Showing papers on "Strategic planning published in 1989"

Making Fast Strategic Decisions In High-Velocity Environments

Abstract: How do executive teams make rapid decisions in the high-velocity microcomputer industry? This inductive study of eight microcomputer firms led to propositions exploring that question. Fast decision makers use more, not less, information than do slow decision makers. The former also develop more, not fewer, alternatives, and use a two-tiered advice process. Conflict resolution and integration among strategic decisions and tactical plans are also critical to the pace of decision making. Finally, fast decisions based on this pattern of behaviors lead to superior performance.

Management Strategies for Information Technology

Abstract: 1. The IT Era 2. Information Management 3. Information Technology and Strategic Advantage. 4. Formulating Information Systems Strategy. 5. Formulating IT Strategy. 6. Formulating IM Strategy 7. Organizing IT Activities. 8. Controlling IR Activities. 9. Change Strategies for Strategic Change.

Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach

Abstract: Part I: INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. 1. Strategic Leadership: Managing the Strategy-Making Process for Competitive Analysis. 2. External Analysis: The Identification of Opportunities and Threats. Part II: THE NATURE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. 3. Internal Analysis: Distinctive Competencies, Competitive Advantage, and Profitability. 4. Building Competitive Advantage Through Functional-Level Strategy. Part III: STRATEGIES. 5. Building Competitive Advantage Through Business-Level Strategy. 6. Business-Level Strategy and the Industry Environment. 7. Strategy and Technology. 8. Strategy in the Global Environment. 9. Corporate-Level Strategy: Horizontal Integration, Vertical Integration, and Strategic Outsourcing. 10. Corporate-Level Strategy: Related and Unrelated Diversification. Part IV: IMPLEMENTING STRATEGY. 11. Corporate Performance, Governance, and Business Ethics. 12. Implementing Strategy in Companies that Compete in a Single Industry. 13. Implementing Strategy in Companies that Compete Across Industries and Countries. Part V: CASES IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT.

Strategic Change: The Effects Of Founding And History

Abstract: The research reported here examined the evolution of strategy over time and the conditions under which change in strategy is likely. Findings show that characteristics of an organization's founding imprint its initial strategy by contributing to an internal consensus around a given strategic approach. Conditions subsequent to founding also influence the degree to which an initial strategy is perpetuated. The study examined perspectives on organizational change and inertia and further developed them to explain the role of history and precedence in shaping strategic action.

Experiential effects of dialectical inquiry, devil's advocacy and consensus approaches to strategic decision making.

Abstract: This longitudinal laboratory study of fast-advancing middle managers involved in strategic planning compared the effectiveness of dialectical inquiry, devil's advocacy, and consensus approaches to ...

The Aftermath Of Organizational Decline: A Longitudinal Study Of The Strategic And Managerial Characteristics Of Declining Firms

Abstract: This study looks at the strategic and managerial consequences of organizational decline. Comparisons were made among 49 firms filing for bankruptcy and between those firms and a matched sample of n...

Inertia And Creeping Rationality In Strategic Decision Processes

Abstract: In two earlier studies, comprehensiveness, a characteristic of rational strategic decision-making processes, exhibited a positive relationship with organizational performance in a stable environmen...

Managerial cognition: a missing link in strategic management research

Abstract: This article explores the linkages between cognitive science and strategic management research. It begins by noting that Schendel and Hofer, in their classic work Strategic Management: A New View of Business Policy and Planning, implicitly assumed a cognitive basis for much of the strategy-making process but did little to systematize a cognitive approach. Next, the article examines the foundations of modern cognitive science. Several areas of recent research that are particularly relevant to strategic thinking are reviewed. The article concludes with a call for a more explicit cognitive emphasis in strategic management.

Novelty, Complexity, and Importance as Causal Determinants of Industrial Buyer Behavior

Abstract: To successfully market their products, industrial vendors must determine who participates in an organizational purchase decision and what their influence is. Previous research has shown that partic...

A strategic plan for the elimination of tuberculosis in the United States.

