Strategic management assignment on: Strategic relevance and planning
Introduction
‘Failure to plan evidently leads to planned failure’, the statement is not essentially cliché for without a strategic layout or a roadmap, it is significantly difficult for a business house to successfully accomplish its goals. Considering the challenges involved during management of a business, it is likely to deviate from the core objectives of business which magnifies the need of strategic plan. Further as strategic planning and management is a continuous process, the practice of planning becomes even more critical for enhancing the sustainability of business. While assessing the importance of planning in the practical context one cannot negate that every attribute of systematic plan and rationality of approach is not confirmed. This implies that the process of planning is a one such incessant process which plays a crucial role during various stages of business decision making.
Further as globalization has intensified the competitive spirit in the business market, it became critical for every organization in establishing their niche in the market which can effectively differentiate them from their competitors. For accomplishing such distinction in the market it became indispensable for business firms in strategically planning their course of action and anticipating future. The ability to foresee and act accordingly in a planned manner was seen as the key to sustain business profitability, while combating the challenges in the distant future. At the same time any deviation from a planned approach was to expose one’s business towards uncertainty which had every chance of going beyond control, considering uncertainty prevailing in the contemporary world. So much so any organization that wishes to strengthen its bottom-line essentially needs to plan and stay prepared, which in turn heightens the relevance of strategic planning in the business context.
Organizational Planning: An Event of Strategic Relevance
Concept and practice of planning and management has been defined as the foresight which is used for formulation and implementation of such programs which are considered essential for successful functioning of an organization. For when an organization is planned and prepared it is better equipped in combating challenges of time. On the other hand lack of any planned approach for management of business exposes the organization towards the danger of failure as they become essentially incapable of anticipating any fundamental changes in the system; thereby find themselves at a loss of handling critical scenarios. Apart from this there has been case wherein a prospering business comes to a sudden halt when brazen out with hurdles in future. Such unfortunate instances can be well prevented at its bay and business houses can manage to get of the plateau continuing with the journey towards success; once organizational activities are strategically planned. So much so the old adage of “Organizations that fail to plan are planning to fail” strongly reinstates this aspect in successful functioning of an organization. Ever since the time of its inception, the concept of strategic planning was embraced by the business leaders as one of the critical means of establishing competitive advantage (Mintzberg, 1994). The process of planning thereby enables an organization in breaking down their goals and taking a step by step approach which helps in eloquently pinpointing the challenges and outcome of every step.
In the contemporary context, the practice of planning has emerged as one of the critical field as it needs to consider various attributes like that of social justice, pollution, depletion of resources etc (Visser, 2001). Attesting the fact that practice of planning is heterogeneous in nature, there exists numerous evolving and competing ideas that are spread across a range of organizational functions. Henceforth in order to seal the fate of an organization with future success it is essential that the challenges inherent in the process of planning are considered critically. One of the major issues with planning is its calculative style of management rather than commitment, wherein the focus is to involve people throughout the entire process. It is interesting to note that some small and medium based organizations have miserably performed as they failed to plan their course of action (Jocumsen, 2004). Without a strategic plan at place the process of decision making gets unnecessarily delayed which affects a business and its competitive positioning specially in the age of cut-throat competition. In the present business context a strategic approach is required for managing business which can maintain a strong focus upon the long-term objectives of the firm, which in turn are effective in achieving the competitive edge in the market.
Considering the intricacies involved in the process of planning, it is necessary that the theoretical elements involved in planning are also assessed for effective implementation of organizational success. Synoptic planning is one such approach which is widely accepted owing to its nature of analyzing a problem from the perspective of an organization. However, when the organizational hierarchy is decentralized in nature, the approach of transactive planning seems apt. This approach of planning is typically carried out with consideration of the people likely to be affected by this decision in a face-to-face manner (Friedmann, 1973). Unlike the incremental form of planning, which propagates the concept of mutual adjustment, transactive approach is more focused upon personal and organizational development.
Notwithstanding the advantages derived from maintaining a planned approach of business, the challenges inherent in the process cannot be negated. Development of skills and expertise for anticipation of future circumstances is one such instance, which equally demands the need for counteracting the futuristic propositions in autonomous planning of business agenda. The approach thereby demands not just developing an insight about the power structure but also deploy innovative approaches for utilization of power while delimiting the same (Flyvbjerg, 2001). The planning process thereby intensifies the need of practical contribution in various social and political aspects of decision making. For instance when an organization functions in a directionless manner it tends to traverse on the path of uncertainty which exposes to danger which in many cases goes out of control. Thereby it is rightly said that without a planned approach for business management, a business plans its route of failure in the long run.
Importance of planning is further emphasized from the fact that no decision related to management of business can be made in isolation. At the same time it is also interesting to note that the element of rationality is considered for the plan to be successful. Also the manner of communication is poignant for delivering an interactive discourse which has the ability of permeating onto the internal system of an organizational functioning. It is essential that for a plan to be successful, the most effective planning strategy is considered which is adaptive and integrative in nature that considers every feasible aspect of problems and challenges attached with planning. It is one such arrangement which considers every minute detail required for successful functioning of business. It thereby becomes seemingly evident that planning is an integral part of business which not just ensures continuity of business for decades but also in enhancing the skills of people which enables them in managing any unexpected turn of events in the due course of business.
Conclusion
The practice of planning is not novel in the context of business management. Ever since the value of strategic management of business units was appreciated, the relevance of planning and its impact upon business was understood. Over the period in time the process of planning underwent various changes yet its importance in the business community was never diluted but magnified with the growing intensity of the competition in the broad market. In the recent past, various flourishing organizations have come to a standstill after a brief period of fame for they failed to plan and prepare for any future. For instance, small and medium business enterprises which have mushroomed in the contemporary business environment have failed to sustain successfully in the competitive business market. Lack of plan limits the capability of business enterprises in scaling the market in a strategic fashion which in the long run starts impacting the business in a negative manner.
Reinstating the importance of breaking a problem into smaller pieces and taking each section at a time has been one of the conventional and widely accepted means of managing business. This approach thus very subtly integrates the essence of planning onto it which enables it in evaluation of each parameter at a time. So much so when a business adheres to the route of planning and management, it enhances its ability of strategically analyzing a scenario and adopting a calculative approach of dealing with the same. Reversing the same scenario also works equally strongly, as failure to gauge future demands and actions drags a business enterprise towards failure. One interesting observation is that once a business is planned to face challenges it prepares itself not just from uncertainties of future but also in developing the innate capability of mitigating the risks of business failures at large. For a planned approach of managing business also impacts the thought process of people, making them more adept in handling unexpected scenarios in an effective manner.
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