ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine some of the ways an organization’s strategic orientation impacts the strategies it adopts. This orientation is the guiding principle that underlies all strategic decisions. It shapes the direction that a public sector organization takes in planning to perform its mission and the way it plans to continue to function over the foreseeable time period. It therefore influences both current operational plans and schedules and the proposed human and administrative capital investments that must be available. There are two major components to this idea. The first is the sense that an organization does indeed have a plan that delineates its strategic goals and for the tasks and performance objectives related to the long-term goals. The second is the regular monitoring and measuring of performance progress gained toward achieving its short-term objectives and longer-term goals.
