The goals approach is more in line with conventional planning theory which stipulates that an organization should establish goals and objectives for itself and then develop strategies to achieve those goals and objectives. The approach can work if there is fairly broad and deep agreement on the organization’s goals and objectives-and if those goals and objectives themselves are detailed and specific enough to guide the identification of issues and development of strategies. This approach also is more likely to work in organizations with hierarchical authority structures where key decision makers can impose goals on others affected by the planning exercise. The approach, in other words, is more likely to work in public or non-profit organizations that are hierarchically organized, pursue narrowly defined missions and have few powerful stakeholders than it is in organizations with broad agendas and numerous powerful stakeholders.