The Emergency Responder Administration

A strategic plan is a tool used by companies to explicitly define their long-term aims and objectives. It also describes how these objectives will be fulfilled. A strategic plan is intended to mold an organization’s performance towards success (Bryson, 2011). Strategic planning is crucial since it enables various businesses to face and conquer their issues. The Save Children 2016-2018 Strategic Plan, the FEMA 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, and the CMHA 2012-2017 Strategic Plan are the three types of strategic planning that are compared and contrasted in the paper. Save the children is a strategic plan that is meant to improve the lives of young children globally. It fights for the rights of children in fragile states, middle-income countries and also in developed countries. The strategy aims to ensure that by 2030 all children learn to survive and are protected. They put more emphasis to the marginalized and to other factors such as gender that might prevent children from achieving their goal. The priorities of the plan are also to help children in different regions overcome poverty, access education, and have proper health and nutrition and also to be aware of their rights. The plan has strategies on how it will achieve in the stated priority areas. The plan has also outlined the areas in which they will work .i.e.in 120 countries. It has stated the funds needed to achieve their plans by the year 2030. The strategic plan also has a mission values and vision to guide its performance.

The FEMA strategic plan 2014-2018 targets to find out whether the American individuals are being supported before, during and after disasters. The plan has stated its objectives to improve these outcomes and also it has strategies to help it achieve its goals. The objectives have been measured to determine achievement. In the sixteen objectives set, individuals have been assigned each objective to ensure that steps are taken to achieve it. The performance goals are meant to determine whether the set objectives were truly achieved. An external body National Advisory Council has supported FEMA in achieving some of its objectives.

CMHA plan has outlined how it is going to achieve mental wellness in Canada particularly those suffering from the disease. It has stated its goals that will enhance its operation. The plan has also outlined its plans concerning the organization.

In the Save the Children strategic plan there is understandable information provided concerning the mission, vision, and values of the organization. These were stated in simple language understandable to all readers. However, the FEMA and CMHA plan have not stated their organizations’ values, mission, and vision. Establishment of a strategic plan follows a four-phase process. The second phase, which provides a clear sense of direction, requires the planners to look into these elements .i.e. the mission, values, and vision of the organization (Bryson, 2011). The assessment of these factors will ensure that clear objectives are set while developing the tactical plan.

The FEMA and CMHA strategic plans were not clear on how they have been constructed therefore challenging to follow by the readers. Strategic plan development should look into various factors to ensure that an orderly plan is developed. There are some questions that the developers should ask themselves so that the plan reflects some steps followed. The questions include; where are we? What do we have to work with? Where do we want to be? If these stated questions are well followed and answered, the resulting strategic plan is likely to be easy to follow. Save the children strategic plan, on the other hand, had followed the stated questions during the development process. For instance, it has outlined the state of children in the areas in which they plan to work in. It has also stated that it will work different communities to ensure that their knowledge concerning the state of children is enhanced. It is the reason to as why this particular strategic plan appears to be easily understood. The FEMA strategic plan has only stated its objectives, its goals and the stakeholders involved in developing the plan. The plan, therefore, has been presented in a complex form therefore not easily understood. CMHA is also not well presented making it difficult to be understood. The plan has only briefly talked about their goals and their future intentions. It is, therefore, difficult to be understood as it has not stated its objectives clearly.

Despite some of these strategic plans appearing to be well put, there were some of the crucial elements of a strategic plan that they were missing. The FEMA strategic plan has not stated the mission, vision, and its core values. The strategic plan has also not shown its analysis. I t has not shown clearly its current state and where they intend to be by using their strategic plan. SWOT analysis is important for any strategic plan to be of success to an organization. The function of the SWOT analysis is to provide a clear direction of where the organization intends to be (Kaye & Allison, 2013). Save the Children strategic plan misses stated goals and objectives. For any strategic plan developed. It should have long-term goals and objectives for each goal (Russel, 2005). Save the children action plan also lacks action plans. As much as it has vision, mission, and core values, it has not stated how they would achieve what they intend to achieve concerning children in 120 countries they plan to work. This particular plan also lacks strategic planning task force. It is important for each organization developing a strategic plan to have a task force that will assist in the implantation (Bryson, 2011). It has not also stated how the implementation of the plan would be monitored. Monitoring is a key element of the strategic plan development (Kaye & Allison, 2013). The CMHA strategic plan also has several elements missing. The plan does not indicate its long-term goals and objectives. It has also not stated te task force that will enhance the implementation of the developed strategic plan. The strategy of how the plan will be implemented also has not been shown in the CMHA strategic plan. The particular plan also has not conducted the SWOT analysis. It has not clearly shown its current abilities and also where it intends to be in the coming years.

