Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 26, 2007. Dissertation Committee: James C. Palmer, Phyllis McCluskey-Titus (co-chairs), W. Paul Vogt, Dianne C. Gardner. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-200) and abstract. Also available in print.

Die Wissensgesellschaft gilt spätestens seit der im Jahr 2000 durch die EU propagierten Lissabon-Strategie als Strategie der europäischen Städte und Regionen zu mehr Wachstum und Beschäftigung. Die Masterarbeit „Europäische Metropolregionen in der Wissensgesellschaft“ greift dieses Leitbild auf und untersucht anhand der Metropolregionen Wien, Berlin und London inwieweit sich das Thema Wissen in den strategischen Planungsdokumenten der Metropolregionen wieder findet. Die Untersuchung erfolgt anhand von entwickelten Handlungsfeldern einer wissensbasierten Entwicklung von Metropolregionen. Neben den Themen Hochqualifizierte Arbeitskräfte und Wissensinfrastrukturen spielt insbesondere die räumliche Nähe eine entscheidende Rolle für regionale Innovationssysteme. Durch Kompetenzfelder und Netzwerkstrukturen an bestimmten Wissensstandorten lassen sich durch regionale Wirtschaftsförderung Clusterungen stimulieren. Anhand des Beispiels Wien wird vertiefend untersucht, ob sich die in den Strategiedokumenten (Strategieplan 2004, Stadtentwicklungsplan 2005, Wiener Strategie für Forschung, Technologie und Innovation 2007) beschlossenen Ziele auch durch Maßnahmen der Stadtentwicklung und Wirtschaftsförderung wieder finden. Darüber hinaus werden insbesondere die unterschiedlichen Governance-Ebenen der Metropolregion und ihr Beitrag zur Förderung der einzelnen Handlungsfelder analysiert.

Traditional theories, models, and methods often address a general view of the environment including sociocultural, technological, political, and economic factors. However, there is a lack in infrastructural attention in these concepts which this thesis intends to contribute with by analyzing how regional specific infrastructural variables can be aggregated to one comparative measure and what that measure’s scope of use could be in the market analysis? Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the strategic planning process research with a supporting quantitative tool, based on statistical metrics, for determining the market potential. This thesis has an inductive approach and is primary based on documentary secondary data and the strategic planning process is the main theory of concern when evaluating the possibilities of infrastructural assessment. As a complement, the infrastructural concerns in the economics are also dealt with. The empirics are compiled and calculated in a manner which allows an indexing and the finalized result is presented as an Infrastructural Status Index (InfraStat Index). Some of the utilities of this index are that it can be a complementary part of the PEST- and SWOT-models and a supporting tool in companies’ strategic planning processes. The index has both business and macroeconomic scopes of use and one of the summarizing conclusions is that further research within this concept should incorporate more variables in order to retrieve a more comprehensive result.

Public housing structures that are deemed “severely distressed” are being demolished and replaced with mixed-income developments. The current study examines the role that social service organizations play in the relocation of public housing residents. Service organizations tend to locate in areas anchored by public housing complexes where the need for their services is immense. Organizations that lose clients due to relocations run the risk of losing the funding they get for serving that population. GIS mapping and semi-structured interviews were used to answer questions about how redevelopment affects the communication infrastructures of public housing residents. GIS mapping was used to determine how services are spatially distributed in relation to public housing developments in Atlanta. Representatives from a sample of those organizations located near current and former public housing locations were interviewed to examine if a strategic communication plan is in place to retain connections with clients during the relocation process.

Abstract Background - Not all companies choose or are able to grow, especially not in an unstable economic climate. However, fast growing organizations (gazelles) have managed to grow with a significant pace. As researchers claim control to be one factor in developing an organization, this lead the authors to question whether these gazelle organizations perceive control systems to contribute to their rapid growth. Purpose - The authors wish to investigate whether strategic planning, enterprise resource planning and management system, as three different components of control, are present in gazelle organizations, and if they are perceived as contributors to growth. Method - The authors use a quantitative research approach and used a survey in order to capture the wider perspective of control. The chosen population is Swedish medium sized gazelle organizations. In order to analyze the findings, modified 6-point Likert-scale statements are included in the survey, where the authors interpret whether the respondents agree or disagree to the chosen statements, which are incorporated through the literature review. In addition to this, ANOVA tests are included to establish if there are significant differences among users and nonusers of the different control systems. Conclusion - The conclusions drawn from this study is that the usage of strategic planning and an enterprise resource planning system is common among the participating organizations. However, the majority do not use a management system. Despite the level of usage of the three different control systems, they are all perceived as beneficial for the organizations, and the respondents do believe that the systems contribute to their growth. In addition, there is no significant proof that there is a relationship between growth and using the control systems, when comparing the percentage increase in growth with using the different control systems.

