Running head: ARTICLE & DISCUSSION
Johns Hopkins University
Master in Organizational Development
Facilitating Strategic Planning, Problems Solving and Decision Making
By Carolina Goicochea Castro
January 8, 2007
ARTICLE & DISCUSSION
Overview Introduction of Strategic Planning and Facilitation
Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is the continuous and systematic process of guiding members of an organization to make decisions about its future, develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future, and determine how success will be achieved.
Oppenheim (2006) defines Strategic Planning as the methodical process by which an organization anticipates and plans for its future by undertaking an examination of the organization and its environment by those who have a stake in its future success.
Strategic Planning is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, as differentiated from tactics or immediate actions. It may employ methods like SWOT analysis to help clarify objectives and strategies. Strategic planning uses "the big picture" to pursue large scale, long term objectives. (Wikipedia - Strategic Planning, 2006).
The primary motive for organizations to do strategic planning is to learn and to make decisions about the future of the organization based on that learning.
The basic strategic planning process includes: 1. Identify your purpose (articulate mission and vision); 2. Assess the Situation; 3. Develop Strategies, Goals, and Objectives; 4. Identify specific approaches or strategies that must be implemented to reach each goal; 5. Identify specific action plans to implement each strategy, and 6 ...