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Strategic Plan Analysis

Learner’s Name

Capella University

EDD8506: Adult Education Administration

Instructor Name

January 1, 2021

Strategic Plan Analysis

A brief overview of strategic planning leadership and management is presented in the

paper. This is followed by an overview of the Tracy Family Foundation (TFF) and an analysis of

the TFF’s Long Range Strategic Plan Final Report 2020 – 2024 (The Tracy Family Foundation,

n.d.). The characteristics of the strategic plan are outlined. The concept of strategic planning and

its components are introduced. The prospective capacities of the plan are explored, resulting in

recommendations to improve the plan.

Strategic Planning Leadership and Management

Strategic planning is simply a set of concepts, procedures, and tools designed to help

executives, managers, and others to think, act, and learn strategically on behalf of their

organizations and the stakeholders of their organizations (Bryson, 2018). In other words,

strategic planning in higher education institutions is perceived as a tool to articulate the

institutional mission and vision, help prioritize resources, and promote organizational focus.

Strong, competent leadership is essential to the success of a strategic plan in higher education. In

such an environment, it is preferable that the president of the institution chair the strategic

planning committee (SPC). The presence of the president is critical because it provides

integrated leadership and support as the group goes through the strategic planning process. A

president with good strategic sense can bring together not only all aspects of the institution’s

operations but also any concerns of the governing board (Hinton, 2012).

Senior administrative staff are included as permanent members in the SPC. In higher

education institutions, academic staff and students are included in the SPC. Students are given

limited terms to account for those who would graduate before the end of the strategic plan’s

term. SPC members can be drawn from leadership positions, such as president of the faculty or

president of the student association. Members from such positions provide additional benefits of

distribution of information and access to readily identified groups of stakeholders. Finally, while

the governing board is responsible for approving the strategic plan and monitoring it at the policy

level, the president reports to the governing board and therefore will be required to explain,

advocate, and interpret the plan to the satisfaction of the board (Hinton, 2012).

In higher education institutions, leadership is a behavior used to enhance member

motivation by bringing individual and institutional interests together and to continuously

communicate and clarify the vision, which becomes the focus of the institution’s culture. It

should be clear from the outset that leadership can occur at any level of the institution. The key

to leadership is that the leader facilitates social processes for the rest of the institution on a

continuous basis, using the institution’s vision as the focus. This element is critical to the

implementation of a strategic plan, based as it is on a shared vision (Hinton, 2012).

Although some scholars would argue that manager and leadership roles are mutually

exclusive, others believe the opposite. Managers can possess leadership characteristics, and

leaders can display traits of managers (Cox, 2016). Table 1 illustrates some similarities and

differences between the roles of leadership and management. The success of an institution-wide

strategic plan depends on the involvement of staff members from across various levels of

hierarchy in the institution in every step of the process from information gathering to execution.

In fact, mid-level managers are the ones chiefly responsible for the ultimate contours of any

strategic plan as it unfolds through the actual experience of the organization (King & Alperstein,

2018).

Table 1

Similarities and Differences Between Leadership and Management Roles

Leadership Role Similarities Management Role

• Deals with promoting

change and

adaptability

• Problem-solving skills • Deals with complexity

and establishes

control and

predictability

• Involved in setting the

direction for success

• Motivational skills • Involved in creating

budgets and

implementing plans

• Involved in

strengthening

commitment to the

organizational vision

• Analytical skills • Involved in

organizing and

staffing

• Relies on persuasion

and influence

• Listening skills • Relies on control and

devises effective

action

The Tracy Family Foundation

The TFF was founded in December 1997 by 24 members of the second generation of the

Tracy family as a tribute to their parents, Robert and Dorothy Tracy. At present, the third and

fourth generations of the Tracy family continue to engage in the TFF. The TFF is supported by

Dot Foods, the largest food redistributor in the United States, owned and operated by the Tracy

family. The TFF has awarded nearly 5,000 grants of more than $30 million to organizations

serving their communities (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.).

Characteristics of Tracy Family Foundation’s Strategic Plan

The TFF sent surveys out to their grantees in 2019 with the intention of gathering the data

needed to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. This

approach enables the TFF to analyze its internal and external environments. The strengths and

weaknesses of the institution are derived from analyzing the internal environment of the

institution. The obstacles and threats of the institution are derived from analyzing the external

environment of the institution. The insights gleaned from the SWOT analysis are used to

determine the areas of focus for the strategic plan.

