Strategic management and planning process in public sector: the case of the under secretariat of the prime ministry for foreign trade, Turkey

Abstract

Over the past decade. strategic planning has become a standard part of management thinking and practice in Turkish public sector. As a relatively new approach in Turkish financial system. public administrations are obliged to prepare and implement their strategic plans in order to maintain reliable. accountable and transparent management. create real stakeholder and public value. as well as to develop effective and goals?? based strategies to cope with changing circumstances. In this paper. I first review the strategic management and planning concept in Turkey. and then carry on with literature in general. With regard to methods and phases to develop a strategic plan. I will introduce a public organization case from Turkey as a recent and effectively prepared Strategic Plan for the periods covering the years 2009-2013. Regarding my consulting experience during this process. the strategic planning model of the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade (UFT) is provided as a real-life experience to analyze the issue from a practical perspective. To illustrate the kinds of questions and issues raised during the planning process. the development of the Strategic Plan for this organization is given in a step-by-step process throughout the paper. The studies showed that the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade can be a successful application model of strategic planning for other public administrations.