The Importance of Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organisations - Term Paper Example

Strategic planning is useful only if it improves strategic thinking, acting and learning: it is not a substitute for them" (Bryson, 2004: Xiii). Discuss. Abstract The nonprofit organisations have advanced greatly gaining more influence, higher public profile, and more attention to issues of accountability and organisation performance. All of this has been successfully handled and achieved through effective strategic planning. This paper implies to explain the importance of strategic planning and briefly describes stepwise method of strategic planning appropriate for nonprofit organisations. It also outlines the role of nonprofit organisations such as domiciliary care service agencies in the community and their accountability factors. The paper finally concludes with benefits and limitations of strategic planning with respect to domiciliary care service organisations. Public and nonprofit organisations and communities should embrace strategic planning and management as ways of improving performance in terms of thinking, acting, and learning. Major roles must be played by various individuals and groups for strategic planning to work. Nonprofit organisations providing domiciliary care services need to work in collaboration with many external agencies such as Trusts who fund, clients, general public, government regulators, etc to run their operations, and this requires commitment by all associated agencies and groups to realize a shared vision. For this, strategic planning will help in incorporating the vital elements such as clear goals, adequate resources, enthusiasm, and commitment. Strategic planning must be institutionalized in a particular manner so that strategic thinking, acting, and learning are encouraged and embraced across an entire organisation. Through strategic planning strategies are formed and realized out of a variety of sources like the vision of new leaders, intuition, group, learning, innovation, what already works, chance etc. Domiciliary care organisations are committed to be responsive to government policies, and assist in achieving their vision for health and wellbeing of the society. Their main goals are to achieve better population health, better primary healthcare, greater access to home-based care, and health programs tailored to meet the specific needs of vulnerable population groups. Their programs are specifically aimed at elderly patients and people with physical and learning disabilities of all ages. These goals are achieved through planned strategies that are person-centric, timely, appropriate, accessible, effective, and safe. To achieve these goals, the public and nonprofit organisations work closely interconnected, thus becoming vulnerable to slight changes; these changes eventually lead to disturbances in the society. Domiciliary care services in Northern Ireland currently cater to about 30% of people, which is expected to increase further. Research has shown that the number of intensive care users has also risen significantly. In proportion to this, the number of independent sector homecare providers has also risen considerably, relying heavily to be commissioned by the Trusts (Wainwright, R, 2009), as a part of initiative driven by the government, through the Community Care Act (1992), to minimize costs incurred through investments in nursing homes and hospitals; these services are also aimed at providing care to the needy with managing of daily chores, routine nursing, shopping etc, in turn helping them to preserve their independence. For good management and governance of these organisations, strategic planning that can improve their thinking, learning, and acting has to be put in place. This will help in converting their objectives into measurable actions and lay foundations for the implementation and adoption of their strategies. As quoted by Bryson (2004; p.xiii), ‘strategic planning can help leaders and mangers of public and nonprofit organisations think, learn, and act strategically. Strategic planning includes a set of concepts, procedures, and tools, which constitute the vision, mission, and goals, strategy formulation and strategy implementation. The purpose of strategic planning is that it is most effective when carried out frequently in an organisation whose products and services are in an industry that is changing rapidly. A domiciliary care organisation’s goals include primary healthcare, illness prevention, health promotion, and early interventions to the management of health issues. Besides this, they have to focus on the changing demographic nature of the caretakers, increasing numbers, types of services, funding patterns for the service, etc. The most important is to abide by the statutes governing domiciliary care services, referring to The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007. In such a scenario, a one-time business and financial plan will not be of much help. This requires specific strategies in place that address myriad of issues and those strategies that can anticipate future challenges, so that the organisation is well prepared for such challenges. Also, strategic planning cannot be a one-time activity; it is more effective when done systematically at various stages of organisational development. Strategic planning should be a part of overall business plan at the start of any organisation, and needs to be formulated with the participation of a committee formed ad hoc from various units. Again, space and time should be allocated for strategic plans to be incorporated at the beginning of any major venture such as developing a new department, division, or launching a major service. All volunteers of this service must be educated on various aspects governing the service; they