Strategic planning in a turbulent international environment

What we have argued in this paper is that fundamental changes in the multinational corporate environment are taking place raising proaches to multinational environmental surveillance and multinational strategic management. We arenot offering this as a forecast of what the future will bring. Instead, we are proposing this framework to point to the need for greater environmental orientation and adaptation. MNCs are now in a double squeeze and managers must unlearn past models and criteria to understand problem. But the challenge is more than conventional corporate planning. The problematique can be decribed as one of multinational strategic management. In the area of environment we need research and learning to address three basic questions:What is the MCE? What concepts of the environment should be considered for strategic management? What parameters should be monitored? What are some consequences of the concept of interdependence and turbulence?What multinational environmental surveillance should be done? What methodologies are needed? How can these be made operational? How can the corporation be educated to behave in the new mode required in view of these changes?What new strategic issues and challenges lenges emerges from the MCE? What new demands must be factored into the multinational corporate planning processes? What new content does the changing environment procedure? How can the broadening field of opportunities and threats be systematically mapped and understood?     

Strategic planning in a changing corporate environment

Strategic planning is about nothing, if it is not about attempting to achieve desirable futures. In the past this has often been seen as an excuse, or indeed a necessity, for fixed goals which are constantly timed. Such a state of planning has, fortunately, for a long time now been discredited and this paper concentrates upon the concepts of strategic planning within the changing corporate environment, an environment which therefore has to effect both the goals as well as the process of planning. Furthermore, the author concentrates upon the concept of a planning, allocating, and monitoring cycle of strategic planning which sets the strategic planning concept within a process cycle as well as within an effective allocative structure. The author considers this latter point an extremely important one since, as he says, ‘planning can become a very sterile and barren activity if it is not viewed integrally with acting and doing’. Finally, this paper concentrates on the important fact that planning must, within a dynamic environment, be an iterative and a learning process.     

Production planning in a MRP/JIT repetitive manufacturing environment

Some literature suggests that the best approach to production planning is a complete implementation of just-in-time. It has also been suggested that JIT replaces material requirements planning, and computerized procedures are an unnecessary complex burden on management especially in a highly repetitive environment. This article examines the JIT programme at the John Deere Engine factory. In 1985 the factory began a JIT programme with the belief that it would replace their MRP system. The results of the JIT programme are examined and management's conclusion that the best approach is a blend of JIT and MRP is explored.     

Corporate planning in an international environment

In any company, corporate planning centres on deciding what kind of business it should be in, and the philosophy which should govern its method of operation. When the company is an international one, then not only does its organisational structure require closer attention, but another dimension is added to its strategy—that of choosing the countries in which to operate. This article is concerned with two aspects of management: organization and control and the factors influencing the selection of a country for investment purposes.     

Scenario planning,cognition, and strategic investment decisions in a turbulent environment

We explore how scenario planning contributes to cognitive dynamics and strategic investment decisions in a changing environment. Our research is based on an in-depth, longitudinal case study of Shell's ventures in Russia between 1994 and 2016. We show that Shell's scenarios did not foresee some major events that occurred in the turbulent Russian energy market. However, the scenarios envisaged the rising role of gas, the strategic relevance of the gas transportation infrastructure, and the growing interventionism of the Russian government. The scenarios thus helped Shell's managers to adapt their strategic beliefs and ultimately enabled them to notice, assess, and respond successfully to external changes—even though these changes had not been foreseen in the scenarios. Shell has been the first (and, for almost a decade, the only) foreign company to produce and export gas from Russia.     

不确定环境下分散控制供应链物流计划优化

供应链物流计划是供应链管理的重要内容.针对节点无限扩展的分散控制供应链物流计划问题,在提出供应链元概念的基础上,考虑供应链节点企业上下游物料价格要素的随机性,应用随机机会约束规划理论,建立了多级多节点多产品分散控制供应链一体化物流计划模型;设计了基于随机模拟的混合智能算法求解模型;并以算例仿真验证了模型和算法的有效性,...     

Supply vessel planning under cost,environment and robustness considerations

Offshore oil and gas installations need reliable cargo deliveries. The vessels supplying these installations on a periodic basis are expensive and constitute a source of emissions of greenhouse gases. Incorporating vessel speed optimization into the supply vessel planning process may significantly reduce fuel consumption and hence emissions. In addition, speed optimization may yield cost reductions if the number of vessels used does not increase. A main uncertainty factor, especially in the winter season, is the weather conditions which impact sailing and service times. Cost minimization and the application of speed optimization strategies may have implications on the robustness of weekly supply vessel schedules since idle times in the schedules are reduced. We develop a simulation-optimization based methodology that considers costs, emissions and robustness in the generation of weekly supply vessel schedules. Results of analyses conducted on real instances show that robustness requirements may yield both increased emissions and costs in the winter season. However, depending on instance characteristics, different degrees of robustness can be incorporated with both costs and emissions reductions through speed optimization.     

Annualized hours as a capacity planning tool in make-to-order or assemble-to-order environment: An agricultural implements company case

Capacity planning is one of the most important elements for an efficient production planning and control system. It is even more important when the main strategies to fulfil sales requirements are make-to-order (MTO) or assemble-to-order (ATO). Neither MTO or ATO companies keep finished products in stock which means that production level is driven by actual sales figures. Therefore, it is very important to have an available capacity as flexible as possible to meet sales requirements. Annualized hours (AH) is a work time control system that helps in increasing the flexibility of available capacity. The main rule of the AH system is to hire employees to work a certain number of hours on a yearly basis. Following some other pre-defined rules and limits, the AH system allows a company to adjust weekly available time in order to reduce idle capacity or to fulfil requirements that could mean overtime. This paper proposes a linear programming model to plan the operations using AH. This model has been implemented in a company that produces agricultural implements, showing that it is very simple to use. It is producing excellent practical results.     

