Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a management tool used primarily by an organization to focus its energy, to ensure that its members are working toward common goals, and to assess and adjust its direction in response to a changing environment. Strategic planning is a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it, with a focus on the future. Traditionally, strategic planning has been a top-down strategy controlled by managers, although more contemporary approaches emphasize democratic and participatory approaches.