Preparation Questions for Final exam Strategic Planning

1. What is the strategic framework? Why strategic framework is important to the strategic planning? Please define and describe each component of strategic framework. The strategic framework

A clearly stated vision; Clearly articulated values; A mission, articulated in a mission statement; The overall goal of the project or organization; The immediate objective of the project or organization; The key result areas on which the project or organization intends to focus; An understanding of the gaps between where an organization is and where it needs to be to achieve its goals and objectives and of the forces that are likely to help and hinder it. Strategic framework is important to the strategic planning Component of strategic framework ???????????????????????????????????????

Vision Statement: guides them in their work and which they believe can be achieved if enough projects and Organizations share the vision and work towards it. Values: are your core beliefs and principles. They define why you carry out your mission the way you do and help develop strategic objectives and work plans. Mission Statement: Foundation of the organizations purpose Identify the organization, the constituency, and the services in one to three precisely worded sentences. Frequently found in or adapted from the bylaws or articles of incorporate. The mission is to provide services of the highest and value to its members to preserve and improve skill, responsibility and integrity in the industry Recognize that the membership general contractors and associates is the most important asset of the organization.

Goal:

The highly satisfied chapter member is our most important goal. Goals are the major thrusts for the organization The planning process should result in three to seven goals. They should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

Immediate objective: which describes the specific situation which the project or organization hopes to bring about. Key result areas: define the outputs that are needed to achieve the immediate objective of a project or organization.

2. Four common formats of strategic plan (one program agency, department/agency with more than one program, department/agency with multiple programs, large department with multiple agencies and programs) have been applied wisely in strategic planning development. Please describe each format followed by an example. As a strategic developer, how do you apply these common formats?

3. Key result areas in strategic planning are important to achieve planning mission, goals, and objectives. If you were developing a strategic plan for market development and linkages, how do you define your key result areas? Please describe processes of developing key result areas and also provide your example along the explanation.

4. There are five types of performance indicators in strategic plan. Please describe these five types

of performance indicators. When will each type of indicators be used or apply?

a) input, b) output, c) outcome, d) efficiency, and

e) quality - as well as explanatory notes may be used to build a balanced set of performance indicators. a) Input Indicator: Identify the resources needed for provide a particularly services Inputs include labor, materials, equipment, facilities, and supplies.

b) Output Indicator: Measure the amount of products or services provided or number of customers served. Volume driven and focused on the level of activity in providing a particular program. Useful for resource allocation decisions

c) Outcome Indicator: Measure results and assess program impact and effectiveness Show whether or not expected results are being achieved. Policy makers are generally most interested in outcome indicators.

d) Efficiency: Reflect the cost of providing services or achieving results. Efficiency measures can also portray the relationship of inputs to outputs (or outcomes) Efficiency indicators can gauge the timeliness of service provided Use to justify equipment acquisitions or changes to systems or processes.

e) Quality: Reflect effectiveness in meeting the expectations of customers, stakeholders, and expectation groups. Measure reliability, accuracy, courtesy, competence, responsiveness, and completeness associated with product or service provided. Quality measures are often considered to be outcomes.

5. In the strategic formulation, you require to carry-out resources allocation according to priorities of the strategy and also translate your planning activities into budget plan. How do you conduct your resource allocation and how do you translate your planning activities to budget plan? Source allocation: Resource needs associated with strategies human effort, materials, and facilities required to implement and accomplish goals and objectives. Identify continuation funds as well as needed enhancements.

Translate your planning activities to budget plan: - Annual operational plans and budgets indicate how the strategic plan will be operationalised - Capital outlay plans and budget link capital resources with strategic plan - Resources requested should be related to organizations strategic plans and priorities. - Performance indicators are used to show service levels associated with resources allocation level - Resource needs are refined and requested through the development process. - Objectives, strategies, and performance indicators that reflect a continuation of existing service levels are identified in the operational plan - Objectives, strategies, and performance indicators that reflect new or expanded services are detailed on the new

6. After completion of your strategic planning formulation, you require to carry out change management in your organization to avoid your staff struggling with new changes. How do you conduct your change management? When will be the best time for carrying out change management with your staff? Conduct Change Management: Your strategic planning process may result in some things in the organization changing, either in terms of the work done or in the internal structuring of the work. People struggle with change. They may need help to accept and respond positively to change. Best time to carrying out change management: Make sure everyone understands the change and why it is necessary. Even if people have been part of the strategic planning process, they may need the implications of

decisions explained to them afterwards. Where the change affects people outside the organization, explain it to these stakeholders as well. For example, if all your support has previously gone to civil society, but you have now decided it will be strategic to work with government as well, make sure the civil society stakeholders understand why you have taken this decision and what the implications will be for you, and them. Respond to people's ideas and feelings. Let them express their concerns and respond to them. If you cannot agree, at least be empathetic about the feelings that are generated by change. Develop a planned process of change and share this with everyone in the organization or project so that people know what to expect and when to expect it. Implement change. Consult, support, give feedback during the change process. Acknowledge and celebrate successful change.

7. Functional organizational structure has been applied for agencies with single or narrow product focus. Your organization is working with different provinces in Cambodia and responsiveness to local market condition, but still focused on single and narrow products. Are this functional structure still relevance management structure? If not, what implementation structure will you choose to work with and why do you choose that structure? Please provide your justification.

