In general, plans are structured mainly through investment projects, however, a plan must also contain the development of specific Tasks.
The formulation of an Action Plan that prioritizes the most relevant initiatives to meet the management objectives and goals requires a proper structuring of its financing and link with the institutional budget.
The Action Plan commits the work of a large part of the institution's staff, establishing deadlines and persons in charge and a follow-up and monitoring system for all the actions designed.
The action plans are properly structured documents that are part of the Strategic Planning of the Company, since, through them, it is sought to "materialize" the previously established strategic objectives, providing them with a quantitative and verifiable element throughout the draft.
These plans, in general terms, place specific tasks in a defined space of time and responsibility to help achieve higher objectives.
All action plans present their structure in a “personalized” way for each project, that is, depending on the objectives and resources, each administrator presents their action plan appropriate to their needs and goals.
However, the foregoing, we can define a scheme that can serve as a guide in general lines to develop an effective action plan:
to. Executive Presentation of the Plan
b. Definition of Plan Objectives
c. Definition of Main Lines of Action
d. Establishment of Hierarchical Dependencies and General Responsibilities
and. Schedule of activities
F. Responsibilities and Supports
g. Supervisions
h. Strategic decisions
i. Divulgation
j. Updates
to. Executive Presentation of the Plan
It is the Executive Summary aimed at the decision maker, which aims to place the senior executives involved in the project in their general and superior context and provide them with a management and results measurement tool.
b. Definition of Plan Objectives
These objectives are different from the strategic objectives of the Business, however, the way in which these objectives are related and contribute to achieving the higher objectives must be established.
In other words, the objectives of the plan seek to “locate” the execution and follow-up of the planning around the activities of the Action plan.
c. Definition of Main Lines of Action
This is where the main areas, fields or themes of the action plan are proposed more specifically, that is, it is specifically defined which field (s) will be influenced with the execution of the plan.
Each definition of these lines is very different for each business or institution since it is oriented to the specific areas of influence in the company's environment.
For example, a State agency, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, will establish these lines of action, oriented to its environment of influence in line with its higher objectives: namely:
- Food Safety Micro and Small Agricultural Enterprise Marketing Chains Agricultural Insurance And many others that are previously recognized in their Strategic plan.
d. Establishment of Hierarchical Dependencies and General Responsibilities
It is essential that the action plan contemplate in very specific lines which are the dependencies or hierarchical levels involved in the fulfillment of said plan.
The foregoing with the aim of delimiting responsibilities seeking to contribute to the achievement of the proposed goals.
An action plan, which defines the main actors and protagonists, does not commit anyone and therefore, a) It severely reduces the chances of success and b) does not serve as a tool for measuring the administrative management of those involved.
and. Schedule of activities
All action plans contain a detailed schedule of activities, showing the main tasks and their assignments as well as their completion time.
The schedule must be as detailed as possible, but it must be presented in an orderly manner in accordance with the deductive method of assimilation of information and learning, that is, it must be deduced from the higher objectives towards the main activities and then to the specific activities, responsibilities, monitoring and determination of measurable indicators of results.
F. Responsibilities and Supports
An action plan is not complete, if it only defines who will be responsible for the execution of the proposed activities. You must clearly establish the resources that will support compliance and how those resources will materialize.
The resources can be: Material, economic, human, legal, etc.
g. Supervisions
The most appropriate word here is "Follow-up", the action plan should not only show the measurable indicators of the results, but also, establish who will be the follow-up.
This is extremely important in the execution of a project, since it guides the decision maker or the main protagonists committed to strategic planning to make timely decisions that locate the plan or rearrange positions when it is still “opportune” without sacrificing far-reaching objectives. and resources that damage the economic capacity of the company or institution.
h. Strategic decisions
Decisions must be made “in a timely manner”, as we indicated in the previous section, but it does not mean that they must be made without any protection that supports those who are involved in the decisions.
In other words, an optimal plan must define the instances to which the decision makers will go prior to the accommodations or adjustments of the plans. In other words, it is extremely healthy for the institution to establish bodies such as committees, assemblies or any other form of management that seeks to make collegiate decisions that serve as legal support for decision makers.
i. Divulgation
The plan must establish the dissemination instances or the strategies to make the plan known to all those involved, through a schedule of visits, aimed at those involved in the execution of the Plan.
j. Updates
It must also establish the way in which the updates are carried out as a result of adjustments of any kind arising in the life of the plan's execution.
