Abstract
This chapter introduces the development of strategic management as a formal discipline and provides an overview of strategic management concepts, models, and best practices, highlighting the difference between strategic thinking, planning, and management. It then zooms into the current strategic practice in different Arab countries to formulate a reasonable understanding of the effectiveness of such practice in serving governments and organizations to achieve their national strategic goals and objectives. The study employs a mix of research and evaluation tools, derived from the literature and best practices, to assess the maturity levels of the adopted strategic practice by Arab states and examines its relationship to and impact on government performance, in particular that which is related to achieving social justice, sustainable development, and democracy. In conclusion, the outcome of the investigation is used to suggest solutions to drive improvement to the current strategic practice in the Arab world.
TopBackground
This section is of two parts; Part one, provides an overview of strategic management as a discipline, function and process, both conceptually and as best practice. The coverage has both theoretical and practitioner perspectives, through making reference to relevant studies in the literature, and attaining support of evidence from cases studies, in an attempt to familiarize the reader with the discipline, through its definitions, characteristics, concepts and models. Given the importance of strategic practice to both government and business organizations alike, attention is shifted to point-out the success factors and performance indicators associated with strategic management and its, derivatives, relatives and next of kin, the likes of strategic thinking, strategic planning, strategic depth, strategic choices and strategic decisions.
Part two of this section, introduces the reader to the modern Arab world, as regions and countries in the modern 21st century, highlighting their success and failures, and where they stand compared to other regions and countries in the globe politically, socially and economically.
The rationale behind the inclusion of part one and part two, in this order and this manner, is to set the context for investigating, reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of strategic practice adopted by different Arab states to cope with the major challenges and problems that have been encountered over the past decades, and to look for evidence linking such successes and failures to the performance of these governments, and what this translates into as a rank in different global indicators.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Strategic Management: Strategic management is the entity that implements the outputs of thinking and strategic planning. Our point of view is to verify, scrutinize and analyze the data of the previous practical experience that touches the daily reality.
Strategic Planning: A systematic process to determine how the organization (the state) moves from its current status to the desired future by covering the following questions: 1) Where is the organization (the state) now? 2) Where does the organization (the state) want to be in the future? and 3) What are the means and tools to reach the desired future?
Democracy: A system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. In a direct democracy the citizens as a whole form a governing body and vote directly on each issue. In a representative democracy the citizens elect representatives from among themselves.
Sustainable Development: The organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend.
Social Justice: Is a concept of fair and just relations between the individual and society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity, and social privileges.