Is scenario planning a process that can be used by agencies of the Australian Public Service to generate and develop information that is relevant to the future, and thereby make possible improved strategic planning? This is the core question of this dissertation. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the case for investigating the benefits of scenario planning. Literature defining and describing the benefits of scenario planning for both private and public sector organisations is examined, and factors that appear to be critical to effective implementation of the process are discussed. Against this theoretical background the empirical evidence of seven cases of the application of scenario planning in six agencies of the Australian Public Service is considered. Several conclusions are drawn on the basis of the data obtained from the seven cases studied. Scenario planning is more likely to make possible improved strategic planning of public sector agencies such as those that comprise the Australian Public Service (irrespective of their function or size) if it has the active involvement of senior management during the developmental phase of the process, and their ongoing support for any follow-up activity. In addition, a well resourced and in-depth research phase is integral to the success of the process. Even if these elements are not present to a high degree, a well managed scenario planning exercise will improve to some degree the ability of an agency�s senior executive to think more openly and proactively about its future business context. In addition, well resourced and properly supported scenario planning can also help a public sector agency to improve the quality of its information gathering, test the viability of its strategy options and develop appropriate contingency plans.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of participants involved in one community college's strategic planning process in which faculty, administrators, and staff at all levels of the organization were encouraged to participate. Data were collected through direct observation, focus group interviews, analysis of institutional documents, and a pen and paper questionnaire. Data were analyzed through a constant comparative method. Reduction of the data produced themes exploring the reaction of participants to the new strategic planning process. This qualitative study generated four hypotheses that relate to these research questions: 1. Staff participation in an organization's strategic planning process results in a deeper staff understanding of the organization's mission, a higher staff commitment to the organization's goals, and a demonstration of greater staff energy and vitality. 2. Community college departments will interpret and implement institutional strategic planning processes in ways that are unique and congruent with their academic discipline; a single process cannot be successfully dictated. 3. When managers serve as facilitators or use others to facilitate strategic planning processes, staff will self-organize, a process will emerge, and leadership will take a variety of forms. 4. Community college staff who encounter change in strategic planning processes can be categorized as Guarded Optimists, Curmudgeons, Crusaders, or Along for the Ride, based on levels of frustration and optimism. Recommendations for Practice: 1. Obtain acceptance of terminology from all units before beginning the participatory strategic planning process. Use acceptable terms in form/templates and in facilitation. 2. Do not dictate a single process for strategic planning across all disciplines. Design forms and processes that are adaptable to differences in styles of critical thinking. 3. Use facilitators to assist units in the participatory strategic planning effort. Train the facilitators to work in ways that empower participants. 4. Reduce participant frustration and increase optimism by providing sufficient time, creating sustainable feedback loops, both of which demonstrate that the unit manager has thought through the process. 5. Increase participation in strategic planning processes to gain deeper understanding of the organization's mission, higher commitments to organizational goals, and a demonstration of greater energy and vitality. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Texas Christian University, 2006. / Title from dissertation title page (viewed Feb. 8, 2007). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this dissertation is three-fold. First, it explores whether or not experience with strategic planning increases comprehensiveness of the strategic planning process. Second, it investigates the potential impact of comprehensive strategic planning processes on performance. The final rationale for this dissertation is to determine whether the impact varies according to the dimension of performance analyzed. This exploratory study uses a unique data set that combines the performance measures of select local government departments from the International City/County Manager's Association and an original survey of the heads of those departments to determine their strategic planning practices. The dissertation utilizes an evaluative approach by analyzing the practical significance of the potential impact including correlation, differences between groups, and effect size. These analysis taken together can help demonstrate a potential relationship where regression analysis would be inappropriate due to small sample size. The findings justify further studying these questions about strategic planning in the public sector. First, the analysis demonstrates that departments with more strategic planning experience have higher mean comprehensiveness than departments with less experience. Second, though the findings are mixed concerning the impact of comprehensive processes, the majority of the findings support the hypothesis that more comprehensiveness leads to better departmental performance. Finally, the mixed findings demonstrate that strategic planning comprehensiveness impacts different dimensions of performance differently.

