Beyond the business plan

Acknowledges that business planning in the NHS frequently disappoints. Reasons for this are found in the tendency for managers to view the production of a plan as an end rather than a means. A further difficulty resides in the perception managers have of their world. Argues that marketing is the most appropriate paradigm for understanding and structuring this world at present. However, an adaptive cognitive style is necessary to allow constant reframing within the dominant paradigm or even reframing of the paradigm itself. In adopting these approaches, the probability of achieving competitive advantage is heightened. If they are ignored, however, it is likely that training and development techniques, however sophisticated, will have little lasting impact.