Advancing Strategic Planning

Although the purpose of strategic planning is straightforward - to outline where an organization wants to go and how it’s going to get there - its nature is complex and dynamic. Two techniques, the critical success factor (CSF) method and future scenario planning, can augment strategic planning efforts by illuminating an organization’s present situation and potential future. This paper explores the value of enhancing typical strategic planning techniques with the CSF method and presents an integrated framework for helping organizations understand the broad range of interrelated elements that influence strategy development for Information Technology (IT). Critical success factors are defined as the handful of key areas where an organization must perform well on a consistent basis to achieve its mission. CSFs can be derived through a document review, analysis of the goals, objectives of key management personnel and interviews with individuals about their specific domain and the barriers they encounter in achieving their goals and objectives. The paper synthesizes documented theory and research in strategic planning and CSFs and provides insights and lessons regarding the value and limitations of the integrated strategic planning framework in the context of IT. Through a method of in-depth literature review and contextual analysis, the paper incorporates suggestions for future work which include: exploring the use of IT in unit-level planning and organizational strategic planning, creating an integrated strategic planning process and connecting CSFs directly to one another in the monitoring stages to support the integrated framework, for an holistic strategic planning process.

In this chapter we evaluate strategic planning considering its tangible and intangible effects. Our purpose is to offer a framework to examine why were the strategic plans made and what was – if any – their transformative impact on development strategies and governance models at the urban-regional level. In particular, we focus on two strategic plans that were respectively carried out in Bari and Taranto sub-regions following the Italian Government’s decision to fund strategic planning in order to promote a sustainable and competitive development in city-regions in Southern Italy. The strategic planning initiative in the Bari sub-region involved 31 municipalities out of 41 of the Bari Province; in the case of Taranto 28 municipalities of the Taranto Province voluntarily adhered to the strategic planning process. In both cases the strategic planning process attempted to think collectively in order to prepare the strategic plan. Our evaluation shows how dilemmatic it is to balance between tangible and intangible impacts in a strategic planning process in urban regions in Southern Italy with its history of political patronage, vested interests, and other institutional shortcomings. To conclude, our chapter discusses some lessons that could be learnt for future efforts in strategic planning.

The basic purpose of this study was to evaluate the strategic planning practices by financial sectors and how owners and managers of these financial sectors play their roles in it in Tanzania. The other study objective was to ascertain if differences in strategic planning practices existed with respect to strategic planning in Tanzania’s financial sectors. The study discovered that the main scope of strategic planning includes environmental scanning, mission and vision, implementation incentives, time horizon of strategic planning, evaluation and control, employee involvement in strategic planning, the structure of strategic planning as well as source of information concerning the environment. Consequently the study discovered that vision and mission, a formality of strategic planning and evaluation and control were the most valued factors. The study concluded that there is insignificant statistical difference among managers and owners in their positions during strategic planning process. The study offers various dimensions of strategic planning that financial sectors of Tanzania can implement to be competitive and sustainable.

Problem Statement. Strategic spatial planning in Ukraine focuses mainly on economic aspects and takes less into account the environmental consequences of planned activities, which may be threatening to natural and cultural heritage. This is explained, in particular, by the insufficient number of trained specialists for planning sustainable spatial development. It is especially important to integrate scientific natural research into educational programs for training specialists in spatial planning, which include the study of geodiversity, the evolution of natural and cultural landscapes, methods of creating nature conservation areas, the formation of eco-networks, as well as the introduction of innovative technologies in land use and various branches of the national economy. Such research is the basis for developing community strategy and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), effective territorial management and successful spatial planning practices. The purpose of the article is to consider strategic spatial planning as a modern interdisciplinary field that integrating social, economic, and ecological aspects of sustainable spatial development. Research methodology proposes an interdisciplinary approach to strategic planning, which takes into account the geodiversity of the territory, the evolution of natural and cultural landscapes, as well as natural and anthropogenic risks. This approach makes it possible to predict optimal scenarios of spatial development, adapted to specific geographical conditions. Special attention is paid to the training of highly qualified specialists at the bachelor's and master's levels, emphasizing their important role in the development of strategic plans, which are the basis of comprehensive plans for the spatial development of territorial communities. The results. The article presents scientific approaches to strategic planning based on an interdisciplinary study of territories. This study highlights the international experience of strategic planning and similar successful practices in Ukraine territorial communities. Scientific novelty. The study provides a theoretical basis for the mandatory integration of natural science research into strategic spatial planning. This includes data on geodiversity, natural settings and resources, cultural and natural landscapes, nature reserves and ecological networks. The combination of this information with the data of the land and urban cadasters creates a comprehensive basis for determining the optimal scenarios of spatial development. Practical significance. The results of this study can be applied to improve the methodology of strategic spatial planning at the local level. Generalized international experience is a valuable guide for setting long-term spatial development goals and implementing specific measures to achieve them. Practical aspects of spatial planning, such as innovative land use systems, implementation of renewable energy sources, inclusive residential and public spaces, protection and preservation of natural and cultural heritage, are illustrated by specific examples discussed in the article. This study is useful for professionals in spatial planning and community management, as well as for researchers, teachers, and students who focus on integrating natural science research into the practice of spatial development.

