Strategic Planning: Management, Stakeholders, and Change

This essay delves into the critical necessity of strategic planning within organizations, emphasizing its pivotal role in determining business outcomes and ensuring growth, particularly in a dynamic market environment. It underscores how strategic planning involves aligning business priorities, engaging stakeholders, and adapting to market changes. The essay highlights the principles of management, stakeholder engagement (including employees, investors, and customers), and the impact of a changing business environment on strategic planning. It examines the steps involved in strategic planning, potential challenges, and the importance of effective management in implementing and sustaining these strategies. The conclusion reinforces strategic planning as an indispensable tool for organizational success, especially in the face of market volatility, and stresses the management's responsibility in its execution.

Running head: NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
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Author Note

1NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
Strategic planning of an organization is one of the vital and fundamental sections of
the business model. The strategic planning of the organization signifies and decides the
business outcome of the organization in the targeted market. The concept of the strategic
planning entails the activities of the management in ensuring the business priorities and the
engagement of the employees and the stakeholders towards the business objectives, focusing
the organizational resources and energies, establishing agreement around the desired business
outcome, and assessing and adjusting the organizational response to the changing market
environment. The strategic planning is considered to be the disciplined effort of the
organization that focuses on the entire organizational activities and ensures the shape of the
business of the organization. In addition, strategic planning is responsible for the
establishment of the fundamental decisions and actions in terms of the business objectives
and activities. Proper and effective strategic planning is the indication of a good and efficient
management of the organization. Moreover, the principles of management refer to the
strategic planning of the organization for proper execution of the business activities.
The management of the organization is the fundamental unit that controls and
manages the entire system and the organizational activities. In fact, the strategic planning of
the organization is initially and primarily done by the management of the organization. The
management principles determine the effective and successful foundation of the management.
Again, the organizational management determines the strategic planning of the company,
which ensures the success of the business in the changing environment of business.
Therefore, the management principles ensure the inclusion of the strategic planning in the
function of the management for effective business result in the constant changing and
competitive market.
The competitive market and the business environment are changing with the rapid
pace. Many factors are responsible for the change of the competitive market of the business

2NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
and the environment of the same. The change in the business environment and in the
competitive market influences the activities of the organization as well as the management.
Accordingly, the strategic planning of the organization also requires changing. However, the
essay focuses on the beneficial aspect of the strategic planning with the pace of change. The
strategic planning of the organization is the fundamental controlling process and effort for the
proper growth of the company (Eden and Ackermann 2013). The change in the business
environment can affect the growth of the organization, whereas, the strategic planning ensure
the business growth in the competitive market. Therefore, the strategic planning plays an
essential role in managing the change in the organizational business environment and protects
the organization from the internal and external negative impact from the same.
The strategic planning definitely ensures the effective business outcome by
prioritizing the organizational activities. The management of the organization is therefore, to
focus on the strategic planning. The management of the organizational activities is the
comprehensive collection of the strategic planning and its control over the organization
(Peppard and Ward 2016). Managing the strategic activities transforms the static planning
into the feedback, decision-making system, and enables the same planning for evolving and
growing according to the requirements and the circumstantial changes. Therefore, the role of
the management in managing and executing the strategic planning is vital and inevitable.
The principles of management cover a wide range of the management purpose and
function. The management principles also include the stakeholder issue and the problem
solving skills of the management. There are various theories and principles that are
considered to be effective for the management to execute its purpose and role properly.
Generally, there are fourteen principles of management as stated by Henri Fayol (1916) in his
book General and Industrial Management (Morden 2017). All the principles denote the
specific quality, efficiency and function of the management for a successful business

3NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
outcome in a changing market of the business. Therefore, the strategic planning is the
essential and part for both the organization and the management system for the sustainability
of the company in the constant dynamic business environment (Benn, Dunphy and Griffiths
2014).
However, the argumentative essay discusses the strategic planning as the vital part of
the management system and not the waste of time in the changing environment of business.
The management of the organization is the responsible unit for good strategic planning for
the organization and the good strategic planning work as the future road map for the same
(Wheelen and Hunger 2017). As the management of the company monitors and controls the
entire organization, similarly the strategic planning controls the organizational activities in
terms of the business. It is the role and responsibility of the organizational management to
build the effective strategic planning to ensure the proper working in every unit of the
organization in the changing competitive business environment.
One of the major factors of the management as well as the strategic planning is the
stakeholder issue. Managing the stakeholders and ensuring the proper engagement of the
same into the business and the organizational activities through the strategic planning are the
responsibility of the management (Weiss 2014). The key stakeholders of any organization are
the employees, consumers, vendors, and external investors. The role of the stakeholders in
managing the organization is vital and primary. The stakeholders of the company to certain
extent are responsible for the effective business outcome (Bryson 2012). In addition,
implementing and performing the strategic planning also comes under the roles of the
stakeholders. In short, the strategic planning and the stakeholders’ engagement in the
organizational activities are interdependent and interconnected.

4NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
The employees of the organization are the most vital and major stakeholders as they
are the closest to the business activities and the link between the customers and the
organization. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the employees to perform the tasks assigned
to them through the strategic planning. The investors of the company are the next responsible
unit for the proper management of the organizational business outcome. In most of the
companies, the investors play an important role in setting the strategic planning for the
business venture. In fact, the investors of the company are also capable of guiding the
company. Consumers and the vendors of the company are equally responsible for
determining the business values and benefits for the organization. The customers are the chief
determinate of the effective business result and indicate the proper implementation of the
strategic planning by the management of the organization and the vendors determines the
productivity of the organization.
In the constant changing environment of the organizational business, the stakeholders
of the organization are affected. The management of the organization is also affected b the
notion of change in the business environment (Benn, Dunphy and Griffiths 2014). This is the
time when the strategic planning works as the rescuer and the manager of the company to
accommodate the business plan of the organization with the change. The role of the
stakeholders faces obligations and issues with the pace of change in the business
environment. Precisely, the strategic planning of the organization in one hand determines the
engagement of the stakeholders in the business activities, and other hand manages the
stakeholders issue in the changing business environment.
The strategic planning follows several steps for the proper management of the
organizational activities. Different methodologies and framework are followed in order to
execute the strategic planning in the company. However, there are no certain and specific
rules for the strategic planning, but most of the organization follows the similar pattern with

5NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
common attributes. The basic pattern or the steps in the strategic planning include the
assessment or analysis that makes the management of the organization understand anticipate
the internal and external environment of the business, strategy formulation regarding the
organization’s basic structure and business activities, execution of the strategies into the into
the operational planning and action and lastly the sustainment of the management issues in
the strategic planning (Arasa and K'Obonyo 2012).
The aim of the strategic planning is not only ensuring the effective and profitable
business outcome and the maintenance of the organizational activities, but also enhancing the
organizational culture and the provide a proposed framework in order to implement the
specific and certain initiatives planned by the management of the company. In addition, a
good strategic planning defines the proper measurement of the financial and other necessary
metrics for the staffs and the as well as overall business growth of the company (Smith 2013).
In spite of having a wide range of advantages of the organizational strategic planning,
there are few shortcomings and problems of the same in the management process for the
same. Managerial problems regarding the strategic planning with the pace of change can be
observed in much organization, due to the inadequate knowledge and understanding of the
same (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). The initial problem that occurs in the management
system around the strategic planning the failure in understand g the realizing the need and
necessity of the strategic planning in an organization for the effective business growth of the
company in the competitive market. The continuous change in the business and
organizational environment creates further problems in the management regarding the
strategic planning such as complexity, ambiguity, volatility and others. The strategic planning
needs a proper understanding by the management for the appropriate execution of the same in
the changing environment (Cassidy 2016).

6NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
As this is evident from the above discussion that the strategic planning of the
organization is the vital part of the business and organizational activities, the management
needs to be careful and attentive while executing the strategic planning in the organization.
The management must be communicative with the stakeholders regarding the process of the
strategic planning (Grunig 2013). In addition, the management needs to follow the basic
management theories and principles to receive the effective outcome of the strategic planning
in and avoid the negative impact of change in the organizational activities.
Therefore, this can be concluded from the above argumentative essay that the
strategic planning is not a waste of time in the dynamic environment of business market as
well as the organization. It is important for an organization in order to identify and engage the
opportunities and stakeholders in the organizational activities in the changing business
environment. The change in the business environment is the constant factor for the
organization (Cummings and Worley 2014). The beneficial aspect of the strategic planning is
the subject of arguments and debate over the years and the above essay indentifies the
necessity of the strategic planning for an organization to ensure the proper management of the
organizational activities and the effective business outcome in the constant changing
competitive market. The essay shows that it is the responsibility of the management of the
company to do the proper strategic planning and the implementation of the same to avoid the
notion of change. Several problems are faced by the management regarding the strategic
planning and the organizational change, which, however, can be managed and overcome.
Thus, the strategic planning is worth the time of the management in the constant dynamic
business environment for ensuring the growth of the organization.

7NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
Reference:
Arasa, R. and K'Obonyo, P., 2012. The relationship between strategic planning and firm
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Benn, S., Dunphy, D. and Griffiths, A., 2014. Organizational change for corporate
sustainability. Routledge.
Bryson, J.M., 2012. Strategic Planning and. The SAGE Handbook of Public Administration,
p.50.
Cassidy, A., 2016. A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press.
Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage
learning.
Eden, C. and Ackermann, F., 2013. Making strategy: The journey of strategic management.
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Fayol, H., 1916. General principles of management. Classics of organization theory, 2, p.15.
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Routledge.
Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an
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Morden, T., 2017. Principles of management. Routledge.
Peppard, J. and Ward, J., 2016. The strategic management of information systems: Building a
digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.

8NECESSITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
Smith, R.D., 2013. Strategic planning for public relations. Routledge.
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