CHAPTER I

Introduction

Strategic planning is a daunting task in which even skilled leaders have difficulties

in perfecting it, so much so that even skilled managers still encounter what they call

“bumps in the road” meaning problems or complications with in their strategies.

Strategic planning is one of the least-loved organizational processes Nicolas Kachaner,

Kermit King, and Sam Stewar (2016). Planning can be referred to as a set of methods

designed to prepare information in such a way that decisions can be made more

rationally Friedmann and Hudson (1974), Marios (1979). Strategy is the science and art

of employing the political, economic, psychological, and military forces of a nation or

group of nations to afford the maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war.

Based on the definition of both planning and strategy we could say that strategic

planning aims to maximize the potential of a specific plan to get the top results and

outcome through a series of complex and intricate procedures and methods. Strategic

planning helps determine the direction and scope of an organization over the long term,

matching its resources to its changing environment and, in particular, its markets,

customers and clients, so as to meet stakeholder expectations Johnson and Scholes

(1993). On the other hand middle managers are comprised of managers who head

specific departments or business units, or who serve as project managers in flat

organization (business dictionary), so much so that the Office of the Ombudsman has

taken notice and had provided a handbook that a middle manager may utilize.

1
“Middle managers serve a vital role in an agency as the first line of defense against graft

and corruption. As such, they were identified as target participants to important

activities included in the EC-OMB Corruption Prevention Project, to equip them with

proper tools and techniques on corruption detection, risk management and self-

assessment skills on corruption vulnerabilities coupled with ethical and leadership

dimensions at work to serve a lasting, sustained, and continuing approach in combating

corruption.” Ombudsman (2008)

The statement clearly depicts that the Office of the Ombudsman readily published

a Handbook that guides a middle manager to greater heights and lengths. With all the

paths or practices strategic planning, the study selected only fourteen of the best

practices in strategic planning “However, there are a number of proven and effective

practices and methodologies that can be adapted for virtually any business”, Tru Group

Incorporated (1999), for the purpose of the researchers having a realistic yet varied

selection of practices to compare and evaluate. From these selected practices, the

researchers aim to find which are the best among the practice and what practice is best

suited when it comes to school based strategic planning. The study aims to compare

the effectiveness of a practice in specific area and its overall effectiveness in all of the

areas in Cainta Catholic College, the study also aims to prove that even with only 5

practices selected, not all of these are practiced and used by the middle managers of

Cainta Catholic College. This research intends to compare which practice will lead to a

proper and effective result of a strategic plan of a middle manager. ”Agility is great, but

it’s more powerful when paired with preparedness” Nicolas Kachaner, Kermit King, and

Sam Stewar (2016). Strategic planning is typically oriented to a particular organization’s

2
circumstances at a particular time in its history. This document provides a brief overview

of current “best practices” and considerations for managers to explore throughout the

strategic planning process, Tru Group Incorporated (1999).

Background of the Study

The reason why this research was conducted was mainly because the

researchers intend to gather data to prove that one of the many practices in strategic

planning would be the best to be applied by middle managers of Cainta Catholic

College. There are many ways to approach strategic management and it all depend on

the situation, circumstance, setting and many more that a certain organization has. The

conflict that this research targets to solve is that middle managers of Cainta Catholic

College are not using the best practice or the correct strategic plan within their team, as

well as middle managers of Cainta Catholic College are not fully utilizing the potential of

their team/subgroups mainly because their practice of strategic planning is not suited

and compatible with their respective team/subgroup. An example of this conflict is

where a certain subject area has been given the task to produce a project or program

that promotes their subject e.g. “buwan ng wika”, “mathalino quiz bee” etc, but because

of a flaw in the strategic plan of the middle manager the program proved to be

unsuccessful or there were mistakes made and misunderstanding within the group of

the subject area that could have been prevented if only the practice of the strategic plan

was well suited and prepared by the middle manager of that subject area. Mentioning

this it is clear that the right practice applied in a strategic plan is crucial to the success of

a program, and if applied in a larger scale the efficiency of the work performance of the

facilities and services of Cainta Catholic College, for it can improve the fluidity,

3
relationship, productivity, and work performance in all of the sectors and respected

areas of Cainta Catholic College. ”Achieving strategic preparedness takes a structured,

organized thought process to identify and consider potential threats, disruptions, and

opportunities—which is, for want of a better term, strategic planning” Nicolas Kachaner ,

Kermit King , and Sam Stewar (2016). The researchers chose this specific problem

mainly because they thought that this problem could be fixed realistically, in other words

the solution is achievable logically and time bound. Not only is the solution realistic, the

problem itself is noticeable throughout the school, it isn’t just a meagre problem which

could be solved by tinkering a few factors, it is a problem that needs effort and

meticulous revisions of the current system of practices used by middle managers in

their strategic plan in short a problem fit for a management thesis. What pushed the

researcher to tackle a problem like this is that they aim to improve the programs held by

the different departments of the Cainta Catholic College. Another motivation of the

researchers was that to improve the work performance of each department of Cainta

Catholic College.

