URBS 661—Long-Range & Strategic Planning

Preparing the Townships

Go to D2L for this class, and under the “Discussion” link go to the “Preparing the Townships” site. Open the .doc file you will find there.

Read and prepare to discuss this case in class with your group (and then with the entire class). You might want to consider the following questions:

· What are the underlying issues at play here? (benefits of concentration/decentralization; role of elected officials in leading public opinion; political strategy vs. rational/comprehensive approach; etc.)

· What do you think should be Jane Kurtzweil’s preferred response in this situation? What is her fallback?

· What steps should she take to implement her response?

o What is her strategy?

o What would be her objectives at each stage?

o What are the potential threats at each stage?

o What are the decision points/alternatives for each stage?

Following the class discussion, write an advisory memo (2-3 pages single-spaced) to Jane Kurtzweil. Include:

· Assessment of the situation

· Approaches for respondingto situation

· Desired outcomes and strategy for making progress on most important objectives (Make sure your proposals for action and strategy are practical and consistent with your assessment).

MSU