Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide

Strategic Planning A Practical Guide Peter Rea, Ph.D., HaroldKerzner, Ph.D. In today's business world, now more than ever, theonly constant is change. With technology producing a steady streamof innovations, consumer preferences shifting rapidly, andworld-wide free trade increasing, successful managers face agrowing challenge to remain a step ahead of the future. Frombusiness students to corporate managers, anyone interested in thisdiscipline will find no resource more insightful and engaging thanStrategic Planning: A Practical Guide. From their extensiveexperience consulting with Fortune 500 companies, Rea and Kerznerhave succeeded in crafting the definitive introduction to strategicplanning and management policy and strategy--from the grass-rootsprinciples to the practical applications utilized by organizationstoday. Examining the integral roles of finance, marketing, learningcurves, research and development, inventory control, andmanufacturing techniques, Strategic Planning presents acomprehensive overview of the development and implementation ofcontemporary strategic planning models applicable to both small andlarge businesses. Rather than teaching complex, integrated theory,the authors offer a straight-forward approach to demonstratestrategic planning and management policy techniques. Withstep-by-step methods on how to apply relevant material, along withdiscussion questions, and problems designed to highlight thepractical application of particular issues, companies cansuccessfully formulate and implement strategic initiativesto:
* Establish a clear direction for the future
* Make decisions across levels and functions
* Improve organizational performance
* Build teamwork and expertise
* Aid executives in thinking and behaving strategically
* And more!

About the Authors Peter Rea, Ph.D., is Chairman of the Business Division at Baldwin-Wallace College. He has provided strategic planning and marketing strategy consultation to organizations including NASA, McDonald and Company, the Ohio Lottery Commission, Oberlin College, Ameritrust Bank, Society National Bank, and the University of Michigan. Harold Kerzner, Ph.D., is Professor of Systems Management and Director of the Project Management/Systems Management Research Institute at Baldwin-Wallace College, as well as President of Project Management Associates, Inc., a consulting company based in Ohio. Dr. Kerzner has published or presented more than sixty engineering and business papers, and his thirteen books include Project Management for Bankers, Operating Guidelines for Project Management, A Dictionary of Terms for Project Management, and Investing in the Corporate Bond Market.