Despite the potential of Strategic Information System Planning (SISP) to reduce cost and improve quality, hospitals have been slow to have strategic plans on Information Systems. Our objective was to explore which organizational characteristics influence SISP in healthcare. Data on Information Systems plans from the HIMSS analytics database was combined with organizational characteristics data from the American Hospital Association. Logistic regression analyses on a sample of 2,495 hospitals revealed that hospitals with system membership and for profit status had a greater likelihood of selecting ‘computerized medical records’ (OR=1.88, OR=6.60 respectively, p<0.05), ‘decreasing medical errors’ (OR=7.02, p<0.05), ‘resolving integration issues’ (OR=1.36, OR=0.15 respectively, p<0.05), ‘migrating towards a paperless environment (OR=1.66, OR=8.28 respectively, p<0.05), and ‘reducing the number of software vendors’ (OR=1.78, OR=0.23 respectively, p<0.05) as their Information System plans. System membership and ownership status are associated with SISP. An understanding of the hospital characteristics that may impact Strategic Information Systems Planning, managers would assist managers in making informed decisions about planning and implementing Information Systems at their hospitals.

PurposeThis article is a primer which aims to examine the application of project management principles in organizational strategic planning. The intended audience is students in health administration and novice leaders in health care.Design/methodology/approachA six‐phase project management algorithm is presented to serve as a framework for implementing various aspects of an organization's strategic plan, with a particular emphasis on accountability processes.FindingsLeaders in healthcare can increase the effectiveness of their organization's strategic planning processes and improve accountability by incorporating basic project management principles during the implementation phase of strategic planning.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a review article drawing on a well‐established literature in project management and strategic planning.Practical implicationsThe processes associated with generating an organizational strategic plan are well addressed in the management literature. This article succinctly outlines the application of basic project management principles to the implementation of strategic plans and organizational success, focusing on accountability processes.Social implicationsCost effectiveness of health organizations can be improved by implementing project management practices in strategic planning.Originality/valueThe article succinctly applies basic project management principles to the implementation of strategic plans and organizational success.

This chapter looks at strategic urban plans that are used by cities around the world to establish leadership priorities and set out what a city and its leaders aim to achieve in a certain time span. Strategic plans connect leaders to structures and institutions and aim to catalyze action. The chapter investigates the process of developing a strategic plan that can bring actors together to establish governance priorities. It explains how strategic plans, when completed and adopted by a city, identify an approach to achieve those priorities. The process of strategic planning and the resulting strategic plan document, as tools, complement the work of city leaders and municipal institutions in cities and provide a platform for bridging silos and building coalitions across the transitional constituencies that underpin the governance of global cities.

Objective: This paper is the first in a series of three that describe the context, rationale, and results of the American Psychological Association’s Division 40: Society for Clinical Neuropsychology’s (SCN) strategic planning initiative. Methods: In this paper, we provide a review of the SCN’s history, including previous organizational changes and strategic planning efforts, and discuss the rationale for undertaking the current strategic planning process. We discuss the development and work of the SCN Strategic Planning Committees (SPCs) and their multi-method approach to assessing the SCN’s strengths and weaknesses, the needs and preferred organizational priorities of membership, and opportunities for improving organizational inclusivity and member benefits. We discuss how the results of extensive qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were used to develop the SCN 2023 Strategic Plan and guide organizational changes. Results: The SCN 2023 Strategic Plan was approved by the SCN Executive Committee in 2023. It includes six guiding principles, three operating principles, five strategic priorities, and specific organizational objectives. Based on the data collected, the plan includes a focus on strengthening professional advocacy and equity, justice, and inclusion within the SCN, increasing organizational effectiveness, and improving the SCN’s membership value proposition. To align the SCN with the strategic plan, subsequent implementation efforts include changes to the SCN Bylaws, policies and procedures, and organizational structure. Conclusions: The SCN 2023 Strategic Plan operationalizes the values, strategies priorities, and objectives of the organization, and in doing so, enhances the SCN’s capacity to optimize its value to members and societal impact.

