Strategic Management in Public and Nonprofit Organizations: Thinking and Acting Strategically on Public Concerns

An operational manual for managers and executives of nonprofit organizations, this volume confronts what the author sees as a serious dilemma - the widespread lack of strategic thinking and planning in the public and private nonprofit world. This handbook organizes the concepts and practices in strategic planning and management that have been developed over the last several decades. Coverage of ways to implement strategic plans and initiatives is included. The methods and techniques introduced are keyed to practical applications, making this a useful working tool for practitioners and a useful resource for students of public and nonprofit management. Divided into six sections, the book begins by discussing the challenges faced by those who seek to apply strategic management to public concerns and the positive results to be derived from their use. In the second section, the author examines new approaches to strategic leadership, with particular reference to the central role of the chief executive as both a general manager of strategy and a master of change. Subsequent chapters address the design, organization and evaluation of a strategic management system; setting the strategic agenda; and implementing strategy through the use of bite-sized modern program management methods. The concluding section addresses ways in which managers can learn from experience by controlling and monitoring.