Indigenous People and the Miserable Failure of Australian Planning

Abstract

Major changes in Australian law and significant research efforts have re-positioned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as important actors in planning. Yet, this has barely penetrated the consciousness of the mainstream professional community. Current requirements for professional competencies and planning curricula fall well short of preparing planners to productively engage with Indigenous people. The profession itself barely acknowledges the significant changes advanced in Indigenous studies and planning, and the new imperatives. This paper details the contemporary position of planning practice in Australia with regard to Indigenous people and considers the changes required to more justly engage with Indigenous rights.     

Rational Versus Communicative: Towards an Understanding of Spatial Planning Methods in German Planning Practice

This paper considers the use of planning methods in German planning practice against the background of the ‘communicative turn’. The debate about concepts of rationality in Germany as well as in other countries can be said to have resulted in the paradigm of communicative actor-oriented planning achieving at least the same standing as the analytical rationality of the classical expert-based planning model. The inconsistent use of the term method in research corresponds to empirical findings indicating that the term is used ambiguously in practice. Nonetheless, planning methods fulfil a number of functions in practice. The notion of a relatively clear division between ‘analytical-rational’ methods on the one hand and ‘communicative’ methods on the other hand was relativized by experimental investigations. The setting in which the methods are applied seems of more importance; even apparently ‘analytical-rational’ planning methods can be implemented in a more or less communicative fashion.     

Planning and economics

It is an ironic fact that British industrialists, who regularly complained so bitterly about the amount of planning (or interference) by the last government, should have been so ready to embrace Corporate Planning. Yet this welcome has been very real, as can be judged by the number of advertisements appearing in the quality papers for corporate planners and the large numbers who enrol for any course which incorporates corporate planning in its title. The irony lies in the fact that formal definitions of corporate planning could be applied as much to the state as the firm. However, whilst the one is ‘good’ business the other is alleged to sap initiative, ruin morale, and interfere with the natural workings of the market place.     

Planning,information technology and the post-industrial society

In the course of attending exhibitions and conferences dealing with online systems and data bases and software packages, the author has collected information on the new technology of interest to the planner. He finds that in some cases design systems are being developed with no clear idea of planners' needs or of the planning function. He believes that it is necessary to establish a dialogue with the systems designer and information scientist to ensure that they are informed about the planning process, as otherwise the current breed of planners, and planning organizations, could be made obsolete and a new planner, au fait with the developing software, would take over the role.     

Strategic Information Systems Planning: Planning System Dimensions,Internal Coalignment,and Implications for Planning Effectiveness

Improving strategic information systems planning (SISP) remains a critical concern of both practitioners and academics. To date, a rather large number of studies have examined or proposed analytical techniques, frameworks, and tools for developing strategic plans. As a direct consequence of this emphasis, methodologies have often become the basis for characterizing the entire process of SISP within the information systems literature. Recent theoretical work suggests that such characterizations are unnecessarily narrow and that planning activities within organizations can be more accurately conceptualized as systems of behaviors, agendas, or process dimensions. Working within this contemporary theoretical perspective, the findings of this study suggest that SISP can be operationalized along distinct dimensions of comprehensiveness (extent of solution search), formalization (rules and procedures to guide activities), focus (creativity or control), flow (top down, bottom up), participation (number and variety of planners), and consistency (frequency of planning cycles). Similar to previous theoretical work and case studies, higher order factor modeling of these dimensions suggests that planning systems that exhibit aspects of rationality (high comprehensiveness, high formalization, control focus, top-down flow), and adaptation (high participation, high consistency) are positively associated with planning effectiveness.     

Planning for job creation

It is generally accepted that the future is uncertain and consequently structure plans must be monitored and revised, as necessary, to take account of changing cirsumstances. But the perspective taken both to the initial Plan, in its survey of the current scene and its likely trends, and to monitoring, is crucial. The present study presupposes that structure planning tends to be backward looking and gives insufficient attention to the potential changes in technology and society that could begin to develop during the plan period.     

