Category: Strategic Planning

Summary of the U.S. Strategic planning

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection seeks to prevent terrorists and weapons from getting into the heat of U.S. while facilitating efficient flow of legitimate goods and people in and out of the boarders. The body believes that the stake of international security and prevention of terrorism tendencies are significantly linked. Therefore, the success of international trade is in its ability to limit terror and facilitate free and effective flow of goods and people.

The core business of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection protection trade strategy is to enforce the U.S trade laws and ensure a free trade flow into the country (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 6). By fostering a secure and fair trade process that interdicts unsafe and inadmissible goods and people, and providing protection to the economic security of the industry, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection endeavors to strengthen the nations ability to deal with national and international trade security challenges and promote support trade (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 12).

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Strategic Trade plan for the financial years 2009 and 2013 was developed to address the increasing volumes of trade. The U.S. continues to witness a substantial growth of imports due to global economic integration. During 2007, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department registered entry of goods worth $2 trillion and 10 million consignments represented by 810,000 importers. These statistics indicated that the trade had grown by 65% as compared to 2001. Analysts have suggested that the volume of trade would triple by the end of 2015 (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 6).

This eminent growth and the inherent risks associated with it challenge the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The department should develop strategies to align with the impending security risks of unfair trade, illegitimate imports, and ensure the safety of the nations economy. Therefore, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection focuses on the development of effective trade facilitation mechanisms among all the priority trade issues that expose the U.S. economy and security of its customers and trade stakeholders.

Strengths of the CBP Trade strategic plan

The direct collaboration with other government agencies, such as the homeland security, has enabled the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to deal with complex security challenges through information sharing approaches. Similarly, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has embraced quality monitoring by proposing regulatory requirements aimed at managing risks beyond its borders and before entry of goods and people. This includes disclosure of vital cargo and individual data in advance before transiting.

Weaknesses of the CBP Trade strategic plan

Non-compatible automation systems of data collection, management and monitoring do not allow for real time transaction. Another weakness facing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the focus on border intervention rather than on developing a strategy that goes beyond its borders (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 12; Schied 94).

Recommendations for improvement of the strategic plan

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection must seek out ways of modernizing its data management systems that will ensure real time collection, storage and dissemination of trade and security data (Schied 94). It must embrace integrated information shared with other security and trade agencies via a single-window interface system.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection must also undertake to train its workforce to adapt to the changing risk and law environment as presented by the impending security and trade risks. These skills should include risk assessment, database knowledge, and audit.

A survey of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection department reveals that the body must be prepared to resolve its infrastructure constraints, which have failed to cope with the ongoing explosion in trade volume transactions. For instance, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection should improve its current bandwidth Internet connectivity and monitoring stations (U.S. Customs and Border Protection 12).

Works Cited

Schied, Eugene. U. S. Customs and Border Protection: Performance and Accountability Report: Fiscal Year 2009. New York: DIANE Publishing, 2010. Print.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Trade Strategy. Fiscal Years 20089-2013. 2009. Web.

Introduction

Healthcare remains a constantly evolving discipline that adapts to the emerging challenges of each stage of societys development. In this regard, the related organizations are expected to demonstrate a similar growth capacity to meet the changing needs of their communities. In the 21^st century, the work of healthcare organizations extends beyond the mere provision of medical services. This age is characterized by the increasing importance of several significant phenomena. First, this is a time of unprecedented technological progress permeating all spheres of human activity. Healthcare organizations are not an exception, meaning they should utilize progress benefits to serve their communities more efficiently. Next, the prevalence of technology facilitates the exchange of information, communication, and transportation. Thus, it becomes easier for healthcare organizations to expand their networks and provide services within a uniform paradigm. However, these paradigms risk inheriting the flaws of the entire system, which is why it is essential to conduct thorough analyses of organizations. This paper focuses on Kaiser Permanente (KP) as one of the leading healthcare providers on the West Coast.

Kaiser Permanente Overview

KP has decades of history in the sphere of healthcare provision. The company was launched in the year 1945 and saw a steady growth since then. Currently, KPs network includes a range of facilities that mainly encompass the United States West Coast. However, it maintains a certain presence in other states, namely Colorado, Hawaii, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Currently, K.P. (2021) remains one of Americas leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans (para. 1). The range of the networks is extensive, comprising 12.5 million people. K.P. focuses on the concept of total health, which is why it proposes various services to the population of the states in which it operates. The companys statement relies on the nexus of its teams professional expertise and state-of-the-art technological solutions (K.P., 2021). The company expects innovations, education, and clinical research to be the primary driving force of high standards of care. This level of quality is embedded in Kaiser Permanentes mission, which is centered around the communities it proudly serves.

Kaiser Permanentes Readiness

The upcoming decades will further extend the influence of the currently observed trends, namely globalization and increasing technological superiority. At the same time, another significant component of modern healthcare is the growing emphasis on patients individuality and needs. Based on the current observations, this tendency is only projected to increase shortly. This combination will likely create new challenges, which Kaiser Permanente will need to respond to effectively. Currently, the company is one of the most successful organizations of its kind in the United States. Its mission is to serve the communities that put their trust and money in K.P.s services. The reported reliance on technology is highly beneficial in this regard, as the high quality of care is inseparable from new, advanced solutions. However, the status of nurses in this paradigm remains uncertain. Their role may be highly underappreciated within this paradigm, which is a matter to be addressed strategically. Overall, K.P.s preparedness is commendable in some respects, but the role of nurses in the upcoming transformations needs to be enhanced.

Strategic Plan for Kaiser Permanente

In order to face the emerging challenges of the upcoming years and comply with the rising standards of care, Kaiser Permanent will have to implement a new strategic plan. It appears vital to make nurses, namely nursing leaders, an integral component of this initiative. Cummings et al. (2021) state that nursing leadership has become a matter of pivotal importance in the contemporary healthcare setting. The current body of knowledge reflects the positive impact of this principle on the quality of care. Murray et al. (2017) concur with the idea, adding that nursing leadership is strongly associated with patient safety and satisfaction. These professionals possess the required expertise to evaluate the needs of patients and promote individual, person-centered approaches to medical services. Thus, an increased emphasis on nursing leaders education and their extended role in the decision-making process will form the core of the strategic development plan of Kaiser Permanente. The idea is to make nurses part of all the key committees and boards within the organization, utilizing their expertise to enhance the quality of the services.

Kaiser Permanentes Issues

Implementing an effective strategy to meet the standards of the future risks facing severe obstacles on the path to success. The critical issue that K.P. may encounter is closely related to the necessity of up-to-date education for all professionals involved in care delivery. More specifically, relying on advanced technology will yield good benefits without the teams ability to utilize it. Human resources must remain in line with the technological capacity of the organization. Otherwise, Kaiser Permanente will not be able to reach its full potential. The discrepancies between education and technology are likely to impact such vital factors as patient safety and satisfaction negatively. It appears possible that the more significant role of nursing leaders can mitigate the effect of these issues, thus facilitating the implementation of the strategic plan.

Model

Within the proposed strategic plan framework, it is logical to incorporate the postulates of effective 21^st-century leadership into the envisaged procedures. The prominent models of it can be applied in the clinical environment, but the particularities of the setting and its challenges are to be considered. Based on the research provided by Xu (2017), the changeable nature of the healthcare paradigm requires a transformational solid capacity of the system and all its elements. In this regard, the envisaged strategic plan will benefit from an extended role of transformational nursing leadership. This model relies on the principle of shared values and a strategic vision that allows all unit members to stay aligned. Transformational leadership operates on a higher level than everyday tasks and objectives. Instead, it is a good fit for strategic initiatives that will bring Kaiser Permanente closer to sustained excellence in the upcoming decades. Therefore, this theory will support the positive development within this organization.

