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Perspectives of strategic thinking: From controlling chaos to embracing it

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Matthew R Fairholm  and
Michael Card
Matthew R Fairholm
Affiliation:
Political Science Department and WO Farber Center for Civic Leadership, University of South Dakota, Vermillion SD, USA
Michael Card
Affiliation:
Political Science Department and WO Farber Center for Civic Leadership, University of South Dakota, Vermillion SD, USA
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Abstract

There is an increasing focus in today's organization on measuring results and calculating return on investment. Efforts of administrators today to control organizational endeavors are essential and generally aligned with current best practices. Control mechanisms, however, ultimately prove to be only part of the puzzle. Strategic planning, encompassing such activities as planning, performance measurement, program budgeting, and the like, has proven to be very useful but limited. It is a technical fix that gets at only part of the question of organizational effectiveness and only deals with some organizational dilemmas. In the face of such realities, the notion of strategic thinking emerges to fill the gaps and overcome the limitations that experience with strategic planning has proven to exhibit. This paper presents an integration of leadership ideas, strategic thinking and traditional planning activities in an effort to make important connections and important distinctions.

Keywords

leadershipmanagementstrategic planningstrategic thinkingsystems theoryorganizational philosophypublic sector
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 17 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2009

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