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Strategic Planning Analysis and Application

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Strategic Planning Analysis and Application
Tara E. Green
Capella University
PSF5410/Strategic Management and Planning
Dr. Joan Vermillion August 19, 2012

Analyze what strategic planning is and why it is so important to public organizations.
Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy (Armstrong, 1986). In order to determine the direction of the organization, it is necessary to understand its current position and the possible avenues through which it can pursue a particular course of action. Generally, strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions:
1. "What do we do?"
2. "For whom do we do it?"
3. "How do we excel?"(Armstrong, 1986)
In many organizations, this is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or more typically 3 to 5 years (long term), although some extend their vision to 20 years. Strategic planning is designed to help public and non-profit organizations (and communities) respond effectively to their new situations. It is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions shaping the nature and direction of an organization’s (or other entity’s) activities within legal bounds (Bryson, 1988). Without strategic planning and a resulting plan of action, the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) will not have a clear idea of what it is doing, why it is doing it, and where it is going. If there are no goals and objectives in place to address stakeholder issues/concerns, improve programs/services, or grow the organization, it may not be able to continue meeting the needs of the very people (juveniles) it is supposed to serve. In addition, the lack of a plan could compromise public trust, result in a loss of funding, or prevent the

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