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ABSTRACT
This paper discusses both broad historical and philosophical theories of strategic management, as well as specific communication and human resource management theories and practices. It concludes with an application chapter emphasizing how the Roman Catholic Church needs to develop a strategy to integrate learning and innovation in order to reconcile and communicate its central message locally. Although built upon a hierarchical and organizational culture, where strict obethence to institutional directives dominates the communities it serves, the diversity within the Church is forcing the Vatican to ensure specialized sub-cultures are not polarized.
Keywords: Strategic Management; Human Resource Management; Roman Catholic Church; The Vatican
INTRODUCTION
Strategic management may be defined as "management concerning strategic objectives, the wide-ranging long-term goals of an organization" (Blackberry, 1994, p.23). The history of strategic planning originates from the Greek word "strategos" which translated literally means "general of the army" (p.23). Each of the ten ancient Greek tribes annually elected a strategos to head its regiment. At the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), the strategoi advised the political ruler as a council and gave "strategic" advice about managing battles to win wars, rather titan "tactical" advice about managing troops to win wars. Over time, the strategoi's role expanded to include civil magisterial duties because of their status as elected officials (p. 23). Even to die untrained manager, the parallels in style of language used between military and business operations are strikingly evident today. Subordinate staff and tiiose residing in the lower echelons of corporations and government entities are frequently referred to as "working on the front line" in much me same way an armed trooper would be expected to defend a battered bunker in World War I.
The application of the principles of military strategy to business competition, known as strategic management (or strategy in short) is a more recent discipline dating back to the 1960s and is used synonymously with the term "strategic planning" (Millett, 1986, p. 64). Strategic planning is more concerned with the big picture and its focus is on the results or outcomes, rather than products or outputs. In summary, it is more concerned with defining what outcomes should be rather than achieving those outcomes (Schendel, Ansoff, & Channon, 1980, p. 1).
The first two chapters...