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Strategic Planning Concepts

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Strategic Planning Concepts 1

Running head: STRATEGIC PLANNING CONCEPTS

Strategic Planning Concepts
STAN R. KEY
Bethel University
Kathy Vest
MOD 440 Strategic Planning
6/23/2011

Strategic Planning Concepts 2
Strategic Planning Concepts
Organizations from all over the world have one thing in common: competition. In order for organizations to compete in today’s marketplace they have to have a plan of action or strategy. Strategic planning refers to a process which defines an organization’s plan to effectively allocate its available resources (Strategic Planning Performance, 2011). A strategic plan is not the same as a business plan. A business plan tells how and why the company’s products or services will garner revenues. A strategic plan identifies the objectives, goals, direction, and opportunities within an organization and how to go about executing them.
Different Forms of Planning
A strategic plan must be realistic, attainable, feasible, and flexible. A company’s strategy is the game plan management is using to stake out a market position, conduct its operations, attract and please customers, compete successfully, and achieve organizational objectives (Bethel College, 2005). Having a competitive advantage in the marketplace is crucial to an organization’s success. Just to create a strategic plan does not mean that all is complete, it is only the beginning. It cannot be treated as a “cure all” for an organization, but needs to be treated as a viable option for future operations. Strategic planning and long-range planning are sometimes used Strategic Planning Concepts 3 interchangeably. Long-range planning is the development of a plan for accomplishing a goal or a number of goals over an extended amount of time based upon current information and future conditions (Bethel College, 2005). In comparison, strategic planning assumes that an

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