Abraham (2012, p. 20) defines strategic planning as a process used by an organization to make organizational plans and decisions of allocating resources in a way that makes it possible to pursue the set objectives, vision and mission of an organization.
As a matter of fact, strategic planning is an important practice in any organization. Studies demonstrate that about 75 percent of all organizations which collapse in the corporate world are characterized by poor strategic planning (Olsen 2011, p. 80).
In addition, strategic planning can also be described as a professional exercise carried out to ensure the success of an organization. It is not a complex myriad of functions as it has been perceived by some managers today.
This paper offers a succinct discussion of different views which have been developed to describe the process of strategic planning and gives recommendations of how management teams should understand and execute strategic planning in this modern era especially in regards to the transport sector.
To begin with, it is notable that strategic planning in public transport sector has become a widespread practice that cannot be done away with quite easily. It is essential to note that planning is a management tool that has been used to improve the performance of public transport sector.
In this case, this topic is important since it assists in identifying the essence of planning in ensuring effective development in public transport system. For instance, research has revealed that strategic planning helps in eradicating impending challenges in public transport sector hence increasing efficiency in overall service delivery (Burt 2006, p.890).
Hence, a literature review on strategic management in public transport sector will indeed provide the much needed insight on how this area of public management can be improved.
Literature review
From the empirical research studies, it has been revealed that strategic planning causes flexibility in public transport sector (Falshaw, Glaister &Tatoglu 2006, p. 9). Evidence has shown that strategic planning has a long history. In this case, it has been used to develop comprehensive plans and long-term strategies to increase opportunities and efficiency in public transport sector.
Scholars argue that this aspect requires knowledge and skills in order to enhance the sector’s capability to develop and put into practice premeditated plans.
According to Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu (2006, p. 9), strategic planning should be made formal and elaborate since it is a lengthy process. Nevertheless, Abraham (2012, p.54) opposes the argument and claims that strategic planning should be made flexible since it is subject to change especially in turbulent times and which may not be readily expected.
There exists an argument that strategic planning should have a shortened cycle to ensure that impending plans are not outdated by the passage of time and accompanying advances in technology. In this case, Abraham (2012, p. 32) objects the top-down process of implementing strategic plan arguing that the process appears lengthy.
Moreover, Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu (2006, p. 9) support this perspective by asserting that strategic planning should be made less formal, flexible and that it should also be a continuous process. The latter should also be monitored and updated from time to time.
From a careful review of literature, it is evident that increasing flexibility in public transport sector will ensure effective changes that cannot be achieved through formal plans. Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu (2006, p. 9) present an assumption that strategic planning is a key tool for communication and controlling plans in public transport sector.
In regards to evidence derived from field surveys, a significant number of personnel in the public transport sector admit to the fact that this aspect helps public service managers to work towards a common goal. Moreover, strategic planning helps an organization to communicate its intentions both internally and externally.
It is worth mentioning that analysts have come up with new assumptions that strategic planning acts as a catalyst that defines roles in public transport sector. Nevertheless, strategic planning appears relevant in public transport sector where there is existence of a volatile environment. This involves a situation whereby the services offered must be carefully screened in order to encourage availability of more opportunities. Nevertheless, Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu (2006, p. 9) underscore that this can be achieved only if there is relative stability in public transport sector.
Research has shown that there are numerous benefits of strategic planning in public transport sector. For instance, Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu (2006, p. 9) note that strategic management promotes strategic thoughts and actions. The authors point out that this aspect also fosters improved decision making.
Moreover, it also enhances organizational performance and responsiveness. Besides this, formal surveys conducted in public transport sector have indicated that strategic planning is crucial in reducing operational pressures (Ketokivi &Castañer 2004, p.337). In line with this, it fosters proper navigation of priority areas within the sector and boosts the ability to interact with external environment for new markets.
Nevertheless, Falshaw, Glaister and Tatoglu (2006, p. 11) note that strategic planning has some limitations which should be considered while handling specific problems in Public transport sector. In this case, survey evidences have shown that strategic planning cannot always be applicable in extreme challenges within the transport sector.
Abraham (2012, p.54) asserts that the aspect is not appropriate to deal with certain cases especially in a situation where the organizational staff lack adequate skills. Moreover, at some point, strategic planning can be complex and lengthy making it cumbersome to be implemented effectively (Ketokivi &Castañer 2004, p.340). Nevertheless, regardless of the limitations, strategic planning is essential especially in large sectors that perform complex and high scale services.
