ADIGRAT UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
PROJECT:ON HOW TO WRITE STRATEGIC PLANNING
SECTION ONE

NETWORK FOUR

NAME OF STUDENTS ID NO

1 FANUS ALEMU 0485/06

2 LETEBRHAN BAHTA 0963/06

3 MEBRAHTOM AYELGN 1025/06

4 MEDHIN KIDANE 1051/06

5 RGBEY KIDAY 1245/06

6 TEAME G/TSADIK 1406/06

7 TEKLEHYMANOT ABRHA 1443/06

8 WASIE KEBIRE 1578/06

SUBMITTED TO INSTRUCTOR TSEGAY H.

SUBMISSION DATE 4/4/2010 E.C

Tabel of content page
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 WHAT IS A STRATEGIC PLANNING AND WHY IS IT NEEDED?

Strategic planning is a disciplined process for making key decisions and agreeing on actions that
will shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it.

Strategic planning will help you determine which activities you're doing are important and which
ones arent. If you're trying to determine that for your business, you first have to figure out where
you want to go; whats your Vision? What are you hoping to achieve in your business, long
term?
And then think: What do you do on a daily basis that's going to get you there?
In other words: What is your mission? Why do you exist?
Strategic Planning is a process whereby an organization makes choices about:

Why do we exist?
What are the major goals of this organization?
What resources do we need for a successful future?
Who will be our customers?

1.1.2 WHY AND WHEN TO DO STRATEGIC PLANNING

a. Why do strategic planning?

b. What are the benefits of strategic planning?

c. When should an organization do strategic planning?

1.1.3 Why do strategic planning?

It helps organizations have good governance/leadership.
It allows organizations to distinguish themselves from other groups doing similar work.
It helps organizations develop policies.
It gives organizations greater status and integrity.
It helps organizations be focused and transparent.
It allows organizations to be proactive rather than reactive.

1.1.4 What are the benefits of strategic planning?

It helps avoid competition and enhances opportunities for partnership with other organizations.
It provides others with a clear idea of what the organization does.
It is good for beneficiaries.
It helps in identifying goals, missions, and visions for the organization.
 It creates a sense of ownership.
It promotes a commitment to good results.
It encourages support from donors and other organizations.
There is transparency in working systems among participants.
It helps in the evaluation of time and work.

1.1.5 When should an organization do strategic planning?

When starting an organization

When the priorities, mission, and vision have changed

When external factors negatively impact the organization

When an organization needs to be more focused

Strategic Planning helps management understand the current situation. This in turn allows management to
plan for the future. And since the rate of change seems to be escalating, the importance of strategic
planning continues to grow. In fact, the best managed companies tend to engage in continuous strategic
planning. Some organizations have intuitive thinkers who almost seem to see into the future.
Therefore, strategic planning is a way of preparing for the future by attempting to simulate the
future.

Strategic Planning: Concerns

There is a range of concerns about and potential barriers to strategic planning that need to be
considered, and where possible addressed, before embarking on the process.

The certainty of uncertainty

The first of these concerns is the certainty of uncertainty. Because of rapid changes in social and
economic circumstances, the assumptions underpinning a strategic plan may become invalid over time
and may limit choices for organisations. This is of particular concern for the not-for-profit (NFP)
community sector which prides itself on its capacity for flexible, innovative and responses to emerging
community needs.
The need for flexibility
Given the emphasis in the sector on its adaptive capacity, it is essential to ensure plans are not rigid and
that they inherently allow for a constructive response to changing circumstances. This requires courage,
as stability is not always desirable, even when it is sought.

Keeping the show on the road

The scale of what is required to ensure goals are achieved can result in loss of morale among Board and
staff members alike. Simply keeping the show on the road (i.e. operational tasks), is often all that an
organization can manage. This is an issue of capacity and resources. Challenges to current operations
such as requirements of funding agreements, can take precedence over strategic thinking and planning.

Principles for Effective Strategic Planning

Managing Change
Strategic planning generally leads to change. Effective change management strategies may need to be
implemented. These could include:
ensuring the involvement of all parties affected by the change
ensuring that people feel valued and are not threatened
That the plan builds on previous successes so there is confidence in the proposed strategies
building a shared understanding of the need to change.

It is essential that any planned changes are based on objective evidence of need, not change for its own
sake.

