Strategic Planning Fundamentals and Organizational Structure

Core Concepts of Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a fundamental process whereby organizations define a business model to follow through research on different factors. This research typically includes analysis of:

• The market situation
• The needs of consumers
• Sociopolitical conditions
• Legal, economic, and technological developments

Defining Corporate Direction

Mission

To provide direction and meaning to all members of the company. It is the main orientation of the company, represented by the class of products/services it offers and the market where it operates.

Vision

The image of the future the company aims to create in the mind of the customer as a function of the needs it seeks to satisfy.

Objective

The statement made by the company to quantitatively and qualitatively enunciate the results it intends to achieve in the future.

Strategy

The design of how the company will work to achieve the goals. It is the path or course of action chosen by managers from different possible courses of action to achieve the planned objectives.

Management Execution and Control

The Planning Process

The planning process aims to coordinate the company's efforts, achieving efficient performance. Planning is a function whose result (a plan) involves three basic elements:

1. Objectives
2. Courses of action
3. Resources

Process Management and Control Definitions

Process Management

Management is the action taken in reality to transform defined purposes, implying execution during planning.

Process Control

Involves comparing the real performance (as a result of management) in relation to the forecast during planning.

Corrective Action

The control element that gives continuity to the process of confronting management based on the plan. It involves analyzing deviations and their causes to adjust planning and management.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

Business Leadership

Business leadership refers to the power or control that a person possesses and can exercise over another to induce them to do something.

Hierarchical Levels of Management

Organizational structure is typically divided into three main hierarchical levels:

• Higher Level: The figure is the General Manager or President, who is responsible for defining the company's business, strategic planning, and policymaking.
• Intermediate Levels: Represented by middle management, responsible for maximizing each of the areas comprising the level that reports to the General Manager.
• Lower Level: Represented by the departments where routine operational tasks are developed (common in most companies).

Flowchart Definition

A flowchart is a graphical representation of the structure of an organization at a given time.