issue management

Strategic and Systems Thinking for the Public Sector - 29th-31st March 1999Strategic and Systems Thinking for the Public Sector - 29th-31st March 1999

ISSUE MANAGEMENTISSUE MANAGEMENT

• Strategic Issues we expect to face in the next “n” years

• What do we achieve by addressing them

• Ladder upwards towards goals and “not-goals”

• Discover emergent system of goals


ISSUE MANAGEMENTISSUE MANAGEMENT

• What is happening to generate the issues

• Ladder down to discover emergent beliefs system

• These provide the basis for option surfacing

• Use the “Oracle question”


“The nicest thing about notplanning is that failure comesas a complete surprise, and isnot preceded by a period of

worry and depression”

John Preston, Bolton Collegefrom the Observer, 22 Jan 1995


The Framework for The Framework for Strategic DirectionStrategic Direction

• Core Distinctive Competencies• the Livelihood Scheme -

Business Model• the Goal System - values &

aspirations• Mission or Vision statement


Participation - key actorsParticipation - key actors• Explore informal dynamic power base

of:– anticipated losers– anticipated winners– genuine cynics– opinion formers– ideas generators (“plants”)– saboteur– sit back and wait & see before jumping


Danger of Partial ViewsDanger of Partial Views• Figure without ground, action without

contexts• systems without antecedents, world

without history• time and perspective, change without

continuities• large patterns and processes, minimal

appreciation of sub-processes• Andrew Pettigrew


The Framework for The Framework for Strategic DirectionStrategic Direction

• Core Distinctive Competencies• the Livelihood Scheme -

Business Model• the Goal System - values &

aspirations• Mission or Vision statement


Feedback Loops with Action ‘Teardrops’


A Distinctive Competence A Distinctive Competence is:is:

• difficult to emulate• cannot be bought• very high cost of entry• very long time to attain• uncodified

– don't know how it works, – thus others can't work out how it works either

• unique portfolio - patterns and feedback loops• any DC is the label given to an emerging pattern of

competencies (eg "professionalism" is the aggregation of many competencies)

• meeting aspirations is solely dependent upon DC's - it is the “livelihood scheme”


The Discovery of The Discovery of Distinctive CompetenciesDistinctive Competencies

• a loop of C's might make the loop a DC• a loop with at least one DC in it is

important because it sustains the DC• a patterning of C's might be particularly

important (in other words the pattern is the DC because nobody else could achieve the pattern even if they could get the C's)

• loops with ability to resource the DC's makes the DC's more powerful

• note: a DC is not necessarily a good thing


Competence Competence CharacteristicsCharacteristics

• Important Competencies– competencies that others might have

• but that are the support to DC's• Desirable DC's

– a competence that is central/core to the overall pattern of competencies and so if it could be made a DC then it would be powerful

• Gaining New DC's– new relationships between existing DC's– luck: emergence of patterns of competencies


DistinctiveCompetencies

Core

Values, Goals, Aspirations System

Livelihood Scheme -Business Model

The Cycle of Coherence between DCs, Livelihood, Aspirations

Determining Strategic Direction


Developing “Cause Maps”Developing “Cause Maps”re-organise the clusterre-organise the cluster

“the tear-drop”

“GOALS” orDISASTEROUS

outcomes

ISSUES or possibleSTRATEGIES

more detailedOPTIONS

MEANS

END

OPTION

DesiredOUTCOME

If possible - convert the language toproposition - put in a verb,get rid of questions

Directionof

Arrow


Issues Strategies

Not-GoalsGoals

Problems StrategicProgrammes

Options ActionPortfolios

Assertions

An Action Oriented Strategy Map


Problems Portfolios ofActions

Not-Goals(undesirable outcomes)

Goals

Options Actions

Assertions

An Action Oriented Issue Map


purpose

valuesstrategy

standards &behaviour

moral statementsabout right & wrong

link to staffpersonal valuesabout why they

would like to workfor the organisation

inspirational& emotional

core goals &stakeholders

the “business idea”or “livelihood scheme”

THE MISSION STATEMENT


purpose

valuesstrategy

standards &behaviour

what the organisation believes in

eg “treating staffopenly”

eg “participativemanagement”

the politics &behaviour patternsthat guide how the

organisationoperates

WHY ARE THE VALUESGOING TO HELP?

WHY ARE THEBEHAVIOURS ATTRACTIVE?

