ANALYSIS OF GRAND RAPIDS POLICE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
The plan chosen for analysis is that designed and published by the Grand Rapids Michigan police department. It will be analyzed using criteria from the Bryson's Strategy Change Cycle which, in general, can be described with the old adage "Eating the elephant one bite at a time." The model focuses on process improvement, better data accuracy and shorter benchmark intervals. Some of the requirements include:
The model shown below in graphic 1 reflects the steps and interrelations of those steps that are called for in the Bryson model. The model is excerpted from his book Strategic Planning for Public and Non-Profit Organizations (1995)
Chart 1: The Bryson Strategy Change Cycle
It is apparent from an analysis of the Grand Rapids Plan that a great many elements from Bryson were used. In fact, the quote "The strategic plan provided the overall blueprint for change, so that the system now provides identifiable milestones and formal and informal rewards for achieving them" is paraphrased from the 1995 version of that book. The primary elements of the plan will now be discussed in terms of the awareness of the SWOT model. The SWOT model stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, and is a valid method of determining the key areas for strategic change.
It is apparent that the planning personnel analyzed the strengths of the department, since there are several mentioned in the plan.
* Cross-departmental agreement to adhere to the plan
There are also weaknesses pointed out, although not directly stated as such. For instance, the statement "The Pilot requires
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