What is the prospective impact of a business plan on the strategic planning of a program? Support your response with references to the logic model and program theory models.
Achieving desirable outcomes requires proper planning in order to exhibit a positive impact. According to Hodges & Videto (2011), “over the years, planning has become more systematized and, as a result, potentially more effective” (p. 107). The impact of a business plan on the strategic planning of a program exhibits a great impact. According to Bplans (2016), a business plan outlines the “who and what” of the business plan or program and the strategic plan outlines the how and when. To sum it up, a business plan tells us: who will run the business or program and who your customer/customers are (Bplans, 2016). A strategic plan outlines/evaluates: how the success of the program will be measured, what metrics are important, what resources are needed to achieve the desired outcome/outcomes, when will the activities take place, who is responsible for what, and gives a timeline of when activities will be met (Bplans, 2016). In other words, the impact of a business plan on strategic planning of a program is essential to providing a program with its business needs and gives a direction in which the program should go.
Furthermore, theories and models should be utilized as a guide for the planning of a program. The different theories and models are utilized to aid in the planner developing interventions and/or selecting interventions that are needed to meet the program goals and objectives (Hodges & Videto, 2011). Basing programs on a theoretical framework aids in gathering up-to-date research and obtaining a clearer understanding of what’s being researched (Hodges & Videto, 2011). With this noted, Logic Models are pictures of program theories (Hodges & Videto, 2011). The Logic Model connects and describes activities of a program with the anticipated outcomes of the program (Hodges & Videto, 2011). The Logic Model exhibits how the program supposes to work and includes many entities: “project staff, key stakeholders, potential funders, members of the target population, and planning the evaluation” (Hodges & Videto, 2011, p. 121). Likewise, program theories are similar to the concept of the logic model as stated above because the logic model paints the pictures of program theories.
How does business planning relate to program planning? Support your response with an example from the literature.
Business planning relates to program planning in several different ways. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (2016), business planning and starting a business can be very challenging, likewise for program planning. Business planning requires a great deal of thinking, researching, strategizing, and reaching outcomes, likewise to program planning (Forbes, 2016). Business planning and program planning entails several steps. Some of these steps include: starting with a pitch and outlining your strategy (business planning), reviewing the needs assessment (program planning), validating assumptions (business planning), convening an advisory panel or planning committee to aid in developing the concepts of the program (program planning), building a simple sales forecast and expense budget (business planning), assessing and establishing a budget for program planning (program planning), scheduling important tasks (business planning), and estimating time, selecting strategies, and activities (program planning) (Hodges & Videto, 2011). Both are interrelated in terms of both ties into strategic planning