Abstract
The strategic management plan is an ongoing process of planning, observing, and analyzing all the essential needs of an organization using calculated processes. The business world is competitive and ever-changing to absorb cutting-edge technology. The strategic management and planning process aids an organization in taking stock of the current situation, formulate realistic strategies, and implement the plans effectively. Several scholars have done various researches on the impacts of project strategic planning in the current business world. For instance, Sudhakar (2016) explained how strategic management is directly associated with the success of a project. Therefore, a strategic management plan applies to financial and non-financial organizations to help them achieve their goals and objectives.
Keywords: strategic, management, plan, project, success, performance, goals, objectives, technology
Introduction
A strategic management plan conveys the organization’s goals and objectives, sets priorities, strengthens operations, focuses energy, ensures all employees and stakeholders are moving towards the set goals, and configures resources. Strategic management entails continuous planning, checking, analyzing, and evaluating all the necessities, which a firm needs to achieve its goals and objectives. The management plan may have either a financial or a non-financial impact, depending on the business environment. A strategic management plan helps all the participants to remain committed to both the short-term and long-term goals of organization. Therefore, a project’s success is likely to be realized when a precise and profound strategic management plan is formulated and implemented. As a project expands in both size and nature, there is a need to adopt a multidisciplinary management strategy to make it productive (Naeem et al., 2018). The strategic project management plan is a business tool for achieving the objectives and goals of a venture using the allocated resources. The application of a sound strategic management plan has several impacts depending on the structure of the plan.
Literature Review
Concept of Strategic Management Plan
Strategic management is the most vital basic attribute in a firm’s success. A strategic management plan helps in building the foundation and performance measurement factors by integrating all the essential components (Qarashay & Alzubi, 2018). The plan considers the mission and vision of the organization, providing a road map for the organization to realize its goals. Therefore, a strategic management plan plays a crucial purpose during the stages of project formation (Urbański et al., 2019). From the argument of Qarashay and Alzubi (2018), strategic management explains the concept of change and transition from theoretical administrative practices, which entirely depend on the moods and individual perception to practical form. The projects’ performance and success relies on a greater extent of planning. Implementation of a scrutinized strategic management plan enables an organization to be relevant in the market.
Impact of a Strategic Project Management Plan
The impact of a strategic management plan measurement considers the use of various parameters. For instance, Saad and Daraghma (2016) recommend a balanced scorecard to be one of the tools for measuring and evaluating organizational performance depending on the management plan. Balance scorecard integrates the strategic management planning into a number of components for appropriate communication and business performance (Saad & Daraghma, 2016). A management plan helps the organization to communicate its agenda both internally and externally. Therefore, strategic management aids a business to gain a competitive advantage and improves its market share in the market.
In most cases, risk reduction and elimination are among the major concerns associated with strategic management planning. Having a thorough management plan increases the chances of the accomplishment of the venture (Kabeyi, 2019). The success factors of strategic project management indicate planning as one of the important contributors to the achievement of the initiatives (Urbański et al., 2019). The formation of a strong and solid plan is essential and relevant for all managers aiming at remaining focused and consistent in the business course.
It is instrumental in understanding the concept of strategic management planning to reduce the accompanying risks in the project. The team is given the obligation to assess all the possible risks and provide an appropriate decision on planning to mitigate the risk (Sudhakar, 2016). According to Ejdys (2018), interpersonal and institutional trust is key components in effective project planning and management. The success of the venture largely depends on the strategic and risk management team. All projects have risks, and overcoming such uncertainties places it in a better position to achieve its objectives (Saad & Daraghma, 2016). The risk associated with a particular plan reflects on its unfavorable state.
Strategic management enables all the participants in the project to remain determined and ready for any course of action in an organization. A proper plan enhances the morale of the stakeholders, since it helps assess all risks are assessed and possible solutions formulated. Ejdys and Halicka (2018) indicate in their research a positive correlation between planning and positive attitude. When a project has a reasonable planning format and managers are strategic in their operations, there is a creation of a positive attitude and willingness in all the participants to make sure it succeeds (Ejdys & Halicka, 2018). Therefore, a calculated management plan is a prime factor and a driving force to improve a venture’s performance.