No, the old functional structure is not relevance to this management structure anymore. Geographic organizational structure is best type to use for this situation because: Strategic Advantages Strategic Disadvantages

1. Allows tailoring of strategy to needs of each geographic market. 2. Delegates profit/loss responsibility to lowest strategic level. 3. Improves functional coordination within the target market. 4. Takes advantage of economies of local operations. 5. Provides excellent training grounds for higher-level general managers.

6. Poses problem of deciding whether headquarters should impose geographic uniformity or geographic diversity should be allowed. 7. Makes it more difficult to maintain consistent organization image/reputation from area to area 8. Adds layer of management to run the geographic units. 9. can result in duplication of staff services at headquarters and district levels.

8. Implementation of strategic plan requires understanding all management aspects. Amongst these aspects, management ethics and social responsibility have been a major concern and need all managers acknowledge during implementation of the strategic plan. What is management ethics and social responsibility and how will these management ethics help to success of strategic implementation? Management Ethics: Companies should be operated in a socially responsive way for the benefit of all stakeholders and it believe that manager will behave in a ethical manner. Ethics refers to the moral principles that reflect societys beliefs about the action of an individual or group that are right and wrong . The ethical standards reflect not a universally accepted code, but rather the end product of a process of defining and clarifying the nature and content of human interaction.

Social Responsibility:

The various stakeholders of a firm can be divided into: Inside stakeholders Outside stakeholders

Each firm regardless of size must decide how to meet its perceived social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is the idea that a business has a duty to serve the society in general as well as the financial interests of its stockholders.

9. What are monitoring and evaluation systems and what is the value of the system? The M&E approach have been use to assess for relevant, efficiency, effectiveness, and impact. If you were recruited as independent consultant to conduct assessment of the achievement of strategic implementation, how do you apply the M&E approach? Monitoring and evaluation system address the following question: Does the strategic plan address our needs? (Relevance) Are we using the resources wisely? (Efficiency) Are the desired results achieved? (Effectiveness) To what extent have strategies brought about changes for the betterment of individuals and/or community? (impact)

M&E approach: Monitoring is continuous and focuses on:

output and activities. Results of monitoring lead to changes at the level of strategic planning. Evaluation take place: at the intervals and look at all previous stages. Results of an evaluation lead to changes at the strategic planning level (level-III).

10. Please compare implementation structures of functional organizational structure and matrix organizational structure. If youre nominated to become a manager to implement the strategy, between these two structures, which structure would you like the most? Could you justify your preference?

11. After graduation from the Norton University, you are immediately hiring by a consultant company to conduct monitoring and evaluation of a strategy, what documents and information will you be looking before starting your works and what activities will you carrying out during monitoring and evaluation process?
Document and Information: 1. Strategy plan 2. LogFram 3. Annual Plan 4. Work Plans 5. Financial Reports 6. Evaluation Report (if available) 7. Geographical target group

Monitoring and Evaluation Process: Stage Planning Monitoring Decide what information needed and who needed. Decide how can get it and who should responsible to collect it, etc. Evaluation Setting the objectives for evaluation. Decide what information is needed, consider how it can be collected, etc.

Preparation

Design and test any data Design data collection tools, decide hot collection records, train staff to select sample, train evaluation staff, whos responsible for and make arrangement of places monitoring, inform implementers of the monitoring system Collect the agreed upon Collect & study existing information information on a routine basis, (reports, proposal, slide, etc.) monitor the functioning of system Tabulate data, interpret the results and draw conclusions, decide on recommendations, check analysis with key informants Summarize data in table and graphs, write the final report plan of the priority

Data collection

Analysis check

and Compare collected data with agreed indicators, and note differences, identify any other issues, look for cause of any problems and identify for action. Document data and findings, provide feedback to strategic management and implementers

Reporting results Use of results

Use results to improve Define priorities, management and implementation implementation of strategy actions/change

12. There are three levels of strategic management. You have been recently nominated to a Manager for a Company. Your roles are to transform the statements of direction and intent generated these statements into concrete objectives and strategies, also determine market arena. Based on your roles and responsibilities, what level of management do you think you falling in? Why do you choose this level, please provide your justification of not choosing the other two levels and how do you make decision? I am failing in Functional level of management because: Functional level composed principally of managers of product, geographic, and functional areas. They develop annual objectives and short-term strategies in areas of production, operation, research and development, finance and accounting, marketing, and human relations.

Making Decision: Functional level decisions implement the overall strategies formulated at the corporate and business levels. They involve action-oriented operational issues and are relatively short range and low risk. Functional-level decisions incur only modest cost because they depend on available resources. Common functional-level decisions include: Decision on generic versus brand name labeling Basic versus applied research and development High versus low inventory levels, General purpose versus specific purpose production equipment Close versus loose supervision

13. Why strategic managers consider strategic management is a process and systematic management. Please describe briefly of the process.

At this point of strategic management process, managers have a decidedly marketoriented focus as they formulate strategies and begin implementation through action plans and functional tactics. Take the internal focus done efficiently and effectively to implement the strategy successful. There some questions require asking at this stage: a) Whats the best way to organize ourselves to accomplish the mission?

b) Where should leadership come from? c) What values should guide our daily activities what should the organization and its people be like?

d) How can we shape rewards to encourage appropriate action?

14. Please describe how do you conduct resource allocation for your strategic plan.