This thesis describes a functional framework for developing strategic assessment at the Combatant Command level, specifically European Command. The framework establishes a functional architecture based on derived requirements and objectives according to the systems engineering process described by Dennis Buede. This thesis describes the current methodology for developing theater plans based on the national strategies established by the President, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In addition, it provides an analysis of the system stakeholders in order to define the purpose and utility of a strategic assessment from various perspectives. Based on this analysis, the requirements and functions of the system are decomposed and arranged according to a hierarchy via Vitechs CORE 8 University Edition. Finally, the developed model is tested against a notional scenario that assesses a fictional exercise according to the derived functional model, in order to demonstrate the methodology used to relate activities to strategic goals. This thesis defines the framework for conducting strategic assessments and leveraging them to maximize the impact of U.S. activities. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

This dissertation examines why military decision makers struggle to evaluate their policies and why they often stick to unsuccessful strategies for so long. The core argument is that strategic assessment involves genuine analytic challenges which contemporary scholarship typically does not take into account. Prominent theoretical frameworks predict that the longer decision makers go without achieving their objectives, the more pessimistic they should become about their ability to do so, and the more likely they should be to change course. This dissertation challenges those ideas and explains why we should often expect the very opposite. The theoretical crux of this argument is that standard models of learning and adaptation (along with many people’s basic intuitions) revolve around the assumption that decision makers are observing repeated processes, similar to the dynamics of slot machines and roulette wheels – but in war and other contexts, decision makers often confront cumulative processes that have very different dynamics, along with a different logic for how rational actors should form and revise their expectations. Empirically, this dissertation examines U.S. decision making in Iraq, Vietnam, and the American Indian Wars. These cases demonstrate how cumulative dynamics affect strategic assessment and how understanding these dynamics can shed light on prominent theoretical frameworks, ongoing policy debates, and salient historical experience.

Environmental assessments and authorisations surrounding project level developments are often made in isolation, without consideration of the regional or strategic context within which individual developments are done. This research investigates the quality of Environmental Management Frameworks (EMF) as strategic environmental instrument. EMF is a unique South African instrument that was first conceptualised in 1989, enacted in 2006 and updated in 2010. EMFs were developed to map environmental sensitivity to aid the screening out of undesired developments in sensitive environments and to minimise unnecessary project level assessments in preferred development areas. EMFs form an important link between environmental assessment (EA) processes and planning strategies such as Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), due to their spatial output of environmental sensitivity maps and their ability to feed strategic assessment processes required by SDFs. They have a legal mandate which ensures their assimilation and use. This research uses a multiple case study approach to review seven EMF documents for their quality. The quality aspects identified are the process, methodology and documentation components, using the printed EMF documentation as primary information source. Quality review criteria were subsequently developed to investigate these inputs, using the legal mandate of EMF as basis. Each case was rated for compliance with the quality criteria using a six–level rating schedule. Further analyses were made by comparing the performance of cases against one another. Public participation emerged as the weakest component of EMF practice, while aspects of sensitivity analysis also performed weaker than other aspects. More focus is required on aligning scales and resolutions of map inputs, mapping methods and general integration of spatial data, especially those of adjoining districts. The need to substantiate a rationale for buffer determination also requires further refinement. The practice of conducting EMF is well established and it can be valuable in sustainable development planning and decisionmaking. Recommendations to enhance the sustainability outcomes and hence effectiveness of this instrument are made, as well as future research objectives for increasing its utility. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Environmental assessments and authorisations surrounding project level developments are often made in isolation, without consideration of the regional or strategic context within which individual developments are done. This research investigates the quality of Environmental Management Frameworks (EMF) as strategic environmental instrument. EMF is a unique South African instrument that was first conceptualised in 1989, enacted in 2006 and updated in 2010. EMFs were developed to map environmental sensitivity to aid the screening out of undesired developments in sensitive environments and to minimise unnecessary project level assessments in preferred development areas. EMFs form an important link between environmental assessment (EA) processes and planning strategies such as Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), due to their spatial output of environmental sensitivity maps and their ability to feed strategic assessment processes required by SDFs. They have a legal mandate which ensures their assimilation and use. This research uses a multiple case study approach to review seven EMF documents for their quality. The quality aspects identified are the process, methodology and documentation components, using the printed EMF documentation as primary information source. Quality review criteria were subsequently developed to investigate these inputs, using the legal mandate of EMF as basis. Each case was rated for compliance with the quality criteria using a six–level rating schedule. Further analyses were made by comparing the performance of cases against one another. Public participation emerged as the weakest component of EMF practice, while aspects of sensitivity analysis also performed weaker than other aspects. More focus is required on aligning scales and resolutions of map inputs, mapping methods and general integration of spatial data, especially those of adjoining districts. The need to substantiate a rationale for buffer determination also requires further refinement. The practice of conducting EMF is well established and it can be valuable in sustainable development planning and decisionmaking. Recommendations to enhance the sustainability outcomes and hence effectiveness of this instrument are made, as well as future research objectives for increasing its utility. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

abstract: A fundamental question in the field of strategic management is how companies achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The Market-Oriented Theory (MOT), the Resource-Based Model and their complementary perspective try to answer this fundamental question. The primary goal of this study is to lay the groundwork for Standardized Strategic Assessment Framework (SSAF). The SSAF, which consists of a set of six models, aids in the evaluation and assessment of current and future strategic positioning of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The SSAF was visualized by IDEF0, a systems engineering tool. In addition, a secondary goal is the development of models to explain relationships between a company's resources, capabilities, and competitive strategy within the SSAF. Six models are considered within the SSAF, including R&D; activities model, product innovation model, process innovation model, operational excellence model, and export performance model. Only one of them, R&D; activities model was explained in-debt and developed a model by transformational system. In the R&D; activities model, the following question drives the investigation. Do company R&D; inputs (tangible, intangible and human resources) affect R&D; activities (basic research, applied research, and experimental development)? Based on this research question, eight hypotheses were extrapolated regarding R&D; activities model. In order to analyze these hypotheses, survey questions were developed for the R&D; model. A survey was sent to academic staff and industry experts for a survey instrument validation. Based on the survey instrument validation, content validity has been established and questions, format, and scales have been improved for future research application. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2012

Abstract According to members of the Institute of Medicine, about 98,000 hospitalized patients in the United States die each year because of poor quality care. The problem of poor healthcare quality may exist in part due to limited information on effective performance measurement processes. A multiple case study design was used to gain broad insight into possible solutions to the problems of determining the quality of healthcare services using performance measurements. Hospital/healthcare organization leaders in North Carolina who had implemented optimal performance measurements for quality care were interviewed. The conceptual frameworks that served as a proposition for the study were Goldratt's theory of constraint, Deming's 14 point model and Lewin's model of the change process in human systems. The data collection process involved semistructured interviews of 12 individuals. Data sources and conceptual framework triangulations were used in the data analysis process(coding approaches, study dependability, credibility, transferability methods and case study protocol use) . The themes that emerged from the study were strategies for performance measurement and strategies to enhance service quality in healthcare organizations etc. Results might contribute to social change by helping healthcare leaders and patients improve their knowledge and understanding of optimal performance measurement strategies, which may effect positive organizational changes.