Strategic Decision Making for Successful Planning

Turbulence is not new to the business world. In fact, turbulence is increasing, and managers are seeing teams spinning their wheels. Management systems are in a state of crisis and operations are more complex. The old top-down operations mode no longer suffices. Today’s businesses demand speed and increased accuracy, forcing everyone to re-evaluate chains of command and tear down the walls between functions. Amid the responsibilities of traditional management lies problem solving. The push is toward moving decision-making authority down the ladder to all levels. Managers are no longer equipped to or capable of making the number and variety of necessary decisions in a vacuum. The current mode is to have employees deal directly with workplace issues and take corrective action without complaint and without management involvement. Coping with this reality and preparation for these improvements in workplace problem solving requires interest and motivation.

Strategic Decision Making for Successful Planning can facilitate this by demystifying and simplifying the process. The book bridges philosophy and theory and puts together a practical integration of all the tools necessary to get results from your investment of time, energy, and money. What is unique about this book is while it’s based on a strong academic foundation, it does not get bogged down in the human-planning or psychological process of solving problems. It doesn’t provide "pie-in-the-sky" creative solutions or a five-year process for solving problems and planning for the future. Numerous techniques and tools are included to make the book the right balance between practical and academic. The book also includes an extensive case study to illustrate points made in the text.

CJ Rhoads, Phd is a Professor in the College of Business at Kutztown University. Her research interests include leadership development, business strategy, entrepreneurship, healthcare cost management, newly developed educational technologies, and integrative health practices. She is a highly sought-after speaker, author, and consultant on business strategy, leadership, healthcare and technology topics. She is also both the Managing Director of HPL 501c3 Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing health, prosperity, and leadership for everyone, everywhere, and the CEO of a firm developing technology tools for non-profits, HPL Consortium, Inc.

Before joining KU, her thirty five years of business experience runs the gamut from entrepreneurial startups in the technology industry to being Vice President of Long Range Planning in established Fortune 500 companies in the finance industry. She is a widely published author with nine books and over 250 articles. She received her doctorate (D.Ed.) in Educational Technology with a minor in Business Administration from Lehigh University, and her master's (M.Ed.) from Temple University in Educational Psychology focusing on Instructional Design.