A Novel Analysis of the Integrated Country Strategies for Malawi and Zimbabwe

This study explored the linkages between environmental turbulence, strategic planning, and process effectiveness. Going beyond the traditional literature on the planning process, the present research included both an examination of the planning process itself and the external environment in which the organization of interest exists. The objective of this research was to examine the multi-dimensional treatments of environmental turbulence, strategic planning processes, and process effectiveness. It proposed to explore the planning-process effectiveness construct across two industries. By adding the aspect of environmental turbulence into the equation, the multi-dimensional treatments of planning and process effectiveness were broadened. This study examined the linkage between the external environment, the strategic planning process, and effectiveness of the process. It addressed two research questions: What components and contextual elements of the planning process are critical for that process to be effective? Are these components and contextual elements of the planning process different in various levels of environmental turbulence? The research model demonstrated that in different levels of environmental turbulence, the components and contextual elements of the strategic planning process would be stressed differently. Specifically, in more turbulent environments, the organization's strategic planning process would devote more resources to the planning function, be less resistant to planning, pay more attention to external and internal facets, employ more planning techniques, and encourage greater functional coverage and integration. All these were relative to another organization's planning process that was operating in a less turbulent environment. One of the aims of this research study was to develop concrete recommendations to the automotive and beverage industries. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that: The strategic planning managers in the beverage industry pay special attention to ensure that there is sufficient functional coverage in their strategic planning process. Sufficient resources be made available to the planning function. Also, the level of resistance to planning be monitored by which resistance should be an on-going process throughout the strategic planning process and in every functional area of the firm. The other aim of this research study was to explore the "black box" of strategic planning. The findings revealed that: Functional coverage was the key component in the process and that the adequate supply of resources to the planning function was the most critical contextual element for the effectiveness of the planning process. Organizations with highly turbulent environments tended to need more resources placed against the planning function and required extensive attention to the external facets of planning for their strategic planning process to be effective. At the same time, firms in lower turbulence industries such as paints and coatings, railroads, and forge casting could look to the beverage industry for a concrete action plan to improve the effectiveness of their planning processes.

In this study I investigated the involvement of top management and teachers in the strategic planning process in 5 district schools located in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province guided by the Take Stock Analysis (TSA) model. The constructivist/interpretivist paradigm was the qualitative methodology adopted for the study using a case study research method. The participants were 5 education managers and 5 focus groups of 4 teachers, each purposively selected from each school as an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon was sought through face-to-face interviews. Interview data were inductively and thematically analysed while strategic plans provided were inspected using content analysis and supplemented with interview data. The findings were reported following the concept of strategic planning, the formulation, monitoring and evaluation process. The results reveal that some schools used the centralised or decentralised strategic planning process while others hired strategists with minimal involvement from the teachers and the top management of the school. I recommend that stakeholders are actively involved in the entire strategic planning process to enhance ownership and commitment at the operational level. Most importantly, joint periodic evaluations are needed for modification purposes and relevance.

The ASCE Board of Direction unanimously adopted a strategic plan and strategic planning process in April 1985. However, the continuing success of strategic planning for ASCE remains to be assessed over the next two years in terms of the effective implementation of the many plan initiatives, and maintenance of the broad-based level of support and participation that is critical to a continuing strategic planning process. The paper, authored by the Chairman of the Committee on Society Objectives, Planning, and Organization (COSOPO) Task Committee on Strategic Planning, traces the development of the plan over a period of eighteen months leading to plan adoption. The paper identifies a number of issues and obstacles to effective strategic planning in general, examines them in light of the ASCE strategic planning process and experience to date, and analyzes the challenges remaining to make strategic planning work for ASCE on a continuing basis. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for developing a strategic plan and implementing a strategic planning process.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) proposed by Kaplan and Norton has been accepted by the business world, worldwide, as a very promising tool for the performance measurement of an organization at the firm level. Later on, its founders described the way of using their model as an integrated system of the whole strategic planning process. However, what it still remains vaguely explained is the operational (practical) connection of the BSC model to the strategic planning and performance measurement process. The ambition of the present paper is to demonstrate a method that could easily connect directly the various performance measures (criteria) of a BSC with the stated goals and objectives of any firm. Specifically, it explains in great detail how the multicriteria method of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) could practically facilitate this connection. It analyses how a firm could arrange the various performance criteria in such a way that could be capable of controlling its stated goals and objectives through the implementation of its strategy. This paper starts with a literature review concerning the two methods, BSC and AHP, and then proceeds to the formation of the proposed framework, which actually facilitates the formal and quantitative links between the firm’s stated performance criteria and its overall strategic planning and performance measurement process.

