Strategic Management from an Islamic Perspective: Text and Cases

Preface

This book is based on a simple premise of humanism. This world would be a better place if business strategists applied Islamic principles when developing their strategic plans. With this book, we would like to propose a methodology for strategic management from an Islamic perspective. We have taken the best ideas of both Western strategic management knowledge and Japanese strategic management knowledge and have tried to integrate East and West with the practical wisdom of Islamic principles.

Several years ago, the idea that any religion—let alone Islam—could help us manage things better would have been unthinkable. However, with all the corporate scandals that have plagued the world over the past 15 years, people are realizing that it might be a good thing if strategists had a greater sense of morality.

The editors of the Journal of Management Development went a step further. They published a special issue on “Practical Wisdom in Management from the Religious and Philosophical Traditions” in 2012. They wrote that “the pursuit of superior knowledge without the pursuit of practical wisdom is incomplete and can cause great damage.” The editors observe that “the project of enlightenment can be considered incomplete and rudderless without a re-connection to the practical wisdom from religious, spiritual and philosophical traditions.” We concur. For years, experts at the International Islamic University Malaysia have known that the development of strategic management has been ...