The current and future energy situations in Canada are put into perspective, and the importance of nuclear energy and controversies surrounding it are investigated. More specifically, to demonstrate the important role nuclear energy has to play in Canada's future, a novel energy modeling tool, Canadian Energy Systems Simulator (CanESS), is employed. CanESS is a modeling platform with a huge database that assists an analyst in defining different energy scenarios by modifying the variables such as population and contributions of different energy sources to the overall production. The CanESS results clearly show that expansion of nuclear energy production is required to meet energy demand and simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To formally study strategic issues connected to the ongoing conflict over nuclear power production in Ontario, the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR) is utilized. This flexible systems methodology is used to study the nuclear disputes that existed in Ontario at two key points in time: the fall of 2008 and spring of 2010. The results of the 2008 analysis, especially the sensitivity analyses, show that the only decision makers (DMs) involved in the conflict who hold real power are the Federal and Ontario governments, although at the beginning of the investigation the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and the environmental groups had also been considered as participating DMs. The findings and information of the analysis in 2008, as well as an updated background for 2010, are used to perform another analysis in 2010. Meanwhile, their options or possible courses of action have also been changed. Again, at this stage the stable states of the game are found, and attitude analysis is carried out to obtain deeper insights about the dispute. The equilibria or potential resolutions of the 2008 analysis are found to be the transition states in the 2010 analysis. Specifically, it is discovered that if the Federal Government does have a negative attitude towards the Ontario Government, it is possible that the final outcome is a state that is among the least preferred states for both DMs. To formally study strategic issues connected to the ongoing conflict over nuclear power production in Ontario, the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution (GMCR) is utilized. This flexible systems methodology is used to study the nuclear disputes that existed in Ontario at two key points in time: the fall of 2008 and spring of 2010. The results of the 2008 analysis, especially the sensitivity analyses, show that the only decision makers (DMs) involved in the conflict who hold real power are the Federal and Ontario governments, although at the beginning of the investigation the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) and the environmental groups had also been considered as participating DMs. The findings and information of the analysis in 2008, as well as an updated background for 2010, are used to perform another analysis in 2010. According to the results of the 2008 analysis, only the two governments are considered as the DMs in 2010. Meanwhile, their options or possible courses of action have also been changed. Again, at this stage the stable states of the game are found, and attitude analysis is carried out to obtain deeper insights about the dispute. The equilibria or potential resolutions of the 2008 analysis are found to be the transition states in the 2010 analysis. Specifically, it is discovered that if the Federal Government does have a negative attitude towards the Ontario Government, it is possible that the final outcome is a state that is among the least preferred states for both DMs.

Within a highly competitive business environment of globalization, Taiwan's traditional manufacturing OEM based mode of operation is gradually coming under threat. With the convenience and rapid spread of information, the cost of the manufacturing sector is gradually transparent. As a result, distributors and brands continue to review the cost and using price comparison to get the low cost products. Lead to domestic manufactures¡¦ price competition in order to gain the business. Except the profits has been reduced and the trend of diversified products. The manufacturers had to give way to foreign buyers, a highly customized products is sold for affordable, not only have to increase production costs, must also be a compromise in low profit environment. Therefore, aim for running own brand business is one of options of way out; Own brand business is popular now. Running own brand business is becoming increasingly important; many manufacturers attempt to get rid of the OEM image and replace it with the brand strategy planning and execution of the mode. How to develop a global branding has become the focus of one of many Taiwanese business objectives. Therefore, this dissertation will see Company X as a case study, to discuss the own brand strategy planning and execution of the traditional industries. In this dissertation, brand definition as the start then using five forces analysis and competitive analysis to identify the so-called competitive advantage and core competencies, and then to develop the own brand strategy. The results of this study will be able to reference and basis for future implementation of own brand in company X.

