marazza, p. 8). 3. Leading Collaboratively This step in the process means that the leader will bring together partners, stockholders, constituents and anyone else who has a common interest in the organization. Leaders must be strong communicators and facilitators so that they can lead this meeting effectively. Different people will bring different information and ideas to the table which is the point of collaboration. This stage also helps the planners come together and use "better thinking" than what a leader could do alone. 4. Engaging the Public According to Marazza, "no organization can achieve levels of quality of their product higher than the level of quality reflected by the relationships among the employees and other stakeholders of the organization" (p. 10). This step speaks to the fact that everyone should be involved who has a stake or invested interest in the organization. It is important not to leave anyone out of the process because morale can go down and people adopt very quickly to a "us against them" policy if not included. 5. Governed by Standards This step speaks to the need for checks and balances once planning is completed. There needs to be a way to evaluate progress as the organization moves forward. This step will establish the standards that can be measured ( Marazza, p. 12). The SWOT Model No one really knows the origin of the SWOT model but it is one model for planning that a variety of organizations use completely or as part of the overall process. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that an organization must examine in order to plan. In this model, the organization looks at the strengths and the weaknesses of their organization compared to their competition. They look for was that the weaknesses can be removed using the opportunities. Threats to the organization are generally those things that come from outside of the organization or with internal constraints. The SWOT model continues to be used because it gives a quick overview of the organization and gives them something to build upon. What Can I Take From These Models And Concepts As I studied this section I was struck by the overall implication of planning. This is a process that must be done in order for the organization to sustain itself and it will build resilience. Coutu (2003) suggests that there are three characteristics that all companies and leaders must have in order to stay resilient: 1. The capacity to accept and face down reality. In other words, people train themselves to survive before they have to use their skills to actually do it. 2. Organizations and leaders who are resilient have the ability to find meaning in some aspect of life. Values usually do not change but the organization knows what to change and when it needs to make the changes. 3. Leaders and organizations have the ability to improvise. They have the ability to find creative ways to solve problems when they arise and they are not afraid to break away from traditional ideas. (p. 2) The planning process is important to resilience because it puts onto paper the process involved to get the business in step with its competition. The planning process and the action steps afterwards can create a clear process to make sure that the business brings in new blood where necessary, finds creative ways of problem solving and continues to improvise where needed. I also think that more than one type of model could be used for leaders to plan. I thought about the point of the personality studies and how they could be implemented in planning. I would think that a leaders personality would help or hinder the planning process. Decision making is also important because the leader who understands his job and what the company does, will be able to make difficult decisions without fear. These qualities would be, in my opinion, important to the planning process. The employees must be invested in the process if they are to complete the action steps. The team would have to trust the leader in order to be involved in planning. It would also seem that the planning process would go smoother if an individual was able to have the investment in the company and have the trust that the company was going in a direction that was similar to the values of the company. In most organizations the SWOT Analysis is at least familiar but I would say that it is best used in the preliminary planning process. It is too simplistic in my view to use for an entire planning process if the organization was a large one. I found Marazzas work to be intriguing because he applied it to education and yet it was very easy to see how it would work for performance. SWOT does help in breaking the planning process down into smaller parts which seems to me to be the best way to do planning; this action may stop employees and leaders from becoming overwhelmed. My Personal Approach To Effective Organizational Planning "Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out". This quote by Stephen Covey expresses to me what I feel about leadership and planning. Although I could not remember which book this was in and I could not find it on the Internet, this was one that stuck with me. I am a person who must plan because it gives me the structure that I need. As I reflected on my approach to effective planning I had to go back to my Individual Development Plan because I felt that it had a lot of information as to my personal approach to this issue. I realized that a lot of my planning structure came from my work in the military. Much of my military training was to serve in the U.S. army but beyond the mechanics and learning to be a soldier I understood that my own personal values must