Aids in determining strategy,the internal analysis

The analytical processes by which strategic planning is determined have been examined from many different standpoints. This paper breaks the process of strategic planning down into the internal and external analysis that a company has to undertake. The author defines these two concepts and provides interesting insights into the manner in which the two elements of the process are dove-tailed together. The paper describes a number of aids which can be utilized to determine the strategic whole and provides a number of interesting new insights into the utilization of those aids. The author provides a coherent and comprehensive format for the development of effective strategic planning.     

Developing strategic thinking

This paper looks at the problem of getting managers to contribute effectively to strategic planning, and focuses on the role of management development approaches in ensuring that this happens. A number of formal, and less formal, management development techniques are discussed in the light of their relevance for developing strategic awareness. The importance of providing exposure to strategic issues at an early stage in managers' careers is stressed, and also the need to encourage managers to take initiatives in obtaining their own development. Some of the most fruitful techniques involve taking full advantage of the ‘natural learning’ that takes place on the job, and those which provide a close integration between management development and the planning process—such as projects and ‘task forces’. Finally the role of senior managers in helping to create and maintain a climate in which strategic abilities can develop is discussed.     

Linking R&D with the strategic management process of the firm

An examination of the problems associated with integrating R&D activities with the overall strategic planning process of the firm is presented. A model which links R&D to other functional activities as well as to strategic planning by a technical planning committee is proposed. The implementation of this integrative process requires organizational structural and communications adjustments.     

Strategic planning--the role of the chief executive

Failure to see strategic planning as a process and ineffective CEO involvement are two reasons for failures in strategic planning. This article outlines the stages in an effective strategic planning process, discusses the appropriate role or roles for the CEO or leader in each stage, and defines the expected results from effective strategic planning.     

Information for more effective strategic planning

This paper illustrates how an entity—called a ‘strategic data base’ (SDB)—can be developed to provide important information in a form which makes it directly useful in various phases of a strategic planning process. The strategic data bases are concise statements of the organizational and environmental situations which define the organization's most salient problems, opportunities, and constraints. These SDBs may be developed through a participative process involving tasks forces which are made up of managers representing the diverse interests of the organization. The strategic data bases thereby become important informational inputs to planning which can directly serve to enhance the quality of planning decisions. Moreover, the process of developing SDBs can be an important learning device for those middle managers who can become involved in such a process at a much earlier point in their career than that at which they might normally engage substantively in the organization's overall strategic choice process.     

Planning for strategic decision support systems

The emergence of Strategic Decision Support Systems has opened up new vistas for the true integration of formal models into the strategic planning process. However, with these new opportunities also come the need to develop planning mechanisms that will permit these sophisticated systems to achieve their potential. The process of strategic planning for Strategic Decision Support Systems that is described in this article serves to cast the organization's overall plans, strategies and strategic attributes into a framework that can be used to develop formal SDSS plans.     

The components of strategic planning

What is the current level of strategic planning in the United States? What objectives are quantified in the strategic plans? What kinds of environmental factors are identified in the planning process? What areas are planned for? How often are the strategic plans reviewed? These are among the questions which were raised in a recent survey of 323 companies whose results are summarized in this paper. It is hoped that this study will permit practitioners to compare their planning with planning being performed in their industry.Suggested improvements in the stategic planning process include more frequent monitoring of performance against the plans, more comprehensive environmental surveillance, and greater emphasis on organizational structure plans. The strategic planning process was found to be constantly evolving and cyclical. The strategic planning activity expanded during adversity and contracted when business prospects were good.     

How to integrate strategic planning into your management process

The primary purpose of strategic planning is to enable management to make decisions today which will affect the firm over the long run where the long run is characterized by risk and uncertainty. If strategic planning is to be useful to management it must be an integral part of the decision making process and not merely an appendage to the management process. In this paper we shall define some of the problems involved in integrating strategic planning and strategic planning tools into the decision process. We shall also suggest some possible solutions to these problems.     

Strategic Planning in the Malawi Public Sector: Potential Tool for Progress or Regression?

The process of developing strategic plans in the public sector is regarded as one indicator of positive reform in the system. The assumption is that strategic planning ensures that (just like in the private sector) public sector organizations’ operations should cost less but deliver better service. Ultimately the argument is that public sector institutional governance and responsiveness to the citizenry is not only seen but felt. However, strategic planning has to be done in an appropriate manner for it to deliver. For instance an analysis of the underlying motives, the role of leadership in the process as well as the relevance or viability of the guiding strategic planning model significantly affect the nature of expected results. In the early 2000s, the Malawi public sector embarked on a serious drive towards strategic planning process as part of its reform package. In order to ascertain it’s potential to transform the Malawi public service, this paper focuses at critically analyzing the strategic planning process in the Malawi public sector by among other things asking: who initiated and led the process? What approach determined the process? What is the possible potentiality of the adopted strategic planning approach in enhancing the reform agenda in Malawi? Based on interviews with senior officers in key Malawi public sector institutions, the paper concludes that the strategic planning process is ‘transitional and fluid’ hence lacks the clout to effectively enhance reforms in this sector. Another finding is that lack of effective leadership has largely contributed to the status quo.     

