Introduction
Strategic planning is generally regarded as one of the key aspects o successful organizational activity independently in the engagement sphere. The aim of this paper is to analyze the strategic planning activity for an IT department within a healthcare organization. The strategic planning report will involve the analysis of an environment, the representation of the development steps as well as expansion and qualification improvement activities.
Strategic Planning Framework
The key aim of the IT department in a healthcare organization is based on proper information and communication management. The IT department’s activity sphere involves database management and information sorting, communication management within departments of the organization, as well as arranging proper communication processes with consumers, especially if the organization is engaged in emergency services. The frameworks of the strategic planning process are defined in accordance with the following points: Mission, Vision, and Strategy. Strategy, in its turn, is divided into content and process which are defined by the environment and objectives of the structural activity. (Crittenden and Crittenden, 2007)
Mission Planning
The mission of the department may be outlined on the basis of the generally accepted healthcare IT performance. This means the necessity to decrease the operation costs, renewing of the technical basis of the department, improvement of the qualification level of the technical personnel of the department. In general, these
values are defined by the strategic perspectives of the organization in general, as IT departments are not able to act independently. However, mission of the department in general is to improve the quality of data management and communication principles. Consequently, the strategic planning process is closely associated with the aspects of increasing the efficiency of department performance.
Vision Planning
While mission statement is generally a set of the aims that should be achieved, vision is the process of achieving these aims, as well as defining the key difficulties that may prevent organization from successfully reaching the stated aims. In the light of this statement, it should be emphasized that the vision of the strategic objectives involves the following points:
- More effective HR strategy
- Improved technical basis
- Properly implemented and elaborated software development process
- Higher integration level with emergency department
- Effective communication management
- In depth analysis of the operating environment
Hence, the improved HR strategy presupposes the implementation of personnel employment practices. The turnover rate should be minimized as possible in order to avoid additional expenses for training and qualification improvement of the newly employed personnel. Hence, the proper responsibility delegation system should be implemented, as well as motivation and fining system. The implemented responsibility delegation strategy is flexible enough in order to manage the strategic tasks implementation. (Matthews, 2008)
Technical basis improvement depends on the financial management department, though, IT management should clearly realize the importance of these improvements, and make the corresponding claim.
The software development process requires proper arranging of the sources available. Considering the flexible responsibility delegation principles, the development processes are based on the properly arranged teamwork and structuring of the human resources available. The general diagram of software development is as follows:
Consequently, the project launch is featured by proper testing and analysis of the healthcare industry. Independently on the software sphere (DB management or communication), the developmental process requires the detailed analysis of the end-user preferences and requirements, as the actual importance of software development is explained by the necessity to increase the effectiveness of the healthcare organization in general.
The integration level is achieved by the tight cooperation of the IT department and the emergency services. In general, the key aspect of this integration is closely associated with the communication management and dispatching principles. Hence, the IT department is closely involved into sorting and managing the incoming emergency calls, as well as vehicle navigation in order to save time if traffic jams may prevent a vehicle from reaching a patient in time.
Effective communication management is closely linked with other aspects of strategic planning, consequently, the department should develop the previously described principles in order to maintain the required level of communication effectiveness.
Operating environment analysis requires the surface study of strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat factors.
Hence, the operating environment of the organization may be regarded as quite favorable for further development as well as traditional representation of efficiency improvement.
Strategy
The content and process of the strategy may be assessed from the perspective of the valuable aspect of strategic performance of the IT department. Hence, the basics of the competition, new standards and approaches are defined by the necessity to implement the effective resource allocation strategy. In the light of this statement, it should be claimed that the strategic planning is associated with the matters of strengthening the influence within the entire organization, as well as improving the resource request and allocation process. In fact, the resource allocation should be based on the aspect of proper resource management which is performed mainly by the IT department, as the diversified resource allocation structure undermines the opportunity of a flexible decision making structure.
Further Planning
The final step of strategic planning is the creation of a long-term plans. The plans for the IT department within a healthcare organization should be associated with the matters of integrating all the existing departments by creating a universal communication system. As for the action plan for achieving these goals, this will be created similarly to software development approaches, considering all the mistakes and drawbacks of the existing strategic planning process.
Conclusion
Finally, it should be emphasized that the traditional approaches of strategic planning are closely associated with the matters of enhancing the skill level of the personnel in order to achieve the high standards in communication process as well as resource allocation processes.
References
Crittenden, W. F., & Crittenden, V. L. (2007). Strategic Planning in Third-Sector Organizations. Journal of Managerial Issues, 9(1), 86.
Matthews, J. R. (2008). Strategic Planning and Management for Library Managers. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.