Strategic management is the result of the evolution of the concept of strategic planning, the expansion of its scope, and the enrichment of its dimensions. Since strategic planning is one of the components of strategic management, strategic management focuses on both the present and the future simultaneously.
From this, we can say that strategic management is a series of decisions and actions that lead to the development of effective strategies to achieve organizational goals, reflecting continuous dynamism and the ability to confront the challenges of a changing business environment—including threats, opportunities, competition, and risks—to achieve a better future, based on key pillars in the present within a creative, integrative, and strategic framework as an essential prerequisite for efficiency and effectiveness.
It is clear to us that the management of educational institutions today is receiving significant attention from educational planners, policymakers, and researchers due to its responsibility for achieving societal goals in the field of education. This attention is underscored by the efforts of contemporary societies—at the national, regional, and local levels—to organize programs for the qualification and training of leaders specializing in the administration of educational institutions.
There is no doubt that the success of educational administration in addressing changes depends on the quality of the management approach used; hence the effectiveness and importance of educational leadership. For it is the leader—not merely the educational administrator—who can foster a safe learning environment, monitor and develop the educational process, instill a culture of development and change, ensure a clear and deep understanding of the vision and mission of the institution where they work, and emphasize the importance of teamwork and the participation of the vast majority in decision-making—paving the way for decisions to be made in a sound, scientific, and systematic manner and to its outcomes in light of available data and assumptions. From this perspective, the strategic management of educational institutions has introduced a modern, advanced concept for achieving short- and long-term goals, namely transformational leadership, which focuses on the most fundamental and ethical motivations; for the transformational leader is one whose ideas and innovations are deeply rooted and profound.
By Dr. Samuel Essam Ammanoeeil
Professor of Management and Strategic Planning – At Egyptian Universities