Scope and Delimitation

This research focused on the middle managers in the secondary department of

Cainta Catholic College and their approach concerning strategic management towards

their subordinates. This study covered the practices of strategic planning that middle

managers make or apply to their team. The time frame of this study spans all

throughout the first semester. This study has not covered any managers that are below

or above the middle managers of Cainta Catholic College. The researchers also limited

the study to the identified practices of strategic planning and will not be including

4
 strategic management. This study is also limited only to Cainta Catholic College and

had not venture unto different schools.

Statement of the problem

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of::

1.1 Educational Attainment

1.2 Age

1.3 Work Experience

1.4 Work Performance

1.5 Civil Status

1.6 Gender

2. What are the practices on strategic planning in terms of:

2.1 Goal Setting

2.2 Productivity

2.3 Cooperativeness

2.4 Interpersonal Relationship

3. What are the benefits of strategic planning on the performance of the middle

managers of secondary department of Cainta Catholic College in terms of:

3.1 Goal Setting

5
 3.2 Productivity

3.3 Cooperativeness

3.4 Interpersonal relationship

4. Is there any significant relationship between strategic planning practices and the

profile of middle managers in the secondary department?”

Hypothesis

“There is no significant relationship between strategic planning practices and the

profile of the middle managers in the secondary department”

Theoretical Framework

The researcher’s preferred theory to be used in their study is the “Rational

Comprehensive Theory of Planning. This “Theory -of- planning” is concerned with the

process by which decisions are taken. Rational comprehensive theory is one of the

major streams in planning theory that has since been developed. It is based on a

normative model which values higher rationality in the face of multiple organisational

and political pressures Grant (1985). This is the preferred theory of the researchers

because the theory is about how an individual faces pressures from different sources

yet will decide rationally, that if faced with threats a human will still choose the most

rational option and path to avoid or better yet resolve the threat. There were further

developments of the theory during the late 18 th century to the middle of 19th century.

Development of Rational Comprehensive (Synoptic) theory can be traced back to

Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Comte applied the methods of observation and

6
 experimentation to the field of sociology and believed that persistent social problems

might be solved by the application of certain hierarchical rules and that with the aid of

science of sociology mankind would progress towards a superior state of civilization.

Conceptual Framework

Process
Input Output
 Construction and
validation of - Determined
instrument practices on
Profile of the respondents
 Distribution and strategic planning
-Age collection of of middle managers
instrument of Cainta Catholic
-Educational attainment College
 Interpretation of data
- Work performance -

-Work Experience

The strategic planning’s

effect in

 Productivity
 Objective attainment
 Cooperativeness
 Interpersonal
Relationship

7
The Input of the research in their study are the variables that are within the scope of the

study, these are the dependent and independent variable. These variables will undergo

through the Process, a series of data distribution and gathering through the instrument

prepared by the researchers and later on be interpreted comprehensively to yield the

output; a determination of the best practices on strategic planning of middle managers.

Definition of terms

Cooperativeness- Efficiency of an organization in terms of its human resource.

Goals- Outcomes expected to be achieved in a long period of time.

Goal Setting- The process of outlining and establishing goals in a strategic plan.

Interpersonal Relationship-The mutual understanding of each member towards

another.

Middle Manager- A personnel under an organization which has a certain authority

within his/her team or group that is specialized in a specific field and are designated in

the secondary department of Cainta Catholic College.

Objectives- Measurements of progress in that are set or done consecutively.

Organization- Group of people who work to reach a particular purpose/goal.

Practices- The application or the approach of the middle manager introduce their plan

strategic plan.

Productivity- The rate of producing efficient and effective service and the attainment of

objectives and the goal.

8
Secondary Department- The high School Department of an educational institution.

Strategic Planning- A method to ensure the path of the organization will head towards

success.

Chapter II

Review of related literature and studies

This chapter includes the ideas, finished thesis, generalizations or conclusion,

methodologies and others. Those that were included in this chapter helps in

familiarizing information that are relevant and similar to the study of the research: “Best

Practices on Strategic Planning of Middle Managers of Cainta Catholic College” .

Related Literature

Foreign Literature

Strategic planning is a popular practice in different sectors. It is a leadership and

management tool that has been successfully used for decades to help organizations

better prepare for the future and improve long-term performance. Effective leadership is

required to develop and implement strategic plans. Henry Mintzberg has suggested that

strategic planning is quite different than strategic thinking. He believes that strategic

planning is more appropriately thought of as strategic programming. Effective strategic

planning requires not only deciding what an organization should do, but also its having

the knowledge and skills required to do it. With this in mind, the tools of organization

development are discussed as a factor that could increase an organization’s capability

9
to develop and implement strategic plans. This includes developing and retaining a

workforce with the requisite knowledge and skills. Strategic planning has a long history

in organizations. Its origins are often thought to have been in military; where there was a

need to develop comprehensive, long-term, more limited tactical planning needed to win

battles or skirmishes. An early form of strategic planning, the SWOT Analysis came out

of the Harvard Business School in the 1950s as part of their efforts in regard to

business policy development and the analysis of business strategies in relation to an

organization’s internal and external environments. The practice of strategic planning

achieved considerable popularity in private-sector organizations in the 1960s and

1970s. In the 1980s, it became more and more prevalent in the public and non-profit

sectors. Unlike other management that have quickly disappeared, strategic planning is

management technique or practice that has demonstrated staying power and broad

usage across a variety of organizations in both the private and public sectors.

