ABSTRACT
The master planning for an organization doesn’t really have a definite starting and ending point, particularly in ever-changing business environment. The winners really try to gain a significant advantage through the use of an effective planning approach. Some of these plans are very long, elaborate affairs, and some are quicker-hitting events. The winners know that even the best plan, not implemented, is useless. They work very hard to develop a useful planning process, which requires that the management team responsible for its execution is involved in the development of the plan. In the 1960s, the words long-range planning were used to describe the strategic planning system. Most writers in the field have their own pet definitions of the terms listed in the preceding paragraph. They vary greatly in terms of level of abstraction, substance, and general acceptance. Most writers agree, however, that strategic planning should be described from several points of view.
