Assignment 5: HR Project Management Final Team Report Due Week 10 and worth 200 points You are now ready to present to management a final report on establishing a project team and project phases neede

Running head: ORGANIZING HR PROJECTS 0

Strategic Planning

Larry Ratliff

HRM 517

Strayer University

April 27, 2020

Professor J Young

Strategic planning includes ways, activities, or plans set up by the management team to help in sustaining the growth of the organization through guiding developments of programs and building solid financial foundations. Strategic planning is crucial within an organization as it helps in the realization of short and long-term goals (Cassidy, 2016). Since this company has had downsizes in maintaining standards, the cost of embedding HR generalists, and frustrations within business units, there is a need for this strategic planning. This centralized model of delivering HR services will need a team so that the initiation of need changes can be done. This paper provides a brief description of how strategic planning will apply to initiate these changes.

Steps of strategic planning

The general goal for strategic planning is developing a plan that can help in achieving the overall goals of an organization. Different steps were proposed to help in realization of the set objectives and goals (Cassidy, 2016). Discussed and described the following strategic planning steps: strategic analysis, guiding principles, strategic objectives, flow-down objectives, and portfolio alignment.

1. Strategic Analysis

Strategic analysis includes identifying and evaluating relevant data. In an organization, there are internal and external environments that need to be analyzed so that the ability to influence performance can be established. In this stage, the SWOT analysis is applied (Gürel, & Tat, 2017). This entails the identification of strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. The reason for analyzing the external environment is to seek knowledge pertaining to threats as well as opportunities (Cassidy, 2016). The threats, risks, and opportunities within an organization are usually resulted by stakeholders' presence or members of the organization, for example, the employees. Through a critical evaluation of the environment, it's easier to understand what strongholds are there in the current competing positions.

1. Guiding Principles

Guiding principle as the second step within strategic planning involves modeling and designing missions and visions (Cassidy, 2016). Within this step, concepts and even ideas are formulated to help in bringing up a framework that will be used in strategic planning. This step is useful since the organization will be able to know where more effort and focus need to be put; so that the desired outcome can be met and achieved and also not to lead the organization astray. A vision is a vividly described statement concerning the future of the organization. Through the vision statement, employees are able to work towards a certain goal bearing in mind the cons and pros. Vision statements are also created or made to enhance the standard values that will help stakeholders work in harmony and embrace trustworthiness.

The mission statement, on the other hand, is retrieved from the vision statement; this is where the core purposes and values within an organization are entailed. The values within the mission statement are representations of how employees, staff members, and other people within the organization should act and treat each other. The organization's culture and beliefs are found in the mission statement.

1. Strategic Objectives

Strategic objectives are plans that show how good it is to implement the mission of an organization. These plans include realistic and measurable goals and which, in the long run, will translate to the purpose of the business. Strategic planning is a blueprint of decisions. This is because the applicable resources of the project are named as well as their specific areas of allocation.

1. Flow-down Objectives

Flow-down objectives are integrated ideas. This integration takes part between the new and existing ideas so that continuous improvement of systems can be provided. All people should be involved at this stage since the process of implementation is ongoing. The objectives are too clearly defined. In this step, the SMART model is utilized so that the objectives can be specific, measured, achieved, relevant, and time-bound.

1. Portfolio Alignment

The fifth step is portfolio alignment. This step includes an evaluation of the project to determine the benefits and purposes of the project. The project is looked at closely to give answers on how it fits an organization. The rate of success within an organization is improved due to the presence of the portfolio alignment. The reason for this is that the short and long-term goals align with the organization's goals. Also, with portfolio alignment, an organization will be able to admission if a project is of good quality and how the chances of feasibility or viability fair before its implementation.

Importance of Strategic Planning Steps

The above-listed steps give clear directions of where the undergoing project is headed. There will be no or fewer mistakes during the implementation of the stages. Embedding an HR generalist meant that the organization was using a lot of money. So, it was hard to maintain standards and frustrations kept knocking, but now because the above steps will be applied, it will be hard to work outside specific scopes such as cost. These steps are also essential in this project since the organization will be provided with a sense of direction. The motivation will also be high due to predictability.

Mission and Vision of the Project

I choose a gas and oil company for this project. An appropriate vision statement for this company should read "to be a probe and an invention company with a global reference point for innovators and tycoons." The mission statement of the company should read, "Customer satisfaction must administer our thinking ways at all levels as well as all aspects of the company." The team should be able to understand the mission and vision statements since much of its content is based on the performance standards as well as metrics of the objectives they are to achieve. The vision and vision statements will be providing the team with treasured directions and guidance on where the project is headed. Since the vision above states, the company should be a probe and an invention one, it's giving the end goal of the project.

