Issues Management: Managerial Tools for Effective Strategic Planning and Implementation
Jonathan U. Elimimian, Nero Edevbie

Abstract
The concept of issues management has gained corporate management attention in research and practice. Issues management is generally concerned with the identification, analysis, probability (educated guess), and projected timing of emerging issues, from both external and internal environments. A practical concern in issues management is adapting it to the planning processes that are best for a given institution and its leadership. Incorporation of issues management within strategic planning can benefit Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Giving the issues, the organizational responses can dictate the difference between the success and the failure of the management effort and practices. This paper attempts to delineate the lack of efforts of a major HBCU in attempting to integrate issues management action into the institutional practice of strategic planning. The intent is to make issues management an ongoing and systematic institutional exercise, for the regular five year cycle of the institutional strategic planning process. Another option in which one might view the link between strategic planning and issues management is to consider issues management as an alternative to the process of planning by formal organizational structure. In many ways, issues management objectives are similar to those of the strategic planning structure or the strategic business area (SBA). In conclusion, issues management process’s real strength lies in its ability to get at issues that transcended traditional organizational boundaries, or at issues that necessitate cross-unit strategies. It is the opinion of the authors that strategic planning, by method of traditional organizational structure is necessary, but that it can be supported by the crossunit planning that the issues management process permits. Lastly, issues management conveys to the members of the organization a clear message that they should be attentive to these strategic issues from external and internal environmental scanning when formulating long range strategic plan.

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