Strategic Plan Appraisal Instructions

Write a 4–5 page critical appraisal of an organization’s strategic plan from the perspective of a nurse executive, taking into consideration the organization’s mission, vision, and other contextual factors.

A strategic plan is constructed from a clear, well-articulated vision and a comprehensive environmental scan. An analysis of the internal and external environments provides a clear picture of the current state and the potential hurdles to overcome in reaching the desired future state. Leaders can then establish goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic, timely, and rewarding.

Strategic objectives balance short-term and long-term opportunities and consider the needs of all key stakeholders. From the objectives flow the strategies and tactics for achieving the goals. Building skill in strategic planning positions the DNP nurse as one who makes things happen.

This assessment provides an opportunity for you to critically examine an organization’s strategic plan. An understanding of the organization’s vision, mission, and strategic priorities is crucial to departmental strategic planning that aligns with, and supports, organizational priorities.

Demonstration of Proficiency

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze organizational priorities at the system level.
  • Analyze an organization’s strategic plan.
  • Evaluate the validity of data and analytical strategies used to develop organizational priorities.
  • Explain how input from stakeholders might have been elicited and incorporated into the development of strategic priorities.
  • Create a balanced scorecard for an organization.
• Competency 5: Address assessment purpose in effective written or multimedia presentations, incorporating appropriate evidence and communicating in a form and style consistent with applicable professional and academic standards.
  • Articulate meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and purpose of the prompt.
  • Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references.

Preparation

For Assessments 2, 3, and 4, you will appraise an organizational strategic plan, develop a departmental strategic plan, and propose a quality improvement initiative, respectively. The choice of health care setting as the context for this work is up to you. You may choose the organization in which you currently work, an organization in which you worked previously, or an organization about which you would like to learn more. You will use this health care organization, and a department or division within the organization, as the basis for the remaining assessments in this course.

After choosing your organization, obtain a copy of the organization’s strategic plan. Most large health systems post their strategic plans, visions, and missions on the Internet.

Instructions

Write a critical appraisal of the organization’s strategic plan. Identify strategic priorities and orient yourself to the key performance indicators (KPI) the organization uses to drive quality.

Note: Lessons learned from your appraisal will inform your work in Assessments 3 and 4.

Appraisal Format and Length

Format your document using APA style.

• Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX]. An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your appraisal. Be sure to include:
  • A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Your appraisal should be 4–5 pages in length, excluding the title page and references page.
• Use the following section headings to ensure thorough content coverage and flow.
  • Strategic Plan Analysis.
  • Validity of Data and Analytical Strategies.
  • Stakeholder Input.
  • Balanced Scorecard Perspective.

Evaluation

The following tasks correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

• Analyze an organization’s strategic plan.
  • Approach your analysis from a systems perspective.
  • What priorities appear to take precedence?
  • How well do the priorities align with the mission and vision of the organization?
• Evaluate the validity of data and analytical strategies used to develop organizational priorities.
  • What data was most likely used to develop key performance indicators (KPIs)?
    • For example: patient satisfaction data, 30-day readmission data, other internal performance indicators or external regulatory measures.
  • What was the source of the data?
    • For example: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), internal data, public health data, financial data.
  • Explain how input from stakeholders might have been elicited and incorporated into the development of strategic priorities.
    • For example, strategic priorities can be developed by the board of directors, elicited from employee focus or patient advocacy groups, or derived from a combination of these approaches.
    • You may need to interview an organizational stakeholder for this information. If this information is unavailable to you, identify the stakeholders you would approach for their inputs.
  • Create a balanced scorecard for an organization.
    • Use four standard balanced scorecard domains: 1) financial, 2) customer, 3) internal processes, and 4) learning and growth.
    • Are the organization’s strategic priorities balanced, or do one or more priorities receive more emphasis than the others?
  • Articulate meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and purpose of the prompt.
    • Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
    • Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards.
    • Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your appraisal.
  • Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references.

POTENTIAL RESOURCES

• Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
  • Chapter 11, “Organizations as Political Arenas and Political Agents,” pages 217–234.
    • This chapter identifies the influence stakeholders have on agenda setting and goal planning within complex organizational ecosystems and will help you identify the role stakeholders play in the development of a strategic plan.
  • Clack, L., & Woeppel, J. (2018). Data analytics drives strategic planning in healthcare. Journal of AHIMA 89(6), 42–43.
    • Organizations use data and analytics to develop strategic priorities. This article will help you understand how data is used in strategic planning.
  • Fry, A., & Baum, N. (2016). A roadmap for strategic planning in the healthcare practice. The Journal of Medical Practice Management, 32(2), 146–149.
    • This article outlines criteria for the creation of a strategic plan and provides an example of how the plan may be implemented in a medical practice or hospital.