Strategic planning as tool of competitiveness in the small business: development and evaluation of a practical guideline for the process of elaboration of planning

Author(s)

Ana Cláudia Fernandes Terence

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Carlos.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC/SBD)
• Defense date: 2002-08-13

Examining board members

Edmundo Escrivao Filho; Helena Carvalho de Lorenzo; Rosangela Maria Vanalle

• Advisor: Edmundo Escrivao Filho

Abstract

In the universe of the small businesses, strategic planning should be accomplished as a continuous process of interaction between the company and its environment, allowing the company to establish its objectives and potentialities, besides guiding the best use of resources. However, strategic planning is not broadly used in small businesses, due to the complexity of the tool or because of their management characteristics. Thus, it is necessary to approach strategic planning in a less complex and formal way and, mainly, considering its principal characteristics of management: structural, environmental and behavioural. The main goal of this research was to develop and to evaluate the use of a guideline to assist small entrepreneurs in the elaboration of strategic planning, considering their management specificities. The guideline was built starting from the planning models proposed by the main authors of the area and it has kept its peculiarity - to be practical in the assistance to the small entrepreneur in the elaboration of strategic planning, implying in the specification of the essential topics and the form of developing them. The guidelines demonstrated to be easy to be used and, in the companies where it was applied, it aided the small entrepreneur in the adoption of this tool as increment of competitiveness, as the use of its provides reflections and directions for the activities of organization, as well as making possible to adapt and respond to the changes of market. This research also seeks to collaborate for a better understanding of the strategic process in small organizations (AU)