Discussion

This week we’re digging deeper into the use of technology in strategic planning and implementation. I want to take a moment to share with you the difference between ‘strategic’ and ‘tactical management. When we talk about strategic planning, we’re generally referring to long-term plans and developing the direction that the section, department, or organization is moving over the next few years. Typically, we’re looking at three to five years out. This is what we call high-level planning and it is reserved for the highest levels of leadership in the organization. Once this direction is established, it is then level to the tactical level mangers to develop implementation plans and execute them. This is what moves the organization forward. 

As you can see, it is a partnership between the strategic planners and the tactical managers that ‘get the job done’ as the lecturer this week is saying. That’s part of the reason it’s important for you, as potential organizational leaders, to work at the tactical level before you progress up into higher leadership positions. Watch now how the strategic planners in your organization are thinking about how they plan and what you must do to implement those plans. As a strategic planner, you must know what it’s going to take for the managers under you to implement your plans. If you make plans that are beyond their capability, the plan will fail. You must also plan for the resources they’re must have to implement your plans. That way you can stay ahead of them by acquiring the technical resources your human resources will require.

Reference Textbook:

https://books.google.com/books?id=AMF2CwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Pearlson,+K.,+Saunders,+C.,+Galletta,+D.+Managing+and+Using+Information+Systems:+A+Strategic+Approach,+6th+Edition.+Burlington,+MA:+Wiley,+2016&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwje5NnkvpzlAhWMHzQIHbp4Cr0Q6AEwAXoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false