Monitoring of the implementation phase in strategic planning
The implementation phase involves translating the plans identified in the strategic planning process into specific policies that are implementable at functional units such as marketing, human resource, finance among others. It also involves identifying the resources that would best suit each functional unit and also allocate them accordingly. The implementation phase may become problematic if it is not well monitored. Monitoring is an essential stage in the implementation phase because it is involved in identifying whether the intended changes in the strategic plan are going as expected (Dusen, 2010).
The strategic plans of the Homeland Security Department in the United States in the implementation phase are likely to face some huddles. The strategic plan that is most likely to experience the highest number of problems in the implementation phase will be that of ensuring that there is no entry of dangerous people in the United States. The challenges that are probably to arise in this strategic plan include the fact that terrorists are mostly disguised as United State’s citizens as they did during the September 11th attack. This could pose a problem in the identification of the actual terrorists within or outside the US territories. This calls for a continuous re-evaluation of the strategic plan to conform to the ability of the enemy to change.
For the Homeland Security Department to monitor the effectiveness in the implementation of this strategic plan, the following pertinent questions must be answered by its management: How will the Homeland Security Department implement this strategic plan? In case there is a problem in the implementation process, how is it going to be resolved? What precisely is required in the implementation process (Bryson, 2011)? If the above questions are addressed it will be easier to monitor the implementation of this strategic plan and effect the necessary changes that are required in case of any shortcoming that may be encountered.
References
Bryson, J., M. (2011). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Dusen, P. (2010). Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement. Web.