Controllership artifacts in the management process: The use of strategic planning for decision making in Brazil

The aim of this study is to check the applicability of strategic planning for decision making between different segments professionals in Brazil. Based on the assumption that strategic planning is an effective tool to aid in the decision-making process at any organization, the research was conducted through a scenario composed of two groups of professionals where the application of strategic planning influence future decisions of the organization. The study was directed to professionals acting in the public and private areas in order to see if the features found between these professional performance targets correspond to an influence factor for different treatment in the final decision of the respondents. The results found in the study showed statistically significant differences between the groups of the sectors investigated in concerning the comprehensibility and applicability of strategic planning for the purpose of organizational decision making, although there is convergence in all the answers about the value assigned to strategic planning tool as a sufficient activity for the implementation of decisions. Although not ruled out the hypothesis of the research on the importance of strategic planning for organizational decision, the results of the practical effectiveness of this tool for future decisions vary between organizations, indicating there is less understanding of the professional group of the public sector in terms the sense of usefulness of strategic planning for decision making. These results support the influencer character of the features found in public organizations in Brazil that interfere with the usual clarity of strategic planning as an effective tool in decision-making, and combined with little spread of its benefits, constitute a great challenge for the consolidation of this instrument whose main core guidance for organizational objectives. Keywords: Strategic planning, decision-making process, applicability.