STRATEGIC PLANNING IN ORGANIZATIONS
Charles François (2004). STRATEGIC PLANNING IN ORGANIZATIONS, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 3215.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3215 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented, Human sciences |
R. ACKOFF writes: “Strategic planning (selection of ends) tends to flow from the topdown , and tactical planning (selection of means) tends to flow from the bottom up ”
- “…it seems to me that strategy can be characterized, if not defined, as follows:
- “1. An organization's strategy consists of those decisions that are made by its highest level of management and that affect the organization as a whole
- “…decisions not made at the top or that do not affect the whole organization are tactical. It follows, then, that a decision that is strategic from an organizational component's point of view will be tactical from the organization's point of view. Therefore ”strategy“and ”tactics“are relative concepts depending on the organizational level at which the defining is done.
- “2. Strategic decisions set objectives for the organization as a whole, relatively long-range objectives, and formulate policies and principles intended to govern selection of means by which the objectives specified are to be pursued
and…
- “The focus of tactical decisions is efficiency ”…while “the focus of strategic decisions is growth ”(1990, p. 523)
It seems that also in some cases the fight for long term (and even short-term !) surviva l is a matter of strategy
- “3. Strategic decisions focus on prior (anticipatory) and posterior (after-the-fact) responses to such potential and actual changes in an organization's environment as can affect its performance significantly
and…
- “Finally, I think it essential that strategic decisions be so formulated that their implementation and expected effects can be monitored
- “This requires that their expected effects be stated in observable terms and that they be accompanied by a specification of the times by which the effects are expected”(p.524)