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Abstract
Using archival analysis of modern English translations of Hebrew Old Testament books, the current study identifies associations between the actions and writings of ancient Israel's leadership and modern-day principles of strategic management. The results of this study provide examples of four key concepts in mainstream strategic management: (1) organisational mission, (2) organisational culture, (3) organisational structure, and (4) environmental scanning. Chronicling selected activities of the ancient Hebrew culture provides rich illustrations of modern strategic management concepts in practice more than three millennia ago.
Notes
1. Wren, The Evolution of Management Thought; Dyck, Starke, and Dueck, ‘Management, Prophets and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies’.
2. Sterba, ‘The Organization and Management of the Temple Corporations’; Molyneaux, ‘“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”’.
3. Humphreys and Einstein, ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’.
4. Heath, ‘An Adversarial Ethic for Business’; Macdonald and Neupert, ‘Applying Sun Tzu's Terrain and Ground to the Study of Marketing Strategy’.
5. Carmona and Ezzamel, ‘Accounting and Accountability in Ancient Civilizations’; Ezzamel, ‘Order and Accounting as a Performative Ritual’; Fayol, General and Industrial Management.
6. Molyneaux, ‘“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”’; Rogers and Gago, ‘Biblical Scriptures Underlying Six Ethical Models Influencing Organizational Practices’.
7. Dyck, Starke, and Dueck, ‘Management, Prophets and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies’.
8. Wren, The Evolution of Management Thought; Molyneaux, ‘“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”’.
9. Shafritz and Ott, Classics of Organization Theory.
10. Rindova and Starbuck, ‘Ancient Chinese Theories of Control’; Hahn and Waterhouse, ‘Confucian Theories of Man and Organization’.
11. Wagner, ‘Managing Change in Business’; Bracker, ‘The Historical Development of the Strategic Management Concept’.
12. Wagner, ‘Managing Change in Business’; Flyvbjerg, ‘Phronetic Planning Research’.
13. Bracker, ‘The Historical Development of the Strategic Management Concept’, 219.
14. Ibid.
15. Beggs, ‘Proverbial Practice’; Arbaugh, ‘Reversing the Spirituality Lenses’; Manz et al., The Wisdom of Solomon at Work; Baron and Padwa, Moses on Management.
16. Daft and Buenger, ‘Hitching a Ride on a Fast Train to Nowhere’, 100.
17. Ibid., 100.
18. Carter, Clegg, and Kornberger, ‘S-A-P Zapping the Field’, 108.
19. Carter, Clegg, and Kornberger, ‘Reframing Strategy’.
20. Dyck, Starke, and Dueck, ‘Management, Prophets and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies’.
21. Furrer, Thomas, and Goussevskaia, ‘The Structure and Evolution of the Strategic Management Field’; Mintzberg and Quinn, Readings in the Strategy Process; Summer et al., ‘Doctoral Education in the Field of Business Policy and Strategy’.
22. MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera.
23. Mills, The Sociological Imagination; Hill, Archival Strategies and Techniques.
24. Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence; Heineman, ‘Avoiding Integrity Land Mines’.
25. Smircich, ‘Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis’.
26. Sorensen, ‘The Strength of Corporate Culture’.
27. Sanchez and Yurrebaso, ‘Group Cohesion’.
28. Mintzberg and Quinn, Readings in the Strategy Process, 182–3; Hult, Ketchen, and Arrfelt, ‘Strategic Supply Chain Management’.
29. Zuckerman, ‘Strong Corporate Cultures’.
30. Nagel, ‘The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts’.
31. Lin, Yang, and Arya, ‘Alliance Partners and Firm Performance’; Mintzberg, ‘Strategy Making in Three Modes’.
32. Carpenter and Frederickson, ‘Top Management Teams’.
33. Eisenhardt, ‘Making Fast Strategic Decisions’.
34. Zheng, Yang, and McLean, ‘Linking Organizational Culture’.
35. Sine, Mitsuhashi, and Kirsch, ‘Revisiting Burns and Stalker’.
36. Miles and Snow, Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process; Porter, Competitive Strategy; Porter, Competitive Advantage.
37. Dess and Beard, ‘Dimensions of Organizational Task Environment’.
38. Aldrich, Organizations and Environments.
39. Castrogiovanni, ‘Environmental Munificence’.
40. Anderson and Tushman, ‘Organizational Environments and Industry Exit’.
41. Park, Chen, and Gallagher, ‘Firm Resources as Moderators’.
42. Duncan, ‘Characteristics of Organizational Environments’.
43. Porter, Competitive Advantage.
44. Pearce and Ensley, ‘A Reciprocal and Longitudinal Investigation of the Innovation Process’; Eisenhardt, ‘Making Fast Strategic Decisions’; Ensley, Pearce, and Hmieleski, ‘The Moderating Effect of Environmental Dynamism’.
