The current practice of bank long-range planning

This paper reports on a recent survey of long-range planning practices in 105 large United States banks. The survey results indicate that long range planning is a relatively new corporate activity with more than half the respondents initiating long range planning the last 5 years. To the extent these banks lead others, this finding suggests greater adoption of long range planning systems in small and medium size banks in the future. Profitability and growth goals are the primary goals quantified in the planning process. These goals are pursued via various strategies. Profit goals are typically pursued by improving pricing policies, adjusting mix and maturity of assets and liabilities to minimize adverse effects of interest rate fluctuations, managing spreads through proper loan pricing and bond portfolio management and tightening cost control with a particular emphasis on non-interest expense. Growth goals are achieved by branch expansion, use of bank holding companies, and increased market penetration through product diversification and sales training programmes designed to develop new business. In addition, information is presented on trends that appear to be developing in the area of long-range planning in the banking industry.     

Corporate planning and operations research: Do they go together?

Corporate planners in 59 U.S. commercial banks responded to a questionnaire on the use of operations research methods in the planning activities of their bank. Based on the questionnaire responses, 39 of the banks were identified as users of operations research techniques in corporate planning. The 39 banks provided background information on their operations research activities in corporate planning with respect to techniques used, number of persons employed, general organization and overall results. In order to learn more about the performance of operations research planners, comparisons were made between the financial performance of the group of users and the group of non-users in the sample. The results suggest that U.S. banks using operations research methods in corporate planning are larger, but not necessarily more profitable, than other banks in the industry.     

Long range planning— Japan-USA— A comparative study

This article reports on a comparative study carried out in the U.S.A. and Japan. He concludes that in the U.S.A. long range planning is used to integrate the strategies of divisions and to control the divisions. The planning process is usually bottom-up rather than top-down.In Japan, long range planning is used for improving strategic decisions of top management, so the planning process is a centralized interactive process.Project emphasis rather than quantitative planning is a common characteristic in both the U.S.A. and Japan. However American corporations are more advanced in this respect. Many Japanese corporations suggest that project emphasis is the key success factor for planning.To cope with uncertainty, American corporations tend to update their plans every year or even at shorter intervals, while adopting contingency plans.To the same end, Japanese corporations are using two time horizon plans which are composed of a long range strategy and a medium range plan.With respect to follow-up and implementation, American corporations follow-up more closely and long range planning is used for the evaluation of managers of divisions. The quality of plan and accomplishment are reflected to the economic rewards.Japanese corporations are less inclined to follow up the long range plan itself, but it is considered as important to implement it through the budget and also through the project plan. Project teams are quite frequently used.     

Long range planning in large United States Corporations—A survey

This paper presents the results of a survey of the application of strategic and corporate planning in 500 large U.S. Corporations. The authors sought to update and provide new understanding on a number of important issues including; the extent of long range planning in these firms, the organizational structure of their planning function, the prevailing attitude towards long range planning in the firm, the planning process in terms of content and revision frequency, and the perceived benefits and problems associated with long range planning. In concentrating upon these issues the authors provide an interesting and important insight into the current application of strategic and corporate planning processes as well as giving a number of indications as to where the theory lags behind the practice.     

Operations research and bank planning

Starting with its use by the military in World War II, the Systems approach to problems solving and planning found its way into the business field. In the U.S.A. this was partly due to the filter-down effect into many firms entering into long term contracts with the Department of Defense. In examining the use of Systems Analysis in corporate planning, there appeared to be a prominent gap in its general use in the financial services industry of which commercial banks are the most important segment. Theoretically, banks are ideal economic units to use mathematically oriented Operations Research. Therefore, an in-depth study of such an existing planning system as used in a major U.S. commercial bank was undertaken. Such a case study, it was hoped, would yield important information as to how to introduce such a planning system into a bank, the types of programs in which it appeared to have strengths and weaknesses, and its applicability to planning processes in commercial banking generally. Consequently, a series of interviews with the director of this planning activity, his staff, and other officers of the bank were conducted. In order to obtain the data used in this study, a pledge to maintain anonimity of the bank was required. So, in the balance of this presentation, it shall be known as ‘The Bank’.     

Long range planning at continental oil

This paper discusses the process of long range planning in Continental Oil Company. Although this process has been developed to meet the needs of a large privately owned U.S.A. company, much of what is discussed would apply equally well to any large industrial organization. Some modifications would be necessary for smaller companies, but the basic principles of planning, would be unchanged.     

Long range planning and organizational performance

The study which is summarized in this article was undertaken with a view to measuring the effects of formal integrated long range planning upon commonly accepted financial performance measures in industrial concerns. Ninety U.S. companies took part in the survey representing five generic groupings (Clothing, Chemicals, Drugs and Cosmetics, Electronics, Food and Machinery). The authors conclude that the top management of any profit seeking organization is delinquent if they do not engage in fully integrated long range planning.     