Conclusion

Overall, Kaiser Permanente remains the leading healthcare network across the West Coast and several other states. The organization refers to high standards of care that provide patients with advanced safe services as its primary mission in the current environment. However, the emerging challenges of the century will likely become severe threats to the organizations position. Therefore, K.P. must undergo strategic transformations to help it adapt to the new reality. As such, nursing leaders can enable positive changes within the network. Their insight will prove instrumental to developing better, person-centered practices of tomorrow that will maintain the success seen by K.P. today.

References

Cummings, G. G., Lee, S., Tate, K., Penconek, T., Micaroni, S. P. M., Paananen, T., & Chatterjee, G. E. (2021). The essentials of nursing leadership: A systematic review of factors and educational interventions influencing nursing leadership.International Journal of Nursing Studies, 115, 103842.

Kaiser Permanente (K.P.). (2021). Who we are.

Murray, M., Sundin, D., & Cope, V. (2017). The nexus of nursing leadership and a culture of safer patient care.Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(5-6), 12871293.

Xu, J. H. (2017). Leadership theory in clinical practice.Chinese Nursing Research, 4(4), 155157.

Al Hilal Bank is one of the largest and the most rapidly developing and growing banks of the United Arab Emirates. It was founded on the nineteenth of June in 2008. The banks headquarters are based in Abu Dhabi. Al Hilal Bank is owned by the government of the UAE. The banks total revenue is nearly two billion UAE dirham and its net profit is around three hundred and forty million UAE dirham according to the data of the end of 2013.

This Islamic bank I supported by eight hundred employees. Al Hilal Bank performs wholesale, investment, corporate and treasury operations. It has approximately eighty thousand clients. Its twenty two branches and one hundred and thirty ATMs function all over the territory of United Arab Emirates. Besides, Al Hilal Bank operates three of its branches in Kazakhstan.

The strategy the Al Hilal Bank is to improve and assist the rapid growth of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, as one of the biggest state banks Al Hilal carries a purpose of promoting the reputation of Islamic banking on the worlds business and finance arena. Al Hilal Bank puts its strategy into practice by means of improving its interactions with the customers and providing better and more comfortable services. One of the tools and instruments Al Hilal Bank employs to follow its strategy is its Financial Mall branch, which is known to be the largest banking branch in the world.

The facility of this branch is located in Al Sahel Tower in Abu Dhabi and is designed as a shopping mall. To increase the level of comfort for the diverse clients the branch owns special sections for women, children and youth, it also has a private zone for VIP clients. In addition, the Mall is equipped with a coffee shop, a lounge for the state telecommunications, an airline desk, and an auto showroom. Al Hilal Bank also provides insurance services through its Takaful unit, while Al Hilal Auto unit employs special Walk In Drive Out Program.

Al Hilal Bank first opened in 2008, and in 2010 the banks performance was challenged by the worlds financial crisis. In spite of all difficulties and obstacles the young and developing company managed to save its revenues and continues its growth. The strategy of Al Hilal Bank back then was mainly directed and expansion of branches. In 2008 the total number of Al Hilal branches reached nineteen.

The following years Al Hilal Bank was focused on the development of its ATM network. Through the next three years the number of the banks ATMs grew by one third of its initial number. This strategy was employed in order to increase the level of accessibility of the bank and its services and gain my customers this way. Besides, the operational system of the ATMs was simplified in order to further expand the banks customer base.

Al Hilal Banks flexibility, endurance, and great management were demonstrated in 2010 when the bank had to deal with the worlds financial crisis. The bank did not let its clients down, on the contrary, it continued to expand and develop, raising the level of its customer service to the world class standards. The bank combines corporate presence with a personal banking that is fully fledged, it also performs wealth management operations.

The challenges Al Hilal Bank faced were the lack of self-service channel, unreliability of ATMs, which operated through high costs and were based on a complex system. Al Hilal managers focused their efforts on solving these issues in order to make the bank services easier to use and more available, which immediately improved the number of the banks customers as the reduction of ATM fees attracted more people. The banks self service channel added to the banks customer base by means of providing an advanced set of transactions and promoting the banks reputation.

The responsibility of the prosperity and development of Al Hilal Bank majorly belongs to its Wholesale Banking Group that is designed to play the most important role of financing the banks most critical projects of both Governmental and non-Governmental value. Due to these projects the bank also earned the positive reputation among its partners, clients and peers. Al Hilal Investment Banking group is responsible for all the investment projects and operations. Its investment solutions are directed at attracting more customers. Since Al Hilal is an Islamic bank, it is determined to perform Sharia compliant investment programs.

Due to the successful strategic planning and employment of various tools designed to please the customers and improve the banks reputation on the Islamic and worlds financial arena, Al Hilal Bank has shown robust results and solid improvement through the years of its work, in spite of the financial crisis and created many complications for the young financial organisation. An important part of Al Hilal Banks mission was to promote its Islamic identity, which was done successfully and in 2010 the bank won an award and was named the Best Islamic Retail bank.

Al Hilal also formulated its governance framework by means of starting management committees and providing policies designed to strengthen the organisations framework. Over the year of 2010 Al Hilal Bank demonstrated rapid growth and outperformed all other banks of the United Arab Emirates demonstrating thirty seven perfect of total financing growth in the country. Currently the bank performs a large rate of functions such as legal, investment, human capital, personal banking, information technology and risk management. It also is controlled and monitored by a Sharia board.

As a splendid result of several years of Al Hilal Banks operation many innovations were integrated. For example, Al Hilal is responsible for the unique project of Emirate ID cards, which are the smartcards for the national identification of UAE. These cards make procedures such as opening new accounts and accomplishing ATM transactions much easier and more organised. Al Hilal started worlds very first mobile bank working without emissions, founded the first childrens branch in the UAE.

Besides, the bank is responsible for the first thumb verification system managing banking operations and transactions. It established the first drive though banking branch in the Middle East and in-bank vending machine for gold. Al Hilal is one of the most progressive banks of the United Arab Emirates, it works through the employment of the latest technologies and being in step with the latest and most advanced innovations of our times.

Al Hilal has proved its devotion to its VIP customers. For years it has been oriented at promoting and strengthening its brand by means of getting attention of the richest customers of the country. The banks success is obvious. At the same time, the banks customer base includes many middle class people, so it is recommended that the bank works on its accessibility and policies for less wealthy non-VIP clients.

Porters Five Forces Analysis

An industrys external environment refers to the factors outside the control of the firm. The factors may influence the firm positively or negatively. These external factors are economics, legal environment, demographics, natural resources, technology, and social economic factors among others (Brech, 2008). The model can be used to analyze the external environment of a new business venture called Abel and Johnson Accounting Firm (AJAF) which is a small business group.

1. Threat of entrants
2. Bargaining power of customers
3. Threat of substitute products
4. Bargaining power of suppliers
5. Industry rivalry

Threat of new entrants  It occurs if there is ease of new players to enter into the market thus gaining a market share out of the existing market. AJAF will pose as a threat to the already existing firms in the market since it will put pressure on service costs downwards. It will pose as a threat since many consumers are willing to switch pattern and service to the new accounting firm.

The industry will be very attractive upon entrance by AJAF since it provides the mush needed competition to put prices down and in that process increase its profits considerably. It is good for AJAF to venture in accounting services since it is an ever growing market that is profitable and there is promise of making good money.

Bargaining power of customers  Customers exert low pressure to a business. They have the power to drive the cost of services downwards. AJAF has the ability to influence the customers by requiring them to maintain the internationally required standards of accounting.

AJAF as an audit firm should exert pressure by provision of quality services either on post-deals or pre-deal agreements once it gets into the market (Hill, 2009). However, customers will exert pressure on AJAF if it has a small customer base and if there are several other firms offering same service such as Earnest & Young and Deloitte.

Threats of substitute products  Substitutes are products that would perform the same function. The challenge here is that AJAF may suffer if its customers decided to seek other services such consultancy in order to mitigate themselves from adverse accounting practices. The customers may go for tax consultancy and legal advice thus shunning away the service provided by AJAF. The firm is at an advantage since it will start offering its services at a lower price than most of the existing industry players thus it will attract more customers.

