The nature and practice of strategic planning in Egypt

Citation

Elbanna, S. (2008), "The nature and practice of strategic planning in Egypt", Strategic Direction, Vol. 24 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2008.05624dad.003

The nature and practice of strategic planning in Egypt

Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 24, Issue 4.

The nature and practice of strategic planning in Egypt

Elbanna S. Strategic Change, August 2007, Vol. 16 No. 5, Start page: 227, No. of pages: 17

Purpose To explore the practice of strategic planning and develop a profile for organizations working in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach Describes how survey data was obtained from organizations representing a variety of industries, using MBA students to overcome some of the associated practical difficulties. Examines views and attitudes on the importance of strategic planning, its processes, outcomes and obstacles. Assesses the extent to which participating firms employ the tools of strategic planning, the involvement of the organizational hierarchy and the role of outsiders in the strategic planning process. Findings Provides a descriptive analysis of the sample firms, which were both locally and foreign-owned. Notes that more than a third of organizations did not have written strategic plans and presents a table showing the length of strategic plans by organizational ownership (local private or foreign private), type of activity (manufacturing or services) and number of employees. Suggests that respondents demonstrate a positive attitude towards strategic planning as an effective management tool. Notes that whilst usage of strategic planning tools is generally greater in the foreign private sector than the local private sector, there were relatively few significant differences between manufacturing and service companies. Finds, however, that the very little use is made of a substantial number of the traditional strategic tools and speculates on the reasons for this. Originality/value Argues that there is a need for wider understanding of planning tools and their role in improving the process of strategy development in companies operating in Egypt.ISSN: 1086-1718Reference: 36AY712

Keywords: Egypt, Process management, Quality improvement, Strategic planning