need for strategic business planning and management Essay Example

main emphasis is on advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls in their communities, encompassing social, political, and economic aspects. UNICEF works together with partners to accomplish sustainable human development goals established by the global community, aligning with the vision for peace and societal progress outlined in the United Nations Charter (Source: UNICEF's official website www.unicef.org). The mission statement of UNICEF outlines its worldwide immediate and long-term aims, demonstrating how organizations communicate their missions.

Importance of Vision

A clear vision is essential for an organization to stay focused on its main objectives and avoid getting sidetracked by new goals that do not align with its mission statement. Consequently, the effectiveness of a strategic plan greatly depends on having a well-defined vision of what the organization should strive for in the immediate future. The vision statement must be concise, direct, and most importantly, succinct. It should refrain from including insignificant details or unnecessary digressions and instead maintain a laser-sharp focus.

It is crucial for an organization to allocate sufficient time to clarify its thoughts and document them on paper due to the defining nature of the vision statement.

The Importance of Strategic Business Planning and Management

After establishing their mission and vision, organizations must engage in strategic planning. This involves determining how goals will be achieved within a specific timeframe, identifying tasks, and assigning responsibilities accordingly. By addressing these inquiries, a clear framework for direction and approach is developed. Recognizing the reasons behind the need for a strategic plan in today's global business landscape is essential. Effective planning and coordination are vital as businesses are no longer limited to local operations. Various factors such as socio-cultural issues, regulatory bodies, financial

disruptions, and conflicts can impact business planning. While adjustments may be necessary in response to these factors, achieving the ultimate goal remains paramount.

An extremely effective and successful program can be referred to as such.

Strategic Planning

OVERA Beginning: The above stated diagram is a graphical representation of strategic planning. It is important to understand your program so that we can make possible alterations to the planning procedure after identifying the problems.

Nature, Scope and Characteristics of Strategic Business Planning and Management:

Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there, and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan usually encompasses the entire organization, while a business plan typically focuses on a specific product, service, or program.

The development of a strategic plan relies on various positions, models, and approaches. Factors such as leadership style, organizational culture, environmental complexity, size, and planner expertise influence the creation of a strategic plan. Different strategic planning models include goals-based, issues-based, organic, and scenario (some argue that scenario planning is more of a technique than a model). Goals-based planning is the most common approach which entails focusing on the organization's mission (including vision and/or values), setting goals to accomplish the mission, creating strategies to achieve those goals, and establishing action plans with assigned responsibilities and deadlines. In contrast, UNICEF adopts an issues-based strategic planning method in which it examines the challenges faced by the organization first. It then develops strategies to tackle these challenges and formulates action plans.

Organic strategic planning encompasses the integration of an organization's vision and values, culminating

in the development of action plans aimed at realizing that vision while staying true to those values. Certain planners favor a distinct planning approach, like appreciative inquiry. The timeframe for these plans differs, with certain plans spanning one year, others extending over three years, and some even projecting five to ten years ahead. Furthermore, certain plans may solely consist of overarching information without any concrete action plans.

The length of programs can vary, with some being five to eight pages and others being longer. In many cases, an organization's strategic planners already have a good understanding of the content that will be included in a strategic program, which is also true for business planning. However, creating the strategic program is crucial for clarifying the organization's goals and ensuring that key leaders are all aligned. Although the strategic program document is important, the strategic planning process itself is even more significant.

Scheme primarily focuses on an organization's long-term direction, while strategic decisions revolve around the scope of its activities. One example is whether UNICEF should focus solely on one area or diversify its efforts. The question of activity scope holds importance in strategy as it affects how managers conceptualize the organization's boundaries. This includes crucial choices regarding product range and geographical coverage.

UNICEF's main functions include publicity, fund elevation, and voluntary direction. It is important to comprehend UNICEF's mission and vision, as these values and ideology will greatly impact strategy development.

Strategic Management Process

A strategic plan cannot be successful without a distinct vision of the organization's future goals. This vision is articulated in a written explanation of the desired future state of the organization, encompassing budget size, customer base, staff

levels, program areas, and other factors.