Foreign Policy Planning Efforts in India

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.

Planning for the Millennium

This paper explores the ability of firms to integrate a critical strategic issue, the natural environment, into the strategic planning process within the natural resource‐based perspective. Using survey data collected from a wide variety of firms and industries based in the United States, we empirically examined the antecedents and effects of integrating the natural environment into the formal planning process. These data were analysed using structural equation modelling with the LISREL technique.Overall, our data provided strong support for the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, we found that the level of integration of environmental management concerns in the strategic planning process was positively related to financial and environmental performance. Furthermore, we found that the greater the functional coverage and the more resources provided to environmental issues, the greater the integration of environmental issues in the planning process. These results suggest that concern for environmental issues may yield competitive advantages in the marketplace as the natural resource‐based perspective suggests

Strategic planning is a critical element in the strategic management of any public organization, including local emergency management agencies (EMAs). However, while the importance of strategic planning in emergency management is well founded, even codified in the national standards, little is known empirically about its actual use, and even less is known about the impacts of the planning process on local programs. As such, this study examined the strategic planning practices of county-level EMAs throughout the United States, focusing on the strategic planning process and its underlying dimensions. A composite index for strategic planning comprehensiveness was developed, based on five planning process dimensions, and then analyzed to gauge its relative impacts on local program quality. The findings revealed that the strategic planning process had a direct and significant impact on the quality of local emergency management programs, with the regression model explaining about 60 % of the variance in the local program quality index scores.

The paper aims at investigating the strategic planning process and its perceived effectiveness in universities based on evidence from five European countries (UK, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus and the Netherlands) and 10 higher education institutions. The investigation focused on the following: the characteristics of the strategic planning process; stakeholder involvement in strategic planning and their role in the process; and the major problems faced in relation to the effectiveness of strategic planning. The elements investigated relate to the process and effectiveness of strategic planning in an attempt to examine the development of strategy by higher education institutions and its perceived effectiveness. Qualitative research was used to collect data from academics and/or high‐ranking administrators with a role in the institutional strategic planning process. The data were subjected to thematic analysis. According to the findings, universities were more likely to subscribe to a top‐down model in strategic planning. Respondents drew attention to three categories of problems and/or limitations associated with the strategic planning process, namely, human resources/stakeholder problems, technical/content‐related problems, and external limitations and restrictions. The paper attempts to inform the higher education literature by providing evidence from five countries on an under‐investigated topic, i.e., the perceptions of higher education stakeholders regarding the process and effectiveness of strategic planning.

The objective of the study is to develop a theoretical framework and model for strategic planning processes (SPP) that are appropriate for the current demands of universities and colleges of higher education institutions (HEIs). It was based on a review of the open access and easily downloadable literature, as well as previous research that produced, used, or proposed SP models and methodologies for strategic planning and management processes in HEIs. The study found that there are few and varying strategic planning frameworks and models designed for HIEs, and the majority of what these institutions utilize comes from other industries (mainly profitable). Also, results have shown that most university and college staff have wrong perspectives and perceptions regarding the SP models and methods, and they are lacking knowledge and understanding of these models. Differences and variations in the SP models, designs, components, and sequential ordering have been identified. Originality of this article highlights the rarity of precisely applying or merging other models and methodologies in SPP, such as strategic thinking and sustainability. The study is unique in that it proposes a new strategic planning and management framework and models for universities and colleges, emphasizing the importance and sustainability of combining various strategic planning and management models and methods.