Organizing for strategic management— A conceptual model

Managing the strategic problems is a complex process. In order to organize this process efficiently in one's own company it is necessary to understand and be able to communicate the basic factors involved. In the author's view there is a need to compile into a model concepts, relations and organizational principles of major importance to successful strategic planning. This article is based on the author's analysis of current literature and his own practical experience in Scandinavia. The article presents a conceptual model for strategic management including the planning process as well as the execution of strategic decisions. This model is related to basic organizational principles and the methodology used in project management.     

Strategic planning in Tanzania

The Tanzania Wood Industry Corporation is one of the very few parastatal organizations that have developed and introduced a strategic corporate planning process. The novelty of the idea, the many operational problems that surround the managers and the lack of adequate training are some of the problems that have retarded the development and introduction of corporate planning in Tanzania. In 1980 the new CEO of TWICO contracted a Finnish management consulting firm to audit the whole corporation and to recommend a better management practice. Systems manuals were then developed and a grassroots based strategic corporate planning process was then introduced. Now in its third year, the impact on management is very encouraging.     

Four styles of strategy development

When considering the number of movements, schools and wars of position, the professional field of strategic management would appear to be maturing. Four views of the strategy development process can be distinguished: rational planning, planning as a guided learning process, planning on the basis of logical incrementalism and emergent strategy formation. All four of these views play a role: rationality, learning experience and spontaneity supplement one another.     

Codes of ethics and firm size: A stakeholder approach to strategic planning

A firm's capital budgeting and strategic planning decisions have the potential to affect many groups of people called stakeholders. A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the firm's objectives. This study examines whether the presence of a code of ethics that specifically addresses capital budgeting/strategic planning decisions will significantly raise the awareness of social responsibility during the long-run planning process. This study also examines whether firm size is associated with the awareness of social responsibility during the long-run planning process. Support was found that a code of ethics that addresses long-range planning is associated with higher awareness during the planning process. Firm size was not found to be statistically different.     

How physicians can create their future

This article responds to the need for physicians to become proactive, using strategic planning to address changing conditions in the health care field. Strategic planning purposes are defined and a common process of strategic planning is presented. A case study analysis includes commentary on the need for planning, the context of planning in a larger system, process and procedure, a sample plan, benefits and actions to date, and future uses of the plan. Implications of this case of strategic planning for other physicians are discussed.     

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.     

A framework for the strategic management of future tyre technology

Strategically managing technology faces one major problem: technology planners and managers who mistake ‘R & D management’ for ‘strategic technology management’. In globally competitive markets, survival and growth of tyre companies will increasingly depend upon the ability to manage technological resources strategically. This article proposes a process model which views the strategic management of technology as ‘techno-business management’, where technology and business strategy, planning and implementation can be facilitated by the use of portfolio frameworks and technology forecasting techniques in analysing and addressing the key strategic management areas of techno-business strategy development and strategy implementation.     

Using strategic planning to drive strategic change

This article describes a case history of strategic planning, learning and change within a major division of Dowty plc. At Dowty CASE, a telecommunications company, the management team used strategic planning as a structured learning process to generate strategic change. There are many lessons which academics and practitioners alike can learn from this case of strategic planning and change in action.     

Reconstruction and Deconstruction of the Foundation of South Australia as a Nineteenth-Century Strategic Planning Process and How it Might Compare with Current Planning Practice

ABSTRACT

This article does three things. It reconstructs the narrative about the foundation of South Australia in the 1830s as a strategic planning process. It then deconstructs that analysis to explore the issues it addresses and the outcomes. Finally, it reviews the South Australian experience to see if there are valid comparisons to be made with current practice and what lessons it might offer in that regard. In doing that it briefly reviews one present methodology of strategic planning most akin to that followed in South Australia, and one strategic planning exercise that could learn from it.     

Developing a company's strategic management capability

Companies vary widely in their strategic management capabilities. Some still rely almost entirely on ‘fire-fighting’. Many others are slowly developing their capabilities but there are only a few which do give due attention to strategic issues and implement their decisions effectively. To be effective a corporate planner must assist this process of development of strategic ability and must adapt his role as the company's capability changes. In the most successful corporate planning units it is clear that this change in role is occuring, but is there not also a largely untapped market for consultants to assist companies in developing these capabilities?