Multiple causes of continuously occurring power outages in Yazd Province of Iran have been experienced in recent years. This research studies how key stakeholders have perceived the results of the strategic decisions taken by directors of HEPP to diminish the power shortages and to even increase power supply to a limit of exporting power to other neighboring provinces. How could HEPP emerge from an organization in the edge of bankruptcy to an organization that can surpass all expectations and won over their competitors? HEPP’s strategic decisions followed implications of several models and finally a strategic plan on the bases of the Bryson model was selected and practically applied to achieve their final expected results. The literature review in this study describes selected models as well as the Bryson model set up and structure. This study portrays a demonstration and an evaluation of various strategic plan management models used in Iranian organization in particular HEPP. The researcher designed several questionnaires and forwarded them to HEPP’s administrators, employees and other stakeholders in three groups. Additional phone interviews were conducted and the quantitative as well as qualitative data collected was evaluated and displayed in tables and figures in this study. Data analysis demonstrates a few shortcomings, weaknesses and strengths that are discussed in detail and conclusive proposals are presented through the conclusion section in enhancement of HEPP’s services to the advantages of stakeholders and employees of HEPP with a complete consideration for HEPP’s well being and awareness of its competitors. Although this study is limited in scope it highlights what needs to be done in HEPP or similar hydro electric organizations in Iran, and it can act as a stepping stone for further research and analysis of hydro electrical demand and supply issues in Yazd region of Iran.

In this study, it is aimed to determine and implement a process based strategic planning methodology for Turkish Ministry of Finance. Proposed methodology has been implemented in Ministry of Finance by a T&Uuml / BiTAK supported strategic management project in collaboration with Ministry of Finance Strategy Development Unit (MoF_SDU), T&Uuml / SSiDE and a private Consultancy Company. This project was a direct consequence of reforms on Public Financial Management and stipulated by the Laws No. 5018 and 5436 which have been prepared based on efficiency in public service delivery. Proposed methodology is different from other strategic planning methodologies for public and non-profit organizations because it uses a combination of numerous techniques that are previously developed for strategic planning. Examples are mentoring, e- learning, idea tray method, and process modelling. Firstly, strategic planning methodology is determined with close inspection of international approaches and best practices. Ministry of Finance&rsquo / s organizational chart is redesigned to enable more effective and efficient operation. Ministry of Finance is divided to 14 strategic business units (SBUs). For every SBU, detailed environmental analyses are conducted and critical issues are derived. Mission and strategic vision statements are clearly determined and core processes are modelled and standardized. Strategic goals and detailed objectives are formulated. Finally, performance indicators are determined for every objective for evaluation and continuous improvement. At the end of the implementation, 2008-2012 strategic plan for Ministry of Finance is prepared and numerous organizational improvements are observed.

ABSTRACT STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR A GYPSUM PLASTERBOARD PRODUCING COMPANY &Ouml / zaydin, Elif M.Sc. Department of Industrial Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. &Ccedil / aglar G&uuml / ven October 2007, 118 pages This thesis creates a specific methodology for strategy development while drawing on approaches reported in the literature. The analysis is done at a company that produces gypsum, gypsum board, and related products. A sequential planning method is used where an environmental analysis is conducted in order to define the features of the environment that the company operates in. Then a capability analysis reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the company. For strategy development, this thesis introduces a position index that is used to discuss and differentiate alternative positions. Strategic options for a position are determined by common methods and results from the analyses. The evaluation is conducted with company management, and finally a future position is determined considering company objectives.

ABSTRACT FINANCIAL STRATEGIC PLANNING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY ON TURKISH BANKING SECTOR DURTAS BASPINAR, Canan Pelin M.Sc., Science and Technology Policy Studies Supervisor: Dr. Nusret G&uuml / &ccedil / l&uuml / September 2012, 103 pages It is not easy to set up a knowledge management system (KMS) in banking due to the size of large services, the variety of products, dealing with large information, serving under high cost pressure and highly competitive market conditions. This thesis proposes that strategic management is a knowledge processing outcome, and should be an integral part of the financial strategic planning (FSP), which is essential in the agility of financial organizations.. This thesis will explore a FSP model that is developed by merging and integrating the two models &ldquo / The new knowledge management&rdquo / (Firestone &amp / McElroy, 2003) and &ldquo / APQC Process Classification Framework&rdquo / (APQC, 2011). In light of the merged models a measurable indicator set is defined based on the literature and the researcher&rsquo / s personal experience. To validate the thesis, two case studies have been carried out by using qualitative and a participatory approach in one foreign owned and one jointly controlled bank in Turkey in order to validate the model. Since the case studies consist of specific information on the studied banks, the details are presented separately in a technical paper. The main findings of the case studies show that two different knowledge management (KM) approaches &ldquo / The new knowledge management&rdquo / and &ldquo / APQC Process Classification Framework&rdquo / can be combined in a unified model which can be used to increase agility in turbulent economic environments.

Over the years, much attention has been given to copyright law in literature and as it pertains to textbooks and other original academic works. However, as the focus is narrowed to the copyright law as it relates to distance education within higher education, very little information or precedents can be looked to for guidance. For an institution of higher education involved in distance education, the problem demands that a model be developed specifically for universities to follow as they embrace distance education programs and course development. As the likelihood of lawsuits and grievances clearly exists, the motivation of faculty to create original works is potentially compromised when there is conflict between themselves and the universities who employ them. In addition, a set of guidelines in the form of a model lends a structural basis to university educators and administrators alike on which to formulate the process of developing distance education programs with a greatly reduced chance of legal incident. A case study design was chosen because it adds strength to what is known and deepens understanding of complex issues. According to Lincoln and Guba in their 1985 book, qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials: case study, personal experience, introspective, life story, interview, observational, historical, interactive, and visual texts that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in individuals