Decisions,judgement and style

This paper, one of a series which have already appeared in previous issues, focuses on the role of people, their judgments and their styles in the process of making and taking decisions concerning the future; that future and the decisions which will shape it being part of the complex strategic planning process. The author does not deal with decision analysis but concentrates his analysis upon the delicate balance which is maintained between what Sir Geoffrey Vickers calls ‘the art of judgement’ and the quantifiable elements of decision. The author rightly makes a distinction between decision-making: and decision-taking: this distinction accurately mirrors the long and often complex consultation process which occurs in almost all organizations before a decision is actually taken. The author's analysis concentrates upon the important effect which ‘judgement styles’ can have upon an organization and its planning process. Indeed, this paper suggests quite positively that judgment styles have an important and indeed crucial effect upon the view of the future which an organization will regard as preferable as well as influencing the manner in which the planning process will operate.     

The dangers of centralized economic planning

There is little evidence that there is much value in riveting attention on the question of strategic planning in an era of low growth or negative growth. Rather, there is value in discussing strategic planning in terms of the efficient realization of society's goals— whether expressed as economic goals or as non-economic aspirations. This article contains some observations on corporate strategic planning, provides perspective on the energy and materials scarcity question, and warns that detailed economic planning by government thwarts the optimal use of resources to improve living conditions for everyone. The author holds that renewed government reliance upon the workings of a competitive market economy is indispensable for achieving this goal.     

Urban management—Some models for policy making

Urban management has been the subject of much ‘integrative’ discussion and analysis, both in this country and abroad. Indeed, as the author suggests in this paper ‘the feeling is that there is a danger that planners might take on too broad a field and try to do too much’. This paper examines the notions of the planner's role within a ‘political’ decision-making process and examines a number of different models indicating their relevance, complexity and feasibility. By concentrating upon the relationship of the theories of planning with the political decision-making environment within which they are enacted, the author draws usefully upon the relevant literature and provides a comprehensive, persuasive, intelligent and, comprehensive view of the relevance of some theories and the irrelevance of others. This paper walks the narrow tight rope between the fallacious separation of policy formulation from policy implementation, whilst at the same time recognizing the distinction between these two aspects of the decision-making process. The author postulates a number of propositions relevant to a planning process of an optimal nature and, although treating some of the theory in a somewhat superficial manner, the analysis provides a useful addition to the body of planning knowledge. This paper pieces together a number of existing elements of planning theory within a theoretical and conceptual framework. This is an important contribution to planning theory, since it does not suggest that the planning process is merely a collection of techniques, but that it is a complex system for recognizing, regulating and ultimately reconciling human values.     

Strategic planning for multinationals—The views of governments and scientists

The purpose of the project described in this paper was to study the environmental changes that influence the strategic planning of multinational firms. The environment of any business or government consists of all things external to an organization which influence it, such as political climate, social situation, international economics, etc. The changes in the strategic planning procedures of firms have been reported elsewhere. This article concentrates on the role that three governments in north-western Europe play in multinational business planning and the views of a number of scientists concerning the interaction of environmental conditions and the strategic planning of multinational firms.     

A business development approach to planning

In recent years there has been disappointment within industry at the relative failure of strategic planning techniques to contribute significantly to improved business success. Furthermore, this disappointment has tended to grow as planning specialists and academics have developed more complex planning techniques in terms of quantitative and financial models to counter the problem.

In this article, the author states that strategic planning needs to be project oriented, i.e. to adopt a business development approach rather than the present technique of a procedural oriented approach, if the potential rewards are to be realized in practice.     

What Future for Green Infrastructure Planning? Evaluating the Changing Environment for Green Infrastructure Planning Following the Revocation of Regional Planning Policy in England

ABSTRACT

The revocation of the regional tier of planning by the UK Coalition Government in 2010 removed the established framework of strategic planning in England. Using a case study of green infrastructure (GI), this paper examines whether revocation has negatively impacted the development of environmental, and specifically GI policies and practice. It questions if changing government policy narratives have hindered advocacy and subsequently the delivery of GI and the extent to which it has been able to position itself as a mainstream approach in planning. Using the development of the RSS in England, and the North-East and East of England sub-regional GI strategies (areas of significant policy development), as case studies, the paper presents an ex-ante evaluation prior to revocation of the evolution of GI policy at a regional scale, alongside an ex-post assessment (2011–2015) of its continued growth within sub-regional policies. The paper concludes that whilst RSSs provided a promotional forum, that revocation has not negatively impacted upon GI development, as its advocates have facilitated a supportive policy-implementation environment which has led to the development of more integrated approaches in planning praxis.     