Organizational Preparedness
An organization needs to be ready for a strategic planning process. If there is too much occurring in the
organization or underlying conflicts exist, it is not the time for planning. Any unresolved conflicts should
be addressed prior to the planning process. The organization needs effective management and good
communication channels before embarking upon a planning process.
Planning Process
Once it has been determined that the organization will proceed with planning, decisions need to be made
about who will conduct the process, what information is at hand to contribute to the process and how it
will be carried out. It is critical to ensure all stakeholders are engaged in the process. Following the
meetings, it is vital that the work to compile the planning document is completed within an agreed time
frame.

Review of Strategic Plan

Finally, it is essential for the Board to review the plan regularly and to monitor its implementation.
Without a systematic review, a strategic plan is of very little value either in setting directions or ensuring
that priority issues are addressed by the organization.
1.2 strategic plans: structure and outlines

The key elements of a strategic plan are now in place - Mission, Objective, and Goals. It is
Time to pull all of the elements together and draft the Strategic Plan. In order to make the plan
Complete, additional sections will be added. These sections include:
the first thing to do is create outline for our plan might include; main topics or points that are important to
the people. the basic head in will be;

Executive summary or Statement of Purpose

Description and Vision statement
Principles: The beliefs and values of the organization can help add substance to the
Strategic Plan.
 History: A brief summary about the organization. How did it get started? What
significant events changed the direction of the organization?
Profile: Some basic facts about the organization, such as markets served, size of
organization, major product lines, etc.

Situational Analysis: A brief summary of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and

threats now confronting the organization.
Four or five agreed strategic aims with accompanying strategies
Assessment of human resource (staff) needs
Budget projection
financial plan, evaluation, staffing / operational plan
conclusion

Executive summary or Statement of Purpose

A one or two page summary of the Strategic Plan which touches on the main components, such
as mission, objectives, and current situation.

This section should;

not exceeding 2 pages
Can be the most important part of the document may be the only portion read by
external stakeholders
Should succinctly convey the future direction, priorities and impact
Write this last!

Objectives

To Design a staff training programme, implement it and assess its effectiveness.

To conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of people.
To describe the desired outcomes in order to contribute to the vision. They define the results or
achievement toward which effort is directed. The goals may relate to funding and/or the
operation of the organization, as well as service objectives. Generally

1.3 Vision and mission statement

Mission and vision both relate to an organizations purpose and are typically communicated in
some written form. Mission and vision are statements from the organization that answer
questions about who we are, what do we value, and where were going. Mission and vision guide
strategy development, help communicate the organizations purpose to stakeholders, and inform
the goals and objectives set to determine whether the strategy is on track.

Vision

The vision statement is a narrower, future-oriented declaration of the organizations purpose and
aspirations.
 a. Look at mission/values and comparing to current state
i. Where is there convergence; what is going well that you want to sustain
ii. Where is there divergence; what do you want to change
b. What will you look like in future?
Mission

A mission statement communicates the organizations reason for being and how it aspires to
serve its key stakeholders.

a. Short, memorable statement

b. Explains why your organization/unit exists
c. Expresses function and purpose
d. Universal: could be the same ten years from now

Goals

are the ends toward which a program or problem solution is directed. Goals are outcome
statements to guide implementation of the strategy (i.e., the tactics of what is planned to be
done). While goals tend to be general or broad and ambitious, they also must be clear and
realistic in order to clarify the team's direction and gain support of other stakeholders.

1.4 Overcoming Challenges and Pitfalls

Challenge of consensus over clarity Challenge of who provides input versus who decides
Preparing a long, ambitious a shelf Finding a balance between process and a final.
product Communicating and executing the plan
Lack of alignment between mission, action, and finances

Basic questions of the Strategic Planning Process

1. Do you believe the strategic planning process was useful?
2. Did the Strategic Plan produce the right results in regards to: Mission, Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats, Critical Issues, Identification of Competition, and Goals.
3. Do you believe strategic planning improves the management of the organization?
4. Does strategic planning fit within the organization?
5. Do you believe strategic planning improved how assets are deployed?
6. Do you believe that key groups affected by the Plan had sufficient opportunities for input into
the Plan?
7. Do you believe the time spent on strategic planning was appropriate?
8. Did strategic planning follow a set of efficient steps?
9. Did strategic planning facilitate new ideas?

