European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │Issue 11 │2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1125196 STRATEGIC THINKING STYLE AND READINESS-FOR-CHANGE Somayeh Nikyar1, Roya Afrasiabi2, Mahbubeh Soleimanpur Omran*3i M.A. student in Educational Management, Department of Educational Management, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran 2PhD in Educational Management, 1 Department of Educational Management, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran 3 PhD in Educational Planning, Department of Educational Management, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran Abstract: The main purpose of the present study was to investigate and identify the relationship between managers strategic thinking style and staff s readiness-for-change. As for its nature, this study is considered as applied research and methodologically it is descriptive-correlational. The population of the study was composed of 150 subjects where, based on Morgan and Krejcie scale, 110 subjects were randomly sampled out. To collect the required data, the researcher applied the most effective instrument- the questionnaire. The validity of both questionnaires was approved by the experts in the field and their reliability was calculated through Cronbach Alpha, where it was 0.870 for the strategic thinking questionnaire and 0.902 for the readiness-for-change one. T0 analyze the data, the researcher used descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation, and Linear Regression. The results of the study showed that there was a significantly positive and direct relationship between managers strategic thinking style and staff s readiness-for-change. Therefore, it can be concluded that managers with strategic thinking style are required in an organization so that they can explore the factors Correspondent author: Mahbubeh Soleimanpur Omran, email: m.pouromran@gmail.com Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 784 Somayeh Nikyar, Roya Afrasiabi, Mahbubeh Soleimanpur Omran STRATEGIC THINKING STYLE AND READINESS-FOR-CHANGE effective on its performance and by analyzing them; they can appreciate the environment properly in order to identify the opportunities and make correct decisions. Keywords: strategic thinking, readiness-for-change, change 1. Introduction Strategic thinking has been under focus in strategic thinking management in the past decade and many researchers have emphasized the significance of managers getting equipped with strategic thinking. Strategic thinking is a cognitive process relying on strategic measures and decisions, and by applying a quality comparison, new creative ideas can be developed. Managers improperly understanding the concept and nature of strategic thinking prevents them from achieving the strategic thinking achievements and targets (Stacey, 2005: 12). To incorporate the complex and various prospective changes, organizational managers should, in addition to their enjoying strategic thinking, develop some would-be required capacities for on-time changes in their organizations so that they can keep their agility in critical and very complex situations. To evaluate the strategic thinking level in an organization, strategic thinking factors must be first identified and then studied and measured (Judge, 2011). Among all the strategic thinking models, Jin Lidtka s 5 Factor Strategic Thinking Model has been widely accepted and used. Compared with other models, Lidtka s 5 Factor Strategic Thinking Model is more compatible with the Iranian current situation for the evaluation of strategic thinking. Therefore, the researcher selected Jin Lidtka s Model to evaluate the strategic thinking model in the present study. Strategic thinking means organizing the disorders and chaotic situations, and with strategic thinking managers can now establish discipline, order and unity in his mind and integrate his thinking processes. Successful leaders act in such a way that they are stepping in future, so strategic thinking has clarified the creativity opportunities for them and they can affect and build up the future (Nekoeezadeh at al., 2014). In the past 25 years, studies have shown that if strategic thinking, as an important factor, is lagging behind and is sluggish among the high level managers it will negatively affect the organizational performance. For a manager, it is crucial that he know and deeply understand the ruling atmosphere in business. His understanding of the atmosphere does not end up with the identification of the factors in the environment; rather, his perceptual and intuitional discovery of unknown angles of the situation and creation of ideas play a great role as well. Strategic thinking is an approach that leads to the formation and development of this intuition and can help managers decipher the business atmosphere and create new values. For a manager who European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 11│ 2017 785 Somayeh Nikyar, Roya Afrasiabi, Mahbubeh Soleimanpur Omran STRATEGIC THINKING STYLE AND READINESS-FOR-CHANGE wishes to change his environment and future, mastering strategic thinking proves vital. Strategic thinking, at two levels of individualistic and organizational levels, with the special comprehensiveness and prediction it creates, can, on the one hand, help staff better understand their organization and environment and create numerous creativities and, on the other hand, help develop the grounds for better interactions and relationships among managers and staff. Strategic thinking can also help better use their [staff s] genius and creativity in the organization. Strategic thinking is a way through which people in an organization reflect, evaluate, view the world, and build up the future for themselves and others. There are five fundamental commands for the development of strategic thinking in managers: 1) before getting information, try to discover the needs for getting responses from the environment; 2) before responding the discovered needs, try to discover the unfulfilled needs; 3) before attending the secondary goals, try to focus on the final ones; 4) before developing potentials for production, think about the potentials for competitiveness; and 5) in moving towards the target, before thinking about speed, think about the shortcuts. (Kiani and Ghafarian, 2005). Change is a reality which individuals, groups, and organizations should attend and prioritize in their measures to help survive. Sometimes the process of change in organizations is resisted by others where these resistances are at times not destructive but very constructive and bring about desirable results because they help reinforce positive interactionist conflict and positive dialogs and can promote the change choices which result from the interactions. However, if resistance is illogical and excessive, it can potentially harm the future of the organization- which must be prevented (Moqimi and Ramazan, 2010). Rabinz (2007) maintains that changing individuals should begin with changing their attitude and thought about themselves and their life after which the change can manifest itself in the behavior and performance of the organization. In changing the individuals, managers try to commit changes based on their skills, attitudes, thoughts, and their expectations (Erabi, 2006). Managers with strategic thinking power today are one of the fundamental necessities of organizations which try to survive in this competitive world. This need leads us to a path where we should ask ourselves how we can educate managers who enjoy divergent and open minds with strategic thinking and how we place them in top positions to direct the organizations in a correct route to success. On the one hand, today most of the organizations are subject to changes and any change needs staff and managers who are adaptable and compatible with the changes. Here, social interaction can effectively and properly play a role for most of the managers and leaders as a key element in management and organizational changes (Nekoeezadeh et al., 2014). Generally, strategic thinking is a divergent, dynamic and pragmatic thought that develops with a continuous interaction with the European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 11│ 2017 786 Somayeh Nikyar, Roya Afrasiabi, Mahbubeh Soleimanpur Omran STRATEGIC THINKING STYLE AND READINESS-FOR-CHANGE environment, its analysis and creativity, and in fact it is a continual process whose goal is to identify a complex environment and deconstruct its complexity. If a manager or leader wishes to effectively have a role, he must establish strategic thinking in himself. In strategic thinking, multifaceted issues are simplified without being considered simple, and their secrets for success lie in prospective hopes, positive thinking, optimism and continual attempts (Bagherloo et al., 2014). If environmental constructs were thoroughly sustainable and constant, if staff s skills and abilities were always updated and never voided, and if tomorrow were always the same as today, organizational change would not be needed and would have no significance to the managers; however, the real world is always subject to change and variation and it requires that an organization always keep its staff changing and adapted (Rabinz, 2007). The main purpose of the present study was to identify some of the issues related to the concept of strategic thinking and its relationship with the organizational staff s readiness-for-change which could help the leaders change their environment and build up their organization s future. Further, this study was to find out if there was any relationship between managers strategic thinking and staff s readiness-for-change. 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