NCJ Number
126788
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1989) Pages: 11-16
Date Published
1989
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Dr. Ronald J. Stupak, consultant to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, points out the importance of strategic management and the implementation of long-range planning on a daily basis for any major organization.
Abstract
Strategic planning is particularly necessary in situations where there are new external demands, such as a change in leadership or a transition resulting from tighter growth, rapid growth, or personnel changes. Dr. Stupak names five reasons why strategic management works in the Bureau of Prisons: the camaraderie between upper management and local employees, the fundamental belief of employees in the core anchors of the system, the realization among the organization that change was inevitable, the desire of employees to learn the new system, and the recognition in headquarters that new concepts had to be meaningful to people in the field. Several ways of involving all employees of the Bureau in the process of strategic management are outlined; these will be important as the organization is called upon to perform new tasks in the future. Strategic implementation faces several obstacles including uneven development throughout the system, lack of visible incentives for employees, a need for strategic leadership, and recruitment. Strategic planning, indispensable for managing people problems and environmental problems, also becomes a process for problem definition.