STRATEGIC PLANNING PRACTICE OF THE TOP 500 COMPANIES: CASE OF KONYA

Strategic plan can be defined as organization's plan which is chosen among the alternatives and determines the vision and mission by taking into consideration the external threats and opportunities under given the conditions of organization's strengths and weaknesses. It determines the paths, methods and resource distribution of the companies to reach the strategic goals. Analysis of external and internal conditions isimportant components of strategic planning. Then mission and vision are redefined to determine the new path for organizational goals. Under today's circumstances strategic planning is an integral part of corporate communication. The purpose of the study is to determine whether this concept is understood and practiced professionally among toplevel companies. City of Konya's eight companies, which were among Turkey's top 500, were examined. Interviews were performed with the companies' senior level managers. With the questions, it was tried determine whether the concept of strategic planning was understood and practiced effectively in their management activities. Study showed that only three of companies had strategic plans, whereas five of the companies didn't have any. It was seen that each company had different strategic planning/planning practice experiences