Long range planning of U.K. and Japanese corporations—A comparative study

The author conducted mail surveys on long-range planning systems in Japanese and British corporations. He also made a number of visits to corporations in both countries to analyse the similarities and differences in the planning systems.In the U.K., the clarification of goals and the resource allocation are emphasized but in Japan clarification of goals and basic problem finding are stressed.The strategic projects are not necessarily formulated in the long-range planning process. The relationship between the project and the long-range planning was analysed and in both countries, the trend of long-range planning is towards more strategy orientation than quantitative computation.The planning process in Japan is more centralized. The management committee plays an important role in reviewing and making the final decision. In the U.K., the plan initiation is more decentralized, and in the final decision the board of directors plays a more important role. The trends are, however, from bottom up approach to top down approach.Goals expressed in the long-range plan of the U.K. corporations put more emphasis on financial goals, but that of the Japanese corporations emphasizes growth and employee welfare.Regarding the style of strategic decision-making the subjective responses show that it is partly analytical and partly intuitive. There are some differences between two countries, but this problem needs to be analysed further.To cope with uncertainty, multiple scenarios and contingency plans are more frequently used in the U.K., whereas in Japan the sequential decision is more commonly used. British corporations are better prepared for uncertainty than Japanese corporations.The key success factors of long-range planning are similar in both countries. The involvement of top management and cooperation of line management are two important items. Differences are that in the U.K. the planning system is emphasized in addition to the other factors, but in Japan clear goals are more emphasized.     

Strategic planning for commodities and specialties: A strategic industry study based on the example of the chemical industry

The objective of this paper is to identify general factors which are important to successful corporate strategic planning and to provide guidelines to requirements for successful entry into the specialty materials/products business. The study is based on the author's experience in the highly specialized Swiss chemical industry. While the concept of commodities/ specialties has been developed most intensively in the chemical industry, it has overall validity for all industries and services and the author gives many practical hints on strategic management.     

How planning and capital budgeting improve SME performance

This paper focuses on the use of strategic planning among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK manufacturing sector. It analyses the relationship between the intensity of strategic planning, business objectives, perceived performance, changes in the business environment and the use of capital budgeting techniques. Capital budgeting is of particular interest as an area of investigation, and is one which has seldom featured in previous studies of strategic planning behaviour. These issues were investigated via a survey of UK manufacturing SMEs carried out in the winter of 1996/97.

The key results suggest that SMEs incorporate a range of objectives into their strategic planning process, with profit improvement perceived to be the most important objective, followed by sales growth. SMEs engaged in detailed strategic planning are more likely to use formal capital budgeting techniques, including the net present value method, which is consistent with maximising the companys' value. Perceived profitability and success in achieving organisational objectives were positively associated with planning detail, suggesting that strategic planning is a key component improving performance. Planning detail was also associated with a significantly higher level of perceived change in the business environment.     

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.     

Future forecasting with LEAP

A rapidly changing business environment has caused numerous firms to adopt some form of environmental assessment as part of their strategic planning process. Extrapolative techniques and trend analysis are useful when forecasting for the short-term and in comparatively stable environments. Futuristic methodologies are appropriate in turbulent environments with long-term planning requirements. The Likelihood of Events Assessment Process (LEAP), a new method of forecasting developed by the author, is explained in detail using examples from a recent study which used top level life insurance executives to predict the relative likelihood of occurrence of planning dates for a set of events in the socio-political environment of business.     

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.     

Why we need a revolution in strategic planning

The author uses a metaphorical concept of Newtonian planning in an Einsteinian environment to express the predicament facing planners in an environment subject to sudden and unpredictable change. The conventional ‘Newtonian’ approach assumes a sense of order and control whereas the current environment is turbulent, disordered and potentially out of control. He makes recomendations for strategic planners that accept the limitations of existing and foreseeable analytical techniques.     

Organizational Form and Strategic Alignment in a Local Authority: A Preliminary Exploration using Fuzzy Clustering

Configurational theories assume that organizational form has important implications for the degree of alignment between top and middle management on strategic priorities. Taken in combination, the structure, process and environment of an organization are thought to have a deep pervasive influence on top management’s attempts to achieve the coordination and control required to attain organizational goals. The preliminary analysis described in this article employs fuzzy c-means clustering to explore the relationship between middle managers’ perceptions of organizational form and strategic alignment within a large local authority. The results illustrate that the clustering of managers’ perceptions of organizational structure, process and environment reflect three organizational archetypes: machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy and professional adhocracy. Statistically significant differences in the degree of strategic alignment between each of these organizational forms are then examined to validate the established clustering. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.     

