Impact of Strategic Planning on Organizational Performance of Health Care Services in Nigeria

Abstract

Strategic planning is a concept that has posed so many problems to several organizations in its applicability. However, for any organization to thrive well in this modern contemporary age there is need for such organization to embrace strategic planning in its fullness. This objective of the study aims at examining the influence of strategic processes on organizational development and growth of the public health institution in Nigeria. The strategic plan outlines a plan or strategy to improve the organizational performance, effectiveness as well as overall efficiency of an institution whether public or private. Typically, as an approach to strategy formulation, strategic planning includes elements such as analysis of the organization’s mandate, mission, and values, analysis of the organization’s internal and external environment and the formulation of strategic issues based on these analyses and the formulation of strategies, goals, and plans to address the issues. Numerous research studies show that many institutions are often involved in strategic planning in order to attain and maintain the organizational goals of profit maximization and greater market share. Also these studies in literature show that the development and implementation of it has a direct influence on the efficiency and effectiveness of health institutions with increases in the performance of departments and longevity of the institution. Therefore, the study seeks to investigate the ability of strategic planning to provide similar results as in quality service delivery of the health sector in Nigeria, which is known for inefficiency and underdevelopment. Therefore, this research focuses on examining the systems, types and implications of the strategic approach for institutional performance in the public health sector.