Bargaining power of suppliers  It is used to identify the amount of influence the suppliers will have over the accounting firm. AJAF will be forced to start with suppliers who have less influence in the market since they will not control the prices of products or services they offer the firm. This would give AJAF an upper hand since it would threaten to shift to another supplier who has a lower price.

Industry Rivalry  Intense rivalry in the market leads to price wars in the market. It also leads to a change in the way a business conducts its activities. Businesses are forced to invest in research and development and they engage in sales promotions. These activities tend to increase costs and reduce profit. Therefore, before AJAF enters into the market, it will have to research on the market trends to determine the market competitiveness.

Generic strategies

These refer to strategies employed by a firm to maintain a competitive advantage. AJAF being in the accounting and financial service would use a Cost Leadership strategy. This is a low cost strategy which allows the firm to compete in the industry and at the same time earn profits per unit of service rendered. It can do this by offering its services at the average market price or by offering its services at a price lower than the market price in order to penetrate the market.

A firms strategy is determined by the cost strategy where effective competitive advantage is gained by offering services at low costs. Cost Leadership Strategy aims at ensuring that the firm is the market leader and has no equal in the industry, especially where the customers are price sensitive. This means that, even where there are price wars for services rendered by the accounting service providers, the firm will still make profits.

Balanced Scorecard

1. The four critical business perspectives are customer perspective, internal processes, innovation and learning, and financial perspective (Niven, 2010).
2. Customer perspective  It is concerned on how clients consider our business.
3. Internal perspective  It involves having the best quality of staff and improved internal processes.
4. Innovation and learning  This perspective looks at the ability of the firm to attain and retain its competitive position.
5. Financial perspective  This is concerned with how shareholders and other creditors view our business.
6. 3. b) SMART Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

References

Brech, E. F. (2008). The principles and practice of management. New York: Longman.

Hill, C. (2009). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach : Theory. New York: Cengage Learning.

Niven, P. R. (2010). Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results. London: ohn Wiley and Sons.

Planning process

Background

This paper presents a hypothetical strategic plan for a small public library. This library serves the community of approximately 20.000 people. At this point, its collection comprises 40.000 books and periodicals. This institution has recently encountered with such problem as the decrease in the number of visitors which subsequently can be explained by shortage of resources and in some cases poor customer service.

I was responsible for the development of the strategies that can help this organization cope with current problems. From the very outset, I realized that it was hardly possible to make any valuable recommendations without involving the employees of the library and readers into decision-making (Hayes, 2001, p 13).

My original premise was that every stakeholder has a right to contribute to this project, and my task was to ensure that none of them is excluded from decision-making process. This is the key issue that I had to take into consideration prior to starting the development of the strategic plan.

The steps taken by the committee

First of all, a committee was formed; its major objective was to analyze the origins of the difficulties, faced by this library and propose solutions that can improve the work of this library. This committee included four members: the library director, two assistants and one representative of the library board. While developing the plan, the committee strongly relied on partnership with the employees of this library.

We have interviewed every librarian of the organization and asked him/her for recommendations. Apart from that, the committee conducted a satisfaction survey among the readers who regularly visit this library. While interviewing the readers, we focused on such criteria as richness of the library collection, the use of information technologies, helpfulness of the employees, time management of the organization.

In this way, we tried to identify the areas which needed improvement. Additionally, while interviewing these people, we asked them about those expectation which they usually set for a library. It was of crucial importance to us to assume the customers standpoint since their major stakeholders of this organization.

This approach has greatly helped us, since we were able to identify those areas, requiring improvement. Without their recommendations this plan would have never come into existence.

Furthermore, the committee research already-existing literature about the problems. In particular, we focused on those approaches adopted by small and midsize libraries in order to enrich collections and provide a better quality of services to the readers. Many books and articles have proved quite beneficial for our purposes.

The research which has been undertaken by the committee indicates that many public libraries have to struggle with budget limitations, but they can be overcome. In part, this goal can be achieved through active cooperation with other libraries, publishing houses and charity organization. Secondly, the main reason why many people are dissatisfied with the quality of librarys services is lack of self-sufficiency.

One has to speak about ineffective space and time management (Gothberg, 1991, p 350). For example, very often the readers are not allowed to check out books on their own, they have to wait several minutes until the librarian finds it. This process becomes very time-consuming especially if there are many visitors.

The research of academic service is useful to that extent that it enabled the committee to learn about the best practices used by the libraries within a relatively short time.

Judging from my personal observations and from the results of the survey, I may argue that these problems are typical of this library as well. These examples immediately attract attention and in part they prove that financial constraints are not the only cause of librarys difficulties.

These findings prompted the committee to the conclusion it is necessary to implement certain organizational changes. These changes should touch upon performance assessment and workplace relations.

For many public organizations this transformation is very difficult; however, academic literature indicates that small libraries can overcome these possible through changes in organizational structure and giving more autonomy to the readers (Park, 2005, p 168).

Thus, the plan proposed by the committee is based on the premise that the problems of this library should not be explained only by budget limitations. Overall, we are greatly indebted to every person who helped us with the development of this plan. Without active participation of employees, readers and library board we would not have been able to map out this strategic plan.

Mission and Goals

The mission of this library is to offer adequate resources and services that would support learning and research needs of the community (The University of Chicago Library, 2010, unpaged). It is possible to single out several goals and objectives which are quite consistent with this mission:

Goal 1. To maintain a well-organized and balance library collection that contains only high-quality books and periodicals.

Goal 2. To promote the quality of library services and improve the skills of the library personnel.

Goal 3. To improve economic performance of the library and make it less dependent on governmental funding.

These are the key goals that this organization must attain. For each of these goals, one can set at least two objective which are more specific and tangible. Furthermore, it is vital to explain how each of these objectives can be attained.

Goal 1

The first objective is to establish long-term partnership with other libraries and organizations that can share resources with this organization. We can suggest several steps that one should take. 1) The most important step is to join both local and non-local library consortia, which are formal associations of libraries. These consortiums promote book and resource sharing.

For instance, it will be possible to obtain either digital or hard copies of books. 2) Secondly, this institution should establish an interlibrary loan service, for example, this library can borrow books or periodical from another library in order to scan or photocopy the materials.

In this way, they will be able to reduce the cost of procuring new books, and this particularly important for libraries that have to struggle with budget limitations. 3) The third step is to establish long-term partnership with publishing houses.

Some of these companies attach great importance to charity and they frequently donate books to the libraries. Each of these action steps is important since this library has to struggle with budgetary limitations and one has to use strategies of reducing or at least minimizing costs.

The second objectively is to make full use of information technologies that are available to the library. We can propose at least three strategies that may help the library in accomplishing this objective.

1. First, this organization should purchase subscription to various online libraries and databases, such as Questia, SAGE, Jstor, etc (Repman & Dickinson, 2007, p 186). In this way, we will be able to expand library collection (Sutton, 1995, p 126).
2. Additionally, this library should develop official website that would make the resources of the library more available and more affordable to the subscribers of this library.
3. Lastly, it is necessary to start digitizing the books and periodicals which the library has its disposal. This will greatly increase the accessibility of books and periodicals to the readers.

Thirdly, it is necessary to update library collection in different subject areas.

1. One of the most important steps is to continuously review the new books and articles published by the leading publishing houses.
2. The second step is to establish contacts with wholesale book shops that provide discounts to the regular customers and especially to libraries. Due to financial constraints, the library management has to minimize costs of procuring new books. At this stage, it is quite possible to argue that without effective cost management the strategic plan will not yield expected results.

Goal 2

It is possible to single out several objectives which are quite consistent with the second goal. The first objective is to improve time and space management in this library.

The most important step is to create an electronic library catalogue so that readers could search for a necessary publication by entering either the name of the author or the title of a book or article (Hobrock, 1992, p 34). This strategy will allow both readers and librarians to reduce the amount of time needed for the search of a book.

