Application: The Strategic Planning Process Revisited

At the beginning of this course, you developed a graphic representation of the strategic-planning process. How has your understanding of this process grown? For this Application Assignment, you will integrate ideas and perspectives presented throughout this course as you expand upon your initial graphic.

Prepare for this Application Assignment as follows:

• What insights have you gained about the strategic planning process throughout this course? Consider the following questions:
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  • What new insights about the internal and external factors that influence strategic planning have you gained?
  • What are the key elements of strategy formulation?
  • How do organizations translate their strategic objectives into operational realities?
  • What factors contribute to successful implementation or create barriers that need to be addressed?
  • Why it is important for marketing to be aligned with strategic planning?
  • Why is it important to have the monitoring and evaluation criteria in mind throughout the strategic planning process?
  • How has your awareness of the relationships and connections among various aspects of strategic planning grown?
• What insights gained throughout this Master of Healthcare Administration program do you think should be incorporated?
• Revisit the graphic representation of the strategic-planning process you created for the Week 1 Application. How would you revise your assessment of the strategic-planning cycle in light of what you have learned throughout this course? What recommendations do you now have for creating a strategic-planning process that is flexible yet sets the long-term direction for an organization?

Then write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:

• Create a graphic representation of the strategic-planning process in a health care organization. (This may be a revised version of your Week 1 Application Assignment.)
• Describe in writing any elements of the strategic-planning process that you are not able to capture in your graphic representation.
• Describe how your view of the strategic-planning process has grown, including one or more key insights that will guide your future work in health care organization.