1.4.1 Organization and Management of Strategic Planning Process

This section should include: major kinds of strategies and policies For a business enterprise and,
with some modification, for other kinds of organizations as well), the major strategies and
policies that give an overall direction to operations are likely to be in the following areas.
Growth
Growth strategies give answers to such questions as these:
How much growth should occur? How fast? Where? How should it occur?
Finance
Every business enterprise and, for that matter, any non business enterprise must have a clear
strategy for financing its operations. There are various ways of doing this and usually many
serious limitations.
Organization
Organizational strategy has to do with the type of organizational pattern an enterprise will use. It
answers practical questions. For example, how centralized or decentralized should decision-
making authority be? What kinds of departmental patterns are most suitable? How should staff
positions be designed? Naturally, organization structures furnish the system of roles and role
relationships that help people accomplish objectives.
Personnel
There can be many major strategies in the area of human resources and relationships. They deal
with such topics as union relations. Compensation, selection, hiring, training, and appraisal, as
well as with special areas such as job enrichment.
Public Relations
Strategies in this area can hardly be independent; they must support other major strategies and
efforts. They must also be designed in the light of the companys type of business, its closeness
to the public, and its susceptibility to regulation by government agencies. In any area, strategies
can be developed only if the right questions are asked. While no set of strategies can be
formulated that will fit all organizations and situations, certain key questions will help any
company discover what its strategies should be. The right questions will lead to answers. As
examples, some key questions are presented below for two major strategic areas: products or
services and marketing. With a little thought, you can devise key questions for other major
strategic areas.
Products or Services.
A business exists to furnish products or services. In a very real sense, profits are merely a
measure-although an important one-of how well a company serves its customers. New products
or services, more than any other single factor, determine what an enterprise is or will be.
The key questions in this area can summarized as follows:
What is our business?
Who are our customers?
What do our customers want?
How much will our customers buy and at what price?
Do we wish to be a product leader?
Do we wish to develop our own new products?
What advantages do we have in serving customer needs?
How should we respond to existing and potential competition?
How far can we go in serving customer needs?
What Profits can we expect?
What basic form should our strategy take?
Marketing
Marketing strategies are designed to guide managers in getting products or services to customers
and in encouraging customers to buy. Marketing strategies are closely related to product
strategies; they must be interrelated and mutually supportive.
The key questions that serve as guides for establishing a marketing strategy are these:
Where are our customers, and why do they buy?
How do our customers buy?
How is it best for us to sell?
Do we have something to offer that competitors do not?
Do we wish to take legal steps to discourage competition?
Do we need, and can we supply , supporting services?
What are the best pricing strategy and policy for our operation?

1.5 OUTLINE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

A strategic plan is an important tool to guide the work of any organization. It will help maintain
a focused, long term vision of the organizations mission and purpose, and aid decisions about
the allocation of human and financial resources. This opens with some guidance on how to
ensure that a strategic plan is developed on the basis of a shared vision of the future. briefly
defines strategic planning and outlines some benefits that can be gained from the process and its
product: the strategic plan. It goes on to provide in-depth guidance on the steps involved.

1.5.1 STEPS TO STRATEGIC PLANNING

There are 10 steps to developing a strategic plan. It is important to document the outcomes and
discussions of each step carefully to provide a basis for the written strategic plan. Notes of the discussion
will also be useful for developing the annual team work plan and annual budget.

STEP 1. Prepare to plan.

STEP 2. Clarify mandate and scope of work.

STEP 3. Analyze the external environment.

STEP 4. Analyze the internal environment.

STEP 5. Identify the strategic issues.

STEP 6. Define the strategic aims.

STEP 7. Define strategies to address each strategic aim.

STEP 8. Identify the resources required to achieve the strategic aims.

STEP 9. Draw up an internal capacity building plan.

STEP 10. Cost the plan.

STEP 1: preparing to plan

Question to ask

1. Who will be involved in the process (which staff, stakeholders, beneficiaries)? What will their
precise roles be? What roles will different members of the team and the governing body play? How
will counterparts, partner organizations and beneficiaries contribute? Who will be involved from
outside the organization? What kind of external perspectives and experiences will help in planning?
2. How much time will be set aside for strategic planning? And over what period of time? How much
time will different members of the team allocate to strategic planning? What is the timetable?
3. Planning will be quicker and easier if relevant documents are collected in advance. Who will be
responsible for collecting the relevant documents?
4. Who will be responsible for ensuring that written notes of the discussions are kept? Who will be
responsible for providing administrative support for the planning process?

STEP 2: CLARIFYING MANDATE AND SCOPE OF WORK

This step builds consensus around some of the questions

1. For what purpose was the organization established and what policies and principles influence the
way it operates?
2. What external legislation and agreements (eg with funding agencies, the government) affect its
operations and how?
3. What internal rules and regulations influence the organisations work?
4. What influence do stakeholders have on the service or programme?
5. Given all this, what is it possible and not possible for the organisation to do?

STEP 3: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

some questions to guide an analysis of the external environment.