The second step is to install self-check-out units so that readers could return books and articles more quickly. This strategy will greatly improve time management in this organization and make it more attractive for the readers.

The second objective is to continuously improve the skills of the employees.

For this purpose it is first necessary to provide training to the employees; special attention should be paid to their knowledge of the library collection and ability to use information technologies, especially the electronic library catalogue (Usherwood, 2007, p 670). It is vital that the management of this organization regularly conducts assessment of the employees skills; it should be done at least two times a year.

2Another strategy that would help the library is to organize seminars with employees of other librarians. Such activities can help librarians share their experience with another; in this way they will be able to learn more about the best practices used in modern libraries (Stuart & Moran, 2007).

Goal 3

As it has been said before, the third goal is to improve economic performance of the library. In this case the most first and important objective is to allow readers to buy food and drinks at the library. One should remember that that many people, who visit libraries, may stay for a very long time, and the opportunity to purchase food and drinks is very important for them.

On the one hand, this policy can greatly increase the quality of libraries services and many organizations have already adopted this strategy (Park, 2005, p 167). There are two steps that we need to take in order to achieve this objective:

1. First, it is necessary to procure a vending machine that will be used by the visitors.
2. Secondly, the library management should find a suitable location for this vending machine. Although, this step appears to be self-evident, this task can prove very challenging because it will be necessary to sufficient room for many visitors.

The second objective is to provide readers with an opportunity to purchase books at the library. We can single out two action steps that will support this objective.

1. At the beginning the librarians should compile a list of those books which are most frequently requested by the readers. In this way, they will be able to learn what kind of books will enjoy demand among the customers.
2. The next step is to find extra space for this small bookshop and determine which of the employees will be responsible for running it. Thus, the steps that we have identified in this section are crucial for successful implementation of the plan. Probably, in the future some extra steps will be added.

Timelines for the implementation of the plan

At this stage, we should work out the schedule for the implementation of this strategy. It can be presented in the following way:

1. Join both local and non-local library consortia (April 4^{th } April 14)
2. Establish an interlibrary loan service (April 5^th  April 25^th)
3. Establish partnership with publishing houses (April 6^th May 2^nd)
4. Obtain subscriptions for online databases (April 6- April 8^th)
5. Develop the librarys official website (April 6- June 1^st)
6. Digitizing books and periodicals (April 8^th )
7. Continuously review the new books and articles published by the leading publishing houses (April 4^th)
8. Establish contacts with wholesale book shops (April 7^th  May 2^nd)
9. Create an electronic library catalogue (April 10^th September 1^st)
10. To install-self-check-out units (April 5^th  April 11^th)
11. Provide training to the employees (May 1^st June 1^st)
12. Organize seminars with employees of other librarians (May 15^th)
13. Procure a vending machine and find suitable location for it (May 2^nd May 15^th)
14. Compile a list of the most requested books (April 4^th April 20^th).

It should be noted that the majority of action steps have start dates and end dates. However, some of the activities will take a very long time, for instance, digitization of books, and we have not specified the end date. Furthermore, the library will need to attract outside professionals for the development of official website and electronic catalogue.

Reflections about group work

This project has demonstrated to me the importance of teamwork. On the whole, this strategic plan could not have been developed without active assistance of employees, library board members, and certainly readers. There are several aspects of group work which greatly appeal to me; one of them is brainstorming and ability to receive critical evaluation of ones thought and ideas.

The committee held many meetings and we meticulously discussed every objective and every step that are now included in this strategic plan. The members of the committees were willing to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of every possible policy.

This approach seems to be most productive since a group of people, especially if they are competent enough, can better identify the potential flaws of the plan, even if at first glance it seems impeccable.

The most important thing is that a library director is able to accept criticism, if this criticism contributes to overall success of the project. More importantly, it is vital that this person can admit his/her mistakes; otherwise team work will eventually become pointless.

Reference List

DAndraia. F. (1997). The academic library director: reflections on a position in transition. NY: Routledge.

Gothberg H. (1991) Time Management in Public Libraries: A Study of Public Libraries. Public Libraries. 30 (6), pp 350-377

Hayes. R. (2001) Models for library management, decision-making, and planning. London: Emerald Group Publishing.

Hobrock. B. (1992). Library management in the information technology environment-: issues, policies, and practice for administrators. NY: Routledge.

Park. C. (2005). Harris County Public Library: creating a design paradigm for twenty- first century libraries. The Bottom Line. 18 (4). p 167-174.

Repman J. & Dickinson. (2007). School Library Management. London: Linworth Pub.

Stueart, R., & Moran, B. (2007). Library & Information Center Management (7th ed.). Littleton: Libraries Unlimited.

Sutton. B. (1995). Public library planning: case studies for management. London: Greenwood Publishing Group.

The University of Chicago Library. (2010) The official website. Accessed from https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/

Usherwood. R. C. (2007). Professional values in a bureaucratic structure. Library Review pp 666-673.

Introduction

Objective of the Report

The aim of this report is to present strategic human resource development plan about a lack of understanding of performance management in the franchise, and create a SHRD plan in an attempt to eliminate issues identified.

Research Methodology

The report relied on existing data from the company reports and assessment of existing studies on SHRD approaches in the industry. Thus, the report presents recommendations based on the franchise issues as well as the industry perspectives.

Specifically, the report looks at human resource (HR) activities on training and development, performance management, and rewards and recognition practices in the franchise.

Limitations

This report is specific to a given franchise. Thus, it cannot apply to other franchises in different locations, which may have different issues. The report relied on past data, which may not give the current situation and emerging situations.

Understanding Performance Management of the Franchise

This section looks at the main issues in the franchise and recommendations based on SHRD theories on how to handle such issues.

Table 1: Recommendations and objectives

Linking Training and Development to Strategic Objectives

One major challenge is the failure of the franchise to link LJ Hookers strategic objectives with its training and performance management. This implies that the company cannot create competitive advantage, delivery its value proposition, and meet needs of its customers.

The main contributing factors to these issues are the managers behaviours, attitude, and training approaches.

A behavioural perspective of is one of the psychological theories that can apply in this case. A behavioural perspective looks at the behaviour of workers as the link between a firms performance and its strategic objectives.

It states that HR practices and policies should raise and control employees behaviour and attitude. Thus, HRD activities must identify and emphasise positive behaviours and attitude to improve the firms performance.

Schuler and Jackson note that there are ways of showing the link between competitive strategies and activities of the HR in order to predict, modify, study, and improve HRD activities and strategies in various situations (Schuler and Jackson, 1987).

Strategic human resource development must differentiate aspects of HRD like practices, processes, programmes, and policies. These aspects reflect aims, culture, and values of the firm and roles of the HR.

However, the main HR practices affect the behaviours and motivation levels of employees. From a behavioural perspective, SHRD plan must focus on how external environments influence salespersons, goal setting, reward, and motivation (Yorks, 2004).

Training and Development

The franchise must encourage every salesperson to have an individual training and professional development needs. The process should encourage skill development in the franchise.

At the same time, it provides opportunities for both the employee and manager to identify training and development jointly so that they can improve job performance and support career growths.

Human capital theory focuses on competitive advantage from the resources and internal strategy of a company (Becker, 1994). Barney defines a competitive advantage as when a firm is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors (Barney, 1991, p. 101).

SHRD has economic theories in which human capital theory emanates. Human capital theory posits that the firm must invest knowledge development and expertise of its workforce.

The franchise must develop competitive strategies by using its human resources and other resources with positive values, resources with imitable quality, and resources that are beyond competitors knowledge and substitution (Barney and Griffin, 1992).

The franchise, SHRD must develop competitive strategies through human resources for value propositions and differentiation strategies.

First, salespersons must offer returns to the franchise. This means that the franchise should have various human resources skills and knowledge in order to achieve value for the franchise.