have to be technically trained for the job; must be familiarized with the local arrangements to investigate and manage incidents. Plans to work with an inter-agency procedural framework need to be put in place and ensure that all staff is aware of their duties in terms of serving the caretakers and safeguarding their customers from any form of hazards or abuse. Appropriate code of conduct for the staff has to be put in place along with their roles clearly defined. Strategic planning should focus on finding pathways to eliminate issues facing the organisation. This includes identifying the issues; identifying all possible factors causing these issues; and, identifying key sources involved, like the key decision makers. Issues could be those existing or the ones’ anticipated; these can include future goals also. Once these are identified, solutions to tackle these issues can be formed. External influences must be taken into account; like, for example, the statutory regulations governing domiciliary care services and political factors operating in the demographic area that could influence work of the organisation, internal and external stakeholders’ views, etc. Politically realistic approaches must be adopted in order to tackle these external forces, as it could even include the stake holders (Allison, M.J. & Kaye, J 2005; p34). Assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) will simplify the planning process. Empirical data related to the field of venture will help in better understanding the choices to be made. An important aspect of strategic planning process is to set priorities such as data analysis and interpretation; future growth strategies and their timeframe; frame administrative, financial, and governance policies; and forecast budget and resources required to support organisation’s goals (Allison, M.J. & Kaye, J 2005; p.23). A long-term fundraising mechanism has to be decided upon and its financial implications to be assessed. Once the plans have been formulated, their implementation should begin at appropriate time. The transition period between the old and new phases has to be managed effectively assessing the changes required in terms of skills, systems, structures, and organisation culture to support the plans (Allison, M.J. & Kaye, J 2005; p.26). Leaders and managers should be highly result-oriented and committed to the plans for successful implementation. They should drive results through robust implementation plans that should include deadlines and metrics to measure the objectives set at every level. The metrics should be able to evaluate effectiveness of the agency in serving the community needs and evaluate organisational effectiveness internally (Burkhart, P.J & Reuss, S 1993; p.5). After reviewing the organisational performance, plans must be altered appropriately. Strategic planning must be held periodically in order to face the continually changing challenges and needs of users. This process is referred to as Strategic Change process by Bryson (2004; p.31) that can help in management of the organisation on an ongoing basis. Strategic plans have to be reviewed periodically based on the type of service or line of product. Standard period set for review can be 3 to 5 years; or, even early in case of any unforeseen events that could alter the organisation’s functioning, or a sudden change in the market environment, and if the plan set is not working as expected. Appropriate procedures have to be established for recruitment of appropriate workforce at various levels, training the workers, preparing a diverse workforce that can address a wide range of service needs, establishing appropriate management and administrative functions. Procedures for maintenance of confidentiality of information of homecare users, escalating issues related to harm caused to the caretakers or abuse along with disciplinary procedures to address such issues, and concerns caused by other social care regulators have to be designed. Costs involved in providing home care must be assessed and quantified. During implementation, progress has to be tracked and reviewed; necessary changes should be incorporated according to the changing circumstances. Information on number of users and workforce has to be recorded and updated periodically. Leadership should be involved in motivating different elements of workforce in undertaking care work and their attitudes to training and qualifications. Policies formulated for providing quality service must be implemented and outcomes to be judged in terms of money, time, and customer satisfaction. Strategic planning can be highly successful for the functioning of domiciliary care service agencies. Firstly, through the implementation of measurable activities and quantifiable objectives, it promotes strategic thinking, acting, and learning through strategic conversation among the key players. Objectives can be identifying ways to improve living standards with criteria set to improving protection of children, aged, and the disabled citizens, meet the communities’ ongoing healthcare needs, criteria for improving safety and security of the vulnerable citizens, etc. To provide a 24/7 service, worker rotas need to be prepared; categorization of worker levels based on their skills and expertise into critical, emergency, and normal care will aid in defining their roles and responsibilities. Secondly, strategic planning puts in place improved decision making by focusing on the crucial issues and challenges of the organisation and also keeping in mind its future consequences. This will help in developing a rational and justifiable foundation for decision making; this will make coordination easier across different levels and functions. Strategic planning can help organisations formulate and clearly communicate their strategic