Entrance Proposal -- Strategy Management

Entrance Proposal -- Strategy Management in the Public Sector

Trends in globalism and technology have changed the existing structures and systems of power in the modern world. This rather fluid evolution has, really since the end of World War II, evolved towards breaking cultural and political conventions and moving towards new paths -- often the public vs. private sector. In fact, many public sector organizations are faced with some of their most serious challenges in decades. Change management, advocating new missions, best practices, and more hit many old style bureaucratic, or politically protected agencies. These agencies, of course, seek to adjust themselves to make it more attractive to "sell" change both up and down the hierarchy (Nutt and Backoff, 1993). One of the prime tools that these organizations use to engender these change processes is the paradigm of strategic management.

Strategic planning is crucial for an organization in the contemporary global business culture. With the advent of the Internet and increases in technology, information regarding competitors, markets, and the general needs of a business flows so quickly it is almost impossible to keep up. Without a strategic plan -- that is knowing where it is the organization wants to move in x amount of time, the very real possibility is that the business will be run by tactics only -- a series of putting out fires and not utilizing resources effectively. Further, because strategic planning is a process, it allows more members of the organization to help identify and define the organizations vision, objectives, policies, and plans that will allow forward momentum (Information on Strategic Planning and Management, 2010).

Strategic management provides the overall direction to the organization and ensures that goals between departments and business units are in line with each other -- consistent with the plan. It is an ongoing process that continuously evaluates and controls the business and looks at the overall goal and how the company is moving towards that goal. It identifies large disconnects and assigns tactical solutions to those issues. It must be the most honest and guiding part of the business because it asks three key success questions: 1) Is it suitable (will it work)? 2) Is it feasible (can it be made to work)? And, 3) Will it be accepted (will they work/use it)? (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2008).