Modelling a make or buy decision at ICI

Many of the long term problems facing management are so large that either a shorter term view is taken or they are split up into smaller components and analyzed independently. This paper describes a problem for which such approaches would have been invalid. To overcome this, Operations Research was used and a long range planning model was set up. This enabled exhaustive analysis over a planning period much longer than is usually attempted. The results of the study included a stable strategy, detailed operating plans and timetables of expenditures, and a readily accessed management information and planning review system.     

How corporate planning responds to uncertainty

This article is based upon an SSRC research project into the influence of computer methods on decision making. During this research, information on the planning systems of a cross-section of British industry was obtained.The paper illustrates how managers in these firms were coping with planning in the present conditions of extreme uncertainty about the future, combined with adverse economic and business conditions. Conventional planning theory, together with some modern observations on it, are briefly described and then the paper shows how, in the firms visited, the structure of planning was more complex than this theory.It goes on to show that today's critical conditions were not leading to management putting aside their plans and computer models and “muddling through’. They were actually leading to an acceleration in the adoption of formal planning and decision making methods but in a somewhat different manner to conventional planning theory.Seven different modes of planning were identified with integrated operational planning being the most common, possibly the most essential to survival and sometimes the only planning possible into today's conditions. A trend to extend the operational plan to 2 to 3 years and to reduce the firm's long range plan from 5 to 3 years was also observed.Long range plans were being considered as planning and decision making tools and not as blue-prints of the firm's future, as accurate long range forecasting was impossible. Three types of strategic planning were identified with that carried out at intervals probably being the most appropriate for medium sized firms in today's conditions.     

Planning in a state of turbulence

This paper is concerned with an exploration of the role of the long range planner, whether in the private or public sector of the economy, and the impact made upon the processes of his work by government's increasing propensity to manipulate the economy. The authors' researches over the last 2 years into the comparative nature of planning processes in the U.K. economy have made it abundantly clear to them that planners are increasingly concerned at the dangerous potential of such impact upon their forecasting procedures. The emphasis here will rest upon the planner in private enterprises, although the authors' work in both local government and the nationalized enterprises suggest that the problem is of equal importance in these sectors.The authors consider first the past nature of the search processes in long range planning and the context of such attempts to narrow down the range of variables that form the enterprise's perception of its future. Secondly, they examine the emerging discontinuity and the changing role of government, with particular reference to indicative planning concepts. Then they introduce some of the findings of a recent survey of attitudes towards long range planning in the construction industry of the U.K., a sector vitally influenced by turbulence in the economy and with particular interest in government's ideas of macro-planning. Finally Edwards and Harris examine the implications to government and to planners of their findings.     

Physician credentialing. A centralized verification system

The current system for credentialing physicians in the U.S. is staggeringly redundant, prone to error, and expensive. The process for establishing a recent graduate's practice can involve an average of five applications to have privileges at several hospitals and HMOs. A centralized verification system needs to be developed to streamline this process. The amount of information that would have to be stored for all physicians in the country would be immense. However, the technology currently exists to store such information on a much grander scale. Credit unions, banks, and insurance companies utilize such computer systems effectively and with reasonable confidentiality.     

An Empirical Test of the Strategic-Grid Model of Information Systems Planning*

Contingency models of information systems planning predict that no single planning approach will suit all organizations' needs. Little empirical research has been undertaken, however, to evaluate this prediction. Accordingly, we used McFarlan, McKenney, and Pyburn's (1983) strategic-grid model to study the information systems planning problems encountered by 49 governmental agencies. Twenty-seven agencies were required to follow a planning approach best suited to organizations that had a high level of dependence on both their existing and proposed systems. We predicted that agencies not having these characteristics would encounter the most problems with the approach. The remaining 22 agencies could choose their own planning approach. We studied this latter group to determine whether the problems encountered by the first group could be attributed to the mandated approach. Overall, the empirical results obtained were equivocal. Some results indicated that more planning problems were encountered by agencies in which the mandated approach was not appropriate to their position in the strategic grid. Other results were not supportive of this proposition. More work needs to be undertaken, therefore, to evaluate the predictive and explanatory power of contingency models of information systems planning. In addition, our research indicates a need to develop more rigorous theories of information systems planning behaviors, to improve the instruments needed to measure these behaviors, to explore the relationship between information systems planning behaviours and organizational effectiveness, to investigate how organizational learning impacts planning behaviors, and to determine the types of information systems planning problems that diffuse through organizations and those that remain localized.     

Long range planning for information services

An integrated method for the long range planning of information services is presented. The problems associated with such planning are discussed along with requirements for such planning. The method consists of six stages beginning with understanding the current environment and ending with the criteria evaluations of projects. An intermediate level, strategic information services planning, is proposed to develop a project slate to be activated through an action plan. An approach to implementation is suggested. Two applications are discussed.     

Strategic planning system for multinational companies

This article is based on a research study, the object of which is to illustrate the major components of global planning in the context of modern administration. Data were collected from a representative sample of multinational companies, both U.S. and non-U.S. based. The planning process in the companies surveyed followed a pattern based on formal planning systems. The author concludes that multinational corporate planning will in future become a blend of administrative and institutional types of plans.     