THE STRATEGIESDESIGNED TOACHIEVE THE

PURPOSE

THE MISSION STATEMENT


“In the complex and turbulent environment of today traditional forecasting methods, such as trend extrapolation and regression are seen to be too dependent upon a projection of the past into the future to be useful for anticipating changes. Similarly they suggest a single view of the future (albeit with attached uncertainties).

In contrast scenario planning suggests a number of distinctly different alternative futures, each of which are possible.

Scenarios focus "less on predicting outcomes and more on understanding the forces that would eventually compel an outcome; less on figures and more on insight" (Wack 1985, 84).

They are more concerned with understanding the discontinuities in creating alternative futures by recognizing that the structure of the environment may change.”

from Eden and Ackermann 1998


Importance

Certainty

UncertaintySCENARIOPLANNING

REGION

Scenario Events

SCENARIO CONTEXTinvariants &strong trends


less investment inNI by British Govt

SCENARIO 3 - "PEACE"govt agreesceasefire with

Republicanparamilitaries

paramilitaries onboth sides become

involved inorganised crime

emergence of drugtrafficking with

high profits ordinary crimelevels increase asdrug users fund

habitsrising ODCpopulation

more prisoners withdrug related

problems enterprisons

more active drugscene within prisons

increased risk ofAIDS amongst prison

population

prison staff fearsof contamination

ordinary crimelevells increase

amnesty agreed forlarge numbers of

paramilitaryprisoners

sudden excess ofprison estate and

manpower

ban on staffrecruitment

loss of potentialemployment withinlocal community

staff redundancies

loss of maintenanceand building worketc on prison estate

loss of income tolocal businesscommunities

rising umemploymentand worsening socialconditions in prison

localities

worsening industrialrelations

An Event Based Scenariosource - NIO/SU 1991-2


POWER in relation to strategy realization

INTERESTin the strategy

makingorganization

Context Settersor Leaders

PlayersSubjects

Crowd

Stake-Holders

ActorsBystanders

Unaffected

Stakeholder Analysis


POWER in relation to strategy realization

INTERESTin the strategy

makingorganization

Context Settersor Leaders

PlayersSubjects

Crowd

Stake-Holders

Stakeholder Management

ActorsBystanders

Unaffected


Stakeholder Management

• Issue of dis-aggregation• Issue of aggregation• Who is involved in devising

strategies for stakeholder management– sometimes uncomfortable process

• manipulation…

– internal v external


THE PLAYER

The Bases of Powerstakeholder actions

The Bases of Interestinterpretation of strategy

availablesanctions

supportmechanisms

what they see - their “spectacles”

their interpretationof your behaviour

their view ofyour role in their

aspirations

StakeholderManagement


Scottish OfficeAgriculture and

Fisheries Department(Terry Cabot)

euro commissionNigel Haigh

European Commission(DG6)

World Wildlife Fundfor Nature (CEO)

Key Farmers (JamesLinklate, Arthur

Mack)

Scottish FishermensFederation

Scottish FisheriesProtection

SNH take hard lineon environment

approach to casework

failure to protect

evaluation of policydocuments

support for broaderpolicy agenda

WWFN make SNH lookreasonable

SNH able to take astronger stance

WWFN radicalismshift the boundaries

of the debate

WWFN prepared to usemedia against SNH

use of members toblacken SNH name

not feeling ofexclusionWWFN vulnerability

to public opinion

SNH use publicopinion routes to

show WWFN in badlight

not DEPENDENT upon,but keen on gaining,

SNH money

industrystakeholders

Govermental basedstakeholders

environmentalstakeholders

power or interestdata

possible reversesanction (basis for

negotiation)

KEY


SOEND naturalheritage div (TB),

(SH)SO accounting

officer (HM)

Sir Hector Monro

allocation offinance

financial propriety... rigid adherence

to rule book

National AuditOffice, internal,Scottish Office

audits

value for money

identify things doneright/ efficient??

running costsagainst programme

expenditure

check out SNHprocedures

budget management

staff inspectionspending plansagainst actual

spending

write 'accountingofficer' letters

chief accountingofficer can require

SNH to alterprocedures

alter allocation -take money back

give more money toSNH

extent of support inPES round

influence of office

UK Treasury

NAO *

demonstrateresponsible attitude

to distribution ofpublic money

reduction ofdelegation from SO

less freedom to beinnovative with

money

issue management

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