Abstract: A Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States Message to the Readers of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report I am pleased to provide you with \"A Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States\" describing actions necessary to achieve the goal by the year 2010, with an interim target of a case rate of 3.5 per 100,000 population by the year 2000. At a national conference in 1984, Dr. James O. Mason, then Director of the Centers for Disease Control, challenged the public health community to develop a strategy to eliminate tuberculosis from the United States. This plan was developed by the Centers for Disease Control/Department of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee for Elimination of Tuberculosis. Many experts from both within and outside the Department played a significant role in its development. We are grateful to all those who participated in the process. I am pleased to report that the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association and the Governing Council of the American Public Health Association have passed resolutions in support of the plan, and the American Lung Association and the American College of Preventive Medicine have also endorsed the goal. We thank these organizations for their support and anticipate that other organizations will take similar actions in the near future. We must commit ourselves to the objective of eliminating tuberculosis and making that objective widely known so others can join in this effort. The Centers for Disease Control is identifying activities for shortand long-term implementation. The plan is being distributed to a wide variety of public and private organizations with the recommendation that they take similar action. The goal of eliminating this disease and its tragic consequences from the United States is achievable, and we believe it will be broadly supported by all sectors of our society. Walter R. Dowdle, Ph.D. Acting Director Centers for Disease Control INTRODUCTION In 1987, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established an Advisory Committee for Elimination of Tuberculosis* to provide recommendations for developing new technology, applying prevention and control methods, and managing state and local tuberculosis programs targeted at eliminating tuberculosis as a public health problem. After review and feedback from numerous interested people and organizations, this plan was completed. The committee urges the nation to establish the goal of tuberculosis elimination (a case rate of less than one per million population) by the year 2010, with an interim target of a case rate of 3.5 per 100,000 population by the year 2000. The U.S. case rate for 1987 was 9.3 per 100,000 (1). Three factors make this a realistic goal: 1) tuberculosis is retreating into geographically and demographically defined pockets; 2) biotechnology now has the potential for generating better diagnostic, treatment, and prevention modalities; and 3) computer, telecommunications, and other technologies can enhance technology transfer. Therefore, a three-step plan of action was developed:

Strategies and styles : the role of the centre in managing diversified corporations

Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. The Role of the Centre 3. Strategic Management Styles: The Corporate Framework 4. Strategic Planning Companies 5. Strategic Control Companies 6. Financial Control Companies 7. Holding and Centralised Companies 8. The Styles Compared 9. Tensions 10. Avoiding Pitfalls 11. Adding Value 12. Matching the Style and the Business 13. Managing Diversity 14. International Benchmarks 15. Conclusions 16. Appendixes

Strategic and Operational Planning, Uncertainty, and Performance in Small Firms

Abstract: (Tables and illustrations not shown) INTRODUCTION The relationship between strategic planning and organizational performance has been a subject of growing interest in the field of strategic management. Recent reviews have underscored the importance of the issue and have pointed to gaps in our knowledge of planning/performance relationships.' A basic comclusion of these reviews has been that few studies have adequately addressed the issue because of measurement and conceptual problems. Of particular importance has been the manner in which the independent planning variables have been operationalized. Few studies have measured strategic and operational planning in ways that can be replicated. Furthermore, the dependent variable, performance, has been measured many ways and has seldom been examined over relevant time periods. Additionally, the literature has clearly highlighted the importance of organization context and uncertainty in determining planning/performance relations. Indeed, strategic planning has been considered more or less salient due to organization type, relevant industry, and environmental uncertainty. The purpose of the present study is to partially address these concerns. The study examines strategic planning/ performance relationships for a stratified random sample of small firms in three major industry sectors over a three-year time period. It also is an investigation of the degree to which environmental uncertainty affects both strategic and operational planning. Specific issues addressed in the study include: (1) the relationships of strategic planning, and operational or functional area planning with performance over time for small businesses using a planning scale which measures degree of planning effort and degree of formality, as well as scales measuring functional area planning efforts; (2) and the differences in strategic planning/performance relationships and in environmental uncertainty in manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. Strategic Planning and Performance We conceive of a strategic plan as: a written long-range plan, which includes both a corporate mission statement and a statement of organizational objectives. A strategic plan includes strategies indicating how objectives will be accomplished. Strategic planning is also considered to provide the substance from which overall company performance can be controlled and measured. Operational planning, on the other hand, is defined as the setting of short-term objectives for specific functional areas such as finance, marketing, and personnel. Strategic plans are more general and have longer time horizons than do operational plans. Strategic plans normally cover a one-to-five-year time period, whereas operational plans cover periods of less than a year. Operational plans are expressed in more day-to-day terms. Operational plans might include written inventory and sales forecasts; and financial, human resource, and advertising budgets; for monthly or quarterly time periods. A number of early studies have suggested a simple positive relationship between formal strategic planning and organizational performance, and have generally concluded that planners outperformed nonplanners, the premise being that formal plans are superior to informal plans because the process of writing the plan forces ideas and objectives to be thought out. Indeed, a recent study by Robinson and Pearce suggests that the more sophisticated the planning process, the better the organizational performance. 7 Other studies suggesting a positive relationship between strategic planning and performance have been numerous. However, not all research has yielded positive results. Several recent studies have found either non-significant or negative relations. As an explanation of inconsistent findings, several reviews have concluded that variety in the measurement of strategic planning has precluded meaningful comparison of findings across studies. …

Coordination of information systems plans with business plans

Abstract: :Recent research has shown that the challenge of coordinating information systems plans with business plans impedes effective information systems planning. Interviews with twenty top information systems executives employed by medium to large organizations in diverse industries revealed four general reasons for the difficulty of this coordination. The interviews also uncovered four general actions that the executives take to attempt to meet the challenge. The results suggest that the presence of a top management mandate for coordinating the plans distinguishes IS executives who did not report the difficulty from IS executives who did.