The TFF’s mission is to “advance innovative, collaborative, and sustainable change in

communities and cultivate a philanthropic spirit in all generations of the Robert and Dorothy

Tracy family” (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d., p. 2). The vision for the TFF is a “world

where communities thrive, and families flourish with all generations of the Robert and Dorothy

Tracy family giving and serving together” (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d., p.2). At the core

of the TFF’s values are family, faith, education, leadership, and community. These values are

elaborated below.

• Family: The Tracy family believes that strong values shape healthy families, and healthy

families create thriving communities.

• Faith: The Christian faith of the Tracy family influences the work of the TFF.

• Education: The Tracy family believes that quality education opens doors to new worlds and

new possibilities.

• Leadership: The Tracy family believes that better leaders help make better communities.

• Community: The Tracy family believes in fostering strong communities.

The TFF’s Long Range Strategic Plan Final Report 2020 – 2024 (LRSP) began with the

establishment of goal statements for each of the TFF’s funding focus areas. The goal statements

clarify what the TFF aims to accomplish by investing in the focus areas. After the goal

statements are formulated, the TFF staff work to arrive at the most suitable change theories for

each focus area. These theories of change include measurable outcomes that signal when a goal

has been reached (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.). Finally, the TFF staff develop the

strategic actions that the TFF will take over the duration of the LRSP to achieve the desired

outcomes and move the selected indicators (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.). The TFF

identified the following five focus areas in the LRSP.

• Brown County: The goal of this focus area is to establish Brown County as an attractive

community to live in. Key indicators of success include academic measures of performance

of Brown County students through K–12 as well as postsecondary education enrollment rates

(The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.).

• Education: The goal of this focus area is to nurture learning communities capable of inspiring

learners, leaders, and problem-solvers. The key indicators of success include the readiness of

students to perform at the grade-level requirements. They also include indicators on

improving the designation of education institutions funded by the TFF, teacher retention

rates, and indicators of student test score levels for SAT, ELA, and Math (The Tracy Family

Foundation, n.d.).

• Families: The goal of this focus area is to foster strong, healthy, and resilient families. The

key indicators of success for this focus area include measures that monitor the increase in the

number of married couples, divorce rates, and family community engagement (The Tracy

Family Foundation, n.d.).

• Youth: The goal of this focus area is to foster strong, healthy, and resilient youth. Key

indicators of success include measures of emotional health, spirituality, goal setting,

leadership skills, and health (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.).

• Mental health: This is a new focus area for the TFF. At the time of publication of the LRSP,

the goals and key indicators of success were yet to be determined (The Tracy Family

Foundation, n.d.).

Strategic Planning

A strategic plan is a comprehensive road map for implementing a company’s statement of

mission so that it can reach the position defined by its vision. The strategies are first defined for

each individual growth or performance area and then aligned functionally. A strategic plan may

have a duration of 3 to 5 years, depending on the organization’s needs and projection of future

events (Jakhotiya, 2017).

The initial SWOT analysis and the conclusions based on strategic inquiry should be

reviewed for vital information. A strategic plan should be prepared by the top management of an

organization under the leadership of its CEO. The group constitutes a strategic planning team

(SPT). The SPT teams and subteams are responsible for implementation of strategies along with

monitoring and measurement of performances in their respective functional areas. A proper

structure for reviewing a strategic plan on a quarterly basis is critical. The review process should

lead to recommendations for improvements in executing the plan strategies. (Jakhotiya, 2017).

Strategic Planning Prerequisites

Strategic planning should be based on the thorough knowledge of the present and potential

strengths and weaknesses of an organization. Planners should consider possible opportunities and

future threats. The present performance of various business verticals and functional departments

should be thoroughly understood by those who are responsible for conducting strategic planning

exercises (Jakhotiya, 2017).

Among the various approaches and techniques adopted in the strategic planning process is

SWOT analysis (illustrated in Figure 1). This approach is used to carefully analyze and evaluate

two critical environments: the internal and external environments (Ololube et al., 2016).

Strengths denote favorable internal features that the institution can utilize to accomplish its

strategic aims. Weaknesses are internal factors that limit goal accomplishment. Opportunities are

features of the external environment that will help the institution realize its goals. Threats are

features of the external environment that might hinder the institution from accomplishing its

goals (Ololube et al., 2016). As a prerequisite for the LRSP, the feedback from the surveys sent

to TFF grantees was used to compile a list of strengths and opportunities only (illustrated in

Figure 2). This could be indicative of family foundations that often give to a narrow and

sometimes idiosyncratic range of causes or institutions that are dear to the family (Feliu &

Botero, 2015) and are therefore unconcerned with threats from competition.