Organization for long range planning—A survey of German companies

Whilst much is written about the theory of long range planning it is a fact that unfortunately, the organization of long range planning of business strategy within companies, has not proved to be an attractive object of research for business theorists. This paper is the exception. By an examination of more than 200 companies residing in the Federal Republic of Germany, long range planning is shown to be gaining more importance as a tool for company management. The organizational design of the planning system and its integration into the overall company structure is, according to this analysis, shown to be one of the most central problems of the implementation of corporate planning systems. This paper presents a theoretical framework and the empirical findings on structural and procedural aspects of long range planning, systems. The empirical study was carried out by means of interviews and a questionnaire survey. The survey results show some interesting and important features of the problems engendered by corporate planning and some of the advantages accruing from its successful implementation. Additionally, the analysis provides an interesting backcloth against which to view the implementation of planning and the relationships between the different levels of planning.     

A concept of an integrated transport model

This paper is one of a series being produced on the application of Operational Research techniques in the integrated planning of public service resource provision and consumption. It describes a conceptual basis for planning transportation services within the context of a public service, the others are related to Health Services, Educational Services and community development services.Two sub-models, a linear sub-model and a dynamic sub-model are linked to form the integrated approach to the planning problem. The overall concept is to evaluate in terms of penalties and benefits the alternative plans of resource provisions.It is of interest to know that the principles of the Linear model described here has been applied to long range planning in the Health Service in the U.S.A. and U.K., and has been reported at the NATO conference, Portugal (1974). The Dynamic model has been used, in a more unstructured fashion than described here, by the Greater London Councils. The model in this paper is to form the basis of a more detailed evaluation of alternative transportation plans.     

Environmental forecasting and non-profit professional organizations

To undertake any kind of realistic planning activity, it is useful to have a long-term environmental forecast which provides the planner with an overall perspective. The planner will be functioning over the next decade in a very dynamic, complex and challenging political, economic, technological and social environment, and will require very effective planning efforts to cope with such changing environment. This article presents an approach and methodology that a planner could use in his/her organization's planning process. To the best of our knowledge, very few organizations—profit and non-profit oriented—undertake a formal long-term environmental forecast. This article might encourage several planners to examine this area of long range planning in their respective organizations. The long- term environmental forecasting approach presented in this article could be applied by planners in all types of organizations—small or large, profit oriented or non-profit oriented, old or new. This article, however, is based on a study which the authors did for a non-profit organization.     

Assessing the impact of new technology in information systems

Computer and communication technology is changing at an increasing rate. New technologies are emerging: the price- performance of current technology is improving. There is a need to assess the impact of technology on new information systems projects, particularly those dealing with distributed processing and electronic office systems. Such an assessment provides direction and guidance in long range and intermediate term information services planning. It can potentially prevent costly conversion efforts. An approach is developed for obtaining this assessment. Two case examples of applications are provided which illustrated the method, results and benefits.     

Prediction and Impact of Sea Level Rise on Properties and Infrastructure of Washington,DC

The city of Washington, District of Columbia (DC) will face flooding, and eventual geographic changes, in both the short‐ and long‐term future because of sea level rise (SLR) brought on by climate change, including global warming. To fully assess the potential damage, a linear model was developed to predict SLR in Washington, DC, and its results compared to other nonlinear model results. Using geographic information systems (GIS) and graphical visualization, analytical models were created for the city and its underlying infrastructure. Values of SLR used in the assessments were 0.1 m for the year 2043 and 0.4 m for the year 2150 to model short‐term SLR; 1.0 m, 2.5 m, and 5.0 m were used for long‐term SLR. All necessary data layers were obtained from free data banks from the U.S. Geological Survey and Washington, DC government websites. Using GIS software, inventories of the possibly affected infrastructure were made at different SLR. Results of the analysis show that low SLR would lead to a minimal loss of city area. Damages to the local properties, however, are estimated at an assessment value of at least US$2 billion based on only the direct losses of properties listed in real estate databases, without accounting for infrastructure damages that include military installations, residential areas, governmental property, and cultural institutions. The projected value of lost property is in excess of US$24.6 billion at 5.0 m SLR.     

System Dynamics Understanding in Projects: Information Sharing,Psychological Safety,and Performance Effects

Systems thinking has proven useful in project management planning activities and has been suggested as a critical driver of a range of beneficial organizational behaviors. Yet, empirical evidence on the myriad of ways in which systems thinking can impact internal project dynamics and performance remains limited. This study focuses on one aspect of systems thinking in particular: the ability to recognize and understand the dynamics of systems and their features (e.g., feedback and delay). It makes use of a unique, large‐scale interview data set along with objective and structured survey data drawn from multiple sources associated with supply chain system implementation projects. Analysis suggests that an individual's understanding of system dynamics as well as the similarity of such understanding to that typical of their team is, in fact, a strong predictor of both perceptions of psychological safety and information sharing quality in project work. These outcomes appear to mediate the relationship between system dynamics understanding and performance.