Essay 1
Essay 1
Essay 1
Question 2 The value of strategic planning is in the process itself and not the plan. Plans
are made every day, but it is what goes into the planning process that will
determine the viability of the plan. To what extent is this statement true and
planning and outline, with examples, the steps in the process of strategic planning. For this
essay, I will use the strategic plans of the Ministry of Social Development and Family
Services in Trinidad and Tobago and the Department of Social Development in South Africa
as examples.
produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization (or
other entity) is, what it does, and why it does it” [ CITATION Bry04 \l 1033 ]. It is a set of
concepts, procedures and tools used to devise, document, implement, and control the
activities necessary to achieve organisational goals and objectives while improving its long-
term performance all of which is guided by the outcome of methodical and rigorous
examination of the internal & external environment. the organisation’s strategic direction is
decided on leading to the development of specified procedures and policies to achieve the
goals and objectives for a specified period through efficient use of available resources.
Strategic planning seeks to answer four questions. The first question to ask is Where
the organisation is at present which allows for leadership to lay the groundwork for
developing the strategic plan. The next question to be asked is where the organisation is
going to determine the direction in which the organisation is heading. Next is how are we
going to get there which identifies what needs to be done to get to where the company wants
to be. Finally, it seeks to answer how to monitor and evaluate progress made. In seeking
answers for these questions, the organisation begins to take to the steps below to develop the
strategic plan.
the groundwork for the overall strategic plan itself. The organization must first determine its
ability to do strategic planning where the capacity exist, a plan for planning must be
developed. This would outline the time and resources to be committed to developing the plan
The organisation must now take a complete look at its environment, both external and
internal, to determine what must been done to achieve the end game. The environment in
which the organisation operates accounts for the reason for the existence of the organisation,
particularly in the Public Sector. As such many factors, including, socioeconomics, politics:
locally and internationally and technologies to name a few. Within the organisation its
strengths and weaknesses must also be identified, as well as the direct external opportunities
and threats. These analyses will clarify the conditions or situations within which the
organization operates. Engagement of stakeholders within the public sector involves both the
internal (staff) and external (other agencies, clientele, etc.), also provides useful information
about the needs, experiences, and expectations of the those affected by the organisation’s
Development and Family Services. In their strategic plan they outlined summarized results of
the PESTLE and SWOT analyses providing a platform on which the strategic plan can be
supported and sharing with the stakeholders’ information on the overarching factors affecting
its work. It was also noted that through this analysis the Ministry of Social Development and
Family Services gathered data, primary and secondary, by engaging its internal and external
stakeholders through strategic workshops, meetings of a technical team of the Ministry tasked
with developing the Plan and other engagement activities.[ CITATION Min18 \l 1033 ].
Similarly, the South African Department of Social Development outlined the results
of the situational analyses employed. The situational analysis described in the Strategic plan
shows that it was based on statistical data and briefly outlined the performance environment
in which the Department operates. The Plan also shared some of the recent changes to the
Department due to an expansion of its scope of works and clientele and stated that it was in
the process of building its change management capabilities to enable facilitating change
Vision statement is defined by Richard Lynch (2015) as having an image of the of the
futuristic role and objectives of an organisation beyond the present environment and
competition. Thus, it communicates the organisation’s desired direction, providing the focus
for achieving its ideals. For example, the Vision Statement in the Strategic Plan 2018-2023of
the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services in Trinidad and Tobago is that it
towards the achievement of sustainable human and social development.” Another example is
that of the Government of Saskatchewan as outlined in the Ministry of Social Services Plans
for 2020-21 which is “…to be the best place in Canada – to live, to work, to start a business,
to get an education, to raise a family and to build a life.” [ CITATION Mni20 \l 1033 ].
Lynch (2015) defined a mission statement as ‘the business that the organisation is in
against the values and expectations of the stakeholders.’ A mission statement identifies the
organisation’s work, its beneficiaries, and how the work is done. It provides a strong basis to
keep management focused as it provides a sense of purpose to its staff and differentiates it
from others within the same industry. The Ministry of Social Development and Family
Services’ Mission Statement is “to enhance the quality of life of the general population, with
services.”[ CITATION Min18 \l 1033 ] while the Mission Statement of South Africa’s
Department of Social Development is “To transform our society by building conscious and
capable citizens through the provision of comprehensive, integrated and sustainable social
development services.” [CITATION Dep \l 1033 ] Both statements clearly speak to its work of
the respective agencies and to the staff who they are serving and to what end.
At this stage, the organisation is now equipped with the necessary information to
guide the development of the goals and objectives, to be achieved in the set timeframe. This
allows for the staff and stakeholders to be informed of the way forward. In the cases of the
Ministry of Social Development and Family Services in Trinidad and Tobago and the
The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services of Trinidad and Tobago for
the period 2018-2023 identified four (4) goals which were each accompanied with objectives
to lay out in the Ministry’s new direction in two (2) parts: three (3) the core strategic goals
addressing the key areas for improving business outcomes for the ministry and one (1)
strategic goal for enabling and strengthening the institutional capacity. [ CITATION Min18 \l
1033 ]. While the Department of Social Development of South Africa for the period 2015-
2020 identified five (5) goals laying out in the Department’s new direction. [ CITATION Dep \l
1033 ]
Creating a strategic plan is not enough. Each of the organisations mentioned above
discusses so far saw the need to break over arching goals into objectives thus laying out the
roadmap toward achieving the gaols. In the case of Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Social
Development and Family Services the ministry outlined its implementation framework in a
tabular format. Each goal and its respective objectives were placed in individual tables of five
(5) columns namely, objectives, major initiatives (for accomplishing the set objective),
performance indicators, time frame and enablers/Barriers. Each objective was broken into
major initiatives geared toward its accomplishment with performance indicators and
estimated timeframe for completion of each initiative stated. The final column was used to
further note the factors which may either facilitate the successful implementation or
even cause challenges. This approach allows for the Ministry to view the finer details of
plans for the five (5) year period while demonstrating that its goals are attainable in
increments. This also informs all stakeholders of what can be expected from the organization
while also allowing them to prepare for either faster implementation or details in the process.
South Africa’s Department for Social Development on the other hand broke their
work into programmes guided by the goals and outlining the objectives for each programme
and thus its goals. However, they did not outline as detailed a plan for implementation as
Trinidad and Tobago’s. they did however in outlining the objectives break each one down to
state the High-Level Outputs and Baseline to be achieved. They also, unlike the Trinidad and
Tobago counterpart
needed recommend adjustments. When all is completed the process also allows for a review
of what was done to identify challenges faced toward preparing plans. In the case of the
collection of information related to implementation activities toward achieving the goals and
objectives outlined in the Implementation Framework. This determines what is done and
evaluate operation efficiency. Periodically, it calls for and making judgments on overall
effectiveness of the strategy, taking necessary action for improving effectiveness and
As outlined above, a lot of work and planning goes into the development of a strategic
plan. As such, the statement that “the value of strategic planning is in the process itself and
not the plan. Plans are made every day, but it is what goes into the planning process that will
determine the viability of the plan it is my belief that” rings true. While it is possible to
develop a plan with minimal information, it would be difficult to determine what is needed if
one is unable to first review data on the environment and needs of the stakeholder to
At the end of the planning process, it is the process of planning and gathering
information of quality that serves as the needed input resulting in an organisation’s strategic
plan, which serves as a guide on how the goals are to be achieved, being the outcome of this
process. This is the foundation on which a good, strategic plan is developed and thus it is