Ensuring a future for your organisation

This paper reviews the importance of strategic planning to Australian industry and identifies the factors critical for effective strategic management of an organisation. Amongst the areas addressed are the need for strategic planning, the benefits and disadvantages of undertaking strategic planning, and the key steps which have to be followed in an effective strategic planning process. The issues of who is responsible for strategic planning, the role of corporate planning staff, and the areas which are critical for strategic planning to focus upon are also addressed. Much of the data presented is derived from the first Australian comprehensive survey of corporate planning practices in manufacturing industry which was conducted by the author in 1982.