An Over-view of Planning and Strategic Management

In a social gathering at my Kebele where I was observing a tennis tournament, it so happened that I left the group that I had sat with, and joined another circle when I noticed another friend whom I was eager to meet. Thereafter, when that fiend of mine started talking with me, the third man pulled his chair away and sat alone. My friend, who felt uncomfortable asked, “Why do you go away? There is no secret to hide, we are only talking about our ‘Eder’. The man retorted, “I know, you wouldn’t have anything else to talk about at your present age.” (Eder is a social organization established by a group of community people to manage their dead and to mourn together with the bereaved family, and to help one another in times of other needs).
At a time when there are many erudite young thinkers to hit the drum of knowledge, it may seem strange and deafening for some, when elderly people appear into the picture to beat the same drum. But, the 21st century democratization process and the reality of globalization make the linkage of opinions between the young and the old a necessary factor in bridging the generation-gap. As it is said correctly, “in youth we learn; in age we understand,” it is incumbent upon the experienced to share their accumulated knowledge with the young.
When thinking about planning and strategic management, I think it is essential to take off from the ‘power-map- to see vividly “the integrative systems model of management.” What is called ‘integrative system’s model’ is a scientific arrangement of the power-map; that is, the areas of one’s total control, the areas of influence and the areas of networking, which shape out the “strategic planning process model”
The vision of a company is crystallized in its mission statement. Then the mission statement is transformed into the implementation phase by setting goals through the ‘strategic planning process model,’ via conscious decision-making processes. Hence, achieving of the goals through long-term strategic planning and short-term functional planning becomes management’s sphere of interest.
However, for the short-lived purpose of this paper, which I view it as an important reminder to those involved in any field of Ethiopia’s development effort, focus should be given to the ‘power-map’ to facilitate clarity in planning and strategic management. After all, to understand about planning and strategic management, it only takes a strong manager to clearly observe the systems approach to management, if necessary, via the ‘communication-model.’ This is important because the interplay of inputs and outputs and feed-back that may cause at times redesigning or reengineering of the integrative systems, is a matter that is influenced by internal and external variables. It includes opportunities, constraints, competition, employees’ and consumers’ whims, suppliers’ and shareholders’ aspirations, government’s and community’s expectations, human, capital and managerial skill formation, and the level of knowledge and technological requirements.
For instance, who would have believed that mobile phones would penetrate the Ethiopian market in such a pace and dimension before their advent? On the other hand, who would have thought that the Dashen Visa Card would have been such a popular and a convenient market tool before its advent? If I haven’t had the card on me and if Glorious Co. was not networked, I wouldn’t have bought my washing machine outright the moment I saw the commodity. I only wish that more shops were familiarized with the POS terminals. Like-wise, e-commerce is becoming an effective means in shortening long processes and eliminating intermediary market actors in the delivery of commodities at reasonable prices. I think, farther penetration into the market will be within the purview of strategic planners, inasmuch as ensuring the systems approach to management is the primary concern of the conscious manager.
Generally speaking, strategy as a grand plan had its origin in ancient Greece. The word “strategeia” in Greek mean the art and science of being a general. Then effective Greek Generals were always at the front to lead an army, win a war, and protect the Greek cities from invasion by adversaries. Thus, each of these objectives required different deployment of resources. For the Greek generals, an army’s strategy was defined as the pattern of actual actions to be taken in response to the enemy’s strength.
The Greek generals then knew that strategy was more than fighting battles. Effective generals had to think in terms of the supply line, had to decide when to enter a theatre of war and when to recede, and when and how their armies had to establish relationship with citizens, politicians, and diplomats. In short, the concept of strategy had both a planning component and a decision-making or action component. Taken together, these two concepts form the basis of the-modern-day strategic planning.