Strategic Planning in PharmacyOperations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Provide an overview of planning activities conducted by pharmacy and health care organizations.

2. Describe the general process common to all types of planning.

3. Describe the purpose of strategic planning, and illustrate the specific steps to develop a strategic plan.

4. Differentiate a vision statement from a mission statement.

5. Highlight examples of strategic planning in pharmacy organizations.

6. Identify barriers and limitations to planning.

planningrepresents the purposeful efforts taken by an

organization to maximize its future success.Planning has been described as one of the four key

functions of managers (along with organizing, leading, and controlling).

Many different types of planning activities occur within pharmacy organizations. The most common types include

1. Business planning2. Financial planning3. Operational planning4. Resource planning5. Organizational 6. Planning 7. Strategic planning.

Steps in the Planning Process1. Define or orient the planning process to a

singular purpose or a desired result (vision/ mission).

2. Assess the current situation.3. Establish goals.4. Identify strategies to reach those goals.5. Establish objectives that support progress

toward those goals.6. Define responsibilities and timelines for each

objective.7. Write and communicate the plan.8. Monitor progress toward meeting goals and

objectives.

STRATEGIC PLANNINGStrategic planning has been defined as the process

of selecting an organization’s goals, determining the policies and programs (strategies) necessary to achieve specific objectives en route to those goals, and establishing methods necessary to ensure that the policies and strategic programs are implemented

The purpose of strategic planning is to ensure that the organization is doing the right things now and in the future.

Strategic planning addresses what business the organization is in or ought to be in and helps to determine long-term goals for the organization.

Strategic planning can be either reactive or proactive.

Reactive strategic planning is not the ideal, but it is often necessary, especially in industries that are changing rapidly (such as health care).

proactive strategic planning enables an organization to control its environment instead of vice versa.(create or recreate the business environment)

Strategic planning has also been called long-term planning. The actual timeline used by organizations may vary or in some cases may not be known

The time horizon for strategic planning may be as long as 10 to 20 years or as short as 2 years

Problems with strategic planning goals that incorporate new paradoxes or

visionary changes may be difficult for employees to believe if the time period for accomplishing those goals is too short

it is not likely to result in any truly sustainable competitive advantages or a significant organizational metamorphosis

Vision and MissionThe vision is what the pharmacy

organization wants to be at some future time point

The vision statement should make people think and should motivate people to strive for something greater.

The vision of the organization is used in the strategic planning process as both the beginning point and the end point

The vision is also used to define the mission of the organization

The mission is the purpose of the company. The mission statement defines what the

company does or is. It is a statement of the present going ahead into the near future.

The mission statement should be short—usually no more than two sentences.

It focuses on the common purpose of the organization and may draw from the values or beliefs held by the organization.

The mission statement should help to differentiate the company from others that provide the same products or services

Elements suggested in developing a mission statement for a community pharmacy

1. The intended (or target) customers,2. The core values of the pharmacy (such as

compassion, respect, and confidentiality)3. The key services and products provided by

the pharmacy, 4. The benefits incurred by customers (such

as improved health and improved safety)5. Desired public image of the pharmacy

Companies use slogans to convey a message to customers about the organization

The company slogan generally is more marketing-driven than is the mission statement, but in some cases the company slogan serves a similar role.

Process of Strategic Planning

Preplanning Phase Preplanning can be defined as the steps

necessary to organize the strategic planning effort—or “planning for the planning.” Strategic planning is a significant undertaking that consumes much time and energy

Preplanning should also define the objectives of the planning efforts and the procedures that will be used to accomplish those objectives

Preplanning should define who should be involved, where the planning process will occur, and how much time it will take.

Preplanning should also consider any political purposes and ramifications of the undertaking.

Planning PhaseIdeas are actively generated for the pharmacy

organization (strategizing) started by establishing the destination (like traveling)

In strategic planning, the “destination” is the vision of the organization in the future.

Situation analysis to identify where, what, and how the organization is in the present

Based on the vision (destination), along with the present situation (starting point), planners next should identify the goals for the organization

determine objectives that will help to reach the goals

A common method for conducting the situation analysis is to evaluate the internal strengths and weakness of the organization and the external opportunities and threats to the organization. This is known as a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

By comparing the results of the situation analysis with the desired future state (vision), the extent and nature of the gap between the two begins to become clear.

The next steps in the planning phase attempt to bridge that gap

The last part of the planning process deals with organizing to operationalize the strategy

Strategic plan contain the following key elements:(1) The organization’s vision(2) Strategies (3) goals for each strategy (4)objectives required to meet those goals (5) tasks or action plans to compete the objectives

Post planning PhaseThis phase includes three steps: (1)communicating the plan (2) Implementing the plan(3)Monitoring progress once the plan is

implemented.

BARRIERS AND LIMITATIONS TO PLANNING

Limitations1. planning is, to some degree, guesswork (but

educated and experienced guesswork, hopefully)

2. plans and predictions are only as good as the data and information that go into them

3. Planning is not a substitute for action4. Planning should be a continuous process

1.Select a specific pharmacy practice setting (i.e., hospitalpractice, community practice, or managedcare). What barriers do you believe would limit theability of pharmacists and pharmacy managers toconduct effective planning in that setting?

2. Write a vision statement for a hypothetical pharmacyorganization. Explain how you selected thelanguage and message of the statement.

3. Conduct an Internet search of vision and missionstatements of health care organizations. Identify andcompare the statements from at least three differentorganizations. What are the strengths and weaknessof these statements?4. What are the different activities that pharmaciesand health care organizations engage in when theyplan for the future?