Strategic Planning

Module Description

This module aims to explore the theory and practice of strategy within the context of public service organisations. The module focuses on the importance of context in public sector strategy, encouraging critical engagement with the economic, social and institutional factors that shape strategy, and their relation to issues of leadership, politics, identity and learning. The main thrust is to bring the student to recognise that good strategy requires imaginative thinking and development of ideas, and, while understanding the tools and how to use them, to realise that the tools themselves are not a panacea or map for doing good strategy. The module also aims to equip students with practical skills, offer them opportunities to use these skills in work based and case study scenarios and also give students insight to enable them to analyse and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of strategic management in the public and not for profit sectors.

Module Objectives

• Select and utilise a broad spectrum of strategic analysis tools
• Examine your chosen organisation with these tools
• Understand the limitations of the tools while constructing a framework model using them
• Develop a critical approach to the standard methods of strategy
• Demonstrate the principle of strategy as a process of development in implementing the tools
• Write a realistic plan for an organisation that fulfils its mission and remains true to its values

Preliminary Reading

Strategy textbooks:

Scholes, Kevan and Gerry Johnson (2001) Exploring Public Sector Strategy, 1/e. Financial Times Press.

Mintzberg, Ahlstrand & Lampel (2005) Strategy Bites Back: Strategy is Far More, and Less, Than You Ever Imagined..., 1/e. Financial Times Press.

Strategy Readers:

Channon (2007) Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Strategic Management Oxford, Blackwell.

Segal-Horn, S (2004) The Strategy Reader 2nd Edition Oxford, Blackwell.

Public Sector Strategy:

Bryson, J (1995) Strategic planning for public and non-profit organisations San Francisco, Jossey Bass.

Flynn, N. (2002) Public Sector Management Harlow, Pearson.

Doherty, T & Horner, P (2001) Managing public services: implementing changes (Metalib ebrary) London, Routledge.

Johnson, G and Scholes, K (2012) Exploring Corporate Strategy (various editions) Harlow, Pearson.

Hughes, O (2003) Public Management and Administration, an introduction (Metalib ebrary) London, Palgrave.

Pollitt, C (2003) The Essential Public Manager Milton Keynes, Open University Press.

Journals:

Academy of Management Executive 

The Economist

Harvard Business Review

Journal of International Management

Assessment

One essay of 4000 words (100% of total mark).