Sometimes, the vision during the planning process is so clear that the statement practically writes itself. However, more often than not, the vision may be unclear, ambiguous, or outdated. In fact, many organizations struggle due to conflicting visions or short-sighted visions lacking "big picture" thinking. Regardless of the starting point, conducting an external scan and organizational appraisal is crucial for developing an effective vision statement. These actions connect the process to reality and help stakeholders make informed decisions or recognize previously overlooked opportunities.

Vision and Mission (The mark of the concern): The mission of UNICEF is to advocate for the protection of kids' rights, to assist in meeting their basic needs, and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. The vision of UNICEF is to maintain peace.

• Strength and failing (Strong points of concern and also failings): There are several strengths, such as a realistic, action-oriented approach, close working relationships with governments, leadership in supporting immunization programs, being a leading agency for emergency and humanitarian action, and playing a key role in inter-agency processes. Other strengths include effective fundraising from multiple sources, multiple partnerships with governments, NGOs, and civil society, a strong trusted global brand image, and being an important opinion leader.

Failing: Every coin has two sides, so does UNICEF. Despite its strengths, there are also some failings:
Partnership: UNICEF's priorities and strategies for partnerships are limiting the scope for partnership. There is criticism that while UNICEF has close relationships with government departments, it is reluctant to engage with government partners on their policies and practices regarding children.

UNICEF is experiencing a problem with bureaucracy and complexity. The organization perceives

itself as being excessively bureaucratic, with staff resources being wasted on complex internal procedures. There is a lack of collective organizational effort to address this issue. Additionally, UNICEF's scheduling is moving towards a more results-oriented approach, but it is far from effectively managing by consequences.

The dominant theoretical model in management is still based on inputs. Business information solutions have significantly improved, but they still do not adequately focus on outcomes and cannot easily align with provider reporting requirements. A weak performance management system hampers accountability. Directors are not currently held accountable for results or rewarded for achieving them.

UNICEF, along with other UN agencies, is experiencing a general unease regarding management responsibility for outcomes. Opportunities and threats related to the external business environment include changes in economic patterns and the need to reinforce positive trends for resource sustainability and accessibility. Questions about organizational structures, collaboration among different actors, and mobilizing leaders, children, or young people to strengthen positive values and actions arise. Threats involve erosion of traditional constructions and relationships, competition over scarce resources jeopardizing existing societal capital, and the role of values, attitudes, laws, and customs in promoting higher risk behaviors varying across different groups. Additionally, consideration of global factors is vital for businesses' survival. The boundaries of nations no longer confine our ideas; understanding and appreciating the world from others' perspectives have become crucial.The foundation of strategic direction depends on directors understanding their competitors, markets, prices, suppliers, distributors, governments, creditors, stakeholders, and customers globally.

Success in business requires competitiveness not only in local markets but also on a global scale. Globalization, despite political boundaries, is crucial. Additionally, strategic management relies heavily on the use of

e-commerce. Many companies are now using the internet to directly sell products and communicate with stakeholders including suppliers, customers, partners, shareholders, and even competitors. Through e-commerce, firms can conduct sales and promotions, acquire supplies, eliminate intermediaries, manage inventory efficiently, reduce paperwork burdens, and share information.

In general, electronic commerce is decreasing the cost and inconvenience of conducting business in terms of time, distance, and space. This leads to enhanced customer service, efficiency, product quality, and profitability. The Internet and personal computers are transforming different aspects of our lives such as our homes, relationships with family and friends, and self-management. Through the Internet, consumers can participate in extensive comparison shopping which enables them to connect globally and demand discounts. As a result, power has shifted rapidly from businesses to individuals to the point where consumer groups may potentially face regulations instead of large corporations in the future. Previously limited by time constraints and lack of comparative data, buyers now have the ability to quickly explore multiple sellers' offerings.

Or, individuals can visit websites such as CompareNet.com, which provides detailed information on over 100,000 consumer products. The internet has drastically transformed the essence and core of purchasing and selling in nearly all industries. It has fundamentally altered the economic dynamics of business in every sector across the globe. The environment has also emerged as a critical strategic concern. Additionally, due to the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War, there is perhaps no greater threat to business and society than the ongoing degradation and destruction of our natural environment. Resources are scarce while desires are boundless. In order to satisfy the world's desires, resources must be

efficiently utilized.

For example, the use of oil resources or energy resources will lead people to utilize these resources for a long time.

