Strategic Planning for Nursing Professionals

¶ … administered, strategic planning can help guide organizations of all sizes and types even during periods of challenging operations. Strategic planning can also help organizations reduce their unplanned turnover, an outcome that is especially important for nurse managers who are already faced with a widespread nursing shortage of epidemic proportions. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the relevant literature to develop background information concerning strategic planning, the nurse manager's role in strategic planning, the significant problems and issues involved in strategic planning, and a discussion concerning these issues based on an appreciative inquiry conceptual framework. Based on the findings that emerged from this study, a series of recommendations are presented in the conclusion.

Nursing Leadership Role in Strategic Planning

Introduction

Today, nursing leadership involves a broad range of activities that require nurse managers to remain flexible and vigilant in order to be responsive to the dynamic environment in which they practice. These activities may transcend traditional views about the appropriate role of nurse leaders in a healthcare setting, and it is becoming increasingly clear that developing effective strategic planning skills is an important part of these expanded responsibilities. To determine the facts, this study provides background information concerning the strategic planning process, and the nurse manager's role in strategic planning and some of the commonly encountered significant problems and issues involved in the strategic planning process. A discussion concerning these issues is presented using an appreciative inquiry conceptual framework followed by a series of recommendations based on the findings that emerged from the research.

Background information on strategic planning

As the term connotes, "strategic planning" means formulating plans to help guide an organization from where it is currently to where it wants to be in the future. For instance, Blatstein (2012) reports that, "Many organizations do strategie planning in order to prepare for the future" (p. 31). Originally formalized during the 1980s, strategic planning has become widely adopted by a wide range of public and private sector organizations of all sizes and types (Hu & Kapucu, 2014). According to the definition provided by Hu and Kapucu, strategic planning is "a deliberative, disciplined approach to producing fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization (or other entity) is, what it does, and why" (2014, p. 84). Although the main features of strategic planning tend to differ, the majority of strategic planning described in the relevant literature includes the following steps at a minimum: initiation, clarification of the mission, vision, and values, environmental assessment, strategic issue identification, strategy formulation, implementation, and assessment (Hu & Kapucu, 2014).

There are some highly desirable outcomes that can be achieved by using strategic planning, including remaining responsive to changes in the operating environment while the organization is being guided into the future. For instance, Hu and Kapucu (2014) point out that, "Strategic planning can help organizations develop strategic thinking and adapt to environmental change" (p. 84). These are particularly valuable outcomes for nurse managers today as discussed further below.

Nurse manager's role in strategic planning

As noted above, it is vitally important for managers in any setting to remain vigilant concerning changes in the internal and external environment that can affect their operations. Therefore, it is not surprising that nurse manager are increasingly being required to remain flexible and responsive in the face of a dynamic and challenging environment. For instance, Brewington (2014) emphasizes that, "Based on the complexity of organizations and health care systems, leaders in nursing programs must be equipped to address the challenges and opportunities brought about by continuous demands from internal and external environments" (p. 270).