Formal Strategic Planning Process Research Articles

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Formal Strategic Planning of South African Listed Companies

Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: This study investigates the relationship between formal strategic planning and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the South African context, considering JSE-listed companies. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employed multiple-scale items with a five-point Likert scale to measure CSR and formal strategic planning. A chi-square test was performed to test the significance of the relationship between the variables. Research findings: The analysis of all South African listed companies (i.e., JSE-listed companies) revealed that formal strategic planning is significantly associated with CSR, suggesting that CSR concerns are addressed during the formal strategic planning process. Theoretical contribution/Originality: The respondents are only limited to JSE-listed companies and the findings are related to the links only between formal strategic planning and CSR. Practitioner/Policy implication: The JSE is the largest stock exchange in Africa. Thus, it is becoming increasingly important for them to maintain their corporate reputation with stakeholders. Accordingly, addressing stakeholders’ demand for CSR through the formal strategic planning process would benefit the organisation is vital. Originality/Value: This study contributes a deep intuitive knowledge of companies’ perceptions of CSR demonstrations by considering formal strategic planning in the South African context.

Strategic planning, strategy map and management control: a case study

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between the components of the management control system (MCS) based on the reform process of the management system of China Resources Group and the influence of these components on the implementation effect of MCS. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an exploratory research method and an open-ended grounded theory approach to conduct six formal investigations and several in-depth interviews with employees and senior management in China Resources Group. This paper supplements these data by performing a documentary analysis of the internal documents of China Resources Group such as the statistical yearbook, business plan and meeting records. Findings This study puts forward four propositions. The formal strategic planning process creates an application environment for the strategy map and balanced scorecard (BSC), making it easier for an enterprise to adopt these tools. The combination of the strategy map and formal strategic planning helps to build the logical relationship between strategic goals and budget goals and strengthens the correlation between budget and strategy. In diversified organizations applying MCS, the strategy map and BSC facilitate the implementation of the strategy for specialized business units, while the financial measure system facilitates the implementation of the strategy for diversified business units. Strategic boundaries based on financial measures in the MCS help organizations determine the scope of strategic choices before implementing strategies. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability and the influence of the strategic planning process on budget participation, budget slack and other budget behaviors has not been fully discussed. Therefore, future studies are expected to provide more evidence regarding strategic planning and budget behaviors. Practical implications Before establishing a strategy map and BSC, the enterprise should consider the application environment to ensure their feasibility and legitimacy and construct the BSC system under appropriate conditions. A formal strategic planning process should be formed within the enterprise; that is, a set of detailed management methods should be adopted and clear rules should be used to support the enterprise management control process. The enterprise should add strategic boundaries to the MCS to determine the scope of strategic choices and the budgeting bottom line. Originality/value This paper sheds light on the impact of the formal strategic planning process on the organization and contributes new evidence on the key success factors for implementing the strategy map and BSC, enriching the researchers’ understanding of the applicability of the BSC.

Assessing the relationship between formal strategic planning and firm's financial performance: An emphasis on flexible planning and innovation

Improving the firm performance, especially its financial aspect, has always been at the core of the attention of both researchers and stakeholders during history. The formal strategic planning process is an element that has shown its impact, whether positive, negative, or neutral on firm financial performance in the literature. Besides, some variables, such as innovation and flexibility in planning, can affect this relationship as moderating factors. Therefore, this study strives to evaluate the association between formal strategic planning and firm financial performance while supposing innovation and flexibility in planning as moderating variables. The statistical population of this paper involves 300 top and middle managers of Refah bank, one of the biggest banks in Iran, and the variables are measured by a questionnaire that is based on the five-point Likert scale. The findings of this research have two main achievements. Firstly, results demonstrate that all three studied variables, meaning that formal strategic planning, innovation, and flexibility in planning have positive impacts on firm financial performance. Secondly, and according to the first conclusion, integrating innovation and flexibility into the formal strategic planning process isa necessity leading to a better firm financial performance.