The 1994 publication of The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning by Mintzberg

presented a very comprehensive, complex, and contrarian view of the practice of

strategic planning. His central argument is that strategic planning by its very nature is

the antithesis of “strategic thinking”. He views strategic thinking as a creative act of

synthesis, and strategic planning as a process that is essentially one of analysis (An

analogy might be right brain versus left brain thinking, in which the right brain is

considered to be more linear and logical). Mintzberg believes that strategic planning is

often spoils strategic thinking, causing managers to confuse real vision with the

manipulation of numbers. Mintzberg goes on to argue that “Strategic planning, as it has

been practiced, has really been strategic programming, the articulation and elaboration

10
of strategies or visions that already exist. He asserts that strategic planning does not fail

because of such commonly mentioned pitfalls as a lack of commitment from top

management or resistance to change, but instead because of its fundamental nature of

being too analytical, too formalized and too detached from the functions and interests of

the business’s line managers. In spite of his belief that strategic planning is not effective

at creating business strategies, he believes that it can play important role including,

strategic planning as important programming, strategic plans as tools to communicate

and control and strategic planners as analysts and catalysts. Plans can be an important

way of communicating the organization’s intentions both internally (helping to ensure

that everyone in the organization is pulling in the same direction) and externally. In

Mintzberg’s words, “Planners shouldn’t create strategies, but they can supply data, help

managers think strategically, and program the vision”. Although insightful, Mintzberg’s

distinction between strategic thinking and planning may be more relevant to the private

sector, where the environment tends to be more volatile and where businesses must

constantly be on the lookout for new business strategies and opportunities. Generally, in

the public sector and in public transportation more specifically, the situation is usually

more constrained. For example, the purpose and geographic jurisdiction of public

transportation agencies is usually prescribed by state legislation. For the most part,

public transportation agencies are not going to be pursuing business opportunities

outside of the area of public transportation. In addition, their financial structure is often

defined or controlled in large part by their enabling legislation or funding bodies. It might

therefore be argued that strategic planning, when thought of as strategic programming

described by Mintzberg implies this when he states that “Only when an organization is

11
sure of the relative stability of its environment and is in need of the tight coordination of

a myriad of intricate operations, does such strategic programming make sense. The

more creative strategic thinking described by Mintzberg might be used only infrequently,

when there is a need for more transformative organizational or institutional change.

“The manager is challenged to deal consciously with the pressures of superficiality by

giving serious attention to the issues that require it, by stepping back in order to see a

broad picture, and by making use of analytical inputs” ( Mintzberg, 1998). In stating

this Mintzberg is defining the action that a manager would take when faced with a task

e.g. (making a plan/program). The chapter written by Henry Mintzberg on “Harvard

Business Review on Leadership” which is “The manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact”

tackles on the definition of a manager inside a work place and business environment.

“The manager is challenged to gain control of his or her own time by turning obligations

into advantages and by turning those things he or she wishes to do into obligations”,

Mintzberg (1998), again Mintzberg tries to define what a manager is and what action/s

he or she must make. The chapter could be related to the study by which it defines the

characteristics of a manager pertaining to critical thinking an analytic reasoning.

Being a manager requires a clear head and a good sense of reasoning and logic

as to what Abraham Zalenik said “A managerial culture emphasises rationality and

control” in his chapter “Managers and Leaders: are they Different?” in the book

“Harvard Business Review on Leadership”. The chapter tells the differences between a

leader and a manager, but more importantly is Zalenik also included the similarities of a

manager and a leader more specifically to the characteristics they both must share. “It

takes neither genius heroism to be a manger, but rather persistence, though

12
mindedness, hard work, intelligence, analytical ability, and perhaps most important,

tolerance and goodwill”. Zalenik stated what a leader possesses that a manager should

also learn to have in which a manager must also learn to be a leader. Zalenik’s chapter

relates to the study in terms of what Zalenik’s view on the demographic characteristics

that a manager must own.

“Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” President Dwight Eisenhower (2002).