With two principles of transparency and inclusiveness, open strategy is a new paradigm in strategic planning. Although the term has recently entered the related literature, there are several practices of strategic planning which used similar approach for strategic and long-range planning. Moreover, openness in both dimensions of transparency and inclusiveness is introduced as continuums (and not a binary state). Considering the above facts, this chapter aims to study previous practices of strategic planning and evaluate the openness of their approach. To achieve this goal, the authors used qualitative meta-analysis approach and searched for case studies of strategic planning in 15 high-ranking journals of management and business. The first search resulted in more than 400 papers and after several rounds of filtering; the authors found 35 case studies which explained case study of the strategy process. This study found five different categories of stakeholders which have already included in case studies as well as seven different activities which they performed as part of strategy process. Moreover, the authors recognized four patterns with regards to transparency of the plan which are open planning process, open plan, open to staff plan, and proprietary plan.

This research project will be a case study of the strategic planning process. More specifically, the project will "pattern match" (Yin, 1989) the actual strategic planning process of a non-profit organization, Seniors Helping Others, with the theoretical framework outlined by Backoff and Nutt in A Process for Strategic Management with Specific Application for the Nonprofit Organization (1988). The project will be presented in the following chapters: Chapter 1 - Literature Review: This chapter will describe the existing literature on the strategic planning process, beginning with the definitions of strategic planning and proceeding to the future of this technique. The chapter concludes with a formulation of this project and how the project is justified in the context of the current literature. Chapter 2 - Theoretical Framework: This chapter will focus on a theoretical framework of strategic planning that is used to assess this project. Most of this chapter will be a detailed description of each step of the selected model, as well as a discussion on some of the planning techniques used in the process. In addition there will be a brief explanation of why this model was selected rather than other strategic planning models outlined previously in Chapter 1. Chapter 3 - Case Example: This chapter will examine the strategic planning process as experienced by the case-study, a non-profit organization. The chapter will begin with a description of the case-study, a nonprofit organization; its mission, goals and objectives; its clients; and its programs. The organizations rationale for undertaking the strategic planning process will next be discussed. Last, this chapter will detail the process that the organization undertook beginning with the decision to formulate a strategic plan through the completion of the process. Chapter 4 - Findings and Conclusions: This chapter will combine the findings of the case study example with the theoretical framework outlined by Backoff and Nutt (1988) and discussed in Chapter 2. The purpose of this is to assess how well the actual events fit the selected strategic planning model. The comparison between the case study example and the theoretical framework will be accomplished by employing a technique called pattern matching. The first part of this chapter will attempt to match Senior Helping Other's (SHO) process against the selected theoretical framework specifically looking for areas where SHO did not follow the model. The next section will address the issues that SHO encountered during the process that were not

A study of the strategic planning practices in Singapore

The article seeks to shed light on the effects of recent developments in financial services on the organisational structure and strategic planning process in banks and building societies. Evidence is used from a survey of the sector to assess the nature and relative importance of problems experienced by banks and building societies; and evidence is presented on developments in strategic planning techniques and the problems caused by the introduction of new products.

The strategic planning process is dynamic and complex. Including a Group Support System (GSS) in the problem-solving process can improve the content quality of the strategic plan by allowing increased participation by more members of the organization. However, it can also add to the complexity of the problem by increasing the quantity of textual information that can result from group activity. Added complexity increases cognitive overload and frustrations of those participants negotiating the contents of the strategic plan. This article takes a multi-agent view of the strategic planning process. It considers group participants as multiple agents concerned with the content quality of the strategic plan. The facilitator agent is responsible for guiding groups in the strategic plan construction process as well as for solving process problems such as cognitive overload. We introduce an AI Concept Categorizer agent, a software tool that supports the facilitator in addressing the process problem of cognitive overload associated with convergent group activities by synthesizing group textual output into conceptual clusters. The implementation of this tool reduces frustrations which groups encounter in the process of classifying textual output and provides more time for discussion of the concepts themselves. Because of the large amount of convergent activity necessary for strategic planning, the addition of the AI Concept Categorizer to the strategic planning process should increase the quality of the strategic plan and the buy-in of the participants in the strategic planning process.

This article describes the strategic planning process used to define the health care needs of a region and to prepare Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) to meet the needs of the 21st century. It presents key applications of continuous quality improvement in the development and implementation of the strategic plans for HFHS; explains how HFHS adapted the Deming/Shewhart cycle of continuous improvement for the purpose of improving its planning process; and delineates how the strategic planning, financial planning, and quality planning processes have been integrated.

In Ghana, the operating environment for construction firms is constantly changing in the face of a volatile economic environment, shifting political climate and a highly competitive market. Confronted with such instability, companies need strategic planning to combat the threat to their survival. A survey was conducted to determine how widespread strategic planning is used as a management tool by contractors in Ghana. Construction firms with classification A1B1, A2B2, D1 and D2 were used in the survey. Only 8.5% of D2 firms use strategic planning. The other firms have a combined average of 86.7%. Civil engineering contractors are far ahead of the building contractors in the practice of strategic planning. Strategic plans are drawn to cover an average of three years. There is an urgent need for contractors in the D2 class to be encouraged to seek insight into strategic planning and employ the technique to enhance their chances of surviving risks in the business environment.