Strategic Action Plan

Overview

Develop a strategic action plan for yourself.

Note: Developing a strategic plan requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in order and should be completed in sequence.

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By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies:

· Competency 1: Create organizational value. 

. Explain how a strategic plan reflects a mission statement.

· Competency 2: Participate collaboratively and respectfully. 

. Describe the resources needed to complete the steps of a strategic plan.

· Competency 3: Communicate effectively. 

. Explain how to measure the success of the steps needed to achieve long-term objectives.

. Write coherently to support a central idea in appropriate format with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.

· Competency 4: Plan strategically. 

. Describe functional tactics used to achieve short-term objectives.

. Describe a plan for monitoring the progress of a strategic plan.

. Explain strategies for addressing roadblocks and obstacles to a strategic plan.

· Competency 5: Employ high-performance business management techniques. 

. Describe the steps and associated time frames needed to achieve long-term objectives.

· Competency 7: Use appropriate financial models and principles. 

. Explain the financial ramifications associated with a strategic plan.

Context

The final step in developing your strategic plan is to translate your strategy into action. A robust action plan contains four elements:

· Identification of specific actions to be undertaken in the next year or less.

· Establishment of a clear time frame for the completion of each action.

· Creation of accountability by identifying who is responsible for each action.

· Determination of one or more specific, immediate objectives that the action should achieve.

Functional tactics and monetary ramifications are the underlying details of your strategic action plan. Functional tactics are short-term, narrow-scoped plans that detail the activities you will use to achieve your short-term objectives. The monetary ramifications of your strategic plan will likely be expressed in both income and expenses, for example, the amount of increased income anticipated by climbing the corporate ladder and the amount of money you may need to spend on education or professional development.

Questions to consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

· What does it take to advance in the corporate world?

Suggested Resources

The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Library Resources

The following e-books and articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course.

· Bryson, J. M. (2010).  The future of public and nonprofit strategic planning in the United States  [Supplement]. Public Administration Review, 70, s255–267.

· Ghani, K., Nayan, S., Ghazali, S., Shafie, L., & Nayan, S. (2010).  Critical internal and external factors that affect firms strategic planning . International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, (51), 50–58.

· Baloch, Q., & Inam, M. (2009).  Strategic competitiveness: Creating firm's future . Journal of Managerial Sciences, 3(1), 87–109.

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Internet Resources

Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.

· Ning, H. (2012).  How to maintain sustainable competitive advantages: Case study on the evolution of organizational strategic management . Retrieved from http://sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/ijba/article/viewFile/1734/852

Course Library Guide

A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the  BUS-FP4993 – Business Capstone Project Library Guide  to help direct your research.

Bookstore Resources

The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the  Capella University Bookstore . When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.

· Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2013). Strategic management (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Assessment Instructions

Note: Developing a strategic plan requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in order and should be completed in sequence.

In the previous assessments, you have developed your mission statement, conducted a personal SWOT analysis and environmental scan, and laid out your long-term and short-term objectives. Now, you will create a strategic plan to achieve your objectives.

Your completed Strategic Action Plan will be based on the information from your mission statement, your SWOT analysis, environmental scan, and your long-term and short-term plans; however, you do not need to include these items in this assessment.

Develop a strategic action plan in which you address the following:

· Specific steps you will need to take in the next year to achieve your 5-year objectives.

· A time frame for completing each action.

· The scorecard you will use to measure the success of each action.

· The functional tactics you will use to achieve your short-term objectives.

· The resources (financial, human, and other) you will use to complete each action.

· An analysis of the monetary ramifications of each action.

· A plan for monitoring the progress of the action plan.

· A plan for handling obstacles or roadblocks.

· An explanation of how your overall strategic plan reflects your mission statement.

To successfully complete this assessment, you may need to do some research on strategic action plans. Format this assessment as a research paper following current APA guidelines for both style and citing sources, making sure that you also use correct grammar and mechanics. There is no required minimum or maximum page length; however, you should strive to be as detailed as possible in addressing each bullet point, while also being as clear and concise as possible.