To invest children is to invest the future of the country. Preschool education is to establish the basis of children¡¦s future learning. Children stage is the key stage of the development of the personality. Parent¡¦s feeding and teaching is basic for the growth of children. According to the transition of the society and the change of the family structure, double-salavy families increase. The public nursery perform the social welfare and take care the vulnerable children. A school, facing the challenges of factors including lobby groups, liberation of education, and marketing education, has now to continue seeking for and developing a certain ¡§sustainable competition edge¡¨ by mapping out visions and strategies in the quest of proper performance scale indices to guide and encourage the efforts from its members in achieving excellency in educational performance. The contexts of the balanced scorecard present the very scale index to transform the vision and strategy of an organization into four aspects respectively of finance, customer, internal flow, earning and growth. Meanwhile, through the scalable index to guide the exercise and control of strategies and to act out the strategies, the leader of the organization is able to more easily follow up the characteristics of the results of the strategies. Therefore, the balanced scorecard has become the hottest strategy control means in the time of knowledge economy. This object of research is the public nursery Kaohsiung county Daliau Township and through the discussion of the balancecards to manage the effects and strategy of the public nursery.The process is: First of all, to discuss the developmental profile and the topic analysis the public nursery. As the subjects of the study started with SWOT analysis in the field of study, followed with the organization of a core team to establish a model of success for school to clarify and confirm the configuration of vision and strategy of the school. Then a mind-map was created to construct the strategy objectives. Based on the mind-map, the strategy map was built up to identify the feasible performance scale indices, and finally, options to follow through were concluded. The goal of this research attempts to develop a complete and robust strategic management system for the case study school that could convert strategy into actiorns. The main conclusions of this research are followed: 1. Though being applicable to a school, the balanced scorecard must be readjusted for its configuration at the right timing. 2. Discover the problems of the case school: strategy was intangible and the case school lacked consensus of strategy; there was a gap between the development of a strategy and its implementation; the performance of strategy couldn¡¦t be measured and get strategic feedback; and the performance measurement system didn¡¦t link with strategy. 3. According to the problems the case school faced, this research uses a systematic method to clarify and refine the vision and strategy framework (the Model of Success) of the school at first, which consists of vision, mission, requirements of success, and guiding principles. Then, based on the Model of Success, BSC can be developed, which contains four perspectives of strategic objectives, measuresand action plans, to help the pulic nursery communicate and manage strategy. 4. The benefits to the case school from building BSC consist of clarifying and refining the vision and strategy and building consensus, implementing strategy well, monitoring the strategy and getting strategic feedback, and linking the performance measurement system with strategy and establishing a complete BSC.

Culture and arts can be recognized as a major heritage of a country. Globalization tendency causes rapid exchanges between different cultures through innovated information technology. Culture and arts, therefore, becomes one of the best country- and city-marketing tools. Increasing cultural and arts activities also provide people living in this age extra options for nutrition of their body, mind and spirit. At the same time, it may create more working opportunities for professional arts workers and arts students. Many successful Taiwanese performing arts troupes are continuously performing various and diverse works on worldwide stages. They realize that performing arts workers need a mature working environment and also performing arts troupes need a government, which gives a high attention to the development of cultural and arts education. Despite of being highly dependant on policy and environmental changes, performing arts companies can endeavor to make organizational changes and variegate their productions. So that performing arts companies may develop a self-support arts environment for an eternal living. This research aims to discuss the strategy of developing an industrialized performing arts industry in Kaohsiung. As a performing artist, I recall my experiences and observations and find that there are many restrictions to the management and development of performing arts companies in Taiwan. To receive an effective practice for the industrialization of performing arts, I will use two successful case studies ¡V¡§Cloud-Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan¡¨ and ¡§Singapore Dance Theatre¡¨- and reflect their successful stories to ¡§Kaohsiung City Ballet.¡¨ In Chapter one, I will introduce the motivation and purpose of this research, applied methodology and research flow. Chapter two is Literature Review. In Chapter three of Case Study, I will focus on analyzing characteristics and managing strategies of Cloud-Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan¡¨ and ¡§Singapore Dance Theatre.¡¨ In Chapter four, according to the analyzing results in Chapter three, I will make an industrializing strategy for ¡§Kaohsiung City Ballet.¡¨ The plan will be issued from a complete study of developing history, organizational structure, SWOT analysis and industrialization plan. Chapter five will include a conclusion and recommendation.

