ABSTRACT
In this era of global competitiveness, increasingly scarce resources, and rapid, often discontinuous change, strategic planning has been extolled as the primary organizational “tool” for sound management (cf. Bryson, 1988; Gray, 1986; Mintzberg, 1990; Pfeiffer et al., 1989). It offers a well-defined (and now well-known) systematic process for assessing an organization’s mission, values, and environments, identifying strategic issues, and developing implementation plans. As summarized by James O’Toole (1987), author of Vanguard Management: Redesigning the Corporate Future, an eminent feature of all vanguard organizations is their ability to develop a strategic plan that (1) realistically assesses their environment and the context in which they will be operating in the future, (2) articulates an appropriate yet flexible strategy for functioning in a changing environment, and (3) involves full employee participation in carrying out the plan. Similarly, in evaluating the notfor-profit sector, John Bryson (1988), author of Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, concludes that “the most effective public and nonprofit planners no doubt are now, and will be increasingly in the future, the ones who are best at strategic planning.” As asserted by one chief executive officer, “Either you get good at it, or you do it poorly and suffer the consequences” (Gray, 1986).
