The Reality of Strategic Planning in the North Municipalities of the West Bank, its effect on decision making رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

This research is aimed to investigate the reality of strategic planning in the Northern municipalities of the West Bank and its effect on decision making. The sample study consists of six municipalities that include the mayors, the managers, and the municipalities head sectors. The study also aims to shed light on the extent of awareness of the strategic planning, the trends of municipalities towards the strategic planning, providing data to practice planning in these municipalities, the availability of good standards concerning the contents and the elements of the strategic planning in these municipalities. The researcher used the descriptive analytical method in developing the questionnaire about the reliability and validity of performance. Sixty questionnaires were distributed on the study sample. The researcher also collected information and tested the hypotheses through the questionnaire and literature review, followed by the analysis of the outcomes of the questionnaire using the SPSS. The research results revealed that there is a direct impact between the availability of strategic planning elements and decision making, and increasing the availability of strategic planning elements by 10 units may increase the decision making by 7.94 units. This means that there is a significant impact of the reality of strategic planning on decision making in the municipalities in the North West Bank of Palestine. vi But there is no impact of the predictor variables (clarity of strategic planning concept, municipality attitudes toward strategic planning, and strategic planning practice by the municipalities) on decision making. The research recommended that making it possible for all employees at municipalities and training them about the concept of the strategic planning concerning the preparation of strategic plan, studying and implementing it. The study clarifies a range of results and recommendations apart from the internal and external variables that includes services presented to citizens. The municipalities; therefore, have to commit themselves to prepare a strategic planning without having any connection with foreign finance.