Linking the formal strategic planning process, planning flexibility, and innovativeness to firm performance

This study explores the link between financial performance and the formal strategic planning process, planning flexibility, and innovativeness of 448 firms in a multi-industry sample. The results suggest that firms' formal strategic planning processes and planning flexibility are positively associated, and each is positively related to innovativeness. In addition, innovativeness fully mediates the relationships between firm performance and the formal strategic planning process and planning flexibility.

Performance Management in NGOs: Evidence from Kenya

Performance management (PM) is a complex concept that has received much attention in management accounting literature with much discussion devoted to performance measurement aspect. There seems to be a gap between performance management theory and actual practice as highlighted by several researchers and practitioners. Regardless of recent growth and importance of Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) as part of the voluntary sector, particularly in developing countries such as Kenya, research focusing on performance management practices in these organisations lags behind. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore performance PM practices relevant to NGOs performance in Kenya utilising a performance management and control framework (proposed by Ferreira and Otley, 2009). This study utilised a qualitative research approach involving triangulation of data sources and data collection methods to increase the validity and reliability of the study. Data collection included semi structured interviews, and a focus group discussion. The researchers followed Framework analysis (Ritchie and Spencer, 1994) to analyse the qualitative data using NVIVO software. The process involved five key stages namely: ‘familiarisation, identifying a thematic framework, indexing, charting, mapping and interpretation’. A summary of key preliminary findings reveals that the NGOs in Kenya comprise of community based organisations (CBOs), socio enterprises and Voluntary and charitable organisations (VCOs). The definition and scope of the NGOs in Kenya has widened with implications for performance management systems used in the sector. Although NGOs in Kenya view performance as a multidimensional construct, they emphasise measurement of achievement of objectives. This emphasis is further reflected in the subsequent performance measurement practices. Performance management practices are complex and multifaceted encompassing diversity in performance planning, performance measurement and performance context among the NGOs. In addition to the vision and mission, the NGOs have core values and key success factors included in formal strategic planning process. Although a number of private sector performance measurement frameworks are utilised, The Kenyan NGOs mostly logical framework with emphasis on output and financial measures and team based targets. The findings have implications for both PM researchers and practitioners. The study also demonstrated that the performance management and control framework (Ferreira and Otley, 2009) is an important tool for researchers to use to explore PM practices among several NGOs.

Strategic planning as communicative process

This paper examines the construction of a strategic plan as a communicative process. Drawing on Ricoeur’s concepts of decontextualization and recontextualization, we conceptualize strategic planning activities as being constituted through the iterative and recursive relationship of talk and text. Based on an in-depth case study, our findings show how multiple actors engage in a formal strategic planning process which is manifested in a written strategy document. This document is thus central in the iterative talk to text cycles. As individuals express their interpretations of the current strategic plan in talk, they are able to make amendments to the text, which then shape future textual versions of the plan. This cycle is repeated in a recursive process, in which the meanings attributed to talk and text increasingly converge within a final agreed plan. We develop our findings into a process model of the communication process that explains how texts become more authoritative over time and, in doing so, how they inscribe power relationships and social order within organizations. These findings contribute to the literature on strategic planning and on organization as a communication process.

Strategic Planning for Electronic Resources Management: A Case Study at Gustavus Adolphus College

Electronic resources, the tools we use to manage them, and the needs and expectations of our users are constantly evolving; at the same time, the roles, responsibilities, and workflow of the library staff who manage e-resources are also in flux. Recognizing a need to be more intentional and proactive about how we manage e-resources, the e-resources librarian and serials manager at a liberal arts college library collaborated on a formal strategic planning process. This article presents a case study of strategic planning for e-resources management—from development to implementation. By using a collaborative, task-based approach, the strategic planning process helped us redefine roles and workflow and prompted us to think creatively about how we can improve e-resources management in our library.

