DESIGNING ORGANIZATIONS 25The strategic plan is based on the organization’s philosophy, vision, and mission.
The first steps in strategic planning are:
● Appoint a strategic planning committee ● Interview key stakeholders ● Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis ● Develop the plan ● Communicate the plan
People who are enthusiastic, experienced, and committed to the organization are the best representatives to serve on the planning committee. Naysayers can be included once some parts of the plan are formulated. Everyone in the organization must be involved even peripherally. “Buy-in” is critical to the plan’s success.
Stakeholders include physicians, administrators, nurses, ancillary and support staff, and community representatives. They will have differing opinions about what the organization can and should do and provide valuable information unavailable elsewhere.
The SWOT analysis includes assessment of the external and internal environment (Kalisch & Curley, 2008). Data is collected from multiple sources, including stakeholder information.
To develop the plan:
● Determine goals, objectives and strategies ● Assess the projected costs ● Assign responsible units or individuals ● Identify outcome measures and expected dates of completion
Goals are specific statements of what outcome is to be achieved. Goals describe outcomes that are measurable and precise. “Every patient will be satisfied with his or her care” is an example of a goal.
Goals apply to the entire organization, whereas objectives are specific to an individual unit. A nursing objective to meet the above goal might be “Provide appropriate information and ed- ucation to patients from preadmission to discharge.” Strategies follow objectives and specify what actions will be taken. “Implement patient education classes for prenatal patients” is an example of a strategy to meet the patient satisfaction objective.
Other categories in a strategic plan include identifying the personnel responsible for each activity, determining the projected cost, establishing criteria to recognize that the goal has been met, and deciding the expected date of completion.
Strategic planning is an ongoing process, not an end in itself. It requires meticulous atten- tion to how the organization is meeting its goals and, if goals are not met, what the reasons are for the variance. Maybe the goal needs to change, or possibly other personnel should be assigned to the task. Perhaps a change in the environment (reimbursement) or within the organization (shortage of key personnel) requires the goal to be abandoned. Continual evaluation will help the organization target its resources best.
Organizational Environment and Culture The terms organizational environment and organizational culture both describe internal con- ditions in the work setting. Organizational environment is the systemwide conditions that con- tribute to a positive or negative work setting. In 2005, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses identified six characteristics of a healthy work environment, characteristics that the orga- nization continues to promote (AACN, 2011 ). The characteristics are:
● Skilled communication ● True collaboration ● Effective decision making ● Appropriate staffing ● Meaningful recognition ● Authentic leadership.