Eisenhower spent years building his team, the strategy, and the capabilities for a

successful invasion. It was a planning process that incorporated input from all of his

team members. Although his plan would be written and distributed to his team, it wasn’t

the document itself that would bring them success but the planning process. Strategic

planning is typically oriented to a particular organization’s circumstances at a particular

time in its history. However, there are a number of proven and effective practices and

methodologies that can be adapted for virtually any business. This document provides a

brief overview of current “best practices” and considerations for managers to explore

throughout the strategic planning process. Clearinghouse’s 1996 revealed the summary

of the best practices strategy study. One of the best practices of Clearinghouse’s that

communication of the strategic plan is a formal and significant element of the process

and it is viewed as a measure of quality planning. Also planners emphasize action plans

and strategic thinking. Planners expect strategic thinking to take place primarily at the

business unit level. And according to Clearinghouse the role of strategic planning as a

key element in the management system is explicitly recognized through strong links to

other elements of the management system (e.g., strong human resources and

organizational structures).

13
 Gary Hamel, a strategy expert, looks at strategy as a revolution. He believes that

a strict top-down approach to the strategic planning process leads to rigidity and an

inability to strategize appropriately within a firm’s ever-evolving environment. Today,

successful strategic planners include a breadth of people in their planning processes. A

participatory strategy process are specific methods employed to achieve active

participation by all members of a group in a decision making process. The approach can

be used for most issues and should give equal opportunities for everybody involved.

The primary goal is to create productive discussions to develop positive solutions.

Method selection is dependent on what the participants want to achieve, as each

method employs different processes and outcomes. Each method should be viewed

holistically as a certain way of thinking, rather than as an individual tool.

Local Literature

In the book “Strategic Planning; concepts, processes, issues” by Prof. Jack

Edward Effron Ph.D. and Emmanuel T. Santos Ph. D. in its context lies goals, goal

setting etc. The book clearly states that it serves individuals seeking to establish goals

and objectives for their organization, in simpler term the book was made to be a guide

for those who want to create concrete and comprehensive goals and objectives.

According to Christensen that “Carefully considered objectives help avoid misdirection,

vacillation, and mere drifting” meaning that an objective mustn’t be taken so lightly

when dealing with an organization which relates to the study of the researchers that

setting goals and objectives is one of the factors of strategic planning.

14
CHAPTER III

Method of Research

Descriptive Method, the researchers used the descriptive method of research to

conduct the study. Descriptive method research is used to describe characteristics of

population or phenomenon being studied. It helps the researchers to collect reliable and

accurate data. The descriptive method helped the researches attain the goal of

determining the best practices of strategic planning. The method is appropriate to this

study since it aims to describe the effective strategic planning of middle manager.

Setting of the Study

The study is conducted in Cainta Catholic College, an educational institution

located at A. Bonifacio Avenue, Cainta, Rizal. Cainta Catholic was founded in 1931 by

rev. Father Jose Tajon who was parish priest of our lady of light. He opened the catholic

so that children of the town could avail of primary education, meaning during the time of

father Tajon the tuition fee was all free. The school survived the pre-war years but

unfortunately Fr. Tajon died. Daniel Couroens, a CICM priest was appointed parish

priest who decided to reopen the Cainta Catholic School, since as it continues to serve

to the CCC academic community up until now. The school aim to be Christ-centered

institution that proclaims the good news of truth justice and love. Its mission is to

become the preferred educational institution at the same time the center of religious

formation.

15
Subject of the study

The respondents chosen by the researchers are the middle managers in the

secondary department; these are the coordinators that handle the different departments

in the high school department. These are the preferred respondents of the researchers

that would yield accurate data to the best practice of strategic planning for the reason

that they are the ones who observe it 1st hand. The researchers also included the

middle managers themselves as to which they are the ones who execute and formulate

the strategic plan that will be implemented in their respected area.

Procedure of the study

To visualize the procedure of the study and give a tangible time frame for the

study, the researchers used the Gantt chart for the procedure of the study. The Gantt

chart shows the time, in terms of months of a procedure of the study

Procedure June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March

2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018

Formulation
of research
questions
and thesis
title
In search of
related
foreign and
local
literature and
studies
Construction
of Instrument

Validation of
Instrument

16
Distribution
of Instrument
to selected
respondents
Retrieval
of the
instrument
Interpretation
of Data

Conclusion
of the study

Final
Defense of
the Study
Revision and
publishing of
the study

Table 1.0

Table 1 presents that for the contents of chapters 1 to 3 were completed

before the end of the first semester which was on the month of October, while for

chapters 4 and 5 were accomplished during the second semester.

Sources of Data

There are two different sources of data collection; primary data and secondary

data. Primary data collection uses surveys, experiments or direct observations.

Secondary data collection may be conducted by collecting information from diverse

source of documents or electronically stored information, census and market studies are

examples of a common sources of secondary data. The data that will be used by the

researchers will mostly be composed by the primary data though the interpretation of

the collected data will come from the secondary data which are the related literature of

the study. The instrument that the researchers will use will be comprised of levels of

17
satisfaction and effectiveness of the strategic plan of the middle managers, the

instrument also has some demographic questions that will determine the profile of the

respondents and their validity to and reliability to the data they have given.