Production planning and control within a CIM environment: some current developments and requirements for the future

Abstract. This paper considers the integration problems associated with incorporating production planning and control (PP&C) systems within CIM; these problems are typically not differentiated from functionally related problems, and have in the past received relatively little attention. The on-going emergence of a number of standards relevant to manufacturing software systems provides an opportunity to assess the current situation with regard to proprietary PP&C systems and to suggest ways forward towards ‘seamless’ integration of PP&C within the CIM environment. The problems arising from conventional integration approaches are briefly described, and the concept of a simplifying ‘integration platform’ is introduced; the three-schema information architecture is presented as part of this ‘integration simplification’ approach. Current and developing PP&C systems are assessed against a number of information system integration criteria, and the results of a small survey of proprietary packages are presented. The paper concludes that information must be regarded as an enterprise-wide asset, rather than belonging to individual software applications, and that the adoption of relevant standards will enable seamless integration within a three-schema architecture. An increasing number of proprietary packages are adopting standards and methodologies which ease the integration problem significantly.     

Liquidity planning in a small bank

Given a forecast of supply and demand for cash in each period of an infinite planning horizon, and with a known current portfolio, a policy is chosen to invest these cash supplies in securities of different maturities so that the demand in every future period can be satisfied by securities maturing in that period. The objective is to maximize the minimum of the excess over the planning horizon so that any illiquidity in one period is spread out over the entire planning horizon. Analytical solutions are obtained for single maturity and barbell investment policies. Feasibility and optimality conditions are determined for these policies.     

Financial planning in a divisionalized firm

In a business environment characterized by rapid technological changes, massive capital outlays, intensive competition, and the administration of complex large scale organizations, future growth and profitability will largely hinge upon reliable and intelligent long range financial planning.

If a business organization is to raise funds at the most reasonable costs and terms in money markets and capital markets, it must plan its cash requirements in advance to have ample time to negotiate effectively with the prospective lenders or their representatives. It is here that long range financial planning makes important contributions to effective financial management.     

Corporate strategic planning in a university

This paper reviews the relevance of key constituents in modern corporate strategic planning to policy determination in universities. The emphasis is on corporate policy making at the level of the individual institution, not the universities or higher education as a whole. From the outset it is assumed that a university has a measure of autonomy within a wider negotiated environment of which the universities, as a group, are a sector for negotiating purposes. There are therefore important elements in the working of any university that are bound not only by general laws and customs but by specific standard policies, practices and conditions applicable to all universities within a country, e.g. salary and wage-scales.First the environment of universities is examined to ascertain the relevance of such an approach to their problems before passing to an appreciation of their unique features in terms of decision-taking and adaptability. Only in the light of this survey is an attempt then made to concentrate on the particular issues which a university may have to resolve and to which such longer term planning can make a contribution.Inevitably this paper is coloured by the experiences and observations of the author when involved in two U.K. institutions that have undergone rapid growth and change at a pace previously unprecedented in the history of higher education in the United Kingdom. This experience has been shared by many universities and replicated in other higher educational institutions such as polytechnics.     

Marketing planning in a service economy

This article discusses the need for effective planning of the vital services which support modern industrial economies. The influence of the public sector on private industry has grown substantially over the past decade. Government intervention in industry is no longer unique; the public sector and the private sector are in tandem and corporate planners in both areas should establish and develop a fruitful dialogue.     

Modeling in a business environment

Application of an easy to create and use data base technique is discussed in a small to medium business enterprise. A case of actual application for a food processor company is provided in which production resource optimization, and the use of data base for financial reporting and planning are integrated.     

Developing a planning culture for more effective strategic planning

The literature of long-range planning is replete with justifications of the need for strategic planning and admonitions concerning its critical importance. However, both the literature of planning and its practice, as manifested in a variety of organizations as diverse as industrial firms, educational systems and law enforcement agencies, are deficient in specifying proven techniques and methodologies for marshalling organizational resources to effectively implement strategic planning.Over a period of years, the authors have consulted with a variety of business organizations and public agencies in the development and implementation of long-range planning processes. From this work has come an empirically-tested conclusion that the success of long-range planning in an organization is less sensitive to the parameters of the planning techniques that it is to the overall culture within which the planning is accomplished. Since most of the non-pontifical literature of planning focuses on planning techniques and specifications for planning processes, these conclusions suggest a critical void in planning methodology.     

Installing a computerized planning system in Ghana

As part of a World Bank funded project to rehabilitate the export industries of a West African country, a study was undertaken into the methods of corporate planning and the systems of reporting management information for the government owned organization responsible for the distribution and marketing of the country's main agricultural export. Although many of the familiar problems were faced in attempting to introduce modern management techniques into a Third World country, considerable success in implementation was achieved by using a microcomputer with modern business software. Local staff were trained in the use of the modelling software and management information reports were prepared in graphical format to highlight the results for top management.     

Expert leaders in a fast-moving environment

This longitudinal study explores the influence of leaders on performance in the iconic, high-technology, turbulent industry of Formula One. The evidence is evaluated through the emerging theory of expert leadership which proposes the existence of a first-order requirement: it is that leaders should have expert knowledge in the core-business of the organizations they are to lead (holding constant management and leadership experience). The study's findings provide strong support for the ‘expert leader’ hypothesis. The most successful F1 principals are disproportionately those who started their careers as drivers. Moreover, within the sub-sample of former drivers, it is those who had the longest driving careers who went on to become the most effective leaders. The study's expert-leader findings are consistent with the hypothesis that longitudinal performance improves when a leader's knowledge and expertise correlate with an organization's core-business activity.