Analyze the different levels of strategy:

Strategies exist at various levels in any organization - from the overall business (or group of businesses) down to individuals working in it. There are Three Hierarchical Levels of Strategy which are as follows: - Corporate Strategy i.e. what business should you be in? This examines the entire range of business opportunities. It is focused on the overall purpose and scope of the business to meet stakeholder expectations.

This is an important degree as it is greatly influenced by investors in the concern and acts to guide strategic decision-making throughout the concern. Corporate strategy is often explicitly stated in a "mission statement".

So Corporate degree strategy is primarily concerned with:

• Range: whether UNICEF has reached its goals.
• Enterprise-wide cross-business process management.
• Competitive Impact.
• Managing Activity & Business Interrelationship.

Management Practices

Business Strategy, i.e., battle plans and tactics used to compete with other organizations in the industry. For example, UNICEF is primarily focused on protecting children worldwide, but there are many other organizations that also care for children.

Functional Strategy refers to the methods and activities that a company employs to compete successfully in a specific market. This includes making strategic decisions about product selection, meeting customer needs, gaining an advantage over competitors, and identifying and pursuing new opportunities. Functional Strategy also involves organizing each part of the business to align with the overall strategic direction at both the corporate and business-unit levels.

The operational scheme primarily focuses on resources, procedures, and people, such as in the case of UNICEF, and they need to know how many volunteers they will

need to raise specific funds for an event.

The difference between business strategies and functional tactics can be summarized in three key ways. Firstly, there is a difference in the time horizon. Functional tactics identify activities that need to be done "now" or in the near future, allowing functional directors to adapt to changing conditions. On the other hand, business strategies focus on the company's position three to five years from now, requiring top management to wait a long time before deciding to change the business strategies.

Secondly, there is a difference in specificity. Functional tactics are more specific, specifying activities that need to be done in each functional area. Business strategies, on the other hand, are broader and provide general direction.

Lastly, there is a difference in the participants involved. Operational managers establish functional tactics which then need to be approved after discussion with the business head. This helps in understanding the day-to-day operational situation. Business strategies, on the other hand, are the responsibility of the head of the business units.

• The concern schemes need to be approved after discussing with the corporate directors.
• It aids in comprehending the realities for each concern unit.

Strategic decisions are made at various levels in organizations. Corporate-level strategy focuses on the overall purpose and extent of an organization, while business-level (or competitive) strategy revolves around how to successfully compete in a market. Operational strategies deal with the effective delivery of corporate- and business-level strategies through resources, processes, and people.

Strategic direction is different from daily operational direction because of the complexity of influences on decisions, the organization-wide implications, and their long-term consequences. Strategic direction is comprised of three main components:

understanding the strategic position, making strategic choices for the future, and implementing strategy. The strategic position of an organization is affected by the external environment, internal strategic capability, and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve the underlying foundations of strategy at both the corporate and business levels, as well as the directions and methods of growth. Strategic management also focuses on understanding which choices are likely to be successful or unsuccessful.

The translation of scheme into action involves structuring and resourcing initiatives to facilitate their implementation and managing change. Non-profit organizations, such as charities, churches, private schools, foundations, etc., often receive funds from diverse sources that are not necessarily direct recipients of the services offered. These sources may provide funds in advance of the services being offered through grants, for example. The development of strategy is also influenced by underlying values and ideology. However, the principles of competitive strategy for obtaining funds are still relevant. The existence of multiple sources of support, tied to the different goals and expectations of the funding bodies, can lead to a high level of political lobbying, difficulties in strategic planning, and a need to centralize decision making and accountability within the organization to ensure it remains responsive to external influences.

Decision:

The importance of understanding the limitations and possibilities of strategic planning cannot be overstated. A strategic plan is not simply a wish list, report card, or marketing tool. It is definitely not a magical solution for all of an organization's problems, especially if it is left neglected. However, what a strategic plan can do is shine a light on an organization's unique strengths

and relevant weaknesses, allowing it to identify new opportunities or the causes of current or anticipated issues. If both the board and staff are committed to its implementation, a strategic plan can provide a valuable framework for growth and revitalization, enabling an organization to assess its current position, determine its desired destination, and chart a course to get there.