Meeting your high expectations

These are exciting times for our association, as it consolidates the transition from a simpler volunteer organization to a more complex one with a professional workforce. The CUA has gone from an entity whose main role was organizing the Annual Meeting, to one with many year-round initiatives. These include the Office of Education (OE), CUAJ, the patient brochure initiative and our guidelines. The complexity and cost of the organization has increased substantially. This reflects the increasing maturity of the CUA and the higher expectations of its members. Growth creates opportunities and challenges. The opportunities are obvious. The OE resoundingly establishes the CUA as an organizer of continuing medical education activities year-round. CUAJ is a wonderful initiative, of which we should all be proud, and has tremendous upside potential. The patient information brochures have had a huge and positive impact on patient education. The challenges relate primarily to the future. Where are we going, and what kind of organization do we want to become? What services should we focus on? What kind of annual meeting serves our members the best? Should we increase our political activities (as the AUA has done) at the federal level? What direction should the OE take? What can we do to make us more attractive to Canadian urologists (there are about 150 nonmembers in Canada)? How can we increase our visibility to the medical profession and the public? What about our financial stability? Remarkably, there is no record of the CUA ever going through a formal strategic planning process to address these questions in a systematic way. To that end, we are planning to do this with the CUA executive this year. We have engaged a strategic planning consultant to assist in this process. Over the next few months a series of interviews will be carried out with the current, past and future CUA leadership, as well as with many members of the executive. Questionnaires will be sent out to many members. This process will aim to gather diverse perspectives. The process will culminate in a full-day retreat just before the CUA executive meeting in January, followed by a formal report. We hope that this document will serve as a road map for the next 5 years, and will contribute to the development of a mature and healthy CUA that meets its members’ needs in many domains, including education, practice support, manpower planning and publication. Some members have expressed justifiable concern about the growth of the central office and the increased costs involved. Members are likely aware that the CUA shares offices and personnel with the Societe Internationale d’Urologie (SIU). Your executive has exercised a great deal of due diligence in evaluating the performance of the central office and establishing a sound cost-shared arrangement for the future. We are very satisfied that the current arrangement is reasonable and fair. We benefit tremendously from the experience and diverse talents of the CUA staff and have been able to leverage the lessons they learned from managing the SIU.

Strategic Planning in a Complex Academic Environment: Lessons from One Academic Health Center

Leaders in academic health centers (AHCs) must create a vision for their academic unit embedded in a complex environment. A formal strategic planning process can be valuable to help shape a clear vision taking advantage of potential collaborations and to develop specific achievable long- and short-term goals. The authors describe the steps in a formal strategic planning process and illustrate it with the example of the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine beginning in 2004. The process included the active participation of over 300 faculty members, trainees, and stakeholders of the department and resulted in broad-based support and leadership for the resulting plan. The authors describe the steps, which include getting started, committing to planning principles, establishing the work plan, understanding the environment, pulling it all together, shaping the vision, testing strategic directions, building effective implementation, and promoting the plan. Articulation of vision, mission, and values informed the plan's development, as well as 10 key principles integral to the plan. Challenges and lessons learned are also described. The final strategic plan is an active core activity of the department, guiding decisions and resource allocation and facilitating measurement of success or shortcomings. The process the authors describe is applicable to multiple academic units, including divisions/sections, departments, or thematic programs in AHCs.

The Role of Strategy Workshops in Strategy Development Processes: Formality, Communication, Co-ordination and Inclusion

Strategy workshops, the practice of taking time out from day-to-day routines to deliberate on the longer-term direction of the organisation, are a common practice, yet surprisingly little is known about them. This article presents the first substantial exploration of the role of workshops in strategy development through a large-scale UK survey of managerial experience of these events. The findings, based on 1,337 returns, show that strategy workshops play an important part in formal strategic planning processes; that they rely on discursive rather than analytical approaches to strategy formation; and that they typically do not include middle managers, rather reinforcing elitist approaches to strategy development. The authors conclude that strategy workshops are important vehicles for the emergence of strategy and discuss the implications of their findings for management practice and future research.

