Operational planning (OP) is the process of implementing
strategic plans and objectives to reach specific goals. In an ''Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior'', Barbara Carlin and Marina Sebastijanovic suggest that operational planning is one of the four basic types of planning involved in organizational management.
[Barbara Carlin and Marina Sebastijanovic]
1.2 Planning
in ''Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior'', OpenStax, subject to Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, accessed on 6 January 2025
Function and preparation
An operational plan (or operations plan) describes the specific steps in any given
strategic planning
Strategic planning is the activity undertaken by an organization through which it seeks to define its future direction and makes decisions such as resource allocation aimed at achieving its intended goals. "Strategy" has many definitions, but it ...
model and explains how and what portion of resources will be put into operation during a given operational period: in the case of
commercial- or
government budget balance, a
fiscal year
A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
. An operational plan is the basis for, and justification of, an annual
operating budget needed to achieve an overall strategic plan.
An operational plan draws from an organization's strategic plans to describe program missions and goals, program objectives, and program activities. While an operational plan may differ depending on the sector, the core components of an operational plan includes
benchmarking
Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are Project management triangle, quality, time and cost.
Benchmarking is ...
and determining how progress is measured.
The operations plan is both the first and the last step in preparing an operating budget request. As the first step, the operations plan provides a plan for resource allocation; as the last step, the OP may be modified to reflect policy decisions or financial changes made during the budget development process.
Operational plans are generally prepared by the people who will be involved in implementation. There is often a need for cross-departmental dialogue as plans created by one part of the organization inevitably have implications for other parts.
Operational plans should contain:
*Identifying clear objectives to be achieved
*Details that are aligned with the strategic plan
*Ensuring staffing and resource requirements
*
Performance management
See also
*
Integrated business planning
*
Government Performance and Results Act
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Operational Planning
Business planning
Business terms
Business process