Turkish software companies are facing massive challenges to survive in today&rsquo / s global and volatile marketplace. Strategic planning, performance measurement and control systems have recently become crucial in overcoming these challenges. Strategic planning simply stands for defining the moves to achieve vision. Environmental and internal assessments are activities which must be conducted prior to defining successful strategies. In this study broad environmental and internal assessments are conducted in an organized manner by using tools and techniques in the literature. Then strategies are identified with suitable techniques. In order to translate the strategy into action and measure the performance the Balanced Scorecard technique is used. Balanced Scorecard is a relatively new approach to strategic management which has been gaining significant importance in academic and industrial communities. Although Balanced Scorecard is a significant strategic management tool, its application is a challenging and demanding issue. In this study we used a methodological approach for putting Balanced Scorecard into action. We believe that this study will present a useful method to small and medium sized software companies for Strategic planning and Balanced Scorecard studies.

Urban development would be halted with the over-concerned of material life, the rising unemployment, the increase in crime rate, the deterioration of living standards, the decrease in population, the deficiency of tax revenue, and the difficulty of industrial change. The sustainable development of a city would be also endangered. Urban development world not move. The sustainable development of a city would be also endangered. To successfully deal with these problems and gain the new-vitality for the city, besides the renovation of hardware and facilities, soliciting investment, upgrading industry, and reorganization of urban appearance all are very significant strategies for the city to survive and thrive. However, to a city, it is necessary to introduce innovations in the way that sustainable development is done. The application of the theory and concept of urban marketing is a revolution of the concept of urban management. Marketing is originally the part of business in which is concerned with the way in which a product is sold. The application of marketing techniques to urban development would cover a wider range of city selling. It helps to revive vitality of cities through the marketing management of urban tangible and intangible value. Generally speaking, with the increase in vitality of industry and the rival of the economy, urban can become active again. However, these are only rigid developments. To guarantee the sustainable development for a city, it is necessary to propagate the idea of marketing, and build up the culture of citizens. It has been over twenty years since the reformation and liberalization in Mainland China. Indeed, the reformation and liberalization has resulted in a vivid progression for the whole country, especially in the economical achievement of the alongshore cities. It is something like a huge magnet, attracting capital from all over the world. The investments of Taiwan merchants in Mainland China have been seen one after another. Even so, in Chinese, there is still not enough systematic research of urban marketing done by the government or the academic system. Furthermore, the economical and trading development discussed in China has always been more concentrated on the southern part than on the northern part of China. In fact, the role of economical power of the district around Po-Sea has been significant during modern history of China. From local economical point of view, Dalian is the most important city in the area of northern China. The pattern of its development is different from those of other alongshore cities in the southern China where the economy and society system has been reformed and liberalized. The leader of the city government possesses very clear rules for administration. The characteristic of infrastructure of the city, plus achievements of various soliciting investment, has possessed the basic elements of urban marketing. According to the result of checking the strategy and policy of Dalian urban marketing by using theory of strategic planning and measuring the actual achievement of its urban marketing by the method of Delphi, it is discovered that Dalian¡¦s urban marketing strategy¡Ð¡¨not for the biggest but for the best¡¨, is very accurate. It has become the common value of the residents regarding their city; therefore, both of the defining urban appearance and the international costume festival can be accepted by the public. People also highly accept the role of Dalian as a harbor city. Nevertheless, the city government has no way to satisfy what people need about this point. Another important point discovered in this research is that the culture deficiency has a negative effect on the city development, although Dalian obtained very significant achievement in soliciting investment and upgrading industry. It is an obvious problem that Dalian is much more concentrated on economy and less on cultural development during the process of urban construction. To solve the problem of urban development not moving, Kotler, the mastic of marketing, proposes the theory of urban marketing, which has been proven work well in many European countries. But it is the first time to examine Mainland China¡¦s urban development by using urban marketing theory. Based on the theory and real case study, it has been proven that the reorganization and development of economy can reduce the barrier of the different political system. Furthermore, it also riches and strengthens in contents of Kotler¡¦s urban marketing theory.