Corporate planning—A functional approach

The experience and arts of 295 Chief Executive Officers have been utilized for the study's findings. The analyses suggest that a firm's effective strategic-mix of major organizational functions would depend upon the nature of the particular circumstances which the organization faces. The different organizational settings are formed in the study and the effective strategic-mix of organizational functions have been statistically formulated on the basis of the Chief Executive Officers' judgement of what constitutes the effective strategic-mix of functions for their firm's overall corporate strategy. The relative influences of the General Management function and the functional managements (Marketing, Finance, Production, R & D, etc.) upon the overall corporate strategy have been the inputs for the derivation of the effective strategic-mix of functions. Environment, technology and firm-size have been considered for the formation of the different organizational settings. The study's findings not only provide what the different strategic-mixes for the different organizational settings are but also provide a working analytical framework for comprehensive analyses for the identification of the functions critical to the accomplishment of the overall corporate objectives and goals.     

Corporate planning for a town—a case history

Corporate planning is relatively new in U.K. local government. This article suggests the reasons behind this late development, and outlines the particular problems in local government and the approach adopted in one authority. The author's philosophy is that there is no blueprint for introducing corporate planning and that any approach must be evolutionary, reflecting local circumstances. The article covers the period from 1971 outlining the four main stages of development and includes the effects of local government reorganization in 1974. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the borough.     

Energy: Long term prospects,on some recent significant energy publications—Book review article

Nowadays there is a plethora of publications on Energy in the form of journals, books, special reports and conference proceedings. To help senior management to apply this information more effectively we have asked Dr. G. F. Ray of the National Institute to write a review article. This is the first of a series of articles reviewing important literature in Long Range Planning.     

Corporate planning in domestic airlines— An Indian case study

In this article the author considers the problems of planning in the airline industry, drawing specifically on experience in the domestic Indian airline. The article seeks to examine some of the strategic issues relevant to domestic airlines which, while related here to the Indian environment, may be seen to be pertinent in most developing countries.     

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.     

Keeping people alive— The implications for planning

Current and future developments of medical techniques, especially those concerned with resuscitation and intensive care, will result in more people living much longer in the future. Their treatment and care will be very expensive, and this will require consideration of priorities. In this article some ethical attitudes are suggested, and a number of practical planning measures to anticipate some of the inevitable problems are proposed.     

The strategic planning matrix—a quantitative approach

This article introduces a new strategy formulation analytical tool called the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). QSPM represents an objective approach for evaluating and choosing among alternative strategies in both small and large organizations. Several practical applications of QSPM are provided. The positive features and practical limitations of QSPM are described. A number of useful tips for effective strategy formulation are presented.     

Scenario planning—What style should you use?

Recently, increasing emphasis is being placed by corporate planners and forecasters on the use of scenario analysis to produce forecasts of future business environments and to identify conditions leading to major changes in these enviroments. This article compares some of the major approaches to scenario analysis, including intuitive logics (SRI International), trend-impact analysis (The Futures Group), and cross-impact analysis (The Center for Futures Research and Battelle Columbus Division). The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed as well.     

Strategic planning and product innovation—Some systematic approaches

Companies interact with society. The desires and needs of society change. If an enterprise wants to continue to function, then it must adapt its course to the changes. Such a process of adaptation occurs in two stages. In the first, the strategy of the enterprise must be formulated. This strategy forms the dynamic framework for the second phase—product innovation. In this second phase future strategy is made concrete by launching new or improved products on the market. This whole adaptation process has organizational consequences for the relationship between the enterprise and society, for the internal organizational structure and for the human beings involved in the process. These consequences are discussed briefly in this paper. The paper concludes with an example taken from practice, which shows clearly that the transformation of theory into practice is very definitely not free from problems.     

Investment planning in some Swedish companies — Criteria and uses

Institutional barriers as well as cultural differences tend to make the application of the capital theory more difficult in Sweden than in the U.S. In this study the capital investment planning in six Swedish companies with different characteristics is analyzed. We could conclude that the variations in the lines of reasoning, as well as in the use of different criteria, differed considerably from the capital theory. A wide range of heuristics were used which emanated from different lines of thought. A tentative typology of the use of criteria is formulated. We observed and analyzed some dysfunctional effects in the use of certain heuristics reducing the propensity to invest. Furthermore, these heuristics seem to create norms prescribed in handbooks of investments and are used regardless of the economic conditions.     

Long range planning for public libraries—A Delphi study

Library managers in the local authority sector are increasingly needing to forecast future developments in order to have any chance of obtaining a realistic share of available resources. The Public Libraries Research Group, which was founded in 1971, produced a statement on public library aims and objectives and as a follow up to this carried out a Delphi exercise in 1973/74 to try and establish what technological, environmental, socio-economic and political pressures would effect developments in this field in the next 30 years. This was the first exercise of its type to be carried out in the United Kingdom and the full results have been published recently by the Public Libraries Research Group as a report. This paper describes how the project was evolved and carried out.     

Corporate development— preferred strategies in U.K. companies

In this paper policies available for corporate development are examined and the suggestion is made that new business development remains an option that must be considered. The time span of the growth, the ‘quality’ of any growth and the extent of managerial commitment to ‘growth business’ are identified as important factors that should influence decisions on corporate development. Results of two surveys made by the authors of U.K. corporate experience with different NBD entry strategies for new business development are also discussed in the paper.     

Integrated Management Systems — Opportunities and Risks for Corporate Environmental Protection

Environmental protection in companies is increasingly carried out using Integrated Management Systems (IMS). Based on empirical results, this article examines how IMS can be designed and how the integration affects corporate environmental protection. In particular, we discuss the findings of four empirical studies, which surveyed experiences of German and European companies.Our work shows, that the success of corporate environmental protection does not depend on whether the company has implemented a separate environmental management system or an IMS. What is crucial is the rank of environmental protection within the company's system of objectives. In case of goal conflicts, decision criteria in agreement with the company's system of objectives have to be formulated. Furthermore, the IMS model can have an effect on this issue. The results of a pilot project in the automobile sector are discussed to illustrate how to implement such an IMS on the basis of ISO 14001.Compared to isolated environmental management systems, IMS can even improve environmental protection, because ecological criteria can be considered from the beginning when designing customer-oriented products and processes.