Board involvement in strategy and organisational performance

In firms where oversight by a regulatory body within the industry exists and where new core competencies must be developed to offset aggressive competition, there is evidence that a larger role for board of director involvement in strategic activities occurs. Within this context, survey data from board members and CEOs reveal that in organisations where financial soundness scores are less favourable, the odds of the board being more involved in a formal strategic planning process increase. Regarding a strategy role that consists of the board collaborating with management in making new strategic decisions, it is less likely that the board will take on this role when the organisation's financial soundness scores are not at the optimal level. For many years, boards of directors have been encouraged in theory and in practice to take on an active strategy role. However, in much of the literature the nature and extent of board involvement in strategy is undifferentiated. Most empirical studies dealing with corporate governance issues focus on board composition and structure variables and do not examine the level of involvement from a decision making perspective. Capturing this particular perspective is not only of interest to researchers but also is of practical importance, as general management seeks to realise the board's full potential in the strategic arena. This paper reports on the involvement of boards in a five-step strategic planning process and also examines board participation relative to that of senior management in strategic decision-making and evaluation. The first section examines the limited empirical findings of board involvement in strategic activities and outlines three viewpoints on possible participation levels. The paper then describes an empirical study that shows board involvement varies in relation to the organisation's financial performance.

Mobilizando estratégias emergentes

Este artigo faz um exame crítico da idéia de estratégia emergente em organizações, tal como apresentada na literatura sobre estratégia empresarial, e propõe um quadro conceitual para o uso dessa idéia na prática. Sob a pressão de uma concorrência brutalmente intensificada, as atuais organizações ao redor do mundo têm cada vez mais buscado flexibilidade e inovação incessante. A forma tradicional de criação de estratégias por meio de um processo periódico e formal de planejamento estratégico não é mais suficiente para lidar com essa nova situação. Nessas condições, a criação de estratégias tem de ser um processo contínuo, no qual estratégias emergentes (juntamente com estratégias deliberadas) podem ter um papel crucial. Mas para tirar partido delas, os administradores terão de dominar o uso de estruturas, processos e técnicas que permitem transformar estratégias emergentes em comportamento estratégico eficaz.

The role of the Chief Information Officer in formal strategic information systems planning

The result of a formal strategic planning process is a strategic plan document. This research collected strategic information systems/information technology plan documents in Norway. Based on content analysis of the documents, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in strategic planning was identified. The CIO was often project leader for the planning process, and CIOs were authors of 71% of the plan documents. It is interesting to note that the CIO role was described in the majority of manufacturing firm plans and in the minority of public administration plans. None of the service firm plans had contents on the CIO role.

Estratégia nas empresas de internet: lições da informalidade

Pesquisas realizadas sobre o tema de formação de estratégias em pequenas empresas indicam que estas não usam abordagens formais para o apoio ao processo de planejamento estratégico. Elas tendem a utilizar uma abordagem informal e oportunista na criação de estratégias. Os resultados deste artigo mostram que pequenas firmas de prestação de serviços para a Internet não adotam ferramentas do tipo tool-kit. Elas aplicam um conjunto de atividades influenciadas por três dimensões características na formação de estratégias: "incrementalismo", informalidade e networking. Este estudo revela, ainda, que as empresas não empregam, de forma sistemática, as ferramentas acadêmicas concebidas para apoiar o processo de desenvolvimento de estratégias. Essas ferramentas foram percebidas como consumidoras de tempo e impróprias para a adoção pelas empresas analisadas.