These strategic plans have employed different formats in the development of their strategic plan. Save the children strategic plan, for instance, looks to be more comprehensive and understandable to the reader compared to the FEMA strategic plan. It has explained clearly its intentions and also it has mission, vision, and values. It has also conducted SWOT analysis, and therefore we can determine where its operation is intending to take a particular organization. FEMA, on the other hand, looks to be shallow, though it has stated its long-term goals and objectives. FEMA has not done its SWOT analysis, and also it has not stated its mission, vision, and also the core values. CMHA also has incorporated few elements required in the development of a strategic plan. I prefer to save the children strategic plan to the others. The strategic plan is comprehensive, and it has used elements required in the development of a strategic plan. It has stated its intentions and also it has shown the section it will cover in its operation. Save the child strategic plan has also explained how it will be covering each task in simple terms that can be easily be followed. It has elaborated some funds required to carry out the implementation of the plan. It has also stated the means they will use to cover their ambitions. The plan has also stated its ambitions, and it has put strategies on how they will achieve these ambitions. The plan has made comparisons between their current strategies. It is important for the purpose of developing SWOT analysis (Brystol, 2011). It has also been reflected by them listing their achievements and success they have achieved in their current position. The plan has also clearly stipulated its global priorities and has explained them clearly for the purpose of understanding of the readers. The strategic plan has drawn a very comprehensive that it will use to inspire a breakthrough in their working with the young children globally. The save the children strategic plan has also stated ambitions for the different years. For instance, it has stated its ambitions for the year 2030.

The three strategic plans have tried to ensure that each of their plans reflects what is required for the development of a good strategic plan. However, the plans lack some elements that need to be fixed in these plans to ensure that they are well understood by the readers and also to ensure that it achieves its goals. FEMA has several elements of strategic plan formation missing. In future, this strategic plan needs to make some adjustment. The plan needs to include values in their strategic plan. Values reflect the beliefs of an organization on how it should operate (Russel, 2005). Values are important to be included when developing a strategic plan as it will shape the behaviors of those working in the organization for the purpose of implementing its strategic plans. The FEMA should also include communication channels that will be used in the implementation of the plan. In the communication strategy, it states who will be involved in the process of the implementation (Kaye & Allison, 2013). The strategic plan should also include mission when developing the strategic plan. The mission of any organization states where the organization wants to be in future (Brystol, 2011). Mission statements enable organizations to broaden their choices when making decisions concerning the progress of the organization. The FEMA strategic plan should also include action plans that will be used to achieve the stated goals and objectives. Every strategic plan should include action plans when developing its strategic plan (Russel, 2005). When these are made to this particular strategic plan in future, then a lot of set goals and objectives will be achieved.

In the same way, CMHA strategic plan needs to make some adjustment in its plan. The plan needs to conduct SWOT analysis of their organization. They are therefore required to state their achievements and success they have achieved and also determine their weaknesses. By doing this, they will be able to come up with a good strategic plan that will ensure their success. Every organization should conduct a SWOT analysis when developing a strategic plan (Brystol, 2011). The plan also needs to involve action plans in the development of the strategic plan. An action plan ensures that all the stated long term goals and objectives are achieved. The plan also needs to define its tasks, and they should be assigned to different departments within the organization. Assigning of tasks ensures that all of the organization fully participates in the implementation of the strategic plan (Russel, 2005). CMHA should also ensure means of monitoring the implementation of the strategic plan. It is important to monitor the challenges that the process of implementation is experiencing. It will ensure that in future measures are put to avoid such challenges. The strategic plan of this particular organization also requires including objectives in its plan. Objectives are important in any organization as it provides a direction of the organization operation (Kaye & Allison, 2013). Objectives in this plan will ensure that all of their goals are achieved at the end. The CMHA plan also needs to state its strategic plan task force. It should state who will be involved in the implementation process. When developing a strategic planning task force, all the departments of an organization should be represented. By doing this, the progress of an organization in implementing its strategic plan can be monitored from all directions. Yearly objectives should also be included in this strategic plan. This will ensure that the progress of the organization is likely to be followed using measurable objectives.

Save the children strategic plan also needs to make some necessary adjustments in future to ensure its success. First, it should include the task force that will be involved in the implementation of the strategic plan. It should state the various teams that will be involved in its implementation. Task force is imperative in every strategic plan (Brystol, 2011). The plan should also state clearly its objectives and long term goals. This will provide a clear direction of the strategic plan. It should also include means for monitoring the progress of the strategic plan. The communication strategy should also be another element to be incorporated in this strategic plan. Communication is critical when it comes to the success of a strategic plan (Russel, 2005). These are the important changes that need to be done in the three strategic plans to ensure that all the required elements needed for the development of a strategic are present.

References

Bryson, J. M., & Alston, F. K. (2011). Creating your strategic plan: A workbook for public and nonprofit organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Kaye, J., & Allison, M. (2013). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations: A practical guide and workbook. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Russell, J., & Russell, L. (2005). Strategic planning training. Alexandria, VA: ASTD.