ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze strategic planning as a means of achieving an organization’s short, medium and long term goals with a comparative analysis of two schools of thought as applicable to the National Board for Technical Education, (NBTE) Nigeria. This paper shall focus on the Cultural school of thought as well as the Entrepreneurial school of thought as described by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel in their book, Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management (1998).
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Strategic Planning…is based on the premise that leaders and managers of public and non-profit organizations must be effective strategists if their organizations are to fulfill their missions, meet their mandates and satisfy constituents in the years ahead (Bryson, 1995, p. ix) [cited in Institute for Public Service and Policy Research]
The statement captures the idea of strategic planning in all of its ramifications and modalities. Strategic management operates on several time scales. Short term strategies involve planning and management for the present needs; long term strategies involve preparing for and pre-empting the future trend of events.
NBTE is a regulatory parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) in Nigeria. Its primary responsibility is to regulate all aspects of Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) sub sector. All Polytechnics, Monotechnics, Technical Colleges and other similar institutions fall within the purview of the NBTE.
To ensure that NBTE effectively carries out its functions, there is a need to articulate a well defined strategy that is flexible and can be operated with ease. This will facilitate its drive towards its vision and mission. A good strategic plan will translate to providing high quality Technical and Vocational skills vis-à-vis a solid foundation for the training of technical personnel.
2.0 CULTURAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT WITH REFERENCE TO NBTE
In analyzing this...