STRATEGIC PLANNING & MANAGER VS LEADER

STRATEGIC PLANNING

 

Why Do Employees Plan for the Future?

            How do you think about the future? Do you envisioned exactly where you will be, who you will be with, and what you will be doing in a few years? Do you think about how you will use your values to guide the choices you make, trusting that you will encounter opportunities along the ways and end up with work you love, great relationships with family and friends, and a good life? Or do you think more about today than tomorrow?

            Planning focuses on moving from where you are now to a future that is different. Some employees focus on outcomes: They set goals for themselves (and maybe others) and then work diligently and single-minded to achieve them. Other employees are highly action oriented: They are content to work hard in the moment, and they spend very little time thinking beyond immediate tasks or projects. Still other focus on direction and a meaningful vision: They think about their own and their organization’s future as part of a personally meaningful vision.

            The fact that employees have different ways of thinking about the future and planning is one of many issues that arise when it comes to organizational planning and strategy. Most organizational plans are almost entirely focused on a specific goals and objectives, leaving out or underemphasizing the image of a meaningful future state and joy and creativity that can emerge when people are in state of flow – focused completely and fully in creative activities.

            Regardless of how we think about the future or plan, human beings are purposeful creatures. We purposely move toward a future that is better than today, one that we find meaningful, perfect, and complete. That is what we do in our organization, too: We seek to identify a noble purpose, a mission, and a vision, as well as a way to get there through strategies, goals, and actions. If you can first master how you approach he future and then find ways to engage other in the planning process, you will be more successful in managing the dynamics that company are the constant process of creating and adapting plans in your work, in teams, and in organizations.

How employees think about and plan for the future?

            The ways that humans conceptualize the future is complicated.  How we plan depends in part on certain personality traits, including a temperamental disposition toward optimism or pessimism. More importantly, how we think about the future and plan is dependent on what we have learned from our family, our school, our culture, and even the norms and practices in the organizations in which we work. In other words, we learn skills associated with planning for other people and from the socials environment around us- including organizations.

What does planning look like in organization?

            A simple view of planning in organization is that it is the process of identifying goals and charting a path to attain them. In fact goal setting is often seen as the way to plan in organization. However, as you have learned, not everyone is goal-oriented. Significant change in organizations, today, which means that we need the stability of meaningful vision.  Over reliance on goal setting can result in too much attention to short-term objectives. It can also result in overemphasis on the skills associated with goal setting, at the expense of competencies that support visioning and the execution of plans.

Some goals are not sufficient to motivate people to achieve excellence – simply because they are the wrong goals! But, if the right goals have been chosen, how can they be used to motivate behavior?

            A goal is an outcome that a person, group, or organization is attempting to achieve, accomplish, or attain. The best goals include certain characteristics, such as being specific and challenging. Goals that meet the SMART criteria tend to be motivating for many employees, and they are more often achieved than goals that violate on or more of the SMART criteria. Once a SMART goal has been determined, commitment, an appropriate level of complexity, and feedback on our progress are three important factors that influence the goal’s power to motivate us. Feedback tells us where we are in the relation to our goals and how far we have to go to achieve them – it’s like SMART goals. Now, I see why commitment is so important. Commitment seems like an obvious condition for motivation: Who wants to work hard to achieve a goal that he or she doesn’t care about?

 

“Doing” and “Being" Goals

            Goals setting as a way to motivate employees are embraced by many organizations. However, some scholars argue that many assumptions related to goals setting are based on manufacturing models that focused on a machine-like equation for achieving results. According to these researchers, the typical goal-setting model works for so-called “doing” goals that are clear-cut, but it is less appropriate for so-called “being” goals, for which there is no definite ending.

            It was December 19 and 20, 2011 when we had our planning activities on Medium Term Development Plan for the year 2010-2014 whether or not we should accomplish our targets. The strategic plan was focused on the entire organization, and these are the following areas that need to be assessed:  Instruction, Research, Production, Extension and Students. The plan determines where an organization is going over the next consecutive years. We used different models and approaches in the strategic planning.

We have done planning several times and most of the time we were able to attain the target. Is this the basis that we have succeeded in our plan?

            I worked before in an Electronics Company (a sub-con company) owned by a half Japanese - half Filipino, located at Cavite. I was expecting that this could be my opportunity for greener pasture, after then I was resigned at Manila Mining Corporation.

            I worked there as a Senior QA.  The production was high. There were mass hiring. There was always an Engineering evaluation for a new product. Delivered products to the customers as required. Until such time, the management announced a traumatic drop of orders, because of that we faced, temporary shutdown, and forced leave, some resigned from their job and transferred to another electronics company in Laguna.  I got married and tender irrevocable resignation, and ended up into teaching.

            I believe there was business plan. We had applied for ISO 9002 certification. I was able to attend the training for Internal/External accreditor. By that time, we have to memorize the Vision and Mission of the company, but the process on how to achieve the company’s goals were not directed and realized. If there could be such strategic plan, it should depends on the size of the organization and organization’s leadership. The company fails because the organization planned to fail or not expert planners.

MANAGER AND LEADER – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

            To answer the questions, we must first consider what each of the words means. Manager is derived from the verb manage, and it comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle). The root of maneggiare comes from the Latin word manus (hand). Notice that the word handle – means to control. A person’s hand is his or her primary tool for physically controlling the environment.

            The word leader can be traced back to old English lӕden (to guide; to cause to go with one). So, a word leader can be interpreted as someone who guides others on a journey. As you can see, this way of looking at leadership is about influencing and inspiring people to follow rather than forcing people to go in particular direction. By using these definitions, a manager can be described as an individual who makes plans, organizes and controls people.

            But, there is no reason whatsoever that a manager can’t be a leader, or that a leader can’t manage.

            Now a day, we have seen changes…changes in the environment, technology and society as well. These changes have always affected the ways in which businesses and organizations are designed, organized, managed and led, as well as the ways in which people do their job and communicate with one another at work. Along with these changes come new responsibilities for the leaders and managers.

            Managers have been encouraged to focus their energies on problem solving and controlling resources, while leaders have been encouraged to focus on vision and environment.

Managers have been taught to see the independence of their tasks and responsibilities in relation to their division or functional unit, whereas leaders have been encouraged to view and oversee the independence of all tasks, people and functions in the organization.

            Every now and then, our organization always has to deal with today’s challenges. Each and every one of us must contribute the best of who we are to address those issues that require us to make ethical and responsible decisions.

            In the job I have now, as Contractual Instructor, and for my career to be going forward, I will always be called on to do the three: lead, manage and follow orders.

            Being a teacher is a leader. You have to know your own values, as well as your organization’s ethical code. You need to build strong and trusting relationships with your colleagues. You need to understand and manage your own and others emotions. You will inspire them, build powerful and effective team, and deal with conflicts.

            Each and every day, you have choices about what you should do, how you live your values, and how you influence others. Mind you, no matter what position you hold in your organization, you have opportunities all the time to lead other people.