Advantages of strategic planning The stages of strategic planning are generally classified into five stages:

Advantages of strategic planning

Advantages of strategic planning: 

Strategic planning is characterized by a number of advantages or benefits represented in the following 

The adoption of integrated work teams because it defines the framework for action and competition. 

Clarifies and shows future threats and opportunities. 

The plan and its operations are considered a roadmap to achieve success, by defining the vision and the holistic direction of the institution. 

Developing problem-solving methods and improving decision-making methods. 

Communication and exchange of knowledge of goals among the members of the institution. 

Obstacles to strategic planning: 

The obstacles to strategic planning can be highlighted in the following points: 

Weakness of available resources, such as lack of resources, difficulty in accessing them, difficulty in managing them, and lack of  capabilities needed for  that.

The external environment is turbulent, which may make planning obsolete before it begins, due to the rapid change in the elements of the environment (legal, political and economic). 

Gathering inappropriate information about strategic variables in the environment. 

strategic planning needs a great deal of time and cost. 

The inability of the strategic manager to realize the  real opportunities and risks. 

Strategic planning levels: 

In its preparation and implementation, the strategic 

plan depends on the administration that implements it, and it tries to make the institution a coherent and integrated entity, all of its parts working in a coordinated manner in order to achieve the goals  . The overall strategy, which is set by the board of directors, which sets its sights on the objectives of the entire project, and accordingly the whole project is affected  by it. 

The overall strategic planning focuses on the nature of the project's work in terms of products, processes,  markets, and consumers, and of course the majority of these strategic moves are long-term.

Strategic planning for business units: 

This planning focuses on how each A unit of strategic business units contributing to the promotion and success of the company's overall strategy. 

Strategic planning at the functional level: 

It is specialized for the departments in the units within the institution, where  these departments have their own strategies, guided by the strategy of the units, and what distinguishes this level  is that it is short-term and related to the operational aspect of the department. 

Stages of the strategic planning process: 

The stages of strategic planning are generally classified into five stages: 

strategic vision.

The strategic message.

Strategic objectives.

Strategic analysis. 

The strategic choice. 

Which are summarized as follows: 

Strategic vision: 

It is the future path of the institution that determines the destination it wants to reach, the market position it intends to achieve, and the type of capabilities and capabilities it plans to develop. 

The vision should not conflict with the mission statement and the goal of the institution, as it focuses on its image and what it wants to achieve, and what  the institution looks like when achieving its goals.

Thus, the vision shows where the institution is heading, and what form the business institution will have in the future, thus providing guidance on the basis that must be preserved, and envisioning the future towards which the steps of business should be urged. 

Therefore, the presence of a clear and distinct strategic vision for the organization or institution is considered as the cornerstone in building and achieving an effective strategy. The process of formulating the strategic vision is not just a race in choosing stylized slogans and attractive phrases, but it is an approach to strategic thought related to the future of the institution, the quality of its required activities and its expected market position, which It helps in setting the organization for an effective strategic path that the management is committed to. 

In general, the strategic vision consists of three main elements as follows: 

The main tasks (the reason for the existence of the institution). 

Key values ​​(the company's advantages over others). 

Objectives (what the institution seeks to achieve). 

Accordingly, the strategic vision reflects the ambitions that the organization seeks to reach in the future in order to achieve distinction from others. Therefore, the vision controls the strategic practice in the organization, as it is based on the internal and external intelligences that give a future image of the needs of customers, the shortcomings of competition, risks, opportunities and capable skills. For development leads to mapping new features of markets and possible implementation approaches, which in  fact represents the framework of strategy practice.

Moreover, the practice of strategic vision allows the institution to know its trends, as well as to know the elements that enable it to achieve its goal from those elements that hinder it. 

Characteristics of an effective strategic vision: 

Imaginary: 

that is, the image through which the resigned person can be imagined.

Focus 

It is clear that efforts and resources can be focused towards. 

. Flexibility

It is characterized by generality, comprehensiveness and vitality, which allows it to be used as a base for specific initiatives. 

. Rooted

It derives its origins from the institution's past and present.

. Collective

all employees participate in its development.

Informational and Communicative

 It is characterized by linguistic ease so that it can be explained and conveyed its meaning to the majority of people and through it communicate with them. 

. Gravity

Attracts the hearts and captivates the minds of different categories of dealers by expressing their ambitions and aspirations. 

Strategic Message 

The existence of any institution is linked to a specific mission that it seeks to achieve, and the message derives its basic components from the values ​​held by its founders and from the environment in which the institution operates and the society to which it belongs. Decisions and efforts, usually covering a long period of time. 

It can be defined as: 

the framework that distinguishes the institution from other institutions  in terms of its field of activity, products, customers and markets.

The importance of the message lies in being an element of cohesion and clarity of purpose for each institution. It is also a reference point for decision-makers. The message must be brief and general. It is considered a guide and general guide for strategic planning.  Characteristics of

an  effective message: 

What should be available in a good message, the most important of which are the following: 

It should reflect the goals and objectives that the institution seeks to achieve. 

The letter must include real data about the institution, without exaggerating it. 

The message must be achievable. 

That the message serves as a guide and a general framework for managers through which various strategies are taken within  the institution. 

The components and dimensions of the institution's mission

We find that there is a consensus among most researchers that the components of the institution's mission are as follows: 

The institution's field of work

it is assumed that the area in which the institution intends to operate should be defined in a flexible and clear manner that allows for subsequent development. 

Clients of the institution 

The clients of the institution represent the main source of income in it, and therefore it is assumed that it should be determined The institution has these clients, not from the following perspective, but with the possibility of increasing this number

. 

Products and services

The institution's mission focuses on the  nature of the main products and services that are offered in the markets and meet the needs of customers.

Markets of the institution 

Where does the institution compete, and in which markets does this competition take place 

Technology: 

Technology expresses a general framework represented by the technical or knowledge aspect of the institution

Suppliers: 

Processing has become of particular importance due to the scarcity of sources of supply and the high prices of the necessary materials. Therefore, it is important to give the suppliers importance and care within the framework of the institution's directions and mission

Strategic Objectives or Objectives: 

The objectives define the orientations of the institution, and reflect the extent of its ability to interact with its environment. The objectives have a major role in issuing strategic decisions, clarifying its priorities and the importance of each of them. The objectives contribute to evaluating the performance of the institution, and identifying its growth rates. fair and achievable

 The strategic goals or objectives are defined as: 

the final results of activities carried out in a highly organized manner, and expressing the intention of the planner, to move from the current situation to the target position, which qualitatively increases in terms of the ability to achieve from the current situation.