Develop a strategic plan for a department or division within a health care organization, taking a balanced scorecard approach.
Nurse leaders will be increasingly called upon to collaborate in strategic planning as they partner in the redesign of health care in the United States (Institute of Medicine, 2011). To be an integral partner in health care redesign, nurse leaders must be able to leverage political power and data in strategic planning. Analytical tools, such as the balanced scorecard and SWOT analysis, are used to construct a solid, defensible strategic plan.
This assessment provides an opportunity for you to develop both the knowledge and skills required for strategic planning, using a balanced scorecard approach. With insight into the importance of an organization’s political landscape and a comprehensive understanding of the priorities of the organization you are studying, you are well-prepared to develop a strategic plan for a department or division within that organization.
Demonstration of Proficiency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Competency 3: Propose a strategic plan that integrates feedback from other disciplines and aligns with organizational priorities.
Create a balanced scorecard for a department or division.
Identify departmental strategic priorities.
Evaluate the effects of organizational policies on departmental strategic priorities.
Align departmental strategic priorities with elements of an organization’s strategic plan.
Competency 4: Recommend policy changes that support a strategic plan.
Evaluate the effects of organizational policies on departmental strategic priorities.
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.
Communicate clearly and concisely in a form and style appropriate for the audience and the substance, purpose, and context of the message being conveyed.
Reference
Institute of Medicine, Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Preparation
For this assessment, remember to use the same health care setting you chose in the previous assessment.
Departmental strategic priorities must align with organizational priorities. To prepare for this assessment, consider how you might best represent these alignments graphically in an attractive, professional manner. For example, you might choose a crosswalk table, Venn diagram, or other format that clearly illustrates these alignments. Be creative in your approach. Use the organization’s colors or design your own color scheme. Keep in mind that these conceptual representations are intended for executive leaders and other stakeholders in the organization and community.
Note: Remember that you can submit all or a portion of your draft plan to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.
Instructions
Develop a strategic plan that establishes top priorities for a department or division, aligned with the organization’s strategic plan, which you appraised in Assessment 2. Include the following elements in your plan:
A balanced scorecard for the department or division. The following interactive media may help you in constructing your balanced scorecard:
A Balanced Scorecard for Change.
A minimum of four departmental strategic priorities, one from each balanced scorecard domain (financial, customer, internal processes, learning and growth).
Graphical representations showing alignments between the departmental strategic priorities and the organization’s strategic plan.
Strategic Plan Format and Length
Format your document using APA style.
Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX], linked in the Resources. 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 3–5 pages in length, excluding the title page and references page.
Use the following section headings to ensure thorough content coverage and flow.
Departmental Strategic Priorities.
Effects of Organizational Policies.
Add your balanced scorecard and graphical representations of priority alignments as appendices.
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.
Create a balanced scorecard for a department or division.
Each scorecard domain must include an objective, performance metric, benchmark target, and prospective initiative.
Determine departmental strategic priorities.
Include at least one strategic priority for each balanced scorecard domain (financial, customer, internal processes, learning and growth).
Why are these priorities important?
Are these priorities feasible?
For example, do they reflect departmental objectives, available resources, and a specific time frame?
Explain.
Evaluate the effects of organizational policies on departmental strategic priorities.
How do existing policies hinder or facilitate what you hope to accomplish?
Align departmental strategic priorities with elements of an organization’s strategic plan.
Represent the alignments graphically in a crosswalk table, Venn diagram, or any other format that clearly illustrates the alignments.
Communicate clearly and concisely in a form and style appropriate for the audience and for the substance, purpose, and context of the message being conveyed.
Consider the needs of your audience.
Be succinct and mindful of communication best practices.
Carefully review your materials to avoid errors that could distract the audience and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your strategic plan.
