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Full-Text Articles in Business
Gazing Into The Crystal Ball: Using Scenarios For Future Visioning Of A Distance Learning Library Service, Anne Marie Casey, Jon E. Cawthorne, Kathleen Citro
Gazing Into The Crystal Ball: Using Scenarios For Future Visioning Of A Distance Learning Library Service, Anne Marie Casey, Jon E. Cawthorne, Kathleen Citro
Anne Marie Casey
This article describes the use of scenarios as a tool to assist a large distance learning library service in its strategic planning. Through a description of the scenario process from beginning to end, the authors detail the steps that the library director and the consultant took initially; their missteps; and the successful conclusion. This study of the journey through the scenario process to a new strategic plan should prove useful to library administrators interested in exploring new ways to plan for uncertain futures.
Flexibility: The Next Competitive Battle: The Manufacturing Futures Survey, Arnoud De Meyer, Jinichiro Nakane, Jeffrey M. Miller, Kasra Ferdows
Flexibility: The Next Competitive Battle: The Manufacturing Futures Survey, Arnoud De Meyer, Jinichiro Nakane, Jeffrey M. Miller, Kasra Ferdows
Arnoud DE MEYER
Over the past 4 years research teams from INSEAD (Fontainebleau), Boston University and Waseda University (Tokyo) have administered a yearly survey on the manufacturing strategy of the large manufacturers of the three industrialized regions of the world. In this paper the results for the 1986 survey are compared. One of the most striking results of that year’s survey is the emphasis some of the more advanced manufacturers put on their efforts to overcome the trade-off between flexibility and cost efficiency. In particular for the Japanese respondents these attempts become clear. Europeans and North Americans are not yet seizing the opportunity …
Explaining The Lack Of Strategic Planning In Smes: The Importance Of Owner Motivation, Calvin Wang, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond
Explaining The Lack Of Strategic Planning In Smes: The Importance Of Owner Motivation, Calvin Wang, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond
Janice Redmond Dr
Considerable evidence shows that strategic planning leads to increased firm performance. Yet, the majority of SMEs do not plan and the reasons why are not well understood. This article questions the common approach to understanding this problem based on identifying business barriers to planning. For the majority of SME owner operators, business performance often ranks far behind intangible goals such as autonomy, personal satisfaction and lifestyle. Strategic planning may therefore have little value to owner-operators driven by such motivators. This article presents an alternative perspective to the issue by arguing that owner aspirations are integral to whether or not SMEs …
Gender Differences In Small Business Strategic Planning: Do Women Plan More Than Men?, Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang, Janice Redmond
Gender Differences In Small Business Strategic Planning: Do Women Plan More Than Men?, Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang, Janice Redmond
Janice Redmond Dr
As the world of work changes and uncertainty continues in regard to employment conditions, more women are motivated to start their own businesses. However, many women-owned businesses are very small and appear to have limited growth capacity. There are few business role models for women in corporate Australia. So how do women break in? The evidence suggests that not only do many women have the capacity to grow their businesses, they also have the desire. Given the positive relationship between strategic planning and business success, this paper considers whether women are more likely than men to strategically plan their business …