directions and intentions to relevant addressees and also act on those intentions. Thirdly, by achieving these two aspects, enhanced organisational effectiveness can be attained which can clarify and address major organisational issues, respond wisely to internal and external demands and pressures, and deal effectively with rapidly changing environments. Strategic planning benefits the organisation in many ways. Firstly, it helps in clearly defining the purpose of the organisation and establishing realistic goals and objectives in line with the mission of the organisation. It ensures the careworkers have an understanding of their roles, responsibilities, boundaries of the worker with regard to safeguarding individuals from danger, harm and abuse. It facilitates communication of these goals and objectives to organisation’s constituents in a more disciplined and simplified manner so that all individuals are aware of their goals, responsibilities, targets, deadlines, and incentives in store. Through strategic planning, effective use of organisation’s resources can be achieved. This means identification of value-creating financial, human, information resources; effective application of these resources. For instance, identifying individuals with specific skills and commitment can help in improving customer satisfaction in service provided; financial resources can be applied in the right area to derive maximum output of facilities and specialized competencies demanded by the delivery of home care services, or can be used in new investment that can improve the services provided in terms of number of care users visited (Ginter, P.M, Swayne, L.E & Duncan, W.J 2002; p.143). Also, members’ orientation towards the organisational vision and focus on priorities in response to changing environment can be achieved. Strategic planning establishes measurable objectives and tracks progress of the organisation in a more disciplined fashion. Objectives, when set as measurables, ensure alignment to the organisational goals. The results obtained will be precise and give an idea of where the organisation is heading. This will help in identification of outliers and deviations, and also highlight any alterations that might affect desirable functioning of the organisation. Strategic implementation fosters collaboration among different individuals at various levels and agencies. This way, it eliminates gaps among employees of an organisation at all levels and encourages strong team work. It also provides great satisfaction among planners around a common vision. Limitations associated with strategic planning in the domiciliary care service organisations are in the field of commitment and time required for the process. As this process involves people from different functions to come together, the degree of commitment to the shared vision may fluctuate. Gathering information required to formulate the plans may be time consuming. Time and energy would be required to involve key stakeholders to get their input and support in the process. The more the number of external stakeholders, higher will be the time taken for the process of strategic planning and implementation. Concluding with Poister and Streib’s statement (1999) that the overall purpose of strategic management is to develop a continuing commitment to the mission and vision of the organisation, nurture a culture that identifies, and supports the mission and vision, and maintain a clear focus on the organisation’s strategic agenda throughout all its decision processes and activities (qtd. by Bryson, 2004; p.31), strategic planning can be effectively used to by domiciliary care service agencies to realize their shared vision to support healthy ageing and promote social participation by people with a disability. As this is an ongoing activity and requires a periodic monitoring of plans and activities according to the challenges that exist in the market, strategic planning done on a continued basis, improves strategic thinking, acting, and learning. Through this, public and nonprofit organisations can create and sustain public value. References Allison, M.J. and Kaye, J. (2005). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations: a practical guide and workbook. Edition 2. Published by John Wiley and Sons. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=0qSKfnI-VLYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=strategic+planning+nonprofit Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: a guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. Edition 3. Published by John Wiley and Sons. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=gJxu_4FVieMC&pg=PA220&dq=BRYSON+2004#PPA8,M1 Burkhart, P.J and Reuss, S. (1993). Successful strategic planning: a guide for nonprofit agencies and organizations. Published by Sage Publishers. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=HXphoVwqC9IC&pg=PR10&dq=process+of+strategic+planning+in+nonprofit+organisation Ginter, P.M, Swayne, L.E & Duncan, W.J. (2002). Strategic management of health care organizations. Edition 4. Wiley-Blackwell Publishers. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=x6wZQktLbe8C&pg=PA16&dq=effective+use+of+resources+strategic+planning Websites Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1992. Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 2976 (C.92) Office of Public Sector Information http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19922976_en_1.htm The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007. Office of Public Sector Information. 2007. No. 235 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2007/nisr_20070235_en_1 Wainwright, R. (2009). An overview of UK domiciliary care sector. mosaica UKHCA Summary paper. http://www.ukhca.co.uk/pdfs/domiciliarycaresectoroverview.pdf Read More