Formal strategic planning, informedness and firm performance: An empirical investigation

Formal strategic planning (hereafter FSP) is the most sophisticated form of planning. It implies that a firm’s strategic planning process involves explicit systematic procedures used to gain the involvement and commitment of the stakeholders most affected by the plan. There is a significant strategic dimension to the planning at both corporate and lower levels. In this context, the corporate plan is a document that takes a corporate perspective and is not just an agglomeration of lower level p1ans.l A recurring theme in management literature is that firms should engage in such systematic or formal strategic planning. Advocates of planning such as Ansoff (1984), Hax and Majluf (1984), and Thompson and Strickland (1978) argue that FSP contributes to managerial effectiveness and, thus, to corporate success. A logical extension of this assertion is that firms engaged in FSP should outperform firms not engaged in such planning and/or that firms’ post-planning performance should be superior to their performance prior to launching formal strategic planning processes. No clear empirical evidence, however, has emerged to support a positive relationship between FSP and organization performance. Studies of the performance-planning relationship for American firms are inconclusive with respect to the benefits of corporate planning, and little direct evidence on this topic is available on Canadian firms.2

Top Team, Environment, and Performance Effects on Strategic Planning Formality

This study examined hypotheses linking three categories of variables, top management team demography, environmental uncertainty, and firm performance, to the extent to which retail banks engage in a formal strategic planning process. The specific variables studied included: mean tenure, mean age, mean education level, functional background heterogeneity, and education major heterogeneity under team demography; environmental complexity and instability under environmental uncertainty; and performance level and volatility under firm performance. Results show that low tenure mean, functional heterogeneity, environmental complexity, and performance volatlity all had positive effects on strategic planning formality.

Environmental scanning for social services

This article describes the development of a process of systematic regional environmental scanning as part of strategic planning in the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) in British Columbia, over the 1987–1990 period. Social Services, a large regionalized social service organization, adopted a formal strategic planning process in early 1988. Ministry services are delivered in ten regions with widely varying characteristics. To ensure that this diversity is reflected in the planning process, it is essential that regional environmental information receive consideration. A simple format was developed and regional directors asked to consult with their staff and to scan their regions for issues that may impact the ministry over the medium term. The information obtained was presented by regional directors at a Senior Management Committee meeting and included in the ministry's annual Business Plan, a document which informs staff, contractors, stakeholders, and the community at large of the ministry's values, objectives, and operational goals. The inclusion of regional analyses adds useful information to the Plan. A second output of the planning process is the ministry budget. The systematic regional scans were found to be extremely useful to regional staff, other directors, and to the ministry executives while setting priorities.

Financial Implications of Strategic Planning

Financial management requires, almost by definition, a planning perspective on the part of library managers. Planning is, after all, one of the primary responsibilities of all managers, including those resonsible for financial resources. This article will explore the ways that planning and financial management fit into a formal strategic planning process.

Strategic planning for information resources at the University of Maryland

With an externally funded project as catalyst, the University of Maryland at Baltimore instituted a formal strategic planning process for an integrated academic information management system (IAIMS). The process, designed to be comprehensive, iterative and participatory, also maximized its effectiveness as change agent by building in translatability, allowing the original characteristics to continue into the implementation phase and ongoing management of information resources. This paper describes the process and its translation, with reference to the literature on organizational change and formal planning.

Strategic planning for clinical services: The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute

A formal, hospitalwide strategic-planning process provides structure for the pharmacy's plans for implementing clinical services. The state-supported clinical cancer and research center began a formal strategic-planning process in 1981. The institution's planning report, prepared every two years and covering three two-year periods, drives the institution's budget through the state's biennial budget process. The report focuses on each department's responsibilities, areas of service, and relationship to the mission of the institution. Through the long-range planning process, upper-level administrators learned that pharmacy was eager not only to provide high-volume drug distribution services but also to assume direct patient-care and research responsibilities. This prompted an organizational change for pharmacy from a hospital department to a clinical division. The division of pharmacy now consists of three professional departments (patient care, pharmacy research, and pharmacy academic programs) and an administrative support service area. Services offered by each of the three departments are discussed, along with specific initiatives planned for the years 1987-1993. Within the next few years, all managers will come from the ranks of clinical practitioners; nonpharmacists will oversee financial and human resource functions. The division encourages existing pharmacy staff members to enhance their clinical skills through staff development programs. Strategic planning serves the dual purposes of structuring plans for implementing clinical pharmacy services and communicating pharmacy's goals within the institution.