The manager must ensure that various salespersons have these skills. Second, the franchise must try convincing highly qualified human resources not to resign. Wright and McMahan note that human resources with high capabilities are rare due to general distribution ability (Wright and McMahan, 1992).

Hence, the franchise must retain its highly qualified salespersons and ensure that potential recruits have the highest capability levels. The franchise must apply effective selection and recruitment procedures because of challenges in attracting and retaining highly qualified salespersons (Becker, Ulrich and Huselid, 2001).

Therefore, the process of recruiting and selecting new salespersons must take into account the franchise needs, employees qualifications, and their compensation. Third, the franchise must ensure that salespersons have inimitable quality for competitive advantage (Ulrich, 1991, p. 77).

Thus, SHRD plan must encourage inimitable quality by recruiting the best talent. Fourth, the franchise must ensure that no qualified salespersons should leave the company because of issues arising from reward and recognition. Therefore, it must address issues of rewards and recognition, which are responsible for high rates of staff attrition.

Rewards and Recognition

The purpose of rewards and recognition are to encourage high-levels of performances. Therefore, the franchise must recognise and reward excellent individual performances in order to avoid attrition (Yorks, 2004).

According to agency theory, people in the organisation usually pursue their self-interests and not those of the organisation. Uncertainties and other external factors influence the relationship among various people in a firm (Bernthal and Wellins, 2006).

Jensen and Meckling note that transaction costs result from monitoring, negotiating, evaluation, and enforcing exchanges among parties (Jensen and Meckling, 1976, p. 87).

Agency theory highlights firms activities for creating competitive advantages. Thus, the HRD must be aware of its effects on human resources.

The main concept behind agency theory is that most employees have habits of reducing their outputs and depending on contributions of other members (free ride) in situations where there are no incentives to motivate them.

Such employees only turn out to be active if the working conditions allow them to demonstrate their exceptional abilities and skills. Thus, teamwork may not be the best approach for encouraging such employees.

Consequently, SHRD must make sure that there are key performance indicators for measuring exceptional performances, and create sufficient reward and benefit systems for such employees.

The franchise can create strategies to align its employees behaviours to go with strategic goals and performance management (Mathis and Jackson, 2011).

Implementation

Table 2: Implementation plan

In the implementation stage, we look at various HRD strategies developed from recommendations. In this regard, we consider the vertical, horizontal, and temporal linkages of Gratton, Hope-Hailey, Stiles, and Truss (Gratton, Hope-Hailey, Stiles and Truss, 1999).

This model accounts for various activities and practices of HR department. These include performance management, rewards and benefits, training and development, recruitment, selection, and retention of employees.

The main aim is to link these practices with the HR strategy. The model posits that the HR must set or modify its various policies and practices based on the strategy implementation. This is a vertical relationship. On the other hand, horizontal linkage ensures that HRD practices relate to one another.

The HR department has a crucial role to play in the implementation of recommendations. However, the sales manager and salespersons must also be responsible for their roles for successful implementation of recommendations.

Training and Development

The franchise manager shall be in charge of recruiting and training new salespersons. He shall also make sure that new salespeople learn strategic objectives and culture of LJ Hooker in order to contribute to the strategic goals. The main aim is to select, recruit, and retain qualified staff that can drive sales volumes (Barney, 1997).

Training and development must focus on individual development, strategic objectives of LJ Hooker, and motivational needs of salespersons (Miner, 2005). They must also reflect current conditions in the market and individuals weaknesses.

Managers of sales teams must know how their team members are performing in sales, revenue growth, property management, top performers, new marketing initiatives, and other areas of interest to the franchise and LJ Hooker. The performance appraisal must note how every salesperson is contributing to the overall performance of the franchise.

This should also focus on enhancing cooperation, collective decision-making, effective communication, effective training, and create a friendly working environment.

Performance Management

Salespersons performance is the key to success of the franchise. Poor management of performance shall lead to resignation. Thus, performance management should focus on key KPIs of LJ Hooker and the franchise. The manager must be responsible for spearheading performance management in the franchise.

Reward and Recognition

Excellent performances of salespersons play significant roles in determining recognition and reward of individuals efforts. The sales manager should provide timely and accurate performance data to show the progress of the team and the entire organisation.

Thus, the process must recognise both contributions of individuals and the entire team in the franchise (Mello, 2010).

Implementation plan

Evaluation

We apply Kirkpatricks evaluation framework in order to account for effects of the HRD strategies on performance management (Kirkpatrick, 1994).

It looks at the trainees reaction to training, learning outcomes, changes in job behaviours and performance, and results of HRD initiatives based on return on investment (ROI), contributions, and others.

Evaluating Individual Performance

Evaluating individual performance aims at measuring individual performance. The franchise must identify most significant objectives in KPIs.

The franchise shall look at areas that drive performance such as employee commitment, training and development, rewards and recognition, and motivating workforce (Nankervis, Compton and Baird, 2005).

The attention should also be on workforce diversity, managers roles, training and development, strategic objectives of LJ Hooker and the franchise, and their impacts on performance.

The franchise can conduct interviews to identify gaps in performance management. The franchise aligns its performance management with the needs of salespersons. There should be an action plan from this review.

Evaluating Current Performance Management Strategies

The evaluation looks at current practices against franchise strategies. It also entails reviewing salespersons performance against KPIs in sales and revenues performance, gross income, recruitment and training, market shares, and property management (Stone, 2010).

This stage should also focus on the effectiveness of KPIs in assessing performance of the franchise. This stage identifies challenges with KPIs and makes appropriate recommendations.

Creating New KPIs

The franchise creates new performance management tools and KPIs based on the effectiveness its previous performance. These areas may include recruitment and selection, training and development, sales KPIs, rewards and recognition among others. It should address salespersons needs in training and development.

Evaluations of workers commitment, loyalty, engagement, sales objectives, the franchise innovation, and adaptability in terms of market needs, and how they affect performance are also necessary for the franchise.

The new KPIs should be effective in different circumstances and predict results for employees at any given time.

Applying the KPIs

The franchise should test its new KPIs to determine their effectiveness. This process should also involve collecting results and making recommendations.

Evaluation Plan

Conclusion

The research has identified three areas of interest to the franchise in managing performance. It shows the importance of HR department in formulating SHRD initiatives for competitive advantage.

First, training and development should align business strategy with the SHRD practices. Second, training and development should change attitude, equip salespersons with the necessary knowledge and skills, motivate employees, improve sales volumes, and build internal relationships in the franchise. Finally, rewards and recognition must recognise individual contribution.

The report makes use of SHRD theories such as human capital theory, behavioural perspective, and agency theory in order to explain how HR department can be a strategic partner in formulating business strategic objectives.

Implementation of recommendations uses the vertical, horizontal, and temporal linkages of Gratton, Hope-Hailey, Stiles, and Truss. This model covers important areas related to HRD functions.

However, it shows that line managers and salespersons must play their parts to ensure that the implementation is successful. The evaluation stage uses Kirkpatricks evaluation model to review the achievement of SHRD initiatives on performance management.

Recommendation

The franchise must improve its performance management in order to create competitive advantage. The HR department must establish itself as a strategic partner through its SHRD initiatives.

For effective performance management, the franchise should eliminate the high rates of qualified staff turnover by ensuring staff are satisfied at work. This shall guarantee that such salespersons will not want to leave the company. This is necessary for creating competitive advantage.

Rewards and recognition must also account for contributions of individual employees in order to reduce turnover of qualified salespersons. This process must account for interests of individual employees and the entire team.

Performance management in the franchise must be a continuous process. The franchise must review its KPIs in order to reflect changes in the industry and external factors. Constant evaluation of the new KPIs must provide further recommendations for improvements.

Training Recommendations

References

Barney, J. (1997). Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Barney, J. and Griffin, R. (1992). The management of organizations: Strategy, structure, behavior. Boston : Houghton Mifflin.

Becker, B., Ulrich, D. and Huselid, M. (2001). The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance. Boston: Harvard Business School.

