Drafting a Strategic Plan for Regional Water Companies (Case study: Regional Water Company of West Azarbaijan)

The complexity of the accelerating transformations in technology and the consequent changes in economic and social systems demands the managers of organizations to study the environment and consider the future changes as one of their most important tasks. In this context, managers need to use efficient methods and techniques to incorporate all effective factors into their management to lead the companies to its main objective. Strategic planning is among such methods and approaches. In this research, strategic planning is investigated in case of the Regional Water Company of West Azerbaijan using a comprehensive framework strategy. The framework consists of four stages of start, input, comparison and decision making. Information on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were obtained through interviewing the leaders and experts of the company. By intuitive analysis at the end of the four-stage process, the strategies derived from the SWOT matrix were rated and actions were suggested for them. Also the SOAR strategic model, as a combination of SWOT model and positive thinking, was used for strategic planning which resulted in fulfilling the environmental standards based on international standards, stability in maintaining the level of cultivation in the province, annual increase in efficiency of water resources and facilities, and prevention of desertification. Accordingly, the priorities of the company’s strategies are: 1. Managing the available water resources in the basins; 2. Adding new products and services in relation to current products and services; 3. Selecting economic partners for participation in exploitation and construction; and 4. Economizing the assigning projects to attract investments.