Sampling Design and sample

The chosen sampling design of the researchers was purposive sampling, a type

of sampling that can be very useful in situations when the researchers need to reach a

targeted sample quickly, and where sampling for proportionality is not the main concern.

The researchers have conduct the study to the whole population of middle managers in

the secondary department of Cainta Catholic College

Construction of the Instrument

The construction of the data was based on our related literature; the researchers

utilized parts of the instrument of the related literature and incorporated the study’s

factors and variables. The instrument consists of the demographic inquiries of the

respondents, questions in the statement of the problem and the hypothesis of the study

by which are the indicators of the evaluation.

1 2 3 4

INDICATORS VERY POOR POOR GOOD EXCELLENT

Validation of Instrument

The instrument of the researchers had be validated by the different heads of the

college department in Cainta Catholic College which have attained various master’s

degree and doctorate degree.

18
Administration of the Instrument

The instruments have been administered to the middle managers in the

secondary department of Cainta Catholic College by the researchers through purposive

sampling with a time duration of 20 minutes to answer the instrument and will be

collected by an assigned member of the research group.

Gathering of Data

The data from the instrument had undergone statistical treatment which had

collected back from the respondents by an assigned member of the research group and

had been tallied by the research group.

Statistical Treatment

To determine the profile of the respondents, percentage and rank was be used

while to determine the extent of the benefits of the practices of strategic plans of middle

managers weighted mean was used and for the extent of the practices to the strategic

plan of middle managers weighted mean had been used again and for the hypothesis

testing the researchers used Pearson R as the statistical treatment.

19
CHAPTER IV

Presentation Analysis and Interpretation of Data

1. What is the profile of the respindents in terms of:

Age Frequency Percentage

21-25 yrs. old 0 0%
26-30 yrs. old 1 8.33%
31-40 yrs. old 2 16.67%
41 yrs. old above 9 75%
Total 12 100%
Table 1.1

Table 1.1 shows the age categories of subjects who took part in the completion of the

questionnaires. This table indicates that he respondents were mostly comprised of 41

years old and above range, contributing to 75 % of the total respondents followed by

16.67 % from the 31 to 41 years old range, and lastly composing of 8.33% comes from

the 26-30 years old rage.

Sex Frequency Percentage

Male 0 0%
Female 12 100%
Total 12 100%
Table 1.2

Table 1.2 indicates that a hundred (100) percent of the respondents are female.

Civil Status Frequency Percentage

Single 3 25%
Married 9 75%
Widow/widower 0 0%
Total 12 100%
Table 1.3

20
 Table 1.3 indicates that only 25% of the total respondents have not been legally

married while 75% of the respondents were and are still married.

Length of Service Frequency Percentage

1-5 yrs. 0 0%
6-10 yrs. 3 25%
11-15 yrs. 0 0%
16-19 yrs. 2 16.67%
20 yrs. longer 7 58.33%
Total 12 100%
Table 1.4

Table 1.4 indicates that majority of the respondents have worked in the school

for 20 years and longer comprising of 58.33% of the total respondents while 25% of the

total respondents have worked for the school for 6 to 10 years followed by the 16.67%

of the respondents which have worked for the school for 16 to 19 years.

Highest Educational Frequency Percentage

Attainment
High school 0 0%
College 6 50%
Master’s Degree 6 50%
Doctorate Degree 0 0%
Total 12 100%
Table 1.5

Table 1.5 depicts that 50% of the total respondents has a highest educational

attainment of college degree while the other 50% of the total respondents has attained a

master degree.

21
Years as coordinator Frequency Percentage
1-2 yrs. 6 50%
3-4 yrs. 3 25%
5-6 yrs. 1 8.33%
7-8 yrs. 1 8.33%
9-10 yrs. 1 8.33%
Total 12 100%
Table 1.6

Tale 1.6 depicts that majority of the respondent s have been in the position of

coordinator for 1 to 2 years comprising of 50% of the total respondents followed by

those who have worked for 3 to 4 years which is 25% of the total respondents and the

other categories are comprised with 8.33% of the total population.

2. What are the Strategic Planning Practices in terms of :

The indicators of the following groups of data presented in tables are comprised of

the strategic planning practices similarly found in; trugroupcompany.com,

onstrategyhq.com, Strategic Planning by Gundars BērziĦs and www.entrepreneur.com.

The factors for the following data such as goal setting, productivity, cooperativeness

and interpersonal relationships have been taken from managementhelp.org

representing the purpose of a strategic plan.

22
 Table 2.1

Practices in your Strategic Plan

Weighted Verbal
Indicators Rank
Mean Interpretation

Full commitment from key people

3.42 4
in the organization Good

Allow for open and free discussion

regardless of each person’s 3.75 1
position within the organization. Good

Think about execution before you

3.58 3
start. Good

Make your plan actionable. 3.66 2

Good

Don’t write your plan in stone

(allows adaptability and changes). 3.42 5
Good

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 2.1 indicates that the selected strategic planning practices are

decently observed by the coordinators in the secondary department. Their weighted

mean has not deviated in the range of 3 or in verbal interpretation as “good”. The

weighted mean of each indicator scored in this particular manner for the fact that these

are the best practices meaning that these practices are expected to be found and

observed in the strategic plans of most middle managers or in this research the

23
coordinators, which was benchmarked at onstrategyhq.com by Kim Perkins (2015).