Interest in the economy vs the environment debate has grown substantially since the publication of the 'Brundtland Report' by the World Commission on Environment and Development, in 1987. The concept of sustainable development, which advocates the importance of integrating economic development with the environment, is now recognised worldwide. It is apparent that sustainable development cannot be achieved unless changes are made to a wide range of institutional, technical, political and social systems. Within these systems are opportunities to achieve desired environmental goals and outcomes. Land use planners in particular, have a major role in influencing economic development outcomes by adopting the strategic planning process to identify and designate future land uses to meet the future needs o f the economy and the community. To date, this process has not included an adequate analysis of environmental and economic issues. This lack o f comprehensive strategic planning results in not only major environmental disasters, but also huge economic costs to the community of'cleaning-up' damage that could have been prevented. By addressing environmental and economic issues ex ante rather than ex post, using an appropriate planning technique in the strategic planning process, the planning profession would have a pivotal role in not only promoting economic development, but also in preventing potential environmental impacts. To date, planners in Queensland and, it appears, in Australia have failed to incorporate these principles into the strategic planning process. Aside from a number of'once-off studies undertaken for specific developments and studies, planning techniques have not been used to identify and designate land uses in strategic plans. The aim of this project is to illustrate the potential benefits of incorporating environmental and economic analysis into strategic planning to improve the land use decision-making process. In this project, a Modified UET Model has been developed that incorporates environmental and economic analysis, and is promoted for use in strategic planning. The Model is applied on two different case studies in Queensland as a means of demonstrating that by applying it in the strategic planning process, the economic costs could have been avoided. It is intended to show that the Modified UET Model is a simple, systematic planning process, which, if applied, can reap rewards by not only promoting economic development, but can prevent environmental damage. It would also put the planning profession in an influential role in terms of addressing the economy vs environment debate. The strategic planning process is not advocated as the solution to all development impacts on the environment, but it can potentially contribute substantially.

For the past 10 months, the Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) has been engaged in a strategic planning and implementation process to develop goals and objectives that will assist the group in continuing to be of enhanced value to ACS local sections. The strategic planning process, led by leaders of the society, focused on outcomes, was decision-oriented and consensus-based, and allowed LSAC to develop a road map for the future. This is a process that LSAC found to be invaluable and one that local sections themselves could consider using to outline goals and measurable objectives for a three- to five-year period. To begin the strategic planning process, leaders of LSAC met with the facilitators of the Strategic Planning Retreat and shared their desired outcomes. As a group, we decided that input from the local sections would aid in the development of appropriate and meaningful goals for the committee. To ...

<p><strong>Geopolitical Codes of the United Dtates Policy to Relocate Its Embassy to Israel to Jerusalem. </strong>Trump’s policy to relocate the US embassy triggered Palestinian mass protests and wider political tension. Ten of thousands Palestinian took part in Gaza protests. Protests are also took place on The West Bank, where the focus was the embassy move. A mass protests turned violent, as Israeli troops responded with rifle fire. This policyraises strong reactions from world leaders. This paper aims to explain the geopolitical codes of The United States Policy : who are the allies or the supporter of the US policy in case of US embassy relocation and who are the enemies that against the US policy. We will find out whether this United States agenda will succeed in leading world opinion and influencing other countries' foreign policies and the consequences of what the United States will give to its supporters and opponents of its policies.</p>

This research aimed at finding complete description on: 1) strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School in Minahasa Residence. 2) obstructing factor of the strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School in Minahasa Residence. 3) supporting factor of the strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School in Minahasa Residence. 4) efforts to contend the strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School in Minahasa Residence. Qualitative research method was used in this research. The techniques of data collection were: 1) observation, 2) interview, 3) documentation study. Data analysis process was conducted according to the preliminary process of data collection circle and in the course of data collection process. Reverification was done due to some odd data, then grounded final conclusion was drawn. Criteria of data validity checking as follows: 1) credibility, 2) transferability, 3) dependability and 4) conformity. Based on the findings and data analysis, the research conclusions were: 1) The strategic planning process at the Santa Rosa de Lima Tondano Catholic High School in general has gone well, but there are still inequalities because there are things that have not been prepared in advance and there are stages that are not fully implemented. 2) Obstructing factor of the strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School are: Less involvement of stakeholders; The strategic plan formed is not disseminated to stakeholders; The time of preparation of the Strategic Plan is quite long because a lot is taken up by the busyness of each team member; There is no budget for this activity. 3) Supporting factor of the strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School are: Expertise and skills of the drafting team members; The accuracy of the program to be implemented with school needs; Self-giving totality of all team members; There are donors who cover costs. 4) Efforts to contend the strategic planning process at Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School are that the school begins to socialize the school strategic plan by distributing copies of documents to stakeholders. That way they are interested in finding out how to compile the strategic plan and they begin to understand the existing strategic plans. From this, they naturally began to train themselves to analyze school conditions. And this will be followed by training by experts, who are currently championed by the current headmaster. To involve stakeholders, time and budget planning in the strategic planning process, will be sought when there are improvements to the school's strategic plan. Keywords : Strategic Planning Process, Santa Rosa De Lima Tondano Catholic High School DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-17-03 Publication date :June 30 th 2019