Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Making strategic planning work: a case study of Countrywide Financial

Making strategic planning work: a case study of Countrywide Financial Purpose – Strategic planning is a misunderstood and maligned managerial tool. Most organizations have tried it but relatively few actually achieve success in strategic planning. Design/methodology/approach – The experience of Countrywide Financial Corporation demonstrates how strategic planning can be used as a key lever for change and describes the benefits that accrued to it through this process. Stanford Kurland, the Company’s COO, engaged Eric Flamholtz to assist with developing a more sophisticated approach to strategic planning at Countrywide. Flamholtz introduced: a template for organizational assessment and development; and a systematic process for strategic planning that had been applied elsewhere with considerable success. The new planning process s became a corporate priority. Findings – The planning system has also led to a variety of other significant organizational benefits including: a constructive forum for elevating management’s focus from tactical and operational concerns to broader strategic challenges; a shift away from a “silo mentality” to a “Countrywide perspective”; a clear set of priorities to guide operating unit activities and decision‐making; measurable objectives that emphasize linkages across organizational boundaries; and greater understanding and communication of the plan throughout the organization. Originality/value – Kurland was focused on longer‐range issues for the company, but most of the other members of Countrywide’s senior management were more focused on short‐term competitive success in their own divisions. It led to significant changes and benefits at Countrywide, including a strategic shift in corporate direction. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Handbook of Business Strategy Emerald Publishing

Making strategic planning work: a case study of Countrywide Financial

Download PDF
7 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/making-strategic-planning-work-a-case-study-of-countrywide-financial-DhamRp8Arz
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1077-5730
DOI
10.1108/10775730610618800
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – Strategic planning is a misunderstood and maligned managerial tool. Most organizations have tried it but relatively few actually achieve success in strategic planning. Design/methodology/approach – The experience of Countrywide Financial Corporation demonstrates how strategic planning can be used as a key lever for change and describes the benefits that accrued to it through this process. Stanford Kurland, the Company’s COO, engaged Eric Flamholtz to assist with developing a more sophisticated approach to strategic planning at Countrywide. Flamholtz introduced: a template for organizational assessment and development; and a systematic process for strategic planning that had been applied elsewhere with considerable success. The new planning process s became a corporate priority. Findings – The planning system has also led to a variety of other significant organizational benefits including: a constructive forum for elevating management’s focus from tactical and operational concerns to broader strategic challenges; a shift away from a “silo mentality” to a “Countrywide perspective”; a clear set of priorities to guide operating unit activities and decision‐making; measurable objectives that emphasize linkages across organizational boundaries; and greater understanding and communication of the plan throughout the organization. Originality/value – Kurland was focused on longer‐range issues for the company, but most of the other members of Countrywide’s senior management were more focused on short‐term competitive success in their own divisions. It led to significant changes and benefits at Countrywide, including a strategic shift in corporate direction.

Journal

Handbook of Business Strategy – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jan 1, 2006

Keywords: Strategic planning; Organizational change; Corporate strategy

There are no references for this article.