Summary
Strategic planning is an essential part of organizational development that allows a business to remain viable and sustainable in a dynamically changing world. This type of planning allows highly effective use of available resources and opportunities in order to optimize the organization’s future development (Teixeira & Junior, 2019). In this sense, the critical challenge is to determine the strategic planning timeframe in which the business should achieve its objectives. It is noteworthy that although the strategic planning path turns out to be fixed at the stages of development, it usually proves to be flexible enough to respond and adapt quickly to external changes.
Strategic planning is essential for clinical organizations whose goals and missions are focused on a socially beneficial cause. Organizational development planning in such an industry is fundamental to keeping companies viable; otherwise, clinics may become unprofitable, with a direct impact on public health. In fact, we are talking about the development of long-term planning goals and steps created according to the financial, operational, and political capacity of the clinic. The ultimate goal of such strategic planning, then, is to optimize and improve processes within the company. Our paper today aims to refresh our knowledge of strategic planning and determine how applicable this concept is to healthcare.
Location
To flesh out the research, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, was chosen as the location for the review. The history of the hospital dates back to the mid-18th century, and since that time, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has been actively expanding and defining its strategic path. The hospital’s mission has been to strike a balance between making new discoveries that advance science, providing high-quality patient care, and educating clinical professionals to continue to advance science (PennMedicine, n.d.). Thus, further reasoning about strategic planning should be considered within that institution, but it is applicable to any clinic.
Conceptualizing
Strategic planning is an integral part of academic study, so a large number of concepts and theories exist for it. One critical perspective on such planning is that of Henri Fayol, who developed five aspects of successful planning, and ignoring any of them can lead to organizational failure (Di Fiore, 2018). Regarding strategic planning, a four-step process from examining the agenda to defining KPIs is worth mentioning – clearly, following such a process helps to cover a large number of possible planning issues (Schmidt & Laycock, 2018). Rational planning should be used to select a specific operational change strategy (Zaahirah et al., 2018). In this case, an expert group considers a maximum number of alternatives, examines the possible outcomes, and selects the most appropriate option in terms of parameters among them.
Planning Models
Several conceptual models have been developed for the health care industry, the use of which optimizes strategic planning. One of these models is the performance prism, which focuses on stakeholders. In particular, an attempt is made to determine what each stakeholder wants and what the company wants from those stakeholders (Jessee, 2021). Benchmarking is also widely used, namely comparing and contrasting market averages with the performance of an individual clinic in order to determine weaknesses and strengths. For this purpose, an EFQM assessment can also be used, which evaluates a company in terms of nine principles.
The Role of Leadership
No meaningful change of business value can be accomplished without effective team leadership. Strictly speaking, a leader is someone who has the ability to inspire and motivate team members to commit to results and can indeed lead an organization toward a goal. The role of leadership seems to be integral to business because there is a delegation of responsibility and effective communication between those involved (Beato, 2020). Thus, with effective leadership, clinic employees receive an improvement in their work practices and an inspirational person who motivates them to be productive. Conversely, a leader investing in such practices improves the clinic’s operational performance, enhances its marketability, and creates a supportive environment for employees and clients.
Strategic Leadership
In the context of leadership, it is impossible not to emphasize the existence of the phenomenon of strategic leadership. Strategic leadership is the ability of skillful leaders to plan and visualize long-term change and to adjust the company’s operations according to the outlined plans. In other words, strategic leaders use their own strategic vision to improve organizational practices in the clinic. Research cites strategic leadership as a critical characteristic of a successful growing company in today’s dynamic marketplace (Jaleha & Machuki, 2018). This does not seem surprising, as strategic leadership is the foundation for the viability and adaptability of any company. Meanwhile, it is worth realizing that strategic leadership is not possessed by absolutely any company leader; only skillful, talented, and experienced leaders can possess a strategic vision and translate it into working practices.
Components of Strategic Planning
There are various classifications of precisely what goes into a comprehensive strategic planning system. One such classification is the pyramid model, which identifies six components of strategic planning (Overgaag, 2020). These include vision, mission, goals, strategies, approach, and tactics – these are six independent parts of planning which allow for the complete design of organizational development and the coverage of as many related issues as possible. For example, strategy is the plan to enable the clinic to achieve results. The approach is the methodological framework that helps implement the strategy through tactics and specific initiatives.
Stakeholder Overview
Several stakeholders can be identified in relation to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. First, the hospital manager is committed to creating a sustainable, competitive, revenue-generating organization. Second, there are the hospital’s employees who wish to exercise their professional abilities in a comfortable, supportive work environment. Third, there are the patients of the clinic who are interested in useful, inexpensive, and fast therapy. Municipal authorities and officials are also interested in the development of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania because it improves public health and prevents the development of epidemics in the region. In addition, there are private investors who provide funding for the development of the hospital, in turn expecting a return on their investment. Each stakeholder has its own benefits from the development of the hospital, so they have an interest in improving operations.
Compliance
As became apparent a few slides earlier, strategic planning is based on the foundation of a corporate vision and mission. When a company is founded (in the case of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, we’re talking about more than two and a half centuries ago), the company lays the foundation of its vision and values for future growth. The main task of strategic planning is to facilitate the evolution of the organization in line with the vision and mission (Teixeira & Junior, 2019). If strategic planning goes against the vision, however, the company undergoes a rebranding and profiling change, one of the most radical steps for business survival in a rapidly evolving market.
References
Beato, E. (2020). Why is leadership important? Babson TA. Web.
Di Fiore, A. (2018). Planning doesn’t have to be the enemy of Agile [PDF document]. Web.
Jaleha, A. A., & Machuki, V. N. (2018). Strategic leadership and organizational performance: A critical review of literature. European Scientific Journal, 14(35), 124-149.
Jessee, T. (2021). Healthcare strategic planning: An in-depth guide. Clear Point Strategy. Web.
Overgaag, D. (2020). 6 elements of effective strategic planning. The Spur Group. Web.
PennMedicine. (n.d.). Mission and history. PennMedicine. Web.
Schmidt, J.C., & Laycock, M. (2018). Theories of strategic planning. Health Knowledge. Web.
Teixeira, G. F. G., & Junior, O. C. (2019). How to do strategic planning for corporate sustainability? Journal of Cleaner Production, 230, 1421-1431.
Zaahirah, M., Juni, M. H., & Rosliza, A. M. (2018). Planning theories in primary health care planning. International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Sciences, 5(4), 12-28.