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The article defines educational planning from differing perspectives and describes four bodies of knowledge bearing upon the concept. The bodies of knowledge described are operations research, manpower and human resources planning, planning‐programming‐budgeting, and futurology. The uses professors, especially in the United States, are making in research and training are depicted. Finally, research and training recommendations bearing upon planning, which might be considered for the future, are offered.

IN HIS masterly book “Planning and Control Systems: a framework for analysis” R. N. Anthony attempts to clear up some of the confusion which seems to befog both the theory and practice of planning. He distinguishes between two aspects of planning which he sees as fundamentally different — namely, strategic planning and what he calls management planning and control. He defines strategic planning as policy formula‐tion and goal setting for the organization as a whole; a process which involves deciding on company objectives, choosing the resources to be used to achieve these objectives and the policies which are to govern the acquisition, use and disposition of the resources. Stated in these terms strategic planning is very much a staff and top management process. Management planning and control he defines as a type of planning concerned with the administration of the enterprise — for example, bringing new systems of work into operation and formulating personnel practices to meet departmental needs. He sees these localized planning functions as line activities.

Learning outcomes are eliminating usual options for a turnaround, understanding how organizations can respond to adverse industry /market changes through cost and productivity management, managing strategic cost control turnaround deployed across a company, turning a huge threat into an opportunity and the role of leadership in driving strategic cost management and importance of internal communication and buy-in for a successful implementation.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. is the 2nd largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, the 4th largest manufacturer of buses in the world and the 12th largest manufacturer of trucks globally. Vinod Dasari joined this company in 2005, and since 2011, he has been the MD and CEO of the company. This case is about restaging of this company that commenced in the year 2013 when the company was heading toward a loss for the very first time in its 65 plus years of history. Ashok Leyland was heaving under its own weight, saddled with overheads, grappling with intense competition from old and new players and struggling to become agile and meet the new challenges in the market. A potential loss of up to Rs 750 crores (US$123m) looked inevitable. The challenges were that major structural changes were required and the company needed not only a transformational change but also a surgery. The company had to come up with savings of Rs 750 crores (US$123m) annually to avoid making losses. The projection of 54,000 unit sales volumes be achieved. Internal communication and buying in by all employees. This case outlines the path chosen by Dasari to restage, turn around, overcome the challenges and deal with employee resistance.

This study is applicable for MBA programs in business strategy, strategic marketing, international marketing and BBA programs in business strategy, strategic marketing and international marketing.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This paper aims to explore UAE's transition towards circular economy (CE) through construction and demolition waste (CDW) management in the pre-construction stage. The extent of circularity is assessed by five key aspects of CE, such as policies and strategic frameworks, design for waste prevention, design for disassembly or deconstruction, use of prefabricated elements and CDW management plans.

Multiple case studies were conducted in the context of the Dubai construction industry (UAE). Three significant and unique construction projects were selected as the cases. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect data, and the thematic analysis technique and NVIVO 12 software were used for data analysis.

Findings reveal several positive initiatives towards CE in the UAE context; yet it is identified that the transition is still at the initial stage. Selected case studies, the best-case scenarios of UAE (i.e. influential cases), demonstrated adequate measures in relation to four key CE aspects out of five. For instance, (a) policies and strategic frameworks such as lean standards, green building standards and standards developed by the local authorities, (b) design for waste prevention (e.g. adherence to the 3R principle, and construction planning with BIM), (c) use of prefabricated elements and application of innovative construction technologies (e.g. 3DPC, DfMA) and (d) CDW management planning such as 3R principle were evident. However, the selected cases hardly showcase designing for disassembly or deconstruction.

The existing CDW practices are mostly conventional, as most constructions in UAE are procured through conventional building materials and methods. Therefore, there is a necessity of encouraging CE principles in CDW management. Even though the transition towards CE was evident in four key CE aspects out of five, the UAE construction industry has yet to adopt more effective CE-based CDW management practices to accelerate the circularity. Hence, it is necessary to enforce standard waste management guidelines, including the 3R principle, to standardise CDW management in UAE and encourage construction practitioners to adhere to CE principles.

The findings of this study provide valuable insights for decision-making processes around CDW management towards a CE. This paper contributes to the literature by bridging the CE concept with CDW management in the pre-construction stage. The study provides insights for industry practitioners for planning CE in terms of policies and strategic frameworks, CDW management planning, construction planning and application of innovative construction technologies.

This paper presents some preliminary findings from a research project into strategic management initiatives in the Civil Services of four countries: Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and three states within a fifth country, the USA. While often hailed as strategic management, what occurs in practice is a limited form of strategic planning. The paper explores the context to the introduction of such planning, describes some of its main content and process features, and compares it to private sector models of strategic management. The paper concludes that strategic planning in the Civil Service typically suffers from being a dressed up version of management‐by‐objectives, utilises an unnecessarily mechanistic and rationalist planning process and fails to address the development of new core competencies to ensure a continuing role in the twenty‐first century.

The purpose is to develop and implement a systematic approach to define the level of service (LoS) consistently and efficiently. The framework will assist professionals to make decisions based on service performance and transform to a service-centric decision-making paradigm in the domain of asset management.

A three-step approach is used to develop the framework. A comprehensive literature review is conducted (Step 1), which is followed by a discussion with experts (Step 2). Based on the desktop review and field discovery, the framework is developed and implemented (Step 3).

The framework represents key components in four phases. The first phase identifies the potential service customers. The second phase defines the customer values and LoS measures at three levels: organisation, customer and technical. Implementation is done in the third phase, whereas monitoring and evaluation as part of continuous improvement are accomplished in the fourth phase.