be a part of this intricate system. I am a very spiritual person and feel that my organizational style as a soldier reflected my spirituality and I feel I will take this into my role as a leader and a planner. I also believe that a leader must take into consideration their role but also the roles of the diverse work place. I feel that I have gained a lot of information about dealing with diverse groups that will help to make me more effective in the planning process. The best experience I can emulate was working with a diverse group in the Army. All social-economic status and culturally diverse groups of people were represented in the Division in which I participated. We were trained numerous times on cultural sensitivity and how to management conflict with various cultural, racial and special interest groups. This training was designed to help us in our leadership roles internally with the Division and externally with our allies. Garnering this attribute of respectfulness and responsiveness for people no matter their creed strengthened my knowledge base for diverse cultures. I feel that this experience helped me to understand that leading people is more about understanding who they are and where they are than it is about telling them what to do. This to me means that planning has to bring in many different people so that an organization can hear different ideas and opportunities that will come together when different perspectives are involved in the planning process. Another aspect of my personal style of planning and leadership will be based in the Bible and reflection on the holy spirit. I believe in the God centered approach and that all knowledge and wisdom becomes known through inspiration and revelation, through nature and the written word of the Bible. The Bible is consequently a valuable source book for those in quest of genuine wisdom and Christ is still the great teacher to those who read His words. Although I understand that if I am in a setting that is not Christian it may be hard to share the Bible with my employees, I do know that biblical principles have a basis in many types of organizations. I would want my planning style to be based on these principles because I feel that I would be more prone to act in the greatest interest of the group because of the wisdom I have gained from this source. I want to make sure that I am a fair leader and bringing everyone into the planning process will show that I am fair. I also want people to trust that we are going to help them improve in any skill areas as we move forward. There is nothing worse than to have employees who only do partial work because they have no idea how to perform the tasks required. I believe in the inherent good of all people and I know that if we can create a synergy in planning more employees will be on board and less gossip will be given. I do know that some people will still feel threatened by any change and I know that people act out when they are threatened. Due to the economic crisis most organizations and individuals are facing and the demands of the American culture, many people feel threatened. And when they are threatened they start looking out only for themselves; this can be detrimental for the organization. I would also like to act as a mentor to those employees who want to improve their performance in the organization. I know that not all will want to do this but within the planning process, as we looked at goals, it would be a good time to create a way for employees to say where they feel weak in the action steps that are necessary for the goals to be completed. This idea actually goes along with "Competency 1 (b) An effective teacher/mentor with skills in Learning Strategies, including group processes" which I feel is one of the most important aspects of a leader. Throughout the years, I have had the additional responsibilities of developing programs for the business and professional adult learner. Some of those business programs have included customer service training, supervisory training, union prevention, keynote speaking, and financial training. In addition to the business programs, professional development has been just as rewarding from teaching at the collegiate level to mentoring potential long term care administrators. In each of these situations I have take part in planning and I believe they have made me a more effective planner; this information I will take into my career. References Business Dictionary. (2009). Organizational planning. Retrieved August 14, 2009 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-planning.html. Coutu, D.L. (2003). How resilience works in Harvard business review on building personal and organization resilience, p. 1-18. MA: Harvard Business School. Malloch, K. and OGrady, T.M. (2009). The quantum leader: Applications for the new world of work. MA: Jones and Bartlett. Marazza, L.L. (2003). The 5 essentials of organizational excellence: maximizing schoolwide student achievement and performance. CA: Corwin Press. McNamara, C. (n.d.). What is founders syndrome? Do we have it? How do we recover? Retrieved August 12, 2009 from www.prismleadership.org/ inc/Founders_Syndrome.doc. Thinkexist. (2006). Harvey MacKay quotes. Retrieved August 15, 2009 from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/harvey_mackay/. Van der Werff, T.J. (1998). Strategic planning model. Global Future Report. Retrieved August 12, 2009 from http://www.globalfuture.com/planning3.htm. van der Werff, T. J. (2009). Strategic planning for fun and profit. Global Future: Strategies for a Global Age. Retrieved August 12, 2009 from http://www.globalfuture.com/planning.htm#Session3. Read More