Background: strategic planning is an appropriate strategy for improving hospitals’ performance and increasing managers’ responsiveness and accountability. Iranian hospitals were requested to have mandatory strategic plans due to the accreditation requrements since 2012. As a result, they faced several challenges in formulating and implementing strategic plans. Hence, this study aimed to identify the perquisites of hospital strategic planning. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 47 managers of teaching, private, military, social security and charity hospitals in 2016. Hospitals were selected purposefully from Tehran province hospitals. Content thematic analysis was used for data analysis using inductive approach. Results: Justifying the need for strategic planning, using an appropriate strategic planning model, training hospital managers and employees on strategic planning process, providing necessary resources, promoting a collaborative and innovative culture, providing incentives for formulating and implementing strategic plans and managers’ and employees’ commitment and involvement are the main prerequisites of strategic planning in hospitals. Conclusion: Hospitals managers must commit the strategic planning prerequisites prior to formulating and implementing strategic plans. Otherwise, they will encounter several serious challenges.

Every country or organization must proceed to strategic planning and choose appropriate strategies for any strategic issue in orde. to encounter with rapidly changing environmental conditions in suitable and rational ways and to settle important internal problems and to continue its active presence in international scenes. The national strategy of every country essentially covers a broad spectrum of the country"s different strategies in various fields such as: education, research, science, technology, industry, etc. National strategies, indicate the goals of countries in different political, economical, social, cultural, defensive, security fields and so forth. Preparation of a national strategy needs comprehensive information, a planning group composed of experts of all fields, the will of distinguished officials, cooperation of mass managements and national mobilization for a successful performance. This paper intends to explain the importance of Biotechnology and the need for the preparation of a national strategy for this technology and the necessity of national cooperation in order to achieve its aims.

strategic planning has a key role in organizational success in the competitive markets. This type of planning which usually has been applied by large organizations, results in selecting proper strategies that bring progresses and excellences for organizations. This paper is aimed to identify the differences between strategic planning in large and small enterprises. Also a suitable model of strategic planning is developed for small enterprises through comparing existing strategic planning models for large and small organizations. To identify the differences, some known differences were discovered from literature and tested in statistical sample of this study. Finally the differences are identified through analysing gathered data. To design the new strategic planning model for small enterprises, 9 models of large and 3 models of small enterprises were studied comparatively. Three factors were exerted as common factors of 12 compared models. They were: 1. Mission & vision; 2. External & internal factors; and 3. Strategies & strategic plans. These exerted factors were considered as principle factors of the new model. Considering special characteristics of small enterprises, another factor was added as a special factor to the new model. The fourth factor was the "view or perspective of top managers" of small enterprises. This new model became the conceptual model of this study. Findings show that strategic planning for large organizations is different from small enterprises. And also the new developed model is suitable for small enterprises from different dimensions.

The theory of preparation of "Structure- strategic Plans" was proposed by me at the beginning of my new profession as the Director General of Urban planning Office, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in 1990 and preparation of the "County Structure- strategic (Development) Plans" (sub-region level) were started according to this theory as the first step of bringing changes in the urban development system of Iran. The second step for changing the urban development planning system was proposed by preparation of the "City Structure- strategic Plans" instead of the Master (Comprehensive) plans (traditional system) and "Basic Detailed Plans", "Action Area Plans" and "Subject Plans" (local level) in 1997. I started preparation of the city structure- strategic plan for Tehran, when I was the Deputy of Mayor of Tehran for Architecture and Urban Development with preparation of terms of reference and selection of consulting engineers for all 22 boroughs of municipality of Tehran in 2001.Selection of structure- strategic plans as the title of the theory is because it is necessary to prepare the structure of economic, social and physical development of the county or city at first and then the strategies for fulfillment of those structures should be proposed. Action area plans and subject plans should be prepared according to the proposals of the structure- strategic plan of the city for those areas or subjects which are introduced in that plan as the implementable projects in the scale of urban design. Basic detailed plans are also prepared according to the proposals of the city structure- strategic plan for those areas which are outside of the action area or subject plans limits.The process of the preparation of the structure- strategic plans is quite deferent with other planning processes. The proposed process has spiral shape and it has 8 steps in each cycle as follows: First cycle: Preparation of Structural– strategic Plan, Action Area Plans, Subject Plans and Basic Detailed Plan.(First 5 Year) -Recognition, problem and difficulties analysis and considerations -Purpose objectives -Primary vision presentation -Presentation of various alternatives, their evaluation, best choice selection and final vision -Compiling of future city developmental structures -Presentation of strategies for city developmental structure fulfillment -Preparation of action area plans, subject plans and basic detailed plans. (First 5 Year) -Implementation of action area plans, subject plans and basic detailed plan and evaluation of implemented plans.Second Cycle: Revision of Structural– strategic Plan and Basic Detailed Plan and preparation of Action Area Plans, Subject Plans. (Second 5 Year) -Evaluation of development rate after plans implementation of first cycle -Determination of purposes fulfillment method and rate of economic, social, cultural, environmental and physical development -Revision and determination of final vision (according to economic, social and cultural, environmental and physical development) -Revision and determination of city future developmental structures (economic, social and cultural, environmental and physical structures) -Revision and determination of fulfillment strategies of city development structures -Revision of basic detailed plan -Provision of action area plans (second 5 years) -Provision of subject plans (second 5 years).

Introduction: strategic planning in clinical specialties is a beginning for the linkage of these disciplines with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s vision for the year 1404, and the related development plans. It is a starting for opening of a field of competition with the region and the world, and institutionalization of a planed movement towards the realization of the country’s vision in the area of medical sciences. Since this is the first experience of the country in this filed, right entry into the planning process, right conduct of the process, and more importantly, implementation of the prepared plans can help to institutionalize the planning process and will end with many useful outcomes. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the perspectives of the members of the planning committees about the process of the strategic planning and its outcomes in clinical specialty disciplines.Methods: This was a qualitative study. Using a purposive sampling method, we selected four planning committees and interviewed with the secretary and one the active members of each committee. The interviews were semi-structured, and we used an interview guide for conduction of the interviews. The interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, and through an iterative process coded, and summarized.Findings: The participants observed that strategic plan is a plan for determining the future direction of the clinical disciplines. All of the interviewees stressed on the necessity of the strategic planning. They believed that planning process started without enough preparation of the participants. They remarked that the planning process had many outcomes other than the strategic plan. They told that they could use the experiences from the implementation of the plans in the future rounds of the planning. But, they were very concerned about the implementation, that is, they either had doubts about the implementation of the plans, or they believed that the devised mechanisms for the implementation were inadequate.Conclusions: The lessons learned from the first experience of the strategic planning in clinical specialties must be used in the next round of the strategic planning, and for the institutionalization of the planning process in the clinical disciplines as well.