Introduction
The Ministry of Interior in the United Arab Emirates has been working on various programs meant to improve its service delivery to the public. This ministry plays a strategic role in ensuring that their issues such as security and coordination of government operations are maintained. In an attempt to streamline its operational activities to meet that of international standards, the top leadership of this ministry has been using strategic foresight as a strategic planning tool. Strategic foresight helps the ministry to see into the future and come up with measures that can help in addressing challenges that may be faced due to changing environmental factors. In this paper, the researcher will look at how the Ministry of Interior is using strategic foresight as a strategic planning tool to enhance efficiency in its operations.
Statement of Problem
Ministry of Interior plays a very important role in ensuring that the citizens and residents of this country are secure. It is also responsible for disaster response among other strategic activities within the country. However, the world is changing due to changes in technology and social structures. This ministry finds itself facing numerous challenges, especially when it comes to managing the issue of insecurity. The issue of terrorism is taking a new shape, and the top leaders at this firm have the responsibility to ensure that they are addressed. Fund (2008) says that one of the biggest accusations that the government has faced in the past is the lack of preparedness. Some incidents take place that the ministry did not expect. When this happens, it forces the firm to be reactive. There has been pressure for the government to be proactive to counter issues such as terrorism, natural disasters such as earthquakes, or fire outbreaks. To be proactive, the government needs to be able to predict possible events that may take place in the future. The aim is to prepare a plan on how to counter such incidents in a way that would enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. Strategic foresight as a strategic planning tool has become very relevant to the government. The ministry is using this strategy to see into the future and develop strategies that can be used to respond to cases of emergency.
Research questions
When conducting research, it is necessary to set clear research questions. Pedhazur (2011) says that research questions act as a guide when collecting both primary and secondary data from the field. In many cases, a researcher will come across a massive amount of data, most of which are irrelevant to the area of investigation. This is a very likely possibility in this study given the controversies and mysteries associated with the police in this country. When this happens, research questions help a researcher to understand information that is relevant to the topic and those that are irrelevant. These questions, therefore, concentrate the focus of the researcher to a specific issue that is under investigation. The following are the research questions that will guide the researcher in conducting this study.
What are some of the current strategies used by the Ministry of Interior in its strategic planning?
How relevant is strategic foresight as a strategic planning tool to the Ministry of Interior?
How can the ministry put the tool into the application to achieve the best results?
These research questions will help in collecting data for this study. They will not only be used when getting primary data but also when collecting facts from secondary sources.
Research Method
According to Averil (1999), a researcher should have a clear methodology that defines how primary and secondary data will be collected, and how the analysis will be done in order to give an informed conclusion on a given research topic. The researcher will collect secondary sources of information from peer-reviewed articles, relevant books, newspaper person and other reliable online sources that have addressed this topic. Primary data will be collected from participants that are directly involved in the issue under investigation. The researcher will have a sample comprising senior and junior officials at the Ministry of Interior and the general public. These two strata will be able to give insights into this issue from various perspectives. This will help in having comprehensive information that is not biased in any way. To do this, the researcher will use a stratified sampling method to identify participants in the three strata (Popa, 2011). In each stratum, the researcher will use simple random sampling to identify the participants. The information will be collected from these participants through the use of questionnaire. The questionnaire will be administered by the researcher when conducting the survey.
This research will use both qualitative and quantitative methods based on the nature of the study. It is necessary to determine the feeling of the respondents on how strategic foresight can be used as a tool in strategic planning. This means that it will require the researcher to quantify some issues to determine the benefits that should be expected. It will also be necessary to have a qualitative analysis to explain why this tool is necessary in the current society. Qualitative analysis will also help explain what can be done to address the issue so that the level of performance of this ministry is enhanced.
Possible challenges in tackling this problem
When collecting data, the researcher expects a number of challenges. The main challenge will be the rejection of the participants to participate in the study. Some respondents may be reluctant to participate in the study given their position in the ministry. Another problem will be information that lacks truth in it. Some of the participants may be tempted to exaggerate or underrate specific issues for personal or organizational interests.
How to address the challenges
To address the problems identified above, the researcher will ensure that the respondents remain anonymous. Instead of using their names, the participants will be given codes to conceal their identity. The researcher will assure the respondents that this study is meant for academic purposes only and that no one will access the data other than the researcher and the lecturer responsible for this unit. This will motivate them to tell the truth. Collecting data from numerous respondents will also help to identify biases in some responses.
Expected research outcomes
The researcher expects to have a clear picture of how strategic foresight can be used by the Ministry of Interior as a strategic planning tool. The research will also explain what should be met in order to use this tool appropriately. This will make it easy to identify what every stakeholder should do in order to enhance the ministry’s operations.
References
Averil, H. (1999). A simple guide to successful foresight. Foresight, 1(1), 5-9.
Fund, I. M. (2008). United Arab Emirates. Washington: International Monetary Fund.
Pedhazur, E. (2011). Measurement, design and analysis. An integrated approach. Hillside: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Popa, B. (2011). The Necessity of Using Performance Indicators. Journal of Defense Resource Management, 1(2), 125-129.
Voros, J. (2003). A generic foresight process framework. Foresight, 5(3), 10 -21.