ISSUE BRIEF AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES

Phuoc D. Nguyen

Ashley and Morrison (1997) proposed, “The decision process model focuses on uncovering emerging issues and gives you a way to evaluate how serious those issues are and what impact they may have on your organization, so you can make decisions in time” (p. 48). Based on Ashley and Morrison’s (1995) Anticipatory Management Process to identify emerging issues using tools of scanning and monitoring, surface and challenging assumptions, strategic trend intelligence system, issue life cycle, issues vulnerability audit, and scenario technique. However, these tools just help identify emerging issues and to make a decision in time that anticipatory manager needs to write an issue brief with components of the issue, background, driving forces, prospects, and implications (Ashley and Morrison, 1995) to submit to the executive committee for anticipatory review and decision-making, they will review facts and counseling of the issue brief to decide in time. Kuokkanen (2009) stated, “Anticipatory decision-making can be described using the following terms: information and knowledge of environments, decision-making with decision support, action, and effect” (p. 117). Information and knowledge of environments based on results of scanning and monitoring, strategic trend intelligence system, scenario technique, and the decision support system together to implement anticipatory decision-making effectively. Theriou and Tsirigotis (2001) suggest that all decisions that are taken within an organization are based on the results of the anticipation and in this way, they provide the system with a degree of intelligence. The strategic trend intelligence system is one of the most important tools for identifying emerging issues and creating a degree of intelligence in the anticipation system.

Lozier and Chittipeddi (1984) pointed out, “The usefulness of the issues management process stems from its potential to act as an early detector of significant external trends and to provide the mechanisms for developing effective strategies to respond to those trends” (p. 6). Issue identification, issue brief, and the issues management process is a consecutive sequence to implement sound forecasts and extrapolate external trends aiming to create scenarios and suggest alternative futures for effective organizational strategic planning and implementation.