If you’re starting a new business or planning your business’s future, there are plenty of things you should take into account. Strategic Planning For Dummies covers everything you need to know to develop a plan for building and maintaining a competitive advantage — no matter what business you’re in. Written by Erica Olsen, founder and President of a business development firm that helps entrepreneurial-minded businesses plan for a successful future, this handy guide covers all the basics, including: How a strategic plan is different than a business plan Establishing a step-based planning process Planning for and encouraging growth Taking a long-view of your organization Evaluating past performance Defining and refining your mission, values, and vision Sizing up your current situation Examining your industry landscape Setting your strategic priorities Planning for unknown contingencies If you’re in business, you have to plan for everything — especially if you intend your business to grow. Whether you’re planning for a small business, large conglomerate, nonprofit, or even a government agency, this book has the planning specifics you need for your organization. Step-by-step, you’ll learn how to lay the foundations for a plan, understand how your plan will affect your business, form planning teams, discover what your strengths are, see where you are, and, finally, plan where you’re going. And there’s much more: Learn to analyze business trends that will determine your business’s future Set measurable, realistic goals that you can plan for and achieve Make strategic planning a habitual part of the organization Prioritize multiple strategies that you can implement simultaneously Set a defining vision for the organization that guides all your planning and strategy This friendly, simple guide puts the power of strategic planning in the palm of your hand. For small businesses that can’t afford to hire strategic planning consultants, it’s even more imperative. Careful, constant planning is the only way to handle an uncertain business future. With this book, you’ll have all the step-by-step guidance you need to ensure you’re ready for anything that comes.

Suitable for all business students studying strategy and marketing courses in the UK and in Europe, this text also looks at important issues such as the financial aspects of marketing.

An introductory resource that tackles the pivotal role of information systems in the day-to-day operation of hospitals. Illustrating the importance of hospital information management in delivering high-quality health care at the lowest possible cost, the book provides the essential resources needed by the medical informatics specialist to understand and successfully manage the complex nature of hospital information systems. The book examines the significance of information processing in hospitals, the progress in information and communication technology, and the importance of systematic information management.

International business is undergoing continuous transformation as multinational firms and comparative management evolve in the changing global economy. To succeed in this challenging environment, firms need a well-developed capability for sound strategic decisions. This comprehensive work provides an applied and integrated strategic framework for developing capabilities that lead to global success. It is designed to help readers achieve three essential objectives. First, it provides intellectual and practical guidelines for readers to execute goals and strategies that lead to meaningful and productive results. The book is packed with frameworks, cases, anchoring exercises, techniques, and tools to help readers emerge with a completed business plan after the last chapter. Second, it focuses on strategy and how firms build competitive presence and advantages in a global context. A primary learning objective is to enable readers to understand and evaluate the major issues in strategy formulation and implementation in a global context. Third, it provides an accessible framework that will help guide readers in making strategic decisions that are sound and effective. It offers a unifying process that delineates the necessary steps in analyzing the readiness of a firm to do business abroad. In addition to core issues, each chapter presents frameworks, analytical tools, action-oriented items, and a real-world case - all designed to provide insights on the challenges imposed by globalization and technology on managers operating in a global context.

With the onset of globalization, liberalization and technological market changes, organizations are making many strategic responses by redefining their portfolios, processes, systems and structures. At operational level, these responses are: (i) Portfolio related responses (mergers, acquisitions, demergers, diversification, share buy-back, divestiture, and so on) process related strategic responses (quality strategy, international quality certification, JIT, benchmarking, core competence, etc.) and (iii) structure related responses (strategic business units, matrix structures, and flat organization structures). This well-organized and compact text gives a brilliant analysis of the significance of the HRD system in planning and implementation of strategic responses, focussing on the alignment between strategic responses of organizations and HRD in India~s most valuable companies. The entire theme is presented with the help of exhaustive literature review and is based on empirical study conducted in 59 Indian organizations. The book is unique as it provides overview of 26 strategic responses and the role of HRD in them. The book is profusely illustrated and contains 140 tables, and a fairly large number of figures and boxes, which will enable the readers to grasp the subject with ease. The comprehensive References will be of great help in delving deeper into the topics discussed. Designed primarily as a textbook for postgraduate students of management, and postgraduate diploma students in Business/Human Resource Management, this indepth and fascinating study on strategic human resource development will be highly useful to consultants and practitioners in HRD and all those involved in strategic management/corporate planning.

A comprehensive analysis of strategic information warfare waged via digital means as a distinct concern for the United States and its allies. In the "information age," information systems may serve as both weapons and targets. Although the media has paid a good deal of attention to information warfare, most treatments so far are overly broad and without analytical foundations. In this book Gregory Rattray offers a comprehensive analysis of strategic information warfare waged via digital means as a distinct concern for the United States and its allies. Rattray begins by analyzing salient features of information infrastructures and distinguishing strategic information warfare from other types of information-based competition, such as financial crime and economic espionage. He then establishes a conceptual framework for the successful conduct of strategic warfare in general, and of strategic information warfare in particular. Taking a historical perspective, he examines U.S. efforts to develop air bombardment capabilities in the period between World Wars I and II and compares them to U.S. efforts in the 1990s to develop the capability to conduct strategic information warfare. He concludes with recommendations for strengthening U.S. strategic information warfare defenses.

All institutions require a framework of governance, comprising a mission to be accomplished with clear rules and recognized conventions to guide its accomplishment. This book sets the governance of companies - corporate governance - in a wider framework so that it can be appreciated as part of a long tradition and of a system that affects our lives at all levels and in most places.Corporate governance is no longer optional for businessmen - it is vital - and the events which have led to this and the approaches taken by different countries are explained by Adrian Davies. He goes on to develop a working model for introducing a system of corporate governance, as well as detailing the process of installing and maintaining it. As the title suggests, A Strategic Approach to Corporate Governance explores the link between corporate governance and business strategy, and examines the role of the board of directors in providing leadership to both processes. Moving beyond the Cadbury, Greenbury and Hampel Codes, this book outlines a stakeholder approach to corporate governance which complements the financially-focused Codes.As Sir Adrian Cadbury says in his Foreword:'Openness and accountability are the governance watchwords and ethical standards are the basis on which lasting governance systems are built. These are the lessons we have all learnt from the work which has been done worldwide on the governance of companies. Adrian Davies' book will, with advantage, help to spread corporate experience in this field to a wider range of organisations.'

Even world-class companies, with powerful and proven business models, eventually discover limits to growth. That's what makes emerging high-growth industries so attractive. With no proven formula for making a profit, these industries represent huge opportunities for the companies that are fast enough and smart enough to capture them first. But building tomorrow's businesses while simultaneously sustaining excellence in today's demands a delicate balance. It is a mandatory quest, but one that is fraught with contradiction and paradox. Until now, there has been little practical guidance. Based on an in-depth, multiyear research study of innovative initiatives at ten large corporations, Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble identify three central challenges: forgetting yesterday's successful processes and practices; borrowing selected resources from the core business; and learning how the new business can succeed.The authors make recommendations regarding staffing, leadership roles, reporting relationships, process design, planning, performance assessment, incentives, cultural norms, and much more. Breakthrough growth opportunities can make or break companies and careers. "Forget, Borrow, Learn" is every leader's guide to execution in unexplored territory.