Olsen (2011, p.40) describes strategic planning as an activity which is solely executed by the executive level of managers in an organization. He denounces the involvement of all the departments in an organization in the setting of the direction to be taken by the whole team that works in an organization (Olsen 2011, p. 90).
His point of view is driven by the theme of allowing the top management to exercise full control of an organization. This is an acceptable theory which needs to be enriched with the addition of the knowledge that, lower level managers are very important in strategic planning. Simerson (2011, p. 47) is also quite categorical on this ideology. He notes that involvement of subordinate staff in organizational decision making does not compromise or jeopardize the whole process.
On a different note, Simerson (2011, p. 123) describes the process of strategic planning as merely an overall issue of a company answering three questions about itself; what the organization does, the party it does it for, and what the organization needs to do in order to excel in doing that specific thing. His approach towards strategic planning is also acceptable. It gives a very clear picture of the key areas of focus in strategic planning.
However this particular argument is limited in the sense that it does not incorporate the aspect of determining an organization’s current position before deciding the exact direction to take and the specifics things to do. On the same note, Abraham (2012, p.34) denotes that strategic planning is the process of defining the objectives which an organization aspires to achieve in its operation.
This is one of the basic elements of the process. However, it lacks the important holistic view of the management function of strategic planning. The arguments he gives in his bid to explain the concept of strategic planning is faulty bearing in mind that he excludes the important aspect of strategic planning being a whole system that just needs to be implemented in an organization (Simerson 2011, p.151).
Conclusions and recommendations
To reiterate on the above, it is certain that strategic planning is a crucial tool in public transport sector. Research has revealed that it enhances performance and organizational responsiveness. In line with this, it helps in reducing operational pressure, enhancing proper decision making and providing a leeway to pull resources together.
Nevertheless, it is notable that the aspect has some limitations, For instance, it is evident that implementing strategic planning consumes a lot of time since it is a lengthy and complex process (Ketokivi & Castañer 2004, p.338). Moreover, the process requires knowledge and skills. In this case, its implementation is subject to failure especially where the staff members lack adequate skills.
In this case, it is recommended that public transport sector should employ members of staff with adequate knowledge and skills on how to exercise strategic planning. Moreover, public transport sector should enhance flexibility in order to make its strategic plans suite the immediate needs and changes.
In this case, such a sector should not formalize strategic planning process or even make it lengthy. Instead, it should be flexible in order to overcome the impending barriers in transport. Moreover, it is recommended that the public transport sector should gather adequate information before exercising strategic planning so that it can effectively address impending challenges. This will enhance effective implementation of management reforms and strategic plans hence improve the performance in the sector.
In a relatively accurate way, strategic planning needs to be understood as a process which is basically characterized by evaluating the situation of an organization to know how it resulted, definition of the ideal state of an organization by setting goals and choosing a path that leads to the goals. It involves the strategic placing of all human, financial and other organizational resources into specified orderly points.
This is because they are all involved in making the elementary decisions used in strategy formulation. I concur with Simerson (2011, p. 79) when he recommends that one of the essentials of strategic planning is making sure that there is a balanced information gathered across the entire organization.
It is also recommended that strategic planning should be carried out using all managerial tools and not by the application of one specific tool. This means that in strategic planning, there should be keen emphasis on organizational threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths that may jeopardize the set goals and objectives in the due process of implementing strategic planning.
References
Abraham, S 2012, Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide for Competitive Success, Emerald Group Publishing, London.
Burt, G, 2006, “Introduction: ‘Seeing’ for organisational foresight.” Future, vol. 38 no 1, pp.887-893.
Falshaw, R, Glaister, W &Tatoglu, E 2006, “Evidence on formal strategic planning and company performance.” Management Decision, vol. 44 no.1, pp. 9-30.
Ketokivi, M &Castañer, X 2004, “Strategic planning as an integrative device. Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 49 no.3, pp.337-365.
Olsen, E 2011, Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies, John Wiley& Sons, New York.
Simerson, B 2011, Planning: A Practical Guide to Strategy Formulation and Execution, ABC-CLO, New York.