1. to basic services, humanitarian disaster and conflict, discrimination, marginalization and
disempowerment)?
2. What are the social, economic, political, technological and environmental trends that make
people vulnerable to poverty, marginalisation and powerlessness, or which can strengthen
their capacity to challenge and improve their situation?
3. What are the major causes of distress and suffering?
4. What are the organisation itself, other agencies and local communities doing to address these
burning issues?
STEP 4: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

Here are some key questions to guide discussion and debate about how effective the
organisation is.
1. What human and financial resources and capacity are available to the organisation?
2. What are the organisations weaknesses and strengths?
3. What makes the organisation different or distinctive?
4. What are the main lessons to be drawn from an analysis of the effectiveness of the
organisations current and past programmes?

STEP 5: IDENTIFYING STRATEGIC ISSUES

This step draws together and builds on the work completed in the previous steps. It is
designed to help answer the question:
What are the key strategic issues that the organisation wants to address (taken from steps
2, 3, 4)?
It is important to identify the strategic issues that have emerged from the analysis so far
because this helps to:
1. focus attention on really important issues
2. identify the major choices facing the organisation
3. highlight areas needing change
4. provide insights about how to resolve the issues.

STEP 6: DEFINING STRATEGIC AIMS

Because the number of strategic issues is likely to be large, the key questions to ask in Step 6 are:

1. How can the strategic issues identified be synthesised or merged?

2. Which issues should be prioritised?

STEP 7: DEFINING STRATEGIES

KEY FACTORS TO CONSIDER

1 What are the most appropriate strategies to pursue in working towards the identified strategic
aims?

2 What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of methods such as research, project funding,
networking, advocacy and capacity building for realising each of the strategic aims?

3 What approaches or combination of approaches will be used.

4 Who will the partner organisations or counterparts be.

5 Whom will the organisation collaborate with: government departments, international agencies,
STEP 8: IDENTIFYING RESOURCE NEEDS

Once the strategies have been defined for each of the organisations three or four strategic aims, it is
necessary to work out what human and financial resources will be needed?

key questions to consider

financial resources

1 What financial resources are currently available, for which aspects of the work planned, and where do
these come from (eg international donors, government, international agencies)?

2 Are there new sources of funding that could be explored (what, how, etc)?

HUMAN RESOURCES

1 What human resources are currently available to the organisation (analyse staff skills and
experiences, and contributions from others including partners, beneficiaries and other agencies)?

2 What are the gaps between what is available and what is needed?
3 How might these gaps best be filled? For example, consider the merits of staff development and
training, developing new partnerships with others, the employment of new staff.
4 Is the balance between different categories of staff (management, finance, administration and
programme) optimal? If not how might this be changed?
5 Within the programme staff team is the balance between project, communications, advocacy,
capacity building and networking skills good? If not, how will the imbalances be addressed?

STEP 9: INTERNAL CAPACITY BUILDING PLAN

During the strategic planning process a significant number of strategic issues will have been identified
that relate to organisational capacity, its strengths or weaknesses. Where these relate directly to the final
strategic aims, it is important to link them to the strategies for achieving those aims.

STEP 10: COSTING THE STRATEGIC PLAN

This step concerns the resources that will be needed to implement the strategic plan. They will need to
cover the strategies identified for each strategic aim and the internal capacity building plan. Below are
some factors to consider when costing.

1. Identify the inputs required to implement each strategy in terms of people, equipment, services
and materials. Distinguish between the essential and less essential components, in case it is
necessary to prioritise later.
2. Categorise the costs of inputs. One way of doing this is to distinguish between recurrent office
costs, management costs, and direct programme costs (for example small grants, costs of working
with partners, workshops, advocacy and research costs, etc).
3. Assess the organisations income. Identify funds that have already been pledged (by funding
agencies, for example) and gaps or new areas that are not funded.
4. Translate the gaps into the fundraising strategy
CONCLUSION

Strategic planning is a disciplined process for making key decisions and agreeing on actions that
will shape and guide what an organisation is, what it does, and why it does it. The steps listed
above are just one approach to developing and implementing a strategic plan. During the strategic
planning process a significant number of strategic issues will have been identified that relate to
organisational capacity, its strengths or weaknesses.

In conclusion, this can be an important team building exercise and ensure all members are
focused on shared objectives and strategies. It is important to retain a strategic approach to all of
the operations and to ensure the long-term vision is retained in an ongoing manner.

Resources and Tools

1, Strategic Planning Process: Steps in Developing Strategic Plan Schilder, Diane, Harvard
Family Research Project
2, Strategic Plan Builder Resource includes the steps to be taken in planning and planning
templates:
3, All about Strategic Planning Authenticity Consulting LLC, Free Management Library