Strategy Formulation as a Design Science: An Investigation into the Effects of Deterministic and Path-Creation Design on the Formulation of a Strategy

Author(s):  
Gerard Duff ◽  
Krsto Pandza
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Umeoniso Joshua Osah

E-Government deployments by stakeholders within the South African water service sector, provide certain benefits for the sector. While deemed beneficial and of considerable value, e-Government deployments and implementations in the water sector of local governments of South Africa have not always been successful. One important reason for e-Government failures, among several others, is the lack of coherent strategies, informed by key representing stakeholder views, to guide implementation and deployment of e-Government tools. Without strategies, it is highly likely that ICT integration will be conducted haphazardly. As a point of note, more than the deliverable (strategy document) that represents the output of the strategy development process, it serves more purpose to understand the process that results in the strategy. Importantly, understanding the process helps to account for the formed relationships between the various stakeholders that need to buy into the strategy. The research study develops an e-Government strategy formulation framework based on a systems thinking approach, intended to support the strategy formulation process of e-Government strategies – to underpin the effective integration, deployment and sustained use of ICT solutions for water service delivery at the local government level. A systems thinking approach is considered due to its emphasis on the strategy being informed by a holistic assessment. Where there is some knowledge about the processes by which a strategy is formulated – over time ideas may be derived on the types of processes that may produce efficient e-Government strategies. The research is conducted using the Design Science research paradigm. The Design Science paradigm is comprised of two processes – build and evaluate (Hevner et al., 2004). The build process, as related to this research concentrates on the progression through which the theoretical e-Government strategy formulation framework is derived. Weick’s (1989) theorizing approach is ascribed, supporting the design of the theoretical framework. In applying Weick’s theorizing approach, firstly, the lack of knowledge on how e-Government strategies should be formulated in South African local municipalities – is explicated in an intelligible manner. Once the problem is properly articulated, a trial and error selection process is undertaken of existing approaches on strategy formulation – thought to possess the potential to contribute to the development of an e-Government strategy formulation framework, suited to local governments in South Africa. With good reason, 10 (ten) strategy approaches are selected from, e-Government programmes in developed countries, Non-Governmental organizational strategy approaches, and business related strategy formulation approaches. Lastly, as all possible approaches that may contribute to the framework development process cannot be selected, criteria is specified to limit the number of possible selections. Furthermore, in deriving the framework, foundations for systematically dealing with unstructured problems, such as, strategy formulation are consulted. This foundation along with the research goals, informs the development of a template used to comparatively analyse the 10 selected approaches on strategy formulation. This analysis aids in revealing the components of an e-Government strategy formulation process. With the developed framework, the evaluation process of the design science research commences, seeking to determine the utility of the framework (suitability and shortcomings). The framework is applied to the procedural formulation of a strategy for a tentative e-Government project called MobiSAM, which aims to enhance citizen engagement with local government through the use of mobile phones. The strategy formulation application process in the project environment and local government reveals lessons that inform revisions to the framework. The e-Government strategy formulation framework, therefore represents a fundamental tool for e-Government strategy development in local municipalities, and may be customized to fit the requirements of varying local municipalities.


Author(s):  
Neil Foshay ◽  
William Yeoh ◽  
Yee Ling Boo ◽  
Kok-Leong Ong ◽  
David Mattie

Business intelligence and analytics (BIA) initiatives are costly, complex and experience high failure rates. Organizations require effective approaches to evaluate their BIA capabilities in order to develop strategies for their evolution. In this paper, we employ a design science paradigm to develop a comprehensive BIA effectiveness diagnostic (BIAED) framework that can be easily operationalized. We propose that a useful BIAED framework must assess the correct factors, should be deployed in the proper process context and acquire the appropriate input from different constituencies within an organization. Drawing on the BIAED framework, we further develop an online diagnostic toolkit that includes a comprehensive survey instrument. We subsequently deploy the diagnostic mechanism within three large organizations in North America (involving over 1500 participants) and use the results to inform BIA strategy formulation. Feedback from participating organizations indicates that BIA diagnostic toolkit provides insights that are essential inputs to strategy development. This work addresses a significant research gap in the area of BIA effectiveness assessment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (9) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Dr P. Govindasamy ◽  
Dr.H. Premraj

Financial Planning and Forecasting is the estimation of value of a variable or set of variables at some future point. A Financial forecasting exercise is usually carried out in order to provide an aid to decision – making and planning of any line of business for future developments. This paper focuses insurance segments and tailored all the key areas of attention are such as assets, liabilities, marketing, human resources, expenditures, digitalization and technology inclusion, etc., all in one term called as wealth maximization. Financial planning and forecasting represents a blueprint of what a firm proposes to do in the future. So, naturally planning over such horizon tends to be fairly in aggregative terms. We need to focus on common elements which include economic assumptions, target forecast, proforma statements, asset requirements and the mode of financing the investments and so on. A financial plan can also be an investment plan, which allocates savings to various assets or projects expected to produce future income, such as a new business or product line, shares in an existing business. Financial forecast and financial plan can also refer to an annual projection of income and expenses for a company, division or department. This can also be an estimation of cash needs and a decision on how to raise the funds, such as through borrowing or issuing additional shares in a company. Forecasting is also used by outsiders to value companies and their securities. This is the aggregative perspective of the whole firm, rather than looking at individual projects. Growth is a key theme behind financial forecasting, so growth should not be the underlying goal of corporation – creating shareholder value is enabled through corporate growth.


1975 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Young ◽  
Barbara Feigin
Keyword(s):  

Proceedings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Birgul Kutlu ◽  
Yeliz Gunal Aggul ◽  
Idil Atasu ◽  
Zeynep Kaymaz

This meta-analysis examines the studies on groupware published between the years 2010 and 2020. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the distribution of studies in terms of publication year, time–space matrix category, targeted sectors, research methods, and the academic field of the journals that published these studies. Although groupware played a significant role in communication, collaboration, and coordination of users in various collaborative work conditions and sectors, the majority of studies focused on asynchronous and distributed collaborative work environments in the software engineering field, and the research method preferred was design science.


Author(s):  
Flávio Horita E.A. ◽  
Fabio Gomes Rocha ◽  
Layse Santos Souza ◽  
Gustavo R. Gonzales

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document