Strategic Planning in Transportation: Uses and Abuses

by W. Bruce Allen, Univ of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Managing Urban Transportation as a Business

Abstract:

Strategic planning makes sense because its foundations are in good economic principles. Firms that don't do it are practicing a 'let's live for today' type of philosophy. A publically held firm owes it to their equityholders. A public enterprise owes it to the population. The problems associated with strategic planning can be handled by managers aware of the problems. Innovation and risk taking can be stated as part of the objectives. Longer time horizons can be instituted by management. Present discounted values provide a yardstick from which policies which serve other objectives can be judged. Whether good strategic planning is done is a function of the capabilities of the planners and whether management sees to it that such planning is done. 36 Refs.

Subject Headings: Urban areas | Urban and regional development | Risk management | Managers | Innovation | Freight transportation | Foundations

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