Becker, G. (1994). Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education (3rd ed.). Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.

Bernthal, P. and Wellins, R. (2006). Trends in leader development and succession. Human Resource Planning, 29(2), 31-40.

Gratton, L., Hope-Hailey, V., Stiles, P. and Truss, C. (1999). Linking individual performance to business strategy: The people process model. Human Resource Management, 38 (1), 17-31.

Jensen, C. and Meckling, W. (1976). Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305-360.

Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1994). Evaluating Training Programs. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Mathis, L. and Jackson, H. (2011). Human Resource Management (13th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Mello, J. (2010). Strategic Human Resource Management, (3rd ed.). San Fransisco: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Miner, J. B. (2005). Organizational behavior I: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Nankervis, A., Compton, R., and Baird, M. (2005). Human resource management: Strategies and processes (5th ed.). Southbank, VIC: Thomson.

Schuler, R. and Jackson, S. (1987). Linking competitive strategies with human resource management practices. Academy of Management Executive, 1, 207-219.

Stone, R. (2010). Human Resource Management (7th ed.). Australia: John Wiley & Sons.

Wright, P. and McMahan, G. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18(295), 1-16.

Yorks, L. (2004). Strategic Human Resource Development. New York: Cengage Learning.

Proposal

This proposal involves the reasons for a company hiring a management consultant to develop the organizations strategic plan. A strategic plan is the long-term outline of the objectives that the organization aims to achieve. Therefore, it requires adequate planning and use of the correct expertise for its effectiveness.

A management consultant is an experienced professional and will be in a position to develop a satisfactory strategic plan for this organization. In developing the strategic plan, the management consultant will determine the SWOT of the organization. This involves examining the strengths of the organization to determine areas that the company can exploit for its benefit.

The strengths could include the meritorious image that the company has created with its customers and the favorable access to technology among others. The strengths will provide a competitive advantage to the organization.

A management consultant will then analyze the weaknesses of the organization. The weaknesses refer to those internal factors within the organization that hinder its growth. These weaknesses may include the inability of the company to access raw materials, high cost of production among other factors.

These factors reduce the ability of a company to succeed in its goals. Therefore, the management consultant will include the weaknesses of the company in the strategic plan. Opportunities are those external factors that the organization can exploit for growth and profit. These could be new technologies, a new production line or removal of trade barriers that benefit the organization.

Finally, it is necessary for the consultant to determine the external threats that can halt operations of the company. These threats could include new regulations, increased competition or loss of customers, which negatively affects the companys performance. It is crucial for the organization to therefore, analyze its SWOT in a strategic plan.

In developing the strategic plan, the management consultant will include specific items to ensure a workable plan. The vision of the organization is a key element in the strategic plan. It outlines the position where the organization expects to be in the future. The consultant will develop an attainable vision for the company.

The mission is another key element in the strategic plan. It outlines the objectives the organization aims to achieve in the future. These objectives should be measurable and realistic from the point of view of the company. They should be specific and attainable for the organization to succeed.

A management consultant will use the experience gained to develop an excellent mission. Another key area is to determine the core values of the organization. The values are the moral principles that the organization holds with its stakeholders. These are pivotal in establishing a rapport with the employees, consumers, suppliers, and the society. Values make a company acceptable in its line of business; therefore, they are fundamental elements in the strategic plan.

The consultant will also include strategies for the organization in the strategic plan. Strategies are the goals that the company aims to achieve, and the means to achieve those goals. These are crucial elements in the strategic plan, without which the company may not succeed.

Finally, the management consultant will develop a criterion through which the company can measure the success of the strategic plan. This criterion will enable the company to monitor the progress of the plan and determine if it achieves its objective. It will be possible to take corrective action in advance to reverse the situation. The organization, therefore, should hire a management consultant to develop its strategic plan.

Method

The method used in the proposal is the assertive style of communication. This method involves a person communicating his or her ideas in the appropriate manner. Assertive people know the right time to communicate, and the right things to say. Assertive communication involves a person expressing his or her ideas without offending others (Lloyd, 2001, p.111).

Assertive communication aims at creating mutual satisfaction for both parties involved in the conversation. A person communicates his or her opinions clearly in an assertive communication without being subjective. In the proposal, the management consultant seeks to develop the companys strategic plan.

The consultant gives the opinions on developing a workable plan without insisting that the company accept the proposal. This way of presenting ideas is the assertive communication that gives each party in an organization an opportunity to express their opinion.

Assertive communication is steady but fair, and strives for objectivity. The communicator stresses his or her point to the target audience, but does not force people to adopt the idea. This is a fantastic way of communicating in an organization and ensures teamwork. Assertive people are excellent team players and groups with assertive people achieve their goals in an organization.

The tone of voice in an assertive communication should be more convincing and acceptable to the target audience. The audience should get a conviction from reading the proposal and accept it as a workable proposal.

However, the communicator should be careful not to sound intimidating in the communication process. Assertive communication should also contain the right content of information (Peterson, 2000, p.121). The context of the information, the manner of saying it, and time are as valuable as the message itself in an assertive communication.

Assertive communication focuses on the subject of communication as opposed to a specified person. It involves the communicator stressing the point of discussion while giving supporting ideas for the chosen stand. It shows the benefits of adopting a certain point of view and disadvantages of the same.

This style of communication outlines the weaknesses of the organization and areas of concern to ameliorate the overall performance of the organization. It is not subjective to a specified person by analyzing their behavior, but focuses on the organizations goals and the means to achieve them.

Assertive communication involves people who know their rights and constantly advocate for them while being careful not to infringe on other peoples rights (Alberti, & Emmons, 2001, 123). The communicator proposes their ideas and sells them to other people urging them to accept.

Communicators sell their ideas without violating other peoples rights. In addition, the communicator can begin and maintain a close relationship with his or her audience in the event of communication. Through this relationship, the audience slowly adopts the point of view of the communicator. In the proposal, the management consultant builds a relationship with the audience by identifying with the organization.

This relationship enables the organization to understand the reasons for developing the outlined strategic plan by the management consultant. The organization will eventually examine the plan weighing its viability and finally adopt the plan. An assertive communicator adopts this downright way of achieving success in an organization without forcing anyone to accept the proposal.

According to Miller (2005, p.145), assertive communication is direct and honest. The communicator does not beat around the bush with statements but goes straight to the relevant ideas. The proposal for the management consultant is direct. The consultant outlines the model strategic plan that the organization should adopt.

The management consultant identifies the specifics of the strategic plan because that is the task assigned to this consultant. This is an excellent method of communication because the plan is direct to the organization. After reading the proposal, the organization decides whether to adopt the plan.

If it does not meet the specifics of the organization, the management consultant is always willing to compromise and negotiate. It is through further discussion with the management consultant that the organization will discover the benefits of adopting the strategic plan. An assertive communicator follows in this procedure in achieving success and communicating workable solutions to the organization.

The result of the communication is that the organization understands and respects the point of view of the communicator. The negotiation brings a win-win situation and everyones rights respected (Peterson, 2000, p.131).

However, not all situations deserve assertive communication. If the communication is sudden and unexpected, other people are likely to view it as aggressive. The context where an individual uses this form of communication is relevant because not all circumstances deserve this method of communication.

There is no guarantee of success even where assertive communication is used. The company may fail to adopt the proposed strategic plan however convincing it is. Other factors may cause the organizations failure to adopt the strategic plan. Therefore, the communicator should remain passive in such a situation.

References

Alberti, R. E., & Emmons, M. L. (2001). Your Perfect Right: Assertiveness and Equality In Your Life and Relationships. Impact Publishers.

Lloyd, S. R. (2001). Developing Positive Assertiveness: Practical Techniques for Personal Success. Crisp Learning.

Miller, K. (2005).Communication Theories: Perspectives, processes, and contexts. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Peterson, R. J. (2000). The Assertiveness Workbook: How to Express Your Ideas and Stand Up for Yourself at Work and in Relationships. New Harbinger Publications.

