Strategic Planning for Public Organizations Flashcards

A city government uses a Balanced Scorecard to track strategic performance. Which perspective focuses on how the organization must improve its internal processes?

Answer: Internal process perspective

The internal process perspective of the Balanced Scorecard examines the key processes the organization must excel at to serve citizens and achieve financial goals.

When a public agency faces competing values such as efficiency versus equity in strategic decision-making, this is best described as:

Answer: A values conflict requiring deliberate trade-off analysis

Competing public values often require explicit trade-off analysis because maximizing one value may reduce another equally legitimate value.

Which term describes the process of translating high-level strategic goals into specific departmental objectives and individual performance targets?

Answer: Strategic alignment

Strategic alignment ensures that all levels of the organization—from agency-wide goals to individual work plans—are coherently connected.

A public manager discovers that a strategic initiative has achieved its output targets but failed to produce intended outcomes. This most likely indicates:

Answer: The theory of change underlying the initiative was flawed

When outputs are achieved but outcomes are not, it often signals that the assumed causal logic linking activities to results was incorrect.

In strategic planning, 'horizon scanning' is used to:

Answer: Identify emerging trends, threats, and opportunities before they become critical

Horizon scanning is a forward-looking activity that helps organizations detect weak signals of change early enough to respond strategically.

Which of the following BEST describes a 'wicked problem' in public sector strategic planning?

Answer: A complex, interconnected problem with no clear solution and where attempts to solve it can create new problems

Wicked problems are characterized by complexity, interdependency, contested values, and the tendency for solutions to generate new problems.

A public agency conducts an annual 'strategic review.' The PRIMARY goal of this review is to:

Answer: Assess progress against strategic goals and adapt plans based on changing conditions

Strategic reviews assess implementation progress, evaluate whether assumptions remain valid, and enable course corrections to keep strategy relevant.