Strategic planning and implementation challenges faced by public entities.

Abstract

The dissertation explores strategic planning in thirteen public entities, based in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The study attempts to review the challenges experienced by the entities when undergoing strategic planning, and the techniques applied to overcome these challenges. The results present the extent to which the challenges and techniques as reported by the participants are found in the literature. The findings also present correlations between the extent to which a public entity is funded by government, and the extent to which it experiences strategic planning challenges. In addition, the findings include the negative correlation between the extent of the strategic planning challenges experienced, and the extent of an entity’s reliance on techniques to overcome the challenges. The study concludes by highlighting areas that need further research. The dissertation is important as it adds to the general body of knowledge, and contributes to the studies on strategic planning of public entities in South Africa.