A Project Charter

A project charter is describable as a document providing a project description. Within this document, information about the project, such as proposed objectives, the process of implementation, and stakeholders involved are listed (Martin, & Haggerty, 2017). This type of document is exceptionally vital throughout the entire project cycle. The document has crucial information that is needed to commence a project. It also makes sure the project manager will understand the requirements and needs of the sponsor, which includes how to use resources within the organization to carry on with the project (Martin, & Haggerty, 2017). A project charter states requirements that will satisfy the needs of stakeholders.

Character Elements in the Project Charter

1. Scope

Some character elements that are essential within a project charter comprise of scope, understanding the risk, and definition of roles and responsibilities (Martin & Haggerty 2017). The project scope determines and helps in documenting tasks that need to be carried on, specific set objectives and goals, costs, and deliverables (Bryson, Edwards, & Van Slyke, 2018). If a project's scope is now well defined, then consequences will be that the project will not even commence or get implemented.

1. Role and responsibilities

The role and responsibilities are very crucial within this document. Since projects are sophisticated or complex, there needs to be a clear definition of who is responsible for what (Martin, & Haggerty, 2017). It is vital that members participating in the project should know and understand their roles so that by the end of the day, someone will be responsible for insufficient deliverables or inferior work. Since the project charter is a document, it comprises a list of all members with each member taking a particular task, and this makes it easier for a manager to specify individuals who were not careful with their work.

1. Understanding risks

There is also the element of understanding risks. Before or during seeking project approval, it's important to thoroughly identify risks that may result in a project to fail (Martin, & Haggerty, 2017). It's obvious that nobody likes starting something, then at the end of it, negative results are the outcomes. Everyone gets to enjoy project prospects when the project is drawn up. It would also be too sad for stakeholders to see something they put too much energy, income, and time going down or failing. Certain risks need to be overlooked in an overly optimistic and positive manner. By thoroughly identifying risks within a project, the project charter gains strengths. When project managers identify these risks before the project commences, it means that they fully understand the project and explain that there is a deep understanding of the whole project and the project's main agendas when threats or risks are clearly identified (Martin & Haggerty 2017).

Statement of emphasis

Strategic planning is a very crucial element within an organization. A strategic plan, pamphlets everything concerning a business, and that's why it's a vital tool (Bryson, Edwards, & Van Slyke, 2018). A business, organization, or company that has been downsizing should use the steps of strategic planning for a successful project. The steps are so vital because they name the mission, vision as well as values within an organization. The strategic analysis step, for example, is essential when designing a strategic plan because this is where the strengths and weaknesses of the organization are listed.

Also, I would like to stress on the project charter, vision, and mission. These are critical items within a project; in fact, they are the backbone. Understanding these three aspects will basically pronounce success and misunderstanding. Having inadequate knowledge about them will lead to failure. The vision of an organization, for example, gives an understanding of the organization's future environment, thus pushing employees to work to individual goals (Bryson, Edwards, & Van Slyke, 2018). Vision statements also enhance team or group work because it's more efficient to work with a similar sense of dissection. When a vision is developed, there will be an improvement of values; thus, there is behavior regulation and fewer conflicts. This is also because there are organizational norms that guide the members.

Mission statements are also too important because they are navigational tools designed when thinking about the future of an organization. For example, in this gas and oil company, a lot hasn't been working out, and the company needs change, so the mission statement is describing the company's future. This statement is a bedrock as it will identify the purpose of the company's work and in what way the company should move. A project charter too is a vital tool since it carries the whole project; otherwise, without this document, the project will be fictitious (Martin, & Haggerty, 2017). The document is a project's guideline.

References

Bryson, J. M., Edwards, L. H., & Van Slyke, D. M. (2018). Getting strategic about strategic planning research. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14719037.2017.1285111

Cassidy, A. (2016). A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gX8qBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=steps+of+strategic+planning+&ots=TvJHvsU3tY&sig=45EMWF0ty8C19LgbxeInUkaF8fk

Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research, 10(51). Retrieved from http://sosyalarastirmalar.com/cilt10/sayi51_pdf/6iksisat_kamu_isletme/gurel_emet.pdf

Martin, J., & Haggerty, N. (2017). The Project Charter as a Sensemaking Device. Retrieved from https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2017/ITProjMgmt/Presentations/12/