Types of planning

Types of Planning

There are two types of planning commonly used in the health sector; these are strategic planning and operational planning. In this study session you will learn what strategic planning means, and then focus in detail on operational plans as these are most important for anesthetists.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning or Long range planning is a document outlining the general direction an organization is intending to follow in broad terms. Usually they take 5 years but can go as five to 20 years. Strategic planning is the process of determining what an organization intend to be in the future and how it will get there. It is finding the best future for your organization and the best path to reach that destination. Due to the rapid rate of change of today's world it has become necessary for every dynamic organization to keep their plan as current as possible through strategic planning.

SWOT analysis (SWOT= strength & weakness, opportunities & threats) is strategic planning tool that matches internal organizational strengths and weakness with external opportunities & threats. By reviewing SWOT a useful strategy for achieving objective will become evident.

It is through strategic planning that the health sector determines its priorities and the strategies that are likely to help the nation to achieve its overall health. The Ethiopian Health Sector Development Plans (HSDP I, II, III and IV) are typical examples of strategic planning for the health sector at national level.

Tactical/Operational Planning

Operational planning refers to the action plans that guide your day-to-day work. Without a strategic plan you don't know where you are going or why you are going there. But without an operational plan, it is likely that the strategic plan will remain a distant dream and you will not get there anyway. An operational plan is an instrument for implementing the strategic plan.

Operational plans are developed by managers nearer the front line in order to establish actions that are necessary for the achievement of operational goals. Operational plans are short-term plans that cover time periods of up to one year, so they are usually referred to as annual operational plans.

Planning By Level of Management

Planning can be also classified according to the three levels of management. Strategic planning is commonly developed by the top level management, while tactical and operational planning are developed by middle and frontline management, respectively. The panning type based on the levels of management is illustrated in the following table.

Table 1 : - Levels of Management and Types of Planning