STRATEGIC PLANNING IN MAPPING THE FUTURE:

ALIGNING THINKING IN THE NEW MILLENIUM

(A paper submitted by Henry L. Galuba,Ph.D. during the 3 rd Annual National Conference on
Quality Education sponsored by REDTI and CAS, Benguet State University, October 23-25,
2002)

Introduction

Today, people are working harder than ever. People and organizations are
re-shaping. They are reengineering. They are reshaping. They are improving
quality. But in a seeming paradox, their organizations are not maintaining a
competitive edge. The same churning is found everywhere: in the private sector,
in government, and non-profit service organizations like schools. A manager
cannot build a winning organization by simply adapting, trying to accommodate
what is going on around you. To win, an organization has to get out in front.
Working harder and harder to do better and better will not necessarily lead to
success. Action, however intense, is pointless unless it is focused coherently on
the future. Thus, managers need to align their thinking with the future in making
plans for their organizations.

The problem with the future, however, is that it is highly unpredictable.

How can managers plan for the future when the future is uncertain? There is only
one way to be certain about the future: create it. This is the fact behind every
successful leader of industry in the business world. The futurity of current
decisions of managers impacts the future. This also underscores the necessity
and significance of strategic planning.

Paradigm Shift

Alvin Toffler once stated that the softwares of the future are in our midst.
This means that all of the inputs that managers need in creating the future are
found in the present generation. To understand the future, managers should be
conscious of the momentum of present trends that are likely to impact the future.
Some of these shifting trends are:

Yesterday Today

* Natural resources defined power * knowledge is power

* Hierarchy was the model * Synergy is the mandate
* Leaders commanded & controlled * Leaders empower & coach
* Leaders were warriors * Leaders are facilitators
* Leaders demanded respect *Leaders encourage self-respect
* Leaders took responsibility * Leaders invest responsibility
* Shareholders came first * Customers come first
* Seniority signified status * Creativity drives process
* Value was extra * Value is everything
* Everyone was a competitor * Everyone is a customer
* The human brain was a * The human brain has
“tabula rasa” virtually unlimited capacity
to store, learn, & create

To align the organization to the new millennium through strategic planning

means that the alignment of thinking has first to take place among managers who
lead the planning process. The Self Mastery Model shown below illustrates that
the results of action created are rooted in mindset and ways of being.

The WORLD WE Live In

Fundamental Assumptions About Results

Reality

Activity Performance

Internal States
Thoughts
Beliefs
Emotions Behavior
Energy

There is a two-way relationship between the external environment and the

manager’s fundamental assumption about reality. The interface between the
manager’s fundamental assumptions and what is actually happening in reality
causes their internal states – beliefs, thoughts, emotion, energy. The manager’s
internal states then determine their behavior and ways of being or the manner in
which they conduct themselves. Their behavior and ways of being in turn shape
their action and performance which impact their results. The results then
becomes a part of the trend that shapes the external environment. The above
shows how the thinking of managers are factored into organizational planning
and how the implementation of the plan can create the future.

Strategic Planning

The term strategic planning has several connotations. First, it can mean
the foundation of the umbrella plan of the organization done by strategic
personnel. Second, it can mean focusing on the formulation of strategies as the
prime concern of the planning process. Lastly, it can mean the strategic
alignment of the external requirements of the environment with the internal
realities of the organization.

The former two meanings of strategic planning have a little value in

aligning the organization with the future. The latter meaning, however, is the
process of mapping the future and aligning the organization with the trends of the
new millennium.

Before proceeding to the protocols of strategic planning, it is essential to

understand what the term strategy means. Strategy can be defined from two
different perspectives: from the perspective of what an organization intends to do
and also from the perspective of what an organization eventually does whether or
not its actions were originally intended.

From the first perspective, strategy is the broad program for defining and
achieving an organization’s objectives and implementing its mission. From the
second perspective, strategy is the pattern of the organization’s response to its
environment over time.

Peter Lorange has articulated a much less complex way about thinking
about strategy. He says that strategic planning is the response to the follopwing
simple questions:

1. Where are we right now?

2. Where do we want to get to?
3. How do we get here?
4. how do we know if we’re on the tract?

In military strategy, one of the favorite illustrations of strategic action

planning was demonstrated by Col. Hal Moore who led the 7 th Cavalry into the La
Drang Valley of the central highlands of South Vietman known as LZ X-ray. Little
did Moore realize that his troops walk into trap where they were surrounded by
the Vietcong who outnumbered them five to one. The bloody fighting took palce
four days and when the battle was over, almost half of Moore’s battalion were
dead and so with hundreds of North Vietnamese (The battle is now capture in the
movie, We were Soldiers where Moore was played by Mel Gibson). The victory
of the 7th Cavalry was considered the result of leadership in strategic action
planning implemented by Moore. When asked later how he planned in the midst
of battle, Moore said he simply answered three simple questions:

1. What was happening?

2. What was not happening?
3. What can I do to influence action?
Notice the similarities in the concept of strategic planning implemented by Moore
and recommend by Lorange. Strategy therefore is critical in moving the
organization from its present to its future state.

