Steve Williams ( willi14@auburn.edu)
8/29/00
Class Notes: Discussion “What is a Strategic Plan”?
What is strategic planning? A plan of action and made up of goals, objectives, and issues that should be addressed company-wide in order to prosper and grow. The plan can be comprehensive in nature consisting of basic underlining goals you want to achieve.
Do we need one? Yes, used as a company wide guidelines to strive for.
Should we write it down? Yes, if a large company with several people in decision making positions that effect the direction of the company. It is important that employees have available to them the values and directions that their company is desiring to achieve.
It is also important to allow input from employees while strategic plan, allows for a sense of importance and “ownership” in the company, yet ultimate decisions left to those is top positions.
The class feels that it would not be necessary for individuals who own there own business.
Should the plan be concrete or open to change? Open to change and flexible as time and business opportunities arrive. It is vital to review and analyzed annually were the company is headed, what it has accomplished, where it is lagging, brain storming for other areas of importance, which need to be addressed.
How do you accomplish goals? The class felt it was important to use an “umbrella” design, starting with mission statement, then more broad goals, then breaking company into divisions or areas were more specific goals and objectives could be better planned and designed using input from those employees in that division. This would lead to employee acceptance and offer them a chance to actually incorporate realistic goals into their work.
Should a consultant be brought in? It was deemed a useful tool but only after initial strategic ideas were discussed and outlined. It may be best to still keep everything in house.
Should budget be discussed and implemented into divisions? Yes, it is important to distribute finances into specific areas but the amount and time spent on a specific goal is a difficult area to pinpoint. The class discussed the effects of a budget on goals and the importance of a budget per objective.
It was felt important to simplify goals into priorities from most important to least, therefore granting a systematic approach to allocating the funds.
Who makes the decisions, one person or a advisory committee? The class was broken into two areas of thinking. A one person show, i.e. Steve Jobs, and the committee approach. Both strategies have advantages and disadvantages.
How does a company handle a cataclysmic event? Should the Strategic Plan have provisions for such an event? The plan can include steps to be taken in order to handle such an event, but setting goals and objectives for instances of disaster are not productive to the plan. It was more important to set up a chain of events to establish new objectives quickly should such an even occur.
How do you break down the plan? The class decided it was important to have divisions to the plan based on the various areas of a company such as: finance, budget, employee relations, and quality assurance.
How should the plan be reviewed, if at all? It is just as important to review and analyze the plan as setting the goals and objectives. The plan is a useful tool only when it can be used; as benchmarks were the company is, and how it has achieved the goals it set out initially. The class decided that an annual review was important along with a quarterly meeting to discuss the plan, areas of importance, and changes occurring.
What qualities make a strategic plan successful? The class felt it is important to gain employee buy-in, simplicity, understandability, and flexibility. It is also important to allow for company-wide input and discussion before those in decision-making power produce the most current plan.
REVIEW OF TWO STRATEGIC PLANS:
Auburn University: Very wordy, specific, and overloaded. The class felt it would be difficult to grasp and implement all the goals set out. It would be more encouraging to get more acceptances from more individuals as well. The university places responsibility of implementation on very few people.
The plan does have lofty goals, which are important, but a more simplified focus on fewer goals would allow employees to implement and achieve instead of becoming overwhelmed.
Architecture Business Strategic Plan: Uses a more simplified, positive approach were committees of employees and employers are working together to achieve specific goals for the company. The plan is also broken up into a “One Year Plan” and a “Five Year Plan.” This allows the company to strive for immediate goals while always looking ahead to the overall mission of the company.