answer questions

  
SEMINAR ON STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
PUBLIC AND NOT-FOR PROFIT SECTORS

This is a course in strategic planning for the public and not-for-profit sectors. Listed below are six questions. You must respond to any three. You need to write enough so that anyone reading your response will understand it, but the total exam should not exceed four pages in length double spaced. 

We have discussed different types of plans in class. Many plans developed by organizations      and classified as strategic plans are really not strategic plans. How would you define a strategic plan for      your organization? What components      should be included in the planning efforts and the final plan? How are operational plans defined, and what      do they contain?
As part of the strategic planning process, the organization      needs to conduct different assessments. The initial assessment generally looks at whether the organization      is ready to engage in strategic planning. How would an organizational assessment be completed to ensure its      readiness to develop a strategic process and plan? What would be included in the process? What factors would indicate a lack of      readiness of an organization?
In the public and not-for-profit sectors, there are many more individuals      and groups who impact on the functions or the organization than in the      private sector. In the public and      not-for-profit sectors, these are called stakeholders. These stakeholders also impact any      planning process that the organization undertakes. What role should they play in the      process? What does the organization      need to do to engage them in the process? How will success be determined?
Vision and mission statements provide information about the      organization. They appear in strategic      and operational plans. How do you      define vision and mission statements? How should they be developed and used? 
One type of environmental scanning process involves both      internal and external factors. These factors are frequently categorized as a strengths,      weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. Why do we need to know how the      environmental factors can be categorized? How are they used in strategic planning?
There are a number of steps necessary in developing a strategic      plan. They can be divided into the      planning or formulation stage, the implementation stage, and the      evaluation stage. Name three steps      in the strategic planning process. Explain: in which stage they fall; why they are important; and how      they can be accomplished.