Corporatisation of the not-for-profit sector : strategic planning and organisational performance in disability based organisations

Faced with changing times, disability-based organisations are evolving from church groups running shelters for "retarded" people to providing business services to "jobseekers." This evolution has meant that the management function in the disability sector has become a much more complex and multidimensional one, requiring managers to balance the social and commercial realities of the marketplace. This study aimed to explore the effects of strategic planning intensity in disability-based agencies on the organisational performance of those agencies. The study found that there were statistically significant correlations between the strategic planning intensity levels of disability-based agencies and their respective organisations' performance on two out of the five measures of organisational performance used in the research. The study provides some justification and impetus for managers, agencies, and peak bodies to further engage in the systematic development and implementation of strategic planning systems and processes. Further, in view of the many environmental changes experienced by the disability sector, such justification may provide the various stakeholders, particularly finding bodies and people with a disability, with a means of ensuring that the best possible efficiency and effectiveness outcomes for stakeholders are achieved.