There is a number of factors influencing the success of any project. Achievement in any business endeavor is registered, if it is completed within the stipulated time using the allocated resources, and if it meets the clients’ requirements. According to Sudhakar (2016), the success of a project is attributed directly to tactical management operations. Strategic management skills, including leadership, communication, persuasion, influencing, negotiation, motivating, decision-making, directing, problem solving, amongst others, are the critical tools steering projects to achieve their goals and objectives (Sudhakar, 2016). Executives of an organization who have a strong grasp and a comprehensive knowledge of their company’s products and services can plan effectively for the business project to succeed. In a market environment, where workers are constantly facing technological challenges, planning and strategic management are the keys to delivering a concrete bottom line for business operations and triumph (Saad & Daraghma, 2016). Therefore, it is important for the leaders to understand the factors to achievement.
The glory of project management is evaluated using the conceptual and operational lens. The satisfaction of customers, meeting project deadlines using the available resources are essential ingredients of project success (Radujković & Sjekavica, 2017). According to Urbański et al. (2019), premeditated management planning is the art of formulating specific business tactics, implementing the formulated strategy, and evaluating the plan’s execution process outcome. Strategic management and planning are imperative concepts revolving around integrating a number of departments including accounting and finance, human resources, and sales and marketing, in an organization to achieve predetermined goals (Bryson, 2018). Researches and revisions are being done on strategic planning to enable the concept remain relevant in the current business world. Organizations mostly recognize calculated project management as a key aspect to the achievement of tactical objectives (Khalifeh et al., 2019). Achievement of the objectives mainly includes adopting changes and fluctuations by competent, visionary and goal-oriented leaders.
Calculated planning is considered as a way of understanding when and how to implement certain business operations. Focusing on overcoming rivalry in the current competitive market is also an important aspect (Kabeyi, 2019). Tactical preparation is critical to not only to private sectors but also to public and nonprofit organizations. Planning enables the stakeholders of a certain venture to assess themselves and determine if they have the required tools to compete effectively in the market (Radujković & Sjekavica, 2017). Organization approaches form the foundation of survival and sustenance in a competitive environment when implemented by competent individuals in the appropriate departments (Qarashay & Alzubi, 2018). According to Kabeyi (2019), strategy development and execution require benchmarking against the company’s goals and objectives. These assessments ensure the planning strategies are relevant to the project. Otherwise, the ideologies will be useless if they do not match the expectations of the stakeholders.
Tactical planning and management help the appropriate team to effectively divide and manage different departments in an organization. According to Bryson (2018), strategic organization is a deliberate and disciplined method to produce sound fundamental decisions and operations in an entity. For instance, when launching a certain product and service, the strategic team should be able to advise the organization on how to introduce the product in the market for it to generate the intended profits (Kabeyi, 2019). A formulated plan helps managers and other leaders to successfully handle and address major concerns or challenges affecting a company (Khalifeh et al., 2019). The phrase “major concerns” means they are beyond the normal technical solutions and require tactical management expertise (Bryson, 2018). An efficient scheme aids in developing appropriate organizational systems triggering resources’ flow and enabling the business to sustain itself amidst stiff competition.
Strategic planning can be instrumental to managers when making choices influencing performance. According to Brlečić Valčić et al. (2016), one of the root elements in current project management is the ability of the strategic plan to help in providing direction during work breakdown structuring processes. Strategic management helps in regulating the hierarchical decomposition in an organization where basic activities are defined, presented, and organized in a tactical manner to achieve the venture’s goals and objectives (Brlečić Valčić et al., 2016). The achievement of a project and the chances of increasing its effective administration depend on the strategic management instrument (Khalifeh et al., 2019). Relevant management tools and software are used to help the relevant teams to realize the project’s desired objectives.
The features of strategic project management include monitoring, controlling, and planning of the fundamental facets forming the business. Its main objective is improving the performance of the venture following the stipulated criteria (Radujković & Sjekavica, 2017). The evaluation of its success considers factors such as time, quality, cost, scope, and among others, depending on the business environment (Kabeyi, 2019). Current management evaluation models like Project Management Performance Assessment (PMPA) are among the best framework for examining the impacts of strategic management and planning in a firm (Radujković & Sjekavica, 2017). Therefore, there is a substantial positive relationship between the success of a project and tactical plans. In the current technical and competitive world, strategic project management is inevitable, hence, the need to embrace it.
Conclusion
The concept of strategic project management should focus on the mission and vision of an organization. The strategy requires a total commitment and adherence to strategic planning, a subdivision of business management involving the organization’s ability to formulate and achieve both short and long-term goals. A tactical plan needs to enable an organization to understand where it is going by providing clear and straightforward guidelines. A calculated management plan also entails making strategic decisions on resource allocation to maximize the output using minimum resources. A well-defined management procedure helps companies make logical and realistic decisions to formulate and implement goals to keep pace with cutting-edge technology.
References
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