Table 2.1 implies that the respondents observed these practices in their strategic plan

which may indicate that a strategic plan of the respondents as effective, however the

weighted means have not reached the uppermost score which is 4 meaning that though

these practices may have been observed is has not been emphasized enough resulting

to flaws and errors observed as the result of the lack of emphasis

Table 2.2

Goal Setting

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Full commitment from key people 3.50 2

in the organization
Good

Allow for open and free discussion 3.66 1

regardless of each person’s
position within the organization. Good

Think about execution before you 3.50 3

start.
Good

Make your plan actionable. 3.50 4

Good

Don’t write your plan in stone 3.42 5

(allows adaptability and changes).
Good

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 2.2 is focused on the factor of a specific purpose of a strategic plan

which is goal setting. The weighted mean of indicators has not deviated from the score

24
of 3 mainly ranging from 3.42 as the lowest in rank and 3.66 as the highest ranking. The

respondents favoured indicator no.2 over the rest of the indicators while indicator no.

no. 5 was favoured least. Indicator no. 2 having the highest weighted mean points

towards to the respondents prioritizing communication among the crew to set up the

goals which are in their strategic plan. Indicator no. 5 on the other hand having the

lowest weighted mean indicates that the respondents least prioritizes this indicator. The

finding for table 2.2 proved to be far from what the researcher’s expected because as

implicitly stated in The Stretch Goal Paradox by Sim B. Sitkin, C.Chet Miller and Kelly E.

See(2017, February) indicators 3, 4 and 5 are the ones that’s should be prioritized by

the middle manager for the factor of goal setting in a strategic plan. Having stated that,

table 2.2 implies that with the mismatched of observed practices for the factor of goal

setting the extent o and effectiveness of the strategic plan of the respondents is not

maximized to its full capabilities.

Table 2.3

Productivity

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Full commitment from key people 3.33 5

in the organization
Good

Allow for open and free discussion 3.66 1

regardless of each person’s
position within the organization. Good

Think about execution before you 3.58 2

start.
Good

25
Make your plan actionable. 3.58 3

Good

Don’t write your plan in stone 3.42 4

(allows adaptability and changes).
Good

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 2.3 is concentrated on the factor of a strategic plan in terms of

productivity. The weighted mean of the all the indicators have not deviated from the

score of 3 ranging from the lowest which is 3.33 to 3.66 which is the highest. Indicator

no. 2 has the highest rank while indicator no.1 has the lowest rank. Indicator no.2 was

preferred by the respondents while indicator no.1 was preferred least. Indicator no. 2

attaining the highest score indicates that the respondents gave more significance to the

communication of each individual of the group to increase the strategic plan’s factor of

productivity while indicator no. 1 got the lowest score suggesting it is the least prioritized

among the indicators/best practices. The results of table 2.3 contradict the idea of

involving an expert and or key people to the strategic plan stated in 4 Ways CEOs Can

Create an Effective PR Strategy by Ayodeji Onibalusi (2016, July 25). The results

implies that with the improper prioritization of practices the factor productivity of a

strategic plan is not being capitalized on enough by the respondents

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 Cooperativeness

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Full commitment from key people 3.33 Good 5

in the organization

Allow for open and free discussion 3.66 Good 2

regardless of each person’s
position within the organization.

Think about execution before you 3.75 Good 1

start.

Make your plan actionable. 3.66 Good 3

Don’t write your plan in stone 3.58 Good 4

(allows adaptability and changes).

Table 2.4

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 2.4 is focused on the factor cooperativeness, a factor of a strategic plan.

The weighted mean of the indicators have not deviated from the score of 3 ranging from

3.33 being the lowest to 3.75 being the highest. Indicator no. 3 had the highest rank

while indicator no. 1 had the lowest rank. Indicator no. 3 had the highest score meaning

that the respondents had prioritized the execution of the strategic plan over the other

indicators and least prioritizing the help of key people in the organization. The results

were not as expected, for the expected highest score was indicator no. 2 based on the

idea of trugroup.com (1999) stating that communication is essential for the

cooperativeness and the success of a strategic plan. Though indicator no. 2 did rank

second it still wasn’t the highest prioritized indicator/practices.

Table 2.5

27
 Interpersonal Relationship

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Full commitment from key people 3.25 Good 5

in the organization

Allow for open and free discussion 3.42 3

regardless of each person’s
position within the organization. Good

Think about execution before you 3.50 Good 1

start.

