Knowledge-based strategic planning: harnessing (in)tangible assets of city-regions

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the ways of best managing city-regions’ valuable tangible and intangible assets while pursuing a knowledge-based urban development that is sustainable and competitive. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a theoretical framework to conceptualise a new strategic planning mechanism, knowledge-based strategic planning, which has been emerged as a planning mechanism for the knowledge-based urban development of post-industrial city-regions. Originality/value – The paper develops a planning framework entitled 6K1C for knowledge-based strategic planning to be used in the analysis of city-regions’ tangible and intangible assets. Practical implications – The paper discusses the importance of asset mapping of cityregions, and explores the ways of successfully managing city-regions’ tangible/intangible assets to achieve an urban development that is sustainable and knowledge-based. Keywords – Knowledge-based urban development, Knowledge-based strategic planning, Tangible assets, Intangible assets, City-regions. Paper type – Academic Research Pape

Knowledge management activities and strategic planning capability development

Purpose – While the strategic management literature extols the virtues of engaging in strategic planning for superior performance, how a dynamic strategic planning capability can be developed remains underexplored; a knowledge void addressed by the paper through applying knowledge-based theory. Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey was sent to high technology firms randomly sampled from the Kompass Directory of UK businesses. Firms were sampled at the SBU level, given the focus on strategic planning capability. Findings – An organization’s strategic planning capability derives from extensive information distribution and organizational memory. While learning values is non-significant, symbolic information use degrades the development of a strategic planning capability. Research implications – By investigating the contributory activities that lead to strategic planning capability development, the findings establish how strategic planning materializes in organizations. Further, the differential effects found for knowledge management activities on strategic planning capability development extends empirical studies that suggest knowledge is always a central tenet of strategic planning. Practical implications – A set of key knowledge activities are identified that managers must address for strategic planning capability development: strategic planning routines and values of search, analysis, and assessment should be appropriately informed by investments in knowledge dissemination and memory on a continual basis. Meanwhile, information misuse compromises strategic planning capabilities and managers must protect against out-of-context or manipulated information from infiltrating into organizational memory. Originality/value – Despite the advent of the Knowledge-Based Theory and its core premise that capabilities derive from knowledge management activities, little research has been conducted into demonstrating the knowledge-based antecedents of a strategic planning capability

Developing Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Portal Based on Information Strategy Planning (ISP)

The focus of this study is to develop a prototype of web portal known as Developing Small Medium Enterprise (SME) business Portal based on information strategy planning(ISP). The main objective of this study is to purpose knowledge and resources to assist the entrepreneur involved in small medium enterprise (SME) business, which is information strategy planning will be implement in this study. The portal for SME business approach is to stimulate the SME entrepreneur in business performance with strategy planning provides the direction and justification for a successful business. The Strategic view of business process and knowledge development methodology is used in this study, there are two phases in the method of Strategic view of business process and knowledge of: strategic planning phase and the operational planning methods phase. It will starts with planning, requirement analysis and at the end of this study, a Portal for SME business prototype will be designed and developed based on the user requirement. Conclusion and finding in future also will be discussed

Development of a goal management system

This thesis describes the development of the Goal Management System (GMS), a computer program designed to support goal­setting, planning and performance monitoring. The particular implementation described here is intended primarily for use in an organisational context. Chapter 2 discusses the treatment of goals as a topic in Artificial Intelligence, Psychology and Management Science. A broadly "knowledge-based" account of goal-related processes is derived from this discussion. Chapter 3 assesses the impact of the "symbols vs. neurons" debate upon the viability of a purely knowledge-based model. It is concluded that knowledge-based paradigms are useful for the description of knowledge structures, but that there are good reasons for assuming that they cannot provide an adequate account of the dynamics of knowledge (that is, the processes by which one structure is transformed into another). Therefore, it is appropriate that a systems designer should solve the problems of modelling structures before tackling the (perhaps insurmountable) problems of modelling dynamics. Chapter A considers the implications of "strategic" vs. "value-driven" models of planning. It is concluded that "value-driven" processing is the norm, while "strategic" processing is the exception, but is more likely to provide an appropriate response to radical changes in the planner's environment. A Goal Management System would support the increasing requirement for a strategic approach. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 describe the detailed design and implementation of the system. Chapter 8 describes a few of the practical applications of the system, and discusses ways in which the design could be improved. It is concluded that the basic design concept is correct, and that there is a useful role for this type of system. Chapter 9 evaluates the project as a whole and suggests directions for future research

