STRATEGIC PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT IN GOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR IN LATVIA: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

Management issues can be divided in two large groups: governmental or public, with its specific aims, methods and challenges, and private sector responsible for economical results, competitiveness and state revenues. Although these sectors have so much in common in sustaining the state, striving for excellence, fulfilment of European Union 2020 strategy and for the best results, they are at the same time very different. By theory and practice, one of the greatest methods how to improve performance, is benchmarking- both looking for the best in the concrete field and in different area. In the article authors compare strategic planning and management issues in public and private sector, thus identifying strong and weak points of each system. Proposals are made how to improve management of both sectors, implementing ideas from the best praxis examples and success stories in other management areas. The purpose of the study is to analyse strategic planning, management and leadership in praxis of public and private sector thus identifying opportunities to improve other`s sectors performance. For doing this, authors have completed several tasks: analysed strategic planning, management and leadership praxis in public sector, analysed strategic planning, management and leadership praxis in entrepreneurial sector, conducted comparative analyses of strategic planning and management processes in both sectors, made conclusions and generated suggestions for improving the performance of governmental and private sector. In their research authors have used several methods: information content analysis method, logically constructive analysis method, case analysis method. For the theoretical part of the research authors explore the principles of strategic planning and organization management that were originally developed mainly in the United Stated, but for several decades have been successfully applied and developed in organizations in Europe. For the practical case study of the research authors have limited the scope of research to Latvia, a full status EU member state, which at a large scale represents the trends of strategic planning and management processes in EU and since year 2008 in many cases have been set as a good example for recovering from economic crisis through smart strategic planning and management of public administration. Key results lead to conclusions that in public sector there is great emphasis on strategic planning part of management process, but implementing plan to clear activities and getting right result sometimes delays or is even missed. In private sector entrepreneurs tend to look short-term thus gaining results in small every-day actions but lacking greater sight to future and therefor plundering chance of greater growth. Government should implement more client-oriented approach using best examples from entrepreneurial world. Private sector should learn how to generate concrete long-term plans, delegate duties and not to mix responsibilities in enterprise for greater results. Consolidating mentioned above, both sectors should learn from each other thus improving its competitiveness and performance for joined moving towards reaching goals of EU 2020 strategy.