Accounting data for value chain analysis

Abstract: Strategic planning frameworks provide a means of combining internal data about the firm's capabilities with external information about the competitive environment in a manner designed to guide resource allocation. The value chain approach to strategic planning, as described by Michael Porter in his book Competitive Advantage (1985), is a recent addition to this family of planning frameworks. In this article, we address some of the difficulties in using accounting data for value chain analysis. These difficulties are divided into those that are inherent, because of differences in methods of data accumulation, and those that are avoidable.

Selecting tactics to implement strategic plans

Abstract: Strategic managers have been found to use sophisticated tactics to implement strategic plans, but seem to limit their effectiveness by applying them indiscriminately. A contingency framework that uses situational constraints, such as the manager's freedom to act and need for consultation, is developed to select among tactics preferred by practitioners. The framework was tested using 50 episodes of strategic planning. There was a 94 percent success rate when the implementation tactic recommended by the framework was used, and a 29 percent success rate when another (non-recommended) tactic was applied, suggesting that following the framework's prescriptions may improve the success rate for strategic plan implementation. The implications this research for practicing managers are discussed.

Making SWOT Analysis Work

Abstract: The analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses, and Opportunities and Threats is probably the most common and widely‐recognised tool for conducting a strategic marketing audit The authors suggest SWOT analysis has suffered from familiarity breeding contempt and that the technique is normally used very badly and to little effect The article draws on experience of marketing planning process management in a variety of companies to propose a five‐point approach to make SWOT analysis work effectively

Technology issues facing corporate management in the 1990s

Abstract: This article discusses major issues raised by the authors and several senior information technology executives in large corporations that affect the way technology is introduced and used in major corporations. These issues and "drivers" (primary causes of change) are likely to have the most significant impact on the management of information technology within corporations now and in the future. If these drivers are acknowledge as real (or validated by research as real), then the understanding of their impacts on both corporate organization and technology management would very much benefit by research. This article suggests some of the directions such research could take. The article is essentially a preview from the top of the intertwining of business, industrial operations, and technology management for the next five to ten years. Most of the issues, and their consequences, are subject to continuing research by the President's Council of the Society for Information Management.

Strategic job analysis

Abstract: The application of job analysis techniques makes the implicit assumption that information about a job as it presently exists may be used to develop programs to recruit, select, train, and appraise people for the job as it will exist in the future. Given a rapidly changing internal and external world it is likely that many jobs will change in the future. This article reviews some new techniques that, when added to traditional job analysis procedures, may facilitate strategic planning for the development of personnel procedures such as selection and training. Examples of the new technique are presented, followed by a discussion of some topics requiring future thought and research.

Mana e ent Tools in Municipal Government: Trends over the Past Decade

Abstract: This article reports the results of a 1987-1988 survey of 451 municipal managers regarding the use and perceived effectiveness of numerous management tools. Viewed in conjunction withfindings from two earlier surveys, the data presented in this article reflect the continuation of the "boom in management tools" and show that the public manager's tool kit has both expanded and stabilized over the past decade. Techniques such as program budgeting, management by objectives (MBO), performance monitoring, and program evaluation have indeed become staples of modern municipal management during this period, while several more recent tools such as financial trend monitoring, multiyear forecasting, strategic planning, and quality circles have experienced rapid diffusion in local government. The positive effectiveness ratings accorded to most of these tools seem to reflect a high level of enthusiasm and suggest that the further development and adaptation of new management systems will continue to be of major interest to municipal managers well into the future.

Operationalizing strategic planning

Abstract: This article reports on a study which had the purpose of probing the reality of strategic planning, of highlighting some of its shortcomings then contrasting that reality with the literature-based constructs which are taught in business schools worldwide. In this way it is shown that the benefits of strategic planning are not realized unless the process is totally integrated with current operations. This study shows that only rarely is strategic planning a live process within companies. However, to make an improvement is extremely difficult because frequently the commitment and energy does not exist in companies. As a result, many companies are failing to benefit from their strategic planning efforts and are thus failing to establish appropriate long-term corporate positionings.