Dynamic and Strategic Planning - Essay Example

? Dynamic and Strategic Planning Amongst some contemporary frights of modern world, it is believed that the strategic plans slow down the organizational growth because they are the drivers of energy drainage from the entire organization. Some strategic plans are so rigid that they do not have such capabilities to absorb the modern changes from the environment. The new changes may include the fresh opportunities because of some newly introduced concept (Gruning, 2005). Usually the fresh opportunities are exploited for the sake of competition and short term speculation in the industry. But when the management do not exploit the market grey areas, ultimately the competitors grab the opportunities from the external environment in order to get the competitive advantage. This scenario may be referred as dynamicity of the environment. The shorter termed opportunities and speculation points cannot be integrated in the previously designed strategic plan of the organization (Steed, 2013). Conventional strategic plans are not flexible to absorb the environmental developments while the previous plan is being implemented. The strategic plans are result oriented, but the minor flexible slots can provide the short term advantage to the competitors. The environment of the organization apparently remains unchanged and stationary. The previously stated phenomenon creates rigidity because of mission and vision statements. Mission and vision statement are the guides for future time period. The frame work for future time is usually for longer time period and once it is created, no one can add newer dynamics into the objectives’ timeline. However it is not a rule of thumb because some strategic plans have the capability to recognize the importance of the environment but only to the extent of locked in objectives. The extent of absorbability is not significant to compete over the cutthroat bases (Burus, 2013). Strategic planning possesses vital importance in the strategic success of an organization. There are meaningful rationales behind creation of strategic plans. Foremost, the strategic plans provide an enlightened way to create the organizational goals fulfilled. It puts the synergy in to the organizational energies by providing a leading path definition. The leaders within the organizations have clear idea of expected output from the subordinate and the employees gain a transparent spirit of anticipations. The exchange of expectations creates a bridge like roadmap through which the organization personnel lead their tasks. The concept of cross functional work teams and self managed teams has significantly twisted the scenario. Increasing competition has augmented the need of organizational commitment and innovative environment. For example, Google Incorporation provides one an hour to its employees which is spare of the routine tasks so that they can have a brain storming session and come up with the innovative ideas. Recognizing the importance of the strategic planning, we cannot recommend letting the strategic plans go. It needs to create integration with dynamicity of the environment with the organizational strategic plan (Steed, 2013). Leading innovative organizations in the world are leaning to transfer their organizational structures from mechanistic to organic ones. The flatter organizational hierarchies provide a wider room for innovation and dynamicity absorption. At the same time it is required to create linkage between external changes and the current organizational strategy. However it still prevails like a major decision to be taken in the milieu of large organizations. The cultural and team work constraints are enough significant that organizational strategy has a little space to roll over the small changes (Slezek, 2013). Dynamicity absorption is suggested to attain through flexible mission and vision statements. In the conventional settings, it almost seems to be impossible to stick with the environmental changes along with implementing a rigid, long term and result oriented organizational strategy. But nowadays, recognizing the increasing dynamicity of the externalities, the organizational strategy makers have introduced some tenable strategies in order to facilitate the innovative environment within the organization. Day by day fluctuating corporate practices have enforced the strategies in such a way that the management is leaned to turn out their strategic nature of policies (Steed, 2013). They remain ready to respond the market practices and any campaign run by the competitors. Shortening the product life cycle and eve y day new technology has reinforced the need of vibrant strategic aims and missions. A dynamic mission statement is so flexible that it can easily incorporate the innovation and everyday fluctuating market requirements (Burus, 2013). In order to implement the schedule of objectives within the organization while keeping the external vibrations in view, the management may go for novel alternatives compensating modernization. Meetings are organized after uniform time periods in order to do brain storming so that they could better be able to run evolutionary and real time cases matching with the internal scenario. Limited time market gaps are usually discussed in unscheduled meetings so that they can handle the market uncertainty. World’s leading organizations have now full time think tanks appointed in offices to make market research and explore the vital market opportunities. The age of differentiation because of intense competition has leaded the practices to the modern avenue. The era of cut throat competition has begun and market players are in search of differentiating edges. To fulfill the desire of capturing maximum market share, the players cannot wait for their plan to turn in the same direction; rather they twist it to gain more from skimming (Slezek, 2013). In a nut shell, a strategic plan is a process of defining mission, vision, objectives and analyzing the internal and external environment in order to define a roadmap to get competitive edge on the basis of differentiating resources held by the organization (Jeffs, 2008). According to the traditional concept of strategic management, the policies were so rigid that no one could make changes in the planned documented mission and vision statement (Gruning, 2005). To cater the needs of the contemporary times, the researchers and policy makers have done consensus over the point of compensating the external dynamicity. For the sake of facilitation of externalities, it is suggested that organizations must define their vision and mission statements after leaving some flexibility to adopt the modernity. Except this, the race of strategies cannot be won by the rigid ones. References Burrus, D. 2013. Creating a Dynamic Strategic Plan that Engages the Enterprise | Flash Foresights from Daniel Burrus | Big Think. [online] Available at: http://bigthink.com/flash-foresight/creating-a-dynamic-strategic-plan-that-engages-the-enterprise [Accessed: 25 Nov 2013]. Grunig, R., Kuhn, R. and Ku?hn, R. 2005. Process-based strategic planning. Berlin: Springer. Jeffs, C. 2008. Strategic management. Los Angeles: SAGE. Slezek, S. 2013. "Strategic Planning: A Dynamic Process" by Steven Slezak. [online] Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sslezak/15/ [Accessed: 25 Nov 2013]. Steed, J. 2013. The Dynamic Approach to Strategic Planning | Philanthropy Journal. [online] Available at: http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/resources/managementleadership/dynamic-approach-strategic-planning [Accessed: 25 Nov 2013]. Read More