May 2021 Volume 3

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

planning processes. Even experience can be deceiving because many years of experience in strategic planning could mean that they have used the same poor methodology many times. Keep in mind that there are no common standards for strategic planning and strategic planning processes; companies and consultants use all kinds of methodologies to formulate their strategic plans. Somemethodologies may be very good and others poor.The best way tomake sure that you are getting what you want is to assess their methodologies. Strategic PlanningMethodologies Many companies have heads of strategic planning that believe that the result of strategic planning is only to formulate a plan. This plan is formulated by the head of planning or the planning department. Sometimes, the plan is made in consultation with the CEO and perhaps other members of the management team. They believe their role is to be the thinkers of the organization. There are consultants and consulting companies that use this model as well. This model may work with organizations that are extremely stable, and the work of the employees is simple. In most organizations, that is not the case. Using this model will create many problems. A significant amount of the collective knowledge of the organizational members is not considered in the plan, many may disagree with the plan for good reasons and there will be resistance to change. A Good Alternative There are now very powerful methodologies. Some of the large organizations have poured significant amounts of resources over time to improve their strategic planning processes and now have very sophisticated processes. Some academics with experience in consulting have conceptualized very effective strategic planning processes by incorporating science into practice, and individual consultants may have some processes as well. These processes are expected to produce the following results:

the planning process, the plans will reflect managerial concerns, perceptions, and experiences, and will most likely be strongly supported by the entire management team. Strategic Planning Systems A Strategic Planning System means that the planning activities should be made within a framework developed by the combined efforts of the executive and managerial teams. This framework provides a mechanism for the development and maintenance of the strategic information system needed to make relevant strategic decision, the timely activities of strategic formulation, the coordination of those activities throughout the organization, and the effective implementation of selected strategies. Companies that lack effective planning systems too often start planning efforts that fail due to the formulation of uninformed strategies, resistance to changes, inconsistencies among strategies from different organizational units, the lack of follow-up, and the absence of established mechanisms for effective implementation. Responsibilities of CEO, Members of the Board and Senior Managers CEOs, someMembers of theBoardand the seniormanagement team should not wholly delegate the strategic planning responsibilities to their head of planning or an external consultant. CEOs, some Members of the Board and Senior Management need to be very well informed about the latest advances in strategic planning processes by going to seminars and panels and by periodically assessing their strategic planning processes and the Head of Strategic Planning to make sure that their companies are constantly looking for the best methodology available. ■ Dr. Luis G. Flores is a respected

international authority in the areas of strategic planning and strategic change. He has guided Fortune 500 corporations and smaller organizations through their strategic planning efforts, helping senior managers, and board members break paradigms, strengthen leadership, develop teamwork and create effective channels of communication. He has worked with Hamilton Life, Honeywell, Household International and other national and international enterprises across the world. Email: lflores@niu.edu

1. Maximize management creativity 2. Sharpen management focus 3. Develop a stronger sense of purpose 4. Generate deep consensus and agreement 5. Enhance management commitment 6. Facilitate strategy implementation 7. Harness management synergy 8. Create or update a powerful strategic plan Strategic Planning Processes

The concept of powerful strategic planning as a process suggests that line managers must be brought into the overall company planning process from the outset, including analyzing the environment, identifying opportunities and threats, as well as strengths and weaknesses, and making recommendations for what needs to be done. This process needs to be organized so that each manager will be responsible for the planning activities that are relevant to his or her area of responsibility. The integration and coordination of these planning activities will comprise the overall organizational plan. Since each manager is an active participant in

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FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2021