Response to Discussion Question-
Ethical benefits and limitations
Nonprofits are often charged with operating at a higher standard than for profit organizations. Theoretically the goal for nonprofits is to provide better or more service to the community, rather than to obtain a greater profit. Leadership has to "make a public commitment to ethical principles and then manifest them in their own behavior" (Bryson, 2011, p.380). Strategic planning is lead by leadership and is most successful when led by committed leadership (Bryson, 2011).
Rewarding "ethical behavior" benefits an organization in that it sets a standard of excellence and builds legitimacy for the organization (Bryson, 2011). Organizations are limited not so much by ethics, but by the difficulty in assessing whether ethical behavior is being practiced. There are a lot ‘good faith' beliefs we engage in, and it is usually after the fact that unethical behavior become noticed. As leaders, we need to set the example, put in place the policies that explain acceptable behavior, and uphold that behavior in both our speech and actions.
Financial benefits and limitations
One financial benefit of strategic planning is more efficient resource alignment. If the organization as a whole goes through the ABCs of strategic planning, as outlined by Bryson (2011), they will agree or obtain consensus on what the organizations priorities and the budget can then be aligned to better support obtainment of that goal.
The most obvious financial limitation is the amount of money and time that can be spared to support strategic planning. Everything comes with a cost. If a large organization engages in an AI, they pay their employees to not do their job, but participate, and additional time or resources must be allocated to cover the gap. Many nonprofit board member are volunteers that cannot, or are unwilling to, take time off their ‘day job' to do nonpaid strategic planning.
Cultural benefits and limitations
Often we talk about a culture for good. Adopting a culture that encourages and advocates for strategic planning will help an organization better deal with potential obstacles and issues. Another definition of culture is more basic, some cultures embrace cooperation and coordination, and others do not. When talking about stakeholder collaboration and coordination, it is important to take these different acceptance levels into account (Bryson, 2011).
Organizational strategic planning, as mentioned above, can be limited by differences in culture, and engagement with all strategic planners must take into account this possibility in order to make strategic planning effective.
How changing stakeholders impact the strategic plan
Stakeholders change, because situations change. Organizations rise and fall, government departments get new leadership, merge or change mission. Bryson (2011) stresses the importance of stakeholder identification and analysis, but it is important to remember that stakeholder analysis is part of step one: "initiating and agreeing on a strategic planning process" (p. 47-48). Strategic planning often is thought about in terms of a product, but its also a process, whose steps need to be revisited often to keep up with changing internal and external environmental factors.
Bryson, J. M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.