Integrated planning for health care organizations, especially hospitals

Planning in health care organizations is of considerable current interest in this country. Furthermore, effective planning processes require, as a necessary condition for that effectiveness, development within a framework which considers the organizational, managerial and service delivery environment.This paper examines the concept of planning in relation to health care organizations. Through an examination of the effects which proper planning can have upon industrial organizations the authors analyze the possible impacts of planning procedures upon health care institutions. Their analysis leads to certain tentative conclusions as to appropriate organizational structure which could support effective planning. Whilst the authors have yet to test their hypothesis the conclusion they draw from their initial analysis are worthy of further investigation.     

Public Knowledge of and Involvement with Metropolitan and Local Strategic Planning in Australia

Despite academic and practitioner debate surrounding public involvement in planning, little is actually known about the extent to which the public is aware of the planning process. The focus of this paper is the examination of the underlying, latent public knowledge of the planning system in Australia. This latent knowledge (or more accurately, the absence of this knowledge) emerges as a barrier to public involvement. This paper examines public perceptions of the importance of metropolitan and local strategic plans, knowledge of these plans, the main sources of this knowledge, and the extent to which the public is likely to become involved with strategic planning process. The paper concludes that despite large segments of the population viewing strategic planning as important, only a small proportion is actually aware of the plans themselves, while an even smaller proportion is likely to become involved in the planning process.     

The Influence of Middle Managers in the Business Planning Process: A Case Study in the UK NHS

The paper takes a processual approach (Mintzberg and Waters, 1985; Pettigrew, Ferlie and McKee, 1992) in conjunction with a typology of middle-management influence upon strategic change (Floyd and Wooldridge, 1992) to investigate the role of middle managers in business planning in the National Health Service (NHS). Over time, as the business planning process becomes increasingly one which adopts a top-down approach, the main influence middle managers have is upon the implementation of deliberate strategic change. Middle managers modify the implementation of deliberate strategy by contesting the performance indicators that form the basis of the business planning framework. In particular they draw upon features of inner and outer context of the organization to question the legitimacy of business planning. However, the findings also show, albeit to a limited extent, that middle managers are purveyors as well as recipients of change. That middle managers can have upward influence has important implications for policy-makers since potentially, middle managers can enjoy an enhanced role and add value to organizations, in this case to patient care. Therefore recent attacks upon their numbers and role may be misplaced. In addition a high degree of central intervention in the NHS generally may be inappropriate, since it militates against an enhanced role for middle managers.     

Strategic planning in small and medium-sized companies

In analysing the characteristics of strategic planning applications in different types and sizes of companies, confusion often arises not because of the application but because of the definitions utilized. This paper analyses the use of strategic planning concepts in small and medium-sized companies in Holland. As the author points out, in this context the definition of small and medium-sized is determined by five strategically relevant criteria which are distinctive. The author points out, however, that whilst these criteria are distinctive of the category of small and medium-sized companies surveyed, they do not all have to occur at the same time; the higher the number that do occur, the more typical the company. Whilst this paper does not, as the author admits, represent the result of a systematic survey, the authors wide experience as a consultant is in itself a valuable background to his analysis. Indeed, the findings stated in this paper represent an analysis of the strategic planning practises of some 75–100 companies. Therefore, in view of the detailed criteria utilized and the number of companies analysed the results represent an important addition to our knowledge of the application of strategic planning.     

An investigation of company product decision making

This article is concerned with an investigation of the approaches taken by companies in making product decisions. The first part is concerned with a review of the range of product decisions as presented within the literature. This range is established within the context of corporate planning, with a major split between long term strategic planning product decisions, and short term operational planning product decisions. The second part of the article is concerned with the results of a survey that was designed to investigate the criteria that companies use within their product decision making. These criteria included those applicable to strategic planning, but also incorporated a range of criteria applicable to short term operational planning, as proposed in a recent article by Greenley [8]. The overall conclusion to the survey results was that a common and universal approach to product decision making cannot be identified within this sample of companies. A low level of agreement as to the relative degree of importance of the criteria was evident, and, little attention to differentiating product decisions with time was also evident. The results also challenge the importance given by the literature to the concepts of product life cycle, portfolio analysis and synergy. Finally, the author suggests two implications as a consequence of these results.     

Macroenvironmental analysis for strategic management

Macroenvironmental analysis is an integral part of systematic strategic planning. Even though the literature on macroenvironmental analysis is fragmented, there are useful guidelines for making sense out of this complex and important aspect of strategic planning. This article highlights five important questions managers should ask about macroenvironmental analysis, develops a model for the process, and summarizes what research and experience tell us about each question.