CONCEPT PAPER
A plan is a specific action proposed to help the organization achieve its objectives. There
are different types of plans. It consists of strategic, tactical, operational, long-term, short-
term, directional, specific, single-use, and standing plans.
A strategic plan includes vision, objectives, and values. This plan is the foundational basis of
the organization and will dictate decisions. Strategic plans address the broad issues such as
changing conditions, allocation of resources, competition, etc. Managers turn to the strategic
plan to guide their decisions. It also influences the culture within an organization and how it
interacts with customers and the media. Thus, the strategic plan must be forward looking,
flexible, and focuses on growth of the company. Generally such goals are developed by top
level management after consulting board of directors and middle management.
The tactical plan are developed to support the implementation of the strategic plans. It
describes the tactics the organization plans to use to achieve the ambitions outlined in the
strategic plan. It is a short range, low-level document that breaks down the broader mission
statements into smaller, actionable chunks. If the strategic plan is a response to “what?”, the
tactical plan responds to “how?”.
The operational plan describes the day to day running of the company. It charts out a
roadmap to achieve the tactical goals within a realistic timeframe. This plan is highly specific
with an emphasis on short-term objectives. “Increase sales to 150 units/day”, or “hire 50
new employees” are both examples of operational plan objectives. Such plans clearly
specify the things needed to be done in the short run. The success of strategic and tactical
plans depends on the achievement of operational goals.
Long-term plan is the long-term process that business owners use to reach their business
mission and vision. It determines the path for business owners to reach their goals. It also
reinforces and makes corrections to the goals as the plan progresses. These plan usually go
beyond three years.
Short-term plan involves plans for a few weeks or at most a year. It allocates resources for
the day-to-day business development and management within the strategic plan. Short-term
plans outline objectives necessary to meet intermediate plans and the strategic planning
process.
Single Use Plan is one-time plan, specifically designed to achieve particular goal that once
achieved, will most likely not recur in the future. Such plan is developed to meet the needs
of a unique situation.
In standing plans these are the plans that formulated once and they are repeatedly used.
These plans continuously guide the managers. That is why it is said that a standing plan is a
standing guide to solving the problems. These plans include mission, policies, objective,
rules and strategy.
Specific plans are plans that are clearly defined and have no room from interpretation. Such
plans require specific stated objectives and do no contain ambiguity. Specific plans require
clarity and sense of predictability that often do not exist therefore they are not preferable.