The Reverse Supply Chain Planning Matrix: A Classification Scheme for Planning Problems in Reverse Logistics

This paper presents a conceptual planning framework for reverse supply chain operations based on an extensive literature review and industry expertise. Such a holistic scheme for classification of planning tasks is necessary as the intensification of research on reverse logistics and closed‐loop supply chains in recent years has raised a number of planning problems that differ from those of solely forward‐oriented supply chains. Up to now, a common and comprehensive definition of relevant planning problems along the reverse chain has not existed. Thus, a thorough understanding of the interdependence between these elements is missing. This paper aims to systematically identify planning problems, which are assigned to different planning horizons and distinct process stages of product recovery. The result is a classification scheme, called a ‘Reverse Supply Chain Planning Matrix’ (RSCPM), which categorizes planning problems and shows their interrelation in recovery operations. It serves both academia and practitioners as a holistic overview for planning and decision tasks. Moreover, decision‐makers are supported in identifying the relevant variables in reverse supply chains and in revealing the consequences of one decision regarding other parameters of the system. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the RSCPM is the first attempt to comprehensively structure the field of reverse supply chain research by identifying, defining and interconnecting planning problems within an integrated framework, as is common in the forward case.     

Strategic Manufacturing Planning Systems and Their Linkage to Planning System Success

Academics and practitioners alike are focusing more attention on manufacturing strategy after having recognized the important role it plays in shaping the success of industrial firms. Even though research in this area has increased in the last decade, the focus of much of that work has been on the content rather than the process of the manufacturing strategy. Consequently, this study attempts to understand the important elements of the strategic manufacturing planning process and its effectiveness. Borrowing from the extant literature in the fields of strategic management and information systems, we propose a research model that relates strategic manufacturing planning system design to planning system success. Using structured questionnaires, empirical data is collected from over 200 manufacturing executives to test the model hypotheses. Planning process in manufacturing was found to be a bottom‐up approach from a corporate or business perspective, which differs from the top‐down planning process prevalent in strategic information systems planning process. Findings also indicate that greater planning system success in manufacturing is associated with a planning system that combines some “rational” elements (formality, comprehensiveness, control focus, longer horizon) with others that lend adaptability (wider participation and more intense interaction). But the strategic manufacturing planning system is more than just a collection of independent planning characteristics. Instead, it can be viewed as a gestalt planning system whereby planning characteristics move together in affecting overall planning system success.     

Performativity as ongoing journeys: Implications for strategy,entrepreneurship, and innovation

For the most part, strategy, entrepreneurship, and innovation have been researched and practiced from a representational position. In this paper, we make a case for taking a performative turn. Strategists, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs are embedded-embodied actors who engage in material-discursive practices in their attempts at constituting phenomena. Overflows, which are inevitable given dispersion of agency, give rise to matters of concern for multiple stakeholder groups. Settlements between stakeholders are temporary, as phenomena will be de-constituted when constitutive arrangements change. Consequently, the projects and initiatives that strategists, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs undertake are best seen as ongoing journeys.     

分布决策环境下生产-分销协同计划研究

针对分布决策环境下因信息不对称使得供应链协同计划求解困难及难以达到全局最优的问题,本文利用多层规划理论和方法构建一个供应链生产-分销协同计划模型,采用模糊交互式协商和遗传算法的优化求解方法对协同计划模型进行求解。该方法求解的结果是一组满足约束条件的满意解,各节点企业根据自身偏好和约束信息决定是否接受该满意解,或者修正各自目标满意度隶属函数重新求解。决策过程具有一定的柔性。最后通过算例给出供应链生产-分销协同计划满意解的求解过程,对文中所建立的模型和算法进行了有效地说明和验证。求解结果说明该模型和协商方法能够有效地解决非对称信息条件下供应链生产-分销协同计划的求解和冲突问题。     

A Model for Planning Resource Requirements in Health Care Organizations

In this paper we present a general model and solution methodology for planning resource requirements (i.e., capacity) in health care organizations. To illustrate the general model, we consider two specific applications: a blood bank and a health maintenance organization (HMO). The blood bank capacity planning problem involves determining the number of donor beds required and determining the size of the nursing and support staff necessary. Capacity must be sufficient to handle the expected number of blood donors without causing excessive donor waiting times. Similar staff, equipment, and service level decisions arise in the HMO capacity planning problem. To determine resource requirements, we develop an optimization/queueing network model that minimizes capacity costs while controlling customer service by enforcing a set of performance constraints, such as setting an upper limit on the expected time a patient spends in the system. The queueing network model allows us to capture the stochastic behavior of health care systems and to measure customer service levels within the optimization framework.     

Planning innovation

This paper deals with the concept of planning for innovation, using marketing as a basis for that planning. The author claims that marketing really controls the whole operation of planning for innovation, even the details of development and design, because customers not only use the resulting product or service; they pay for it and make everything possible.     