Make your plan actionable. 3.50 Good 2

Don’t write your plan in stone 3.42 4

(allows adaptability and changes).
Good

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 2.5 concentrates on the factor of a strategic plan which is interpersonal

relationship. The weighted mean of the indicators have not deviated from the score of 3

ranging from 3.25 being the lowest to 3.50 being the highest. Indicator no. 1 had the

lowest weighted mean thus ranked last while indicators 3 and 4 had identical weighted

mean however due to ranking indicator was placed first and indicator no. 4 ranked

second. The findings implies because there were indicators that had the similar scores it

could be inferred that these indicators are evenly observed by the respondents with the

exemption of indicator no. 1 being the lowest and is far from the 4 indicators with that

mainly range from 3.40 to 3.50

3. What are the benefits of strategic planning on the performance of the middle

managers of secondary department of Cainta Catholic College in terms of?

28
 The following data will present the benefits of a strategic plan in terms of goal

setting, productivity, cooperativeness and interpersonal relationship and its extent to the

respondents.

Table 3.1

Goal Setting

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Producing new Insights 3.33 Good 4

Designing a Better Curriculum 3.33 Good 5

Facilitated Planning 3.42 Good 1

Provides clear guidance and 3.42 Good 2

direction

Enhanced motivation of individuals 3.42 Good 3

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 3.1 presents data that has not deviated from the score of 3 ranging from

3.33 being the lowest to 3.42 being the highest. Indicators no.1 and 2 had identical

while indicators no. 3, 4 and 5 have the same weighted mean. The findings of table 3.1

follow the concept of The Stretch Goal Paradox by Sim B. Sitkin, C.Chet Miller and Kelly

E. See(2017, February) indicating that if a strategic plan observes a good goal setting

factor then the following benefits are expected and or are observed in the performance

of the organization. This implies that the following indicators/benefits are to be expected

and observed in the performance of each coordinator’s strategic plan and that the

programs that they have implemented showcases these benefits

29
 Table 3.2

Productivity

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Maximized the resource available 3.50 Good 1

Increased Work force 3.33 Good 2

Competitiveness of Individuals 3.33 Good 3

Increased Punctuality 3.08 Good 5

Better Corporate Image 3.33 Good 4

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 3.2 shows the findings has not deviated from the score of 3 mainly

ranging from 3.08 as the lowest and 3.50 as the highest. Indicator no. 1 has the highest

score while indicator no. 4 has the lowest score. The results of table agrees with the

implications stated in the 4 Ways CEOs Can Create an Effective PR Strategy by Ayodeji

Onibalusi (2016, July 25) implicitly stating that the benefits of a strategic plan in terms of

productivity are the following indicators and these indicators rely on the effectiveness of

the strategic plan’s factor of productivity. The result implies that the benefits are

observed in the performance of the respondents in terms of productivity meaning the

strategic plan has some extent of effectiveness.

Table 3.3

30
 Cooperativeness

Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank

Mean Interpretation

Shared Decision Making. 3.58 Good 1

Better work Atmosphere 3.58 Good 2

Helps give a better sense of Authority 3.50 Good 4

Increased work completed 3.58 Good 3

Increase the bond of the team 3.50 Good 5

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 3.3 presents data that has not diverged from the score of 3 with 3.58

being the highest and 3.50 being the lowest. Indicators no. 1, 2 and 4 attained similar

weighted means of 3.58 while indicators no. 3 and 5 attained also a similar weighted

mean of 3.50. The results implies that indicators 1, 2 and 4 are slightly prioritized over

indicators 3 and 5 supporting the concept of Importance of Cooperation in the

Workplace by Erin Schreiner (2008) that there would be an increase of the said

indicators if there is an extent of effectiveness of a strategic plan. Its implementation to

the respondents is that their strategic plan has an extent of effectiveness thus the

benefits in terms of cooperativeness is shown in their performance.

Table 3.4

Interpersonal Relationship

31
Indicators Weighted Verbal Rank
Mean Interpretation

Decreased Conflict between individuals 3.58 Good 1

Enhanced work etiquette 3.58 Good 2

Openness of and Individual 3.50 Good 5

Increased Trust to work mates 3.58 Good 3

Helps build respect between individuals 3.58 Good 4

(Verbal Interpretation: 1.00-1.99 = Very Poorly Observed, 2.00-2.99 = Poorly Observed, 3.00-
3.99 = Strongly Observed, 4.00-above = Excellently Observed)

Table 3.4 shows data that has not deviated for the score of 3 with indicators 1, 2,

4, and 5 attaining a score of 3.58 while indicator no. 3 attaining a score of 3.50. The

findings of table 3.4 suggests that the benefits are evenly observed in terms of

interpersonal relationship with the exemption of indicator no. 3 supporting the idea of

Linda Ray(2008) in article Importance of human relations in a workplace suggesting that

the following indicators are to be observed in a workplace if the strategic plan has a

extent of effectiveness. This implies that the strategic plan of the respondents has an

extent of effectiveness in the interpersonal relationship in the workplace.