The challenges of this research work are categorised as follows. Strategic challenges focus on the awareness and alignment of strategic goals. Informational and financial challenges discuss non-availability of related information and cost-effectiveness of data collection, respectively. Human challenges discuss the availability of adequate human resources with an adequate skill set. Others discuss the non-availability of defined processes and procedures.

Theoretically, the framework represents key performance management concepts to develop an integrated approach to define the acceptable LoS effectively. Practically, professionals can use the framework to define the LoS consistently and efficiently.

Existing guides and frameworks represent a set of performance management concepts; however, these do not specify an integrated approach to define, align and integrate the LoS or performance goals. The proposed framework is developed to fill this gap.

Although project management (PM) continues to rise in popularity, there is still a significant PM talent deficit, leading to more challenged or failing projects. To lower the PM talent deficit and mitigate the higher project failure rates, academic institutions have been developing PM curriculums aimed at inculcating a repertoire of competencies to the potential project managers. In developing an ideal well-rounded PM curriculum, academic institutions occasionally engage the input of industry partners and governing entities. The study aims to (1) compare the competencies in one of the leading industry competency model and framework (PMI Talent Triangle) to the competencies in the PM course syllabi learning outcomes, (2) determine the extent to which these two sets of PM competencies are aligned and (3) and explore avenues for improvements.

The study uses a purposeful sampling method to gather PM course syllabi. The PM competencies data are gleaned from the syllabi using the content analysis method. Thereafter, QSR NVivo qualitative statistical software is used to summarize and analyze the competency data from the learning outcomes.

The results reveal that most of the PM competencies in the course syllabi fall under the technical PM domain. Specifically, the top three competency elements in each domain are technical PM domain (PM skills, tools and techniques, schedule management and cost estimation/budget), leadership domain (team-building, verbal/written communication and problem-solving) and strategic and business management domain (strategic planning, analysis and alignment, benefits management and realization, customer relationship and satisfaction).

The study investigates the alignment of the PM course competencies with competency domains in the PMI Talent Triangle, a global competence model that is well aligned with other global competence models such as the APM Competence Framework, the ICB4 Individual Competence Baseline and the PROMA3.

The results from this study provide guidelines useful in informing PM curricula re/design, as well as the inculcation of knowledge, skills, tools, techniques and behaviors needed for effective PM.

The PM curriculum can be improved by partnering with PM industry leaders who can serve as advisors to the academy on industry needs, direction and emerging innovations that can inform PM learning outcomes, PM curricular design and the development of quality PM talent. The academy and the industry are encouraged to actively strive for mutual partnerships where PM professionals and academicians serve on each other's advisory boards. Also, the academy can partner with the industry professionals by developing curriculum resources such as case studies that bring the real-life PM applications to the classroom.

This study is motivated by the call for research studies that provide a holistic picture of the desired PM competencies and an exploration and definition of the educational needs in the PM curriculum.

Due to the certain risk carried in offshore petroleum installations, the integrity of these installations needs to be maintained at all times. Thus, asset integrity management (AIM) needs to be formulated and monitored to achieve the integrity objective. The purpose of this paper is to study the practices and progression of strategic AIM planning in the petroleum industry.

The paper is written based on a literature study, observations and data collected from industry practitioners through an online questionnaire and interviews to study the AIM practices in their organization. Validation of the results is performed through respondents’ reviews and cross-referencing with existing literature and supplemental data.

The paper identifies, analyses and validates the work structure in formulating an AIM strategic plan.

Even though the research focuses on the AIM practices of offshore petroleum installations, the result can be implemented in similar fields.

Researchers or practitioners can benefit from the knowledge gained of current practices and the presented work structure in establishing an AIM strategic plan.

This paper aims to facilitate an immediate immersion of academic literature in the timeshare/vacation ownership industry. Through a synthesis of 92 articles published in academic journals over the past 40 years, the authors demonstrate the breadth of the current research. Topical areas, methodologies and findings are presented, as well as opportunities for further investigation. This paper also provides the reader with a robust consolidation of literature in a tabular form to include authors, publication dates, sources and titles.

Through a comprehensive search of multiple academic research databases, university catalogues and references of existing literature and conference proceedings, the authors compiled a review of timeshare research with the aim of classifying the various components and issues that have been examined to date.

The timeshare segment of the greater lodging industry is unique due to its real estate ownership component, complex management characteristics and regulatory environment. The unique nature appeals to researchers and provides an opportunity for investigation of generally accepted theories and principles. The literature follows industry advances in the segment, with the majority of research focused on sales and marketing practices, and resort services and operations. An abundance of future research opportunities is identified in the literature, to which only a few have been addressed.

A synthesis of timeshare literature has not been published to date, either in hospitality literature or in other fields of study, i.e. real estate. Therefore, the authors provide a foundation for researchers, academics and students to utilize in further study and investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to review the impact that the 2003 SARS epidemic had on tourism and summarize the lessons that were learned from this crisis. To offer both practical and strategic tips for hoteliers and destination marketers in the Niagara region should a similar crisis affect this region.

Findings were derived from the analysis of both secondary and primary data. The popular press and academic journals as well as reports, briefs, and presentations were analyzed. A questionnaire was designed to investigate the impact of SARS, management during the crisis, recovery strategies, and formal planning.

Provides information on how industry dealt with a major, extended crisis. Recognizes the importance of an integrated strategy for dealing with a crisis.

The paper concentrates on the effects of an epidemic in two large North American cities. The strategic and practical tips may not be suitable in other jurisdictions.

This paper provides information on how the tourism industry can prepare itself for a crisis or disaster and describes how all stakeholders must work together to better deal with the effects of a crisis.

This paper summarizes the effects that SARS had on the tourism industry and offers practical and strategic tips for preparing for and managing crises.