Figure 1

SWOT Analysis

Note. This figure illustrates the elements of a typical SWOT analysis. They are strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. All elements are necessary to understand an

organization’s internal and external environments.

Internal Environment External Environment

Institution’s Current Situation

Strengths Opportunities

Threats Weaknesses

Figure 2

TFF’s SWOT Analysis

Note. This figure illustrates a variation of the SWOT analysis used in the LRSP. It uses only two

of the four elements of a typical SWOT analysis, namely strengths and opportunities.

Components of a Strategic Plan

Strategic plans have various components, with each component filling a particular need.

These components serve as planning tools that can be utilized either independently or in groups.

The development of these components is usually a linear progression. The planning process

ensures these individual components are aligned with each other and are mutually supportive

(Hinton, 2012).

Internal Environment External Environment

TFF’s Current

Situation

Strengths Opportunities

Figure 3

Components of a Strategic Plan

The mission statement, while not a technical part of the strategic plan, is the foundation

because the strategic plan must align with the mission. The first half of the TFF’s mission centers

on advancing innovative, collaborative, and sustainable change in communities, more

specifically, the communities within Brown County. The mission manifests in the focus areas or

goals determined by the TFF, such as a focus on education, family, youth, and mental health

within Brown County (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.). A vision statement, institutional

goals, and an optional values statement form the supporting documents that establish the context

for the strategic plan. These supporting documents provide specific points of guidance in the

planning process. The vision statement is the expression of the institution’s aspiration based on

an analysis of the institution’s environment. The TFF’s vision is to promote the development of

thriving communities and families, which the Tracy family believes can be achieved through

values such as faith, education, and leadership (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.). Institutional

goals provide the means for evaluating progress toward the vision, and values statements

describe the manner in which the institution will work to achieve its goals (Hinton, 2012).

•Mission StatementFoundation

•Values

•Institutional Goals

•Vision

Supporting Components

•Goals and Objectives

•Implementation PlanStrategic Plan

Goals and Strategies of a Strategic Plan

In the LRSP, the TFF established goal statements for each of its funding focus areas to

clarify what it aims to accomplish by investing in the focus areas (The Tracy Family Foundation,

n.d.). Goals provide overarching guidance for the major themes of a strategic plan (Hinton,

2012). For example, a major theme in the LRSP is to improve academic programs. The TFF has

its own perspective on what is important about academic programs, such as ensuring the

programs fit the educational needs of the student population in Brown County (The Tracy Family

Foundation, n.d.). The specific actions taken to improve academic programs could range from

ensuring college preparation programs are expanded to lower school grades to funding programs

that work toward improving county-wide grade-level reading by the third grade (The Tracy

Family Foundation, n.d.). These types of actions align closely with the TFF’s goals. (Hinton,

2012).

Turning goals and objectives into a working plan is the function of the implementation

plan. More than any other part of the strategic plan, the implementation plan is revised, amended,

and changed frequently to respond to environmental factors. Organizations can use strategic

planning to clarify and address major organizational issues, respond wisely to them, and deal

effectively with rapidly changing circumstances (Bryson, 2018). While the strategic plan’s goals

and objectives remain a source of guidance and focus, the implementation plan delves into the

strategies that deal with getting the job done. One aspect of these strategies critical to the

planning process is identifying the resources each goal and step will require. Broadly, the

resources for implementing a strategic plan include people, time, space, technology, and funding

(Hinton, 2012).

The exact amount of a critical resource is not always known at the time of the plan’s

inception; however, the type of resource can be identified. It is important to know the specific

resources needed and to continue to refine the size of the need as the plan develops. The

implementation plan needs to be directive, clear, and well documented. The implementation of a

strategic plan depends on the institution’s ability to turn strategic thoughts into operational

action. For this reason, it is necessary to document who is responsible for implementing an

action, a date by which the action is expected to be completed, and what measures will be used to

assess the completion of the action (Hinton, 2012).

Human Resources in Strategic Planning

Many institutions select representatives from major stakeholder groups to serve on the

SPC with the intention of disbanding once the plan has been created. People appointed to the

SPC usually have a working knowledge of strategic planning, or the broad institutional

perspective to do it well in the beginning. It takes time and hard work to develop a functioning

SPC that can operate effectively. The intention behind forming the committee must not be

restricted to creating the plan. The role of the committee should be extended to allow it to

participate in the implementation and assessment of the plan (Hinton, 2012).