Introduction

A large number of taxpayers, not only in South Carolina but also in other parts of the world have the right to be made aware of the benefits they would obtain through entrusting their governments with huge amounts of money paid as tax. The government of South Carolina has been carrying out awareness campaigns to let people know that millions of dollars collected as tax go into proper use.

Evidently, every sector concerned with the welfare of the people gets a significant proportion of money for developmental purposes. The education sector is one of the sectors that have greatly benefited from government funding. The residents of South Carolina are not confident that their taxes go into good use. This is despite the government clarifying that it is fully accountable for every single cent collected as tax goes put into proper use.

Strategic Planning for Community Building

Numerous studies have been carried out to determine whether tax collected from the people is used for national development or not. A study carried out by Barron et al (2005), entitled The economic impact of public libraries on South Carolina for instance, was aimed at determining whether public libraries present any tangible benefits to South Carolinians.

This study was also aimed at determining the extent to which these people feel that public libraries contribute to their general economic wellbeing. Whereas some people argue that establishment of public libraries is an inappropriate use of public funds, it is important to note that a large number of people have greatly benefited from these national facilities.

The study by Barron et al (2005) utilized data obtained from different people with reference to the general use of public libraries, the use of libraries for business purposes, the use of public libraries for personal investments, in addition to their use for job seeking in order to come up with an unbiased conclusion. It was argued that a large number of those who made use of public libraries had positive perceptions towards these facilities.

Many people agree that the benefits public libraries present to members of their families cannot be compared to any other social service. This study was necessitated by claims by the American Library Association that those working in public libraries were not providing users with quality services.

The principal aim of this study was bringing to light the importance of all relevant parties demonstrating continued interest and also commitment to the public libraries. This issue is of national interest since it offers students and the public at large an opportunity to take part in meaningful scholarship that besides being of personal interest enables students to participate in public services (Hopper, 2012).

Despite the positive perceptions of many towards libraries, some people still argue that these facilities are only meant to benefit a few and, therefore, cannot be categorized as economically viable strategies. It is, however, important to note that a good measure of value for any service is obtained only by those who make use of it.

Some of the benefits associated with public libraries, as outlined by Barron et al (2005), include: Improvement of the quality of life, attraction of new businesses to the community, nurturing love for reading among the people, assisting people to manage personal finances, increasing local property value, and attracting patronage to local investments. This is in addition to enhancing personal fulfillment.

These facilities have also been shown to act as a source of employment. They are also believed to introduce users to novel technologies and assist them with life-long learning among others. Respondents in the study by Barron et al (2005) made it clear that monetary value cannot be placed on life-long learning, and information obtained from various sources in the library play a significant role of promoting a healthy, as well as a vibrant community.

Despite some people arguing that libraries are not economically viable, it should be noted that the establishment of these facilities falls under some of the government strategies directed towards benefiting the general community. The government aims at reducing knowledge gap that exists between the people through the establishment of public libraries.

Public libraries act as channel through which the rift between elites and the local people can be bridged so as to fulfill the governments principal aim of enhancing the local peoples intellectual capacity (Stueart & Moran, 2007). It should be noted that the local people face a great deal of challenges, some of which include: Poverty, crime, ethnic crisis, and educational challenges. These challenges call for solid solutions to manage them.

These challenges are believed to dominate the local problem solving plans. A number of social and economic factors have been shown to hamper the efforts to generate practical solutions to these problems (Nelson, 2009).

The establishment of a public library has been recognized by many, including academicians, as a practical way through which most of these challenges can be counteracted. The people become empowered through increasing their intellectual capacity, and as a result, they are able to generate solid solutions to most of their problems (Gardner et al. 2000).

Establishment of a public library acts as an approach which, if combined with others, can offer a strong building block when putting up a novel model of community democracy. It has been revealed that a substantial number of businesspeople who have access to information in public libraries agree to having recorded huge successes in their ventures (McClure & Jaeger, 2009).

Construction of public libraries in many countries has been recognized as one of the major government ventures, which translates to proper utilization of taxes. These facilities are believed to have the potential to enhance economic growth of individuals and also the nation. Investors make clear that information on almost 90% of all investments made in a certain region is obtained from public libraries (Barron et al 2005).

It is supposed that information from public libraries enable people to come up with economically viable decisions. In addition, it should be noted that a large number of people do not have the financial capacity to purchase some of the most important books in the market. Most of these books are availed at an affordable charge in the libraries.

It is approximated that users spend over $100 million to purchase intellectual materials. Research has revealed that this cost can be reduced to about 26$ million by establishing a public library. Therefore, public libraries provide people with an affordable means through which they can acquire relevant information (Barron et al 2005).

Even though a large amount of money is used to establish and fully equip a public library, financial resources that can be earned as a service charge from these facilities exceed the cost of establishment by far. Public libraries have been shown to have the capacity to generate over $5 million dollars per year as service charges.

It is no doubt that the benefits generated from public libraries can be enjoyed by generations to come. Regardless of such a fact, some people are still opposed to the establishment of a public library, arguing that such an initiative does not benefit all groups of people compared to other social and academic activities (Nelson, Altman & Mayo, 2000).

The initiative to establish a public library is a well thought out strategy that calls for the participation of a large number of stakeholders. It is a strategy that, in addition to incorporating feedback from diverse segments of the community, has quantifiable objectives and is realistic for the entire nation (Hawkins et al. 2001).

Establishment of a public library is an extensive process that calls for efforts from different players. Peer reviewers, for instance, in addition to working in collaboration with the directors as well as the people, carry out assessments of the plan and the process by looking at any relevant data.

Reviewers, on the other hand, request for more information concerning various sections of the plan to determine whether it meets the stipulated guidelines. Assessments are also carried out to determine whether the principal objectives of the plan stretch library services over the future.

Therefore, arguments by some sections of society that transforming a community building into a public library are misguided and do not have a solid base. Public libraries, on the contrary, have been shown to enhance the schooling efforts of a large number of people. Large numbers of retirees and those who study at home rely on public libraries for information (Marco, 2011).

Strategic planning for a community building should not be left to a group of people, but rather it should be taken as a responsibility of all pertinent parties. The team involved should come up with a logical, as well as relevant plan for the building. The board should ensure that the interest of stakeholders is represented and the course for the library is steered to successful completion (Webber & Peters, 2010).

Albeit establishment of a public library being an effective strategy through which social and economic challenges that emanate from misguided decisions can be solved, it is not a bullet solution to all community problems. Firstly, it requires allocation of a large amount of money. It is argued that it may take many years before the community starts reaping the benefits associated with a public library (Matthews, 2005).

Some people also argue that other means can be made use of to counteract environmental challenges, dysfunctional politics and efficiently address local maladies in place of public libraries. These people point out that there is need for all sectors of the community to work in harmony towards a common goal.

It has also been argued that considering public libraries have a budget to adhere to, their selection on resources becomes limited. There are higher chances of public libraries becoming victims of censorship. Some resources in the library may be banned if they contain sections with a higher possibility of creating controversy compared to other materials (Nelson, 2008). Since the tax is the main source of support for these facilities, they are left with no choice but to yield to these controversies.

It can, however, be concluded that that strategy to transform a public building into a public library is an economically viable approach. Public libraries have the potential to enhance the intellectual capacity of the people, thereby increasing their ability to make rational economic decisions.

References

Barron, D. R. et al. (2005). The economic impact of public libraries on South Carolina. Web.

Gardner, J. W. et al. (2000). The community commissioning and strategic planning handbook, New York, NY: National Civic League Press.

Hawkins, M. et al. (2001). Value and use of public libraries. Public Library Journal, 16(2), 35-37.

Hopper, L. (2012). Sustainable public libraries. Web.

Marco, G. A. (2011). The American public library handbook. Santa Barbara: California, ABC-CLIO.

Matthews, J. R. (2005). Strategic planning and management for library managers. Mahwah, NJ: Libraries Unlimited.

