Free Essay on Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations

Strategic planning is whereby an organization discusses its direction and makes decisions in the allocation of resources towards a particular goal. It is an essential step towards the development and accountability of an organization. It involves asking questions about where the firm is, what it has to work with, where it intends to be by a particular time and how it expects to get there.

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First of all, both groups should consider the recent history of the university as well as the changing contexts, both internal and externally. The strengths and weaknesses of the school should also be looked at therefore determining on how to capitalize on the strengths and using them to expand on the planned projects. The alumnis should also consider the vision and values of the university. The mission and objectives of the school should be looked at before any expansion projects are started. Articulation of targets is another important step in planning for the enlargement of the university facilities (Smith, 2013).The alumnis should look at the desired long-term conditions of the well-being of the school and the intended direction of the program.

After the articulation and determination of goals, the stakeholders should look at the means of achieving their objectives. This step will involve looking at strategies that will help attain certain results. For example, if the university is small in size, it would mean that there would be a limitation of space intended for the expansion of the facilities and projects.

For the alumni groups to reduce placating, the senior leadership should be involved in their plans. The management in most cases does not participate in strategic planning, but their involvement even if it only goes up to verbal endorsement is very crucial. All groups should also be involved in the planning of the expansion of the facilities in the university. The involvement is mainly done to make sure that all the views are weighed equally. A planning committee is also important in overseeing the planning of the whole project and hence avoids second-guessing or having to seek approval from the management (Bryson, 2011).

After looking into what the alumnis should do to solve their issues, we should consider what will make the projects at the university a success. The board should take into consideration projects that resemble theirs that have succeeded in the past. They should also give important goals priority and avoid inclusion of too many goals that may cause overwhelming to the stakeholders (Allison and Kaye, 1997). Addressing of conflicting plans that need to be negotiated upon so as to come up with the best plan. The board needs to choose which plan is best for the university at that given time and which plan should be foregone.

In conclusion, one should realize that when an organization is making plans to expand the involvement of all stakeholders is key for the process to be almost perfect. Thoughts should be gathered, sort through and analyzed. Assumptions should also be rethought and new ideas developed and old ones discarded. It is important to keep things in line and maintain instead of rushing that is seen as counterproductive. It is also good to go back to the plan and rethink about the priorities to avoid making wrong plan choices that could hurt the organization. A strategic plan shed lights on the organization strengths and weaknesses enabling to look at new opportunities that can be explored.

References

Allison, M., & Kaye, J. (1997). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations. New York: Wiley.

Bryson, J. M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (Vol. 1). John Wiley & Sons.

Smith, R. D. (2013). Strategic planning for public relations. Routledge.