Organizational strategic planning and execution: should governmental organizations rely on strategic planning for the success of the organization

Abstract

Strategic planning in both Government and private organizations is a standard practice for improving the organization's overall performance. However, there are several studies that indicate the effectiveness of the strategic planning and execution process in private industry is questionable in many cases and for various reasons. At times, the utilization of this tool yields positive results in many companies and organizations. On the other hand, the strategic plan is not utilized and becomes a costly paperweight on a table in the executive suite. Nonetheless, Government agencies have embraced the private sector's ideology of employing the strategic plan and have plowed headlong into the use of this methodology. The goal is to provide the organization with a tool that could help change or improve the direction of the organization. This project examines the implementation of strategic planning in several Government organizations that lacked the requisite direction and vision necessary to improve their performance. Accordingly, this research uncovers difficulties that some Government (Federal) agencies experienced before the implementation of strategic planning. We made note of the strong leadership and visioning that was key in guiding some of the organizations through the development of the strategic planning process. Overall, this project focuses on factors that led to new directions for Government organizations that were in dire need of this tool. It also focuses on the relationship between these factors and the degree of publicness of the agencies, and points out and describes techniques used by Federal agencies to overcome those difficulties and improve their performance.