Strategic Planning Research Paper

Strategic planning is important in the organizational environment, so it is equally important to understand the nuances of, and differences between, different models of strategic planning. It is also important to distance strategic planning from other associated issues such as strategic decision-making in terms of providing a definition and analyzing current issues. Some of the theoretical framework for this paper, which examines strategic planning in the organizational environment, comes from previous theories as well as present voices, including Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Human Needs' and Porter's 'Five Force Analysis'. This paper primarily serves to illustrate strategic planning from an introductory standpoint and moves on to discuss the meaning of strategic planning (illustrated through example and through the theoretical connections mentioned above), the models of strategic planning that are most often used (qualitative and quantitative models included in the analysis), and, finally, the lessons that can be learned from the application of these concepts of strategic planning.