To ensure the plan is being implemented, a monitoring process must be established to

assist with decisions and keep the planning process on track and responsive. While this can be

done by a single individual, it is recommended that stakeholders from various functional areas be

involved in the process and bring together their working knowledge of the different aspects of

the complex organization. It is also important for committee members to understand the working

aspects of the plan, such as why a certain goal or step must come before another or why a

particular goal is no longer as relevant in a certain year of the plan as it was in previous years

(Hinton, 2012).

The LRSP contains an outline of the recommended strategies the TFF intends to use to

accomplish its goals for various aspects concerning Brown County. The LRSP, however, lacks

detail on staffing requirements for the completion of each of its goals. The TFF’s approach to

strategic planning began with the TFF board’s decision for Vario Consulting to lead the strategic

planning work. The company was selected based on their past working relationship with the

Tracy family (The Tracy Family Foundation, n.d.). Institutions rarely have staff with enough

comprehensive experience to lead and support an institutional strategic plan without some

external guidance. Additionally, the strategic planning process could get more complex and

difficult with time. It is therefore not unusual for organizations to seek out consultants to advise

them at any point in the planning process. A good consultant can provide guidance and options

for the process based on the content the organization’s staff develops and the way the

organizational culture shapes the issues. An outstanding consultant can even analyze the

institution and challenge it with new ways of thinking or doing (Hinton, 2012).

Change Management in Strategic Planning

Poor communication, inadequate training, or insufficient workforce planning can lead to

a lack of acceptance of business changes and poor performance. In many cases, failure to provide

for adequate change management planning has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in failed

or delayed implementation (Voehl, 2017). The TFF’s LRSP is lacking in detail on the change

management theories it intends to use during the strategic planning process. Including change

management strategies in a plan is crucial for stakeholders to understand the potential hurdles in

implementation. Including these details could also stimulate discussion about which change

management theory would best suit the needs of the strategic plan. The lack of focus on change

management strategies in the LRSP could be because of the vast scope of the plan (which

encompasses various aspects of Brown County like education, health, and family) or because of

the foundation’s decision to use a consultant to lead the strategic planning process. Each aspect

of Brown County may require additional analysis before determining which change management

theory would best suit that aspect.

Recommendations for Improving the Strategic Plan

The LRSP contains a partial SWOT analysis. Ideally, this phase of the strategic plan

could benefit from a full SWOT analysis that covers not only the strengths and opportunities but

also the weaknesses of and threats to the organization’s ability to implement a successful

strategic plan. The LRSP contains broad outlines of its goals and strategies to achieve those

goals. There is also minimal information on staffing and budgeting. However, the plan does

indicate that the foundation will rely on resources from the food redistribution company owned

by the Tracy family for those purposes.

The TFF opted to hire a consultant to lead the entire strategic planning process. The

danger is that the TFF may not have enough of its staff involved in the strategic planning process

and the foundation may become overreliant on direction from the consultant. It is vital to have as

many stakeholders as possible understand how the planning process works. Nonpermanent

members of the planning committee can be replaced with new members in staggered terms. Such

a rotation allows new people to learn from the committee while the replaced members take their

knowledge back with them to their departments. This type of participatory learning increases the

ability of the entire organization to understand how the planning process works and supports

strategic thinking across the organization. These benefits accrue over time (Hinton, 2012).

Conclusion

Leadership and management in strategic planning were briefly explored. The

characteristics of the TFF’s LRSP were analyzed. The concept of strategic planning was

introduced, and its components expanded upon. The prospective capacities of the LRSP were

examined regarding goals and strategies, human resources, and change management. Finally,

suggestions to improve the LRSP were explored.

References

King, E., & Alperstein, N. M. (2018). Best practices in planning strategically for online

educational programs. Routledge.

Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: For public and

nonprofit organizations, a guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational

achievement (5th ed.). Wiley.

Cox, J. A. (2016). Leadership and management roles: Challenges and success strategies. AORN

Journal, 104(2), 154–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2016.06.008

Feliu, N., & Botero, I. C. (2015). Philanthropy in family enterprises. Family Business Review,

29(1), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894486515610962

Hinton, K. E. (2012). A practical guide to strategic planning in higher education. Society for

College and University Planning.

Jakhotiya, G. P. (2017). Strategic planning, execution, and measurement (SPEM): A powerful

tool for CEOs. CRC Press.

Ololube, N. P., Aiya, F., Uriah, O. A., & Ololube, D. O. (2016). Strategic planning: A universal

remedy for the successful management of 21st century university education (UE).

Management, 6(3), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.mm.20160603.03

The Tracy Family Foundation (n.d.). Strategic plan. https://tracyfoundation.org/strategic-plan

Voehl, F., & Harrington, J. H. (2017). Change management: Manage the change or it will

manage you. CRC Press.