Weak signal identification with semantic web mining

We investigate an automated identification of weak signals according to Ansoff to improve strategic planning and technological forecasting. Literature shows that weak signals can be found in the organization's environment and that they appear in different contexts. We use internet information to represent organization's environment and we select these websites that are related to a given hypothesis. In contrast to related research, a methodology is provided that uses latent semantic indexing (LSI) for the identification of weak signals. This improves existing knowledge based approaches because LSI considers the aspects of meaning and thus, it is able to identify similar textual patterns in different contexts. A new weak signal maximization approach is introduced that replaces the commonly used prediction modeling approach in LSI. It enables to calculate the largest number of relevant weak signals represented by singular value decomposition (SVD) dimensions. A case study identifies and analyses weak signals to predict trends in the field of on-site medical oxygen production. This supports the planning of research and development (R&D) for a medical oxygen supplier. As a result, it is shown that the proposed methodology enables organizations to identify weak signals from the internet for a given hypothesis. This helps strategic planners to react ahead of time

Travels with the Flying Dutchman: marketing managers, marketing planning and the metaphors of practice

A review of the literature on strategic marketing planning reveals that the manner in which it is carried out in practice does not appear to reflect the way in which it is written about in texts. It is also clear that the exploration of marketing processes in organisations is seriously neglected from a phenomenological perspective. In order to explore this area, and the lived reality of planning from marketing managers perspectives, a research methodology was adopted using the phenomenological interview. A key research question focused investigation on determining what successful marketing decision making expertise actually consists of, if it is not about the explicit skills and knowledge embedded in the rational technical model of planning. The subsequent phenomenological analysis of the interviews demonstrated that the complexity of marketing planning and individual action cannot be collapsed into a textual model. What managers drew on was a qualitative, locally constructed knowledge base. Marketing decision making and action was found to be based within a locally enacted hermeneutical circle of talk, relationships, tacit knowledge and emergent issues, where the plans they wrote acted as cues to action rather than as prescriptive guides. Based on these findings, a revised theoretical framework is proposed for understanding marketing planning. This framework draws on the socially constructed metaphors used by the marketing managers in this study to explain their practical activity. It is argued that this theoretical approach offers up ideas for action to other marketers, rather than prescriptions. It also indicates that much marketing activity is successful yet diverse, both in form and style

Strategic Planning on the Local Level As a Factor of Rural Development in the Republic of Serbia

The policy of regional rural development has to be efficient. It must relay on so called “good governanceâ€. But in last few decades the results on this segment in the republic of Serbia couldn’t be qualified as significant. So the primary objective of the paper is focused on how to reverse the process of continued impoverishment of the local rural areas and create conditions for social, cultural, economic and environmentally sustainable development based on local initiative. In order to meet this objective, an attempt is made to define systematic, continuous and cyclic approach of setting up priorities and policies as a basic tool for strategic action planning on a local level (LSAP). Decentralization of the state, strengthening of local municipalities and participation of citizens are three processes which had to be articulated and which through their validity has to gain strength and importance in republic of Serbia. The paper can provisionally be divided into two parts. The first part encompasses the importance of local strategic planning as well as justification of theoretical approaches while the second part gives the bases for methodology of strategic action planning on the local level formulation. In such approach two basic preconditions of LSAP could be specified: adequate institutional base i.e. strong participation of local community and its main stakeholders like local government, citizens, NGO’s and others; as well as high level of professional knowledge which builds local stakeholders ability of planning. Introducing of the regional rural approach on the local level is connected with development of LSAP in three basic sectors: institutional – civil society, infrastructural and economic. Local community must be aware what does LSAP mean, why it is so important, what preconditions are important in its development, how it’s structure look like, how it has to be developed, and how to stimulate local initiative, participation, transparency and democracy to reach sustainability.

