About the Book Strategic Market Planning A Blueprint for Success Patrick McNamee University of Ulster, UK Why is it that there are some firms that are enduringly successful, showing year after year results that are superior to rivals? Why is it that such firms are not confined to certain industries or certain locations or are of a certain size? This book asserts that remarkably successful firms are not so because of luck or exceptional circumstances but rather such firms succeed for two reasons:
* the drive and strategic vision of their managers and
* they follow strategic rules which confer success
The title of this book reflects its purpose: to persuade managers that enduringly successful firms are those that understand most clearly and then serve most effectively the markets they address. Consequently the book provides managers with a practical step-by-step blueprint which will enable them to develop and implement strategies which will make their firms enduringly successful. The book asserts that successful firms become so, not because of lucky industrial circumstances, but because of the drive and strategic vision of their managers. This is good news for managers as it means that being in a relatively poor industry is not a sentence to a dismal career: informed managerial effort can overcome such problems. Additionally an underlying philosophy of the book is that the most effective strategies for all firms are those which are developed and implemented by the managers themselves and not by outside advisers. Consequently the book provides a blueprint for any manager in any firm to develop and implement a strategic market plan. Strategic Market Planning reflects the experiences which the author has working closely with managers in many industries, ranging from banking to retailing to aircraft manufacturing, in varied European locations. Consequently the book is written in a register of clear language which should appeal to managers and students of business.
PATRICK MCNAMEE is Professor of International Business in the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland and has been a visiting professor or guest lecturer at the following institutions: North-eastern University, Boston, USA; Henley - The Management Centre, Oxford, UK; The Strategic Planning Society, London, UK; Bodo Graduate School of Business, Bodo, Norway; The Irish Management Institute, Dublin, Ireland; IFL in Stockholm; The Free University, Amsterdam and Technische UniversitAt Berlin. He has also conducted, for many years, strategy workshops for the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland.
In addition to having published many articles, he has had six books published. He also has very strong links with industry having acted as a strategy consultant to many large firms from a great variety of industries - vending, carbonated drinks, retailing, luxury consumer goods, food processing, food distribution, insulation, engineering, steel distribution, aircraft manufacturing, stationery manufacturing, wholesale distribution and telecommunications.