McClure, C. R. & Jaeger, P. T. (2009). Public libraries and internet service roles: Measuring and maximizing internet services. New York, NY: ALA Editions.

Nelson, S. (2008). Strategic planning for results. Chicago: American Library Association, 2008. For the Public Library Association.

Nelson, S. (2009). Implementing for results: Your strategic plan in action. New York, NY: ALA Editions.

Nelson, S. S., Altman, E. & Mayo, D. (2000). Managing for results: Effective resource allocation for public libraries. New York, NY: ALA Editions.

Stueart, R. D. & Moran B. B. (2007). Library and information center management. Mahwah, NJ: Libraries Unlimited.

Webber, D. & Peters, A. (2010). Integrated library systems: Planning, selecting, and implementing. Santa Barbara: California, ABC-CLIO.

Strategic planning is a tool used by businesses and organizations, to guide their operations. It is a long term process of defining a companys strategy, direction, and ways of distributing resources, so as to achieve objectives with maximum efficiency.

It presents a companys mission, vision, core values, and to some extent, the strategy used by a company, to achieve its goals (Bryson, 2011). There are different models of strategic planning.

This paper looks at two models; issue-based and alignment models, in a bid to show their similarities and differences. Thereafter, it shows how the issue-based model can be used by a nursing institution.

People often say that failing to plan is planning to fail. This shows why strategic planning is vital for both public and non-profit organizations (Burkhart & Reuss, 1993). There are five models of strategic planning; basic, issue-based, alignment, scenario, and organic planning models.

Issue-based and alignment models are common. The two require a company to define its mission and resources. They also guide a company on identifying their problems, and possible solutions.

Many companies prefer issue-based model because of the effectiveness. It requires a company to perform internal, as well as external SWOT analysis of its issues (Bryson, 2011).

It also guides a company on identifying its goals and strategies for achieving these goals. If the model is to be successful, an organization must update its mission, vision, and values, between 10-20 years, for better operational management.

The model also involves identifying possible solutions to problems. The issues (problems) and ideas (solutions) get compiled into a strategic plan and implemented thereafter.

The company then undertakes monitoring of the implementation process, and this acts as a check and balance in understanding the goals met. In this case, customers are significant indicators of a companys failure or success.

The alignment model, on the other hand, enables a company to align itself on its mission and available resources, in a way that aids in achievement of its objectives (Burkhart & Reuss, 1993). Companies experiencing many internal challenges use it (Bryson, 2011).

It requires an organization to identify areas that need adjustments. After identification of these adjustments, the company goes ahead to identify their making. First, they have to be added onto the strategic plan, before implementation.

The issue-based approach can be used by a nursing institution. This is an institution that requires expansion of services and bed capacity, as the number of patients increases. There is a growing need for healthcare services, and this should be the first issue to be identified by the nursing institution.

The administrators ought to identify the resources that are available for this growing need. Such resources include; finances, number of beds, and staff. This ought to be followed by a SWOT analysis whereby the management identifies its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.

Its strengths lie on quality medical care, while weaknesses arise from lack of careful planning on how to meet the health needs of all patients. Its opportunities are likely to be determined by interactions with non-governmental organizations, which are likely to give it funds for various services.

Threats arise from competing with other nursing institutions. Once a nursing institution identifies these issues, it goes ahead to suggest ways of addressing these issues. It should incorporate these issues and ideas onto its strategic plan, implement the ideas, and oversee the complete implementation process.

In conclusion, strategic planning is part and parcel of a successful company. It guides an organization on the path to follow so as to achieve its goals.

A company that lacks a strategic plan is less likely to achieve its objectives. This essay advises companies administrators to be at the forefront of effective goal achievement, by ensuring formulation and implementation of remarkable strategic plans.

References

Bryson, J. (2011). Strategic Planning for Public and Non-profit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement (4^th Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Burkhart, P. & Reuss, S. (1993). Successful Strategic Planning: A Guide for Non-profit Agencies and Organizations. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

Introduction

Strategic planning involves an objective assessment of the envisioned goals, aims and objectives in a given organization. Strategic planning helps an organization to achieve its vision and mission and to also make resourceful decisions about its present work and future developments.

This paper seeks to establish the relevance of strategic planning in an academic institution especially in the management of affairs affecting students in an academic context. What are some of the strategic issues that affect students? Students in an academic set up are usually faced by challenges that need to be addressed by their schools administrations.

The administrations are therefore charged with the responsibilities of carefully planning for the needs of their students to avert unnecessary confrontations and unrests from the students. Some of the issues that need to be considered by the administrations include setting up of workable students councils that address the issues of students.

They have to represent the students in matters that touch on fees, disciplinary policies, academic and social issues. Managing strategic issues Students have to keenly understand the main purposes of their schools administrations. This helps in the full adherence of the laid down rules and regulations. The specific schools should also produce sufficient brochures and pamphlets so as to distribute them to students.

Students can then be made to understand why and how the schools administrations work. As much as the students would like to engage their respective school administrations through their representative bodies such as the students councils, most of them fail to understand the bases of their existences apart from primarily acting as watchdogs for students injustices.

The councils are constituted of the various elected students in the specified fields. Each one of them deals with different departments or ministries depending on the schools terms of policies. They vividly air the problems facing their fellow students and look for available solutions at hand. The students councils come in handy when the students feel discriminated or ignored in some of the universities decisions.

These include; restrictive conduct of students in their hostels and students centers. Students usually wonder if the criteria used in the deliverances of the daily lectures are justified. Most of the students would like to think that lectures should be given depending on the modules of the specific units.

Some units are usually overemphasized while their content is easily understandable while others are left to the students discretions since they contain bulky information. Universities should try to manage their activities and programs without any external interference.

Many students dislike the idea of being supervised by external tutors especially foreign people or scholars recommend to them by their schools. Legislations should be properly made and enacted internally. This creates confidence among students.

All students should be made to understand that their primary roles are to nurture their talents and abilities through the acquisition of meaningful education. They should not be misled into vices such as drug abuse and trafficking, drunkenness, mischief of any kind or unruly behaviors.

One of the crucial issues that should be agreed upon is the issue of fees. Many students across the country tend to question the credibility of paying specific amounts of fees to the respective institutions. Some would like to argue that the schools decisions are highly unjustified and that the rates should be slashed and reduced to fair levels.

The duties of the students bodies are to identify the rates that are not conducive and hence unfavorably raised by their institutions. The vision, goals and objectives of strategic planning A vision is usually the future plan of an organization or institution. The organizational goals are the expected end results towards which institutional resources and activities are directed.

An objective is something that you plan to achieve. Strategic planning is based on three principles: What do we do? For whom do we do it? And, how do we excel?

One of the fundamental goals of a student is to achieve exemplary academic results at the end of the course. Another goal is to hold high levels of self esteem and be an industrious individual. One would also wish to be an important member of the society by being accepted in the job market.

One of the objectives of these goals is to ensure that there is increased efficiency in both the students and tutors. Students will have to maximize the available resources and time so as to achieve their desired performances. This will definitely lead to the production of good work and desired end results.

Students will have to increase their effectiveness. This means that students will be able to produce the intended results. Laziness should be discouraged and condemned as all the students should have meaningful purposes of their education. Students should also thrive to become competent personnel and human resources for others.

Another important objective is to improve ones communication and public relations. This helps in the general relations with the common public and work colleagues. The peaceful co-existence of people is very important for the development purposes and meaningful economic growth.

Importance of strategic planning Strategic planning helps students in academic institutions to understand their weaknesses. It also helps them to recognize their strengths, opportunities and the difficulties that they are likely to face.

An organization or institution that does not specify its vision or goals can be equated to an omnibus that does not have the seats. A student will also be able to evaluate his current situation so as to predict the future. This also helps a student to measure his or her gradual progress.

Conclusion

The goals and objectives of a student should be able to map his or her future and continuous assessment of the progress made.