4. Composite table on the practices on the strategic planning

WM VI Ranking

Goal Setting 3.51 Good 2

Productivity 3.51 Good 3

Cooperativeness 3.59 Good 1

Interpersonal relationship 3.41 Good 4

Average 3.50

Table 4.1

32
 Table 4.1 presents the averages of all the factors of strategic planning where

cooperativeness scored the highest mean of 3.59 implying that it has that most of the

respondents are in favour of cooperativeness. It could be implied that the respondents

has prioritized cooperativeness as their main factor when creating their strategic plan

supporting the idea of trugroup.com (1999) implicitly stating that cooperativeness is

essential for a strategic plan to have a level of effect in an organization but also going

against “All About Strategic Planning” by Carter McNamara MBA, PhD saying that in a

strategic plan goal setting must be the utmost priority for any manager of an

organization.

5. Composite table on the benefits of strategic planning.

WM VI Ranking

Goal Setting 3.38 Good 3

Productivity 3.31 Good 4

Cooperativeness 3.55 Good 2

Interpersonal relationship 3.56 Good 1

Average 3.45

Table 5.1

Table 5.1 shows the averages of the benefits of the factors in a strategic plan

where in interpersonal relationship score the highest weighted mean of 3.56 indicating

that most of the respondents have chosen interpersonal relationships. The findings

33
imply that the respondents are expecting and or have observed the benefits most in the

factor of interpersonal relationship than in any other factors in a strategic plan.

6. Hypothesis testing

Using Pearson r as the statistical treatment of our data to know the correlation

between the profile of the respondents and the practices used in the strategic plan and

its benefits a score above .05 indicates the rejection of the null hypothesis while a score

of below .05 indicates the failure to reject the null hypothesis.

Profile Average Practices Benefits

Mean

8.33 3.375 3.42 3.33

16.67 3.705 3.75 3.66

75 3.665 3.58 3.75

25 3.66 3.66 3.66

16.67 3.5 3.42 3.58

58.33 3.375 3.5 3.25

50 3.54 3.66 3.42

50 3.5 3.5 3.5

50 3.5 3.5 3.5

25 3.42 3.42 3.42

8.33 3.33 3.33 3.33

8.33 3.54 3.66 3.42

8.33 3.54 3.58 3.5

8.33 3.58 3.58 3.58

8.33 3.46 3.42 3.5

34
SD 22.6406

Pearson r 0.164211

Table 6.1

Table 6.1 shows the average mean between the practices and the benefits of

the strategic plan and is correlated to the profile of the respondents the result of

Pearson r is 0.164211 meaning that the null hypothesis is rejected meaning that there is

a significant relationship between the profile and the strategic planning practise and its

benefits.

Chapter V

Summary Conclusion and recommendations

This chapter presents the summary of the research work undertaken, the

conclusions drawn and the recommendations made as the outgrowth of this study. The

research conducted was on the profile, practices on strategic planning used and its

benefits

Summary of findings

Out of the 12 the respondents were 75 % being 41 years old above, with all of the

respondents being female and have been married, 58 % serving the institution for

longer than 20 years and are evenly divided with either a master’s degree or a doctorate

degree.

35
 The average weighted mean of the following factors as for the strategic plan are

as follows; goal setting with 3.51, productivity with 3.51, cooperativeness with 3.59 and

interpersonal relationship with 3.41 all verbally interpreted as “good”.

The average weighted mean of the benefits of the strategic plan are as

follows; Goal setting with 3.38, productivity with 3.31 cooperativeness with 3.55 and

interpersonal relationship with 3.56 all verbally interpreted as “good”.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions can be drawn.

1. The researchers conclude that the profile of the middle manager has a relation to the

practices being used and its extent of effectiveness

2. The researchers conclude that the practices of a strategic plan are being observed by

the middle managers generally in their strategic plan.

3. The researchers conclude that the certain practices are misused by the middle

manager to the extent of a specific practice being used on the wrong factor of a

strategic plan.

4. The researcher conclude that in making a strategic plan the middle managers does

not prioritize the help and participation of key people such as those who are in a higher

position than the middle manager.

36
5. The researchers conclude that the benefits of strategic planning is observed and are

expected in the output of the strategic plan.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions presented, the following recommendations

are suggested:

1. The researchers suggest that the middle managers should have proper seminars/

orientations with regard to strategic planning so that it may help them grasp a better

concept of how to create a better strategic plan.

2. The researchers suggests that the school should have a more thorough job

specification for a middle manager so that if one would apply, their experience and

knowledge are up to par with the task given to them as a middle manager.

3. The researcher suggests that the middle managers should let key people be more

involved in the making of their strategic plan or be involved in their strategic plan so that

the middle managers would not be lacking of any resources and information that the key

people might provide thus improving their strategic plan.

4. The researchers suggest a more strict data gathering method for the future

improvement of the research.

5. The researchers suggest gathering and collecting more information from the related

literature and if possible find noteworthy studies either local or foreign to further

strengthen the related literature of the research.

37
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