Policy dialogue and problem formation in strategic planning
By: Charles Schwenk, Howard Thomas
Contributors: Thomas, Howard, 1943-; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. College of Commerce and Business Administration; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bureau of Economic and Business Research
Series: BEBR faculty working paper -- no. 870; BEBR faculty working paper -- no. 870.
Publisher: College of Commerce and Business Administration, Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Published: 1982
Place of publication: [Urbana, Ill.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 46
Description: Decision analysis has been criticized by some practitioners for its inability to deal with strategic planning problems.  It typically starts with the assumption that a problem has been recognized and stated and that the task of the step-wise decision analysis process is to indicate the optimal strategy in terms of a specified choice criterion. Writers such as Ackoff, Mason and Mitroff, and Raiffa have argued that this approach may lead to solving the wrong problem and that this is potentially dangerous, particularly in the context of ill-structured, planning problems.

The paper develops an understanding of the process of organizational problem formation through the examination of current literature and research. This is a necessary prerequisite for discussing the value of decision aids for strategic planning. Approaches to problem formation such as matching of problem to problem type, creativity stimulants, and dialectical inquity and devil's advocate are examined as well as an expanded view of decision analysis as a policy dialogue process. Finally, the relationships between the various approaches are examined and a synthetic model for their use in problem formulation is suggested.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-46).