Protocols in Strategic Planning

1. Goal Formulation. Setting the goals of the organization is the most

essential step in strategic planning. Because the goals chosen will take
up a large amount of the business resources and govern many of its
activities, goal formulation is a key responsibility of middle upper
managers. Goal formulation involves reviewing and understanding the
organization’s purpose, defining its mission, and establishing the
objectives that translate mission into concrete terms.
2. Identification of Current Objectives and Strategies. After the mission
of the organization has been clarified and translated into concrete
objectives, the next step is to identify what must be done differently in the
organization to achieve its objectives. This entails looking into the current
structure, processes, systems, and resources of the organization to see
whether these are still relevant in achieving the objectives of the
organization.
3. Environmental Analysis. Knowledge of the organization’s goals and
existing strategies provide a framework for defining which aspects of the
environment will have the greatest influence on the organization’s ability to
achieve its objectives. The purpose of environmental analysis is to identify
the ways in which changes in the organization’s economic, technological,
socio-cultural, and political/legal environment can indirectly influence the
organization.
4. Resource Analysis. The organization’s goals and existing strategies also
provide a framework for analyzing its resources. This analysis is
necessary to identify the organization’s competitive advantages and
disadvantages. These are the strengths and weaknesses of the
organization relative to its present and future state.
5. Identification of Strategic Opportunities and Threats. Identifying
strategy, analyzing the environment, and analyzing the environment’s
resources become the framework for determining the opportunities
available to the organization and the threats it faces. An opportunity is any
condition that favors the organization to exercise its strengths. A threat is
any condition that constraints the organization from exercising its
strengths.
6. Determining the Extent of Change Required. Steps 1 – 5 will now
provide the decision to managers regarding what changes have to happen
on the basis of performance gaps.
7. Strategic Decision Making. If a change in strategy appears to be
necessary to close the performance gaps, the next step involves
identifying, evaluating, and selecting strategic approaches.
 8. Strategy Implementation. This refers to the incorporation of strategy into
the daily operations of the organization.
9. Measurement and Control. As implementation proceeds, managers,
must check progress against the strategic plan to assess whether the
organization is moving towards its strategic objectives. The two main
questions to be answered are: “Is the strategy being implemented as
planned?” and “Is the strategy achieving the intended results?”

PROTOCOLS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

GOAL FORMULATION

ENVIRONMENT IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCE

SCANNING CURRENT OBJECTIVES ANALYSIS
AND STRATEGIES

IDENTIFICATION OF
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES
AND THREATS

GAP ANALYSIS:
DETERMINING THE EXTENT
OF CHANGE REQUIRED

STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL

SWOT Analysis

One useful tool that incorporates the major protocols of strategic planning
into manageable components is the SWOT analysis. This means strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis. The identified opportunities and
threats in the environment are matched with the strengths and weaknesses of
the organization to determine the extent of strategic change needed.
 In the SWOT matrix, there are four matchings that can be made as basis
of strategy:

1. In S-O window, the strategy would be to use the strengths of the

organization to capture the opportunities in the environment.
2. In the S-T window, the strategy would be to use the strengths of the
organization to avoid threats in the environment.
3. In the W-O window, the strategy would be to convert organizational
weaknesses to strengths and to use these strengths to capture
opportunities in the environment.
4. In the W-T window, the strategy would be to convert organizational
weaknesses to strengths and to use these strengths to avoid threats in the
environment.

SWOT MATRIX

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES
ENVIRONMENTEXTERNAL

OPPORTUNITIES
S–O W–O

THREATS
S–T W–T

Application of Strategic Planning Protocols

School X is planning to come up with an institutional development plan

(IDP). The major actors in the planning process would be the deans, department
heads, faculty representatives, VP for academics, and VP for finance. The
source of planning data base would be currently available data (CAD) and
generated data (GED).

The general strategy of the planning process would be to (1) organize

planning units that would be tasked with (2) formulating a strategic plan which
would serve as the basis for (3) operations planning.
 Two planning units would be organized: the strategic planning unit (SPU)
to be composed of the vice presidents and their staff and the operations planning
units (OPU) to be composed of the deans, department heads, and faculty
representatives. The SPU would set the tone for the process by formulating
strategic directions and policies that would serve as the program plan of
operation (PPO). Based on the PPO, the OPUs would conduct situation
audit/environment scanning to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the
institution and to identify the opportunities and threats in its environment. These
data would be matched to draw out the development potentials and needs of the
institution.

Based on the above, a work plan or program of action (PPA) would be

formulated. This would consist of the development activities and interventions
designed to realize the development potentials of the institution and to address
its development needs and concerns. The corresponding budget for these
activities and interventions would be formulated to yield the work and financial
plan (WFP) for the sector.

All the sectoral WFPs would be collated, integrated, and submitted to the
SPU for review. After the review, the draft IDP would be cascaded down to the
OPUs for final revision. The revised IDP would be finally submitted to the SPU
which would approve, allocate the budget, and formulate policies for its
implementation.