45. Duncan, ‘Characteristics of Organizational Environments’.
46. Thompson, Organizations in Action.
47. Anderson and Tushman, ‘Organizational Environments and Industry Exit’.
48. Sirmon, Hitt, and Ireland, ‘Managing Firm Resources in Dynamic Environments’.
49. Mills, The Sociological Imagination.
50. Hill, Archival Strategies and Techniques; Duff and Johnson, ‘Accidentally Found on Purpose’
51. MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera.
52. Hill, Archival Strategies and Techniques.
53. McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vol. I.
54. McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vol. I; McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vol. II.
55. For a more detailed discussion regarding the reliability of the Old Testament record, see Bruce, The Books and the Parchments; Bruce, ‘Archeological Confirmation of the New Testament’; McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vol. I; McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vol. II.
56. International Bible Society, The New International Version of the Bible.
57. Pride, Hughes, and Capoor, Business.
58. Chandler, Strategy and Structure; Nadler and Tushman, Strategic Organization Design; Miles and Snow, Fit, Failure and the Hall of Fame.
59. Nadler and Tushman, Strategic Organization Design; Van Tonder, ‘Below-the-Surface and Powerful’.
60. Wheelen and Hunger, Strategic Management and Business Policy.
61. This and the preceding 10 verses are all from the New International Version of the Bible.
62. Czarniawska, ‘Complex Organizations Still Complex’.
63. Perrow, Complex Organizations, 11.
64. Barnard, The Functions of the Executive.
65. Mintzberg, ‘Strategy Making in Three Modes’.
66. Smircich, ‘Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis’.
67. Martin, Cultures in Organizations.
68. Ibid.
69. Jassawalla and Sashittal, ‘Cultures that Support Product Innovation Processes’; Kotter and Heskett, Corporate Culture and Performance.
70. Pettigrew, The Politics of Organizational Decision Making; Pettigrew, ‘On Studying Organizational Cultures’.
71. Shultz, On Studying Organizational Cultures: Diagnosis and Understanding.
72. Rousseau, ‘Assessing Organizational Culture’.
73. Deming, Out of the Crisis; Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence; Senge, The Fifth Discipline.
74. Alvesson and Lindkvist, ‘Transaction Costs, Clans, and Corporate Culture’.
75. Grant, ‘The Resource Based Theory of Competitive Advantage’.
76. Brown and Starkey, ‘The Effect of Organizational Culture’.
77. This and the previous 13 verses are all from the New International Version of the Bible.
78. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership.
79. Child, ‘Organization Structure, Environment, and Performance’.
80. Galbraith and Kazanjian, Strategy Implementation.
81. International Bible Society, New International Version of the Bible.
82. Shafritz and Ott, Classics of Organization Theory.
83. Hannan and Freeman, ‘The Population Ecology of Organization’.
84. Ghoshal and Moran, ‘Bad for Practice’.
85. International Bible Society, New International Version of the Bible.
86. Vancil, Passing the Baton, 13.
87. International Bible Society, New International Version of the Bible.
88. McGahan and Porter, ‘How Much Does Industry Matter, Really?’; Porter, Competitive Strategy; Wheelen and Hunger, Strategic Management and Business Policy.
89. Bracker, ‘The Historical Development of the Strategic Management Concept’, 221.
90. Finkelstein and Hambrick, Strategic Leadership.
91. This and the previous four verses are all from the New International Version of the Bible.
92. March and Simon, Organizations; Simon, Administrative Behavior; Hambrick and Mason, ‘Upper Echelons’.
93. Priem, ‘Top Management Team Group Factors’.
94. Gioia and Chittipeddi, ‘Sensemaking and Sensegiving in Strategic Change Initiation’; Daft and Weick, ‘Toward a Model of Organizations as Interpretive Systems’; Hitt and Tyler, ‘Strategic Decision Models’; Cannella and Monroe, ‘Contrasting Perspectives on Strategic Leaders’; Melone, ‘Reasoning in the Executive Suite’; Murray, ‘Top Management Group Heterogeneity and Firm Performance’.
95. Weick, Sensemaking in Organizations.
96. Hambrick and Chen, ‘New Academic Fields’.