Strategic capacities in Dutch water management and spatial planning

Dutch water management currently is in a position of fundamental change and renewal. As a consequence of factors such as climate change, continuous land subsidence, urbanisation pressures, and a lacking natural resilience of the water system to absorb water surpluses and shortages, the emphases has shifted from technical measures such as heightening dikes and enlarging drainage capacities towards allowing water to take more space. Since the late 1990s, water management has been modified from an approach of ‘keeping it out’ towards ‘fitting it in’. As a consequence, ‘water management’ and ‘spatial planning’ are associated more closely, especially at the regional level of scale. Recent efforts by spatial planners and water managers to establish new connections have been mainly oriented towards a regulatory planning style: mutual reviewing of policy documents, the interchange of technical knowledge, the establishment of new legal instruments, and the imposition of norms and standards. The paper provides an overview of these efforts, and then introduces the observation that a supplementary strategic planning style would be helpful. Further attunement between ‘space’ and ‘water’ requires strategic capacities to ‘frame mindsets’, ‘to organise attention’, and to transform restrictions into opportunities. Based on a literature review and case studies, therefore, we raise some critical questions as to how efforts to synchronise regional water management and spatial planning match international insights in strategy making and capacity building. Following Healey et al., we understand regional strategy making to include a notion of providing regions with ‘institutional capacity’ and social, intellectual, and political capital. We also build on Mintzberg et al. to emphasise the importance of ‘real vision’ and the need for more ‘imagination applied to building a strategy’. To what extent can current attempts to link Dutch water management and spatial planning be regarded as a reflection of a more strategic planning style? How do prevailing institutional conditions offer constraints or opportunities for further strategic action? We employ the Dutch case to explore some of these exemplary questions.

Strategic planning in Irish quantity surveying practices

The role and usefulness of strategic planning has been well documented over several decades of strategic management research. Despite the significant body of existing knowledge in the field of strategic planning, there remains a paucity of investigation into the construction sector, specifically in Professional Service Firms (PSF‟s) operating within it. The aim of this research was to ascertain the type, scope and extent of strategic planning within Irish Quantity Surveying (QS) practices and to ascertain the extent to which such processes correspond to strategic planning literature. This research was an exploratory study, undertaken in two phases in line with mixed methods employed for undertaking the study. The first, qualitative, phase involved in-depth semi-structured interviews with the principals of eleven QS practices of varying size. The second, quantitative phase, involved a widespread survey of every QS practice registered with the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCS) in Ireland, for which a response rate of over 40% was achieved. The findings discover that the type, scope and extent of strategic planning within Irish QS practices vary with practice size and ownership structure. Distinct groups of practices are evident based on a number of strategic planning process characteristics, including formality, approach, participation, flow and planning horizon. Despite the absence of a systematic or formal process within smaller QS practices, it is clear that principals are thinking and acting strategically. These practices broadly follow strategic planning processes advocated in the literature, are mostly unaware that this is the case; however confirm that a more systematic strategic planning process is beginning to emerge, particularly in light of the severity of the current economic and construction industry downturn in Ireland. The findings of the research provide an important contribution towards addressing the significant gap in existing knowledge in this regard. The conclusions drawn are specific to the QS profession, the research has been designed such that it has potential to be applied to other PSF‟s within and outside the construction industry

An assessment of the nature and extent of adoption of strategic planning processes in the public sector : A case study of Zambia

The adoption of strategic planning in the public sector has become common place. However, its adoption by the Zambian public sector has never been subjected to critical evaluation. The aim of this research was to investigate the nature and extent of adoption of strategic planning processes in the Zambian public sector. This research used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and was based on a multiple case study approach. The qualitative research used semi-structure interviews and documentary review on thirteen government ministries with the resulting data being analysed using content analysis. The quantitative research used a self-completion questionnaire on sixteen government ministries. The findings suggest an increase in the comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of strategic planning processes of the Zambian public sector. However, challenges were evident in a number of areas including; integration of organisational processes, harmonisation of strategic planning processes, completeness of the process, use of strategy tools and participation of operational staff and external stakeholders. Barriers established included; financial and human resource challenges, inadequate process alignment, inadequate enforcement mechanisms, inappropriate work culture, political interference, inadequate inter-ministerial coordination, inadequate communication of strategic plans and inadequate strategic planning knowledge among staff. The findings of this research provide an important contribution by adding the Zambian perspective to the strategic management literature which, at the time of the study, had not been documented and subjected to critical review. A further important contribution is in the provision of a set of practical guidelines to assist public managers in optimising their use of strategic planning