Baldrige Application Template: Strategic Challenges Table

Figure P.2b-3: Strategic Challenges

Type

Description

Business Strategic Challenges

Our business challenges include:

1) The trend to consolidation is projected to continue for several years,

2) The need to find and balance the best approach to cost reduction with our existing successful approaches to conducting business,

3) The need to be a good governance role model.

4) Potential changes in regulations

Operational Challenges

The effect of significant and ever changing technological advances on our supply, operational, professional services, and inventory functions represents the most significant operational strategic challenges are presently confronted with for the foreseeable future.

Human Resource Strategic Challenges

Our key human resource challenges include recruiting capable people, developing them, retaining them, and continuously gaining/maintaining their acceptance of ever-changing work responsibilities. The overall shortage of professional and technical personnel, escalating salaries, dynamic technical advances, and the relative ease of moving across similar type organizations contribute to this challenge.

 Note:       Replace exemplary information in table above with equivalent information that is representative of your organization, as appropriate.
Underlined words and abbreviations appearing in
blue are HyperLinks to other Application Templates, Results Charts, and Best Practices.

Note: This Strategic Challenges Template responds directly to related Organizational Profile questions.

Baldrige Glossary: Strategic Challenges

(Click on blue words below to link to definitions, detailed descriptions, examples, core values, best practices, and/or examples)

Strategic Challenges

The term “strategic challenges” refers to those pressures that exert a decisive influence on an organization’s likelihood of future success. These challenges frequently are driven by an organization’s future competitive position relative to other providers of similar products or services. While not exclusively so, strategic challenges generally are externally driven. However, in responding to externally driven strategic challenges, an organization may face internal strategic challenges.

External strategic challenges may relate to customer or market needs or expectations; product, service, or technological changes; or financial, societal, and other risks or needs. Internal strategic challenges may relate to an organization’s capabilities or its human and other resources.

See the definition of “strategic objectives” for the relationship between strategic challenges and the strategic objectives an organization articulates to address key challenges.

The term "strategic challenges" appears in the Baldrige Criteria in the following locations:

Organizational Profile P.0: Environment, Relationships, and Challenges

Item P.2: Organizational Challenges

Area P.2b: Strategic Challenges

Category 4: Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

Item 4.1: Measurement, Analysis, Review of Organizational Performance

Area 4.1b: Performance Analysis and Review

Note: Words highlighted in yellow are newly added for 2006.