Strategic managment.The case of NGOs in Palestine.

Abstract

The number of the Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has grown substantially in recent years. As the sector has expanded it has experienced a high level of internal competition especially due to scarce donor resources and their requirements such as greater financial accountability and clearer evidence of program influence. Therefore strategic thinking and the use of strategic management approaches are very much needed. While the volume of research on strategic management in large corporations is extensive research on strategic management in SMEs is relatively limited and the research on strategic management in NGOs is very limited. Therefore, following the recommendations of the prior researchers for further studies, this research is an attempt to shed light on the top mangers` perception of the importance of strategic management processes in NGOs in Palestine. This research discovered that more than half of the NGOs surveyed have strategic management systems indicating that a significant proportion of NGOs view strategic management as crucial. Managers of the studied NGOs perceived a strategic management approach as an important factor for increasing the quality of service delivery, achieving goals and increasing overall organizational performance. Regarding the internal organizational factors managers believed that employing strategic management techniques helped significantly in sorting out organizational problems, reducing organizational conflicts and aiding organizational development. The NGOs that have set a strategic management approach are more adjustable to environmental factors. The environmental awareness of managers in NGOs is very important. The managers` strategic awareness and their perception of the III benefits coming from a formal strategic planning approach within the NGO considerably impacts upon the success of the organisation. They perceived environmental scanning as a very important factor for NGO success. Environmental scanning is also perceived as a significant factor in the strategic management process and its impact upon performance. The studied NGOs placed most emphasis on a mission statement followed by evaluating and assessing and developing a vision statement and yearly goals. The respondents considered flexibility, adjustability and organizational development as important elements in implementing strategies. As the size of the NGOs increased their use of strategic management approaches such as developing a mission statement and objectives, annual and long term goals and employing formal strategic planning techniques increased. Managers of NGOs perceived the - value of leadership presented by managers¿ as the first priority in the factors which are significant for future success. This emphasises the significance of leadership as a crucial factor for success in all organizations in general and in NGOs in particular. In this research it has been recommended that donors from the international community, the Islamic and the Arab world should continue to support Palestinian NGOs. Indeed they have the right to ask the Palestinian NGOs to show transparency, accountability and to be moderate and well managed. On the other hand they should respect the Palestinian national agendas and priorities and not use the assistance being given as a political tool. The Palestinian National Authority should allow NGOs the freedom to operate effectively and ensure that the relationship between NGOs and Palestinian National Authority is a cooperative one.