Planning vs strategy—which will win?

The author describes some of the changes that are taking place in strategic planning at General Electric—a company which is trying to be the most competitive enterprise in the world. He explains why these changes are necessary, the problems of implementation and how they are working out.     

Of those who plan: A meta-analysis of the relationship between human capital and business planning

Business planning is a popular managerial practice, especially in the SME context. Yet, literature presents diverging perspectives regarding business planning and the role it fulfills for the individuals leading these organizations. To advance research, we focus on evidence regarding factors that determine whether and how individuals engage in business planning. Drawing on human capital concepts and the theory of planned behavior, we scrutinize how education and different prominent work experience types influence business planning behaviors. We use meta-analysis to aggregate data on 8095 observations leading SMEs from 31 independent data sets. We find critical differences in planning behaviors relating to human capital types, as well as to whether individuals engage in substantive planning processes or the specific preparation of a formal business plan. Implications of our findings for research on business planning are discussed.     

Planning Your Way to Job Growth

This paper examines the impact of comprehensive community planning on job growth in a US setting. Comprehensive planning is carried out in many communities, usually at the city or county level. Analyzing county-level data from the state of Georgia collected using a survey of planning professionals, we find that several aspects of planning and the subsequent implementation of the plan can have large impacts on job growth. We find that zoning standards increase job growth, but that it makes little difference how strict those zoning standards are. The largest increases in job growth can be captured simply by consistently following the adopted plan. This is likely due to the signal sent by following the plan that the local government can be trusted to keep other promises made in the process of attracting new businesses. Finally, the most innovative comprehensive plans were associated with lower job growth, at least within our 5-year post-plan study period, perhaps because already struggling communities pass innovative plans in hopes of correcting their shortcomings. The lesson our research holds for planners is that following the plan is likely more important for its success related to economic development than the particular features in the plan.     

Design,Disability and the Planning Challenge: The Reality of Living with Severely Disabled Children

This paper investigates the effects of the speculative and standardized house building model dominant in the UK on the residential experience of families with severely disabled children and evaluates the barriers to the provision of inclusive accommodation through the planning and development process. Unlike previous studies on the theme, this paper draws together, compares and contrasts, within one location, the experiences of families that include severely disabled members, local planners and housing developers. The results indicate that, as a result of the deficiencies of mainstream housing design and delivery, real and substantial stress can be created for families with disabled children. Moreover, it was found that institutional and attitudinal inertia restricts communication between developers and planners in responding to the needs of these families. It is argued that evidence based on experiential knowledge of the needs of disabled groups is a critical first step in meeting their requirements for appropriately designed housing.     

Planning in a German engineering business

Formalized corporate planning, particularly in its long-range aspects, often seems to be a privilege of the huge international firm. The following case is intended to show that, contrary to this belief, long-range planning is equally essential for the company evolving rapidly from a small into a medium-size company. In the company described, over a period of 3 years a basic system was developed with the participation of line management, and many of the procedures have become routine. Also, the firm's business objectives and long term strategy have been reviewed and the company has diversified outside the saturated traditional markets for agricultural machinery.     

The Integration of Cost and Capacity Considerations in Material Requirements Planning Systems

Within the sequential framework of material requirements planning (MRP), a master production schedule (MPS) of end-item production is prepared and a bill-of-material processor is used to convert the MPS into a plan for needed subassemblies, parts, and materials. This study examines the impact of different procedures for considering inventory-related costs and capacity limitations in the two phases of planning: master production scheduling and bill-of-material (BOM) processing. A total of nine procedures are considered for integrating the two phases of planning. The results indicate that the integrated procedures have a significant effect on the trade-offs among inventory-related costs, work load variations, over/under time costs, and excess work loads. Further, the results suggest that the method used to develop the MPS has the primary influence on these trade-offs, but the method used by the BOM processor can sometimes have a moderating effect.     

Planning Strategically or by the Book?—Contentious Land Use Planning in South-eastern Finland

The debate on strategic spatial planning highlights the limitations of statutory land use planning in weighing up future options for spatial development, particularly in instances of rapid change. This paper draws on this debate in order to analyse planning institutions and practices in Finland. The case in point is the south-eastern border region where interdependencies with Russia, particularly shopping tourism, have created pressures on land use and led to contentious planning processes between regional and central levels of government. It is argued that, in the absence of cross-border spatial co-ordination, there is a need to establish links between regional land use planning and visions of spatial scenarios in the national context.