Introduction
Policymaking is seen as an old task but new expertise and profession of management. The main focus of the policy is to examine the interaction of government with society in the process of identifying and understanding the problem, designing, shaping, implementing, evaluating, reforming and changing the policy. Generally speaking, general policy is a decision that is made against a public problem. Although it should be borne in mind that policy is not just a decision, it is a process that includes all the actions that starts from the time of feeling a problem and that results in the evaluation of the results of the policy implementation. General policymaking is often seen as a cycle in which problems are first considered as an issue, various stages of action are reviewed, policies are determined, implemented and evaluated by staff, changed and ultimately end based on their success or failure.
Obviously this simplifies a complex process. Policymaking is a process that is not easy due to the breadth of its scope, especially at the national level. Iran is a developing country with a variety of problems and general issues that have made general policymaking and its implementation constantly suffer from some insufficiencies, trying to lay down new policies means waste of material and human resources, as developments, in circumstances where the accelerating changes brought about by environmental changes and internal dynamics make new problems every day, how can we make policy with predetermined and more or less fatal past miseries? In many cases, managers also need to make decisions outside their predefined frameworks and strategies.
Iran is a developing country with a variety of problems and general issues that have made general policymaking and its implementation constantly suffer from some insufficiencies, trying to lay down new policies means waste of material and human resources, as developments, in circumstances where the accelerating changes brought about by environmental changes and internal dynamics make new problems every day, how can we make policy with predetermined and more or less fatal past miseries? In many cases, managers also need to make decisions outside their predefined frameworks and strategies. Improvised decisions of managers can save the organization from the crisis when there is no time for planning and waiting for achieving more resources is not reasonable.
As a result, managers need to make decisions with a jihadi moral, as well as accepting risks and uncertainty. Indeed, one of the areas the efficiency of which has been revealed to policy makers and administrators of the country over time is the roles and duties of management. Whenever the government bureaucracy has decent managers and precise brokers, the policies are properly implemented and monitored, and when the implementation of policies face a problem, managers need to make a decision in the shortest time with a jihadi approach and avoid cunctation and lack of decision-making and make the appropriate decision. Considering Iranian Islamic civilization and the supreme leader's emphasis, jihadi management will be a solution to this problem. A management that makes a decision, by accepting risks and having untiring jihadi moral, and avoids wasting resources and especially time according to changes. Consequently, considering the role and importance of management in the policy process as well as the indigenous concept of jihadi management, in this research, it has been attempted to investigate the relationship between jihadi management and general policies.
Each country needs its own management, depending on the infrastructure, contextual factors and specific economic, cultural, social, technological conditions, human resources, natural resources, geographical location, and so on. In this regard, Jihadi management is a type of native Iranian Islamic management which, with specific functional components, seeks to achieve individual and organizational goals that this new style can solve many of the country's current management challenges (Yousefi & Akbari, 2016). Jihadi management can be considered one of the new concepts in management science that is appropriate to the social, cultural, economic, political and security conditions of Iran. In fact, jihadi management is a companion of the Islamic Revolution and at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, especially in the years of Iran-Iraq War, the moral and contentment of the youth of the Islamic Revolution and those who had could not tolerate the negligence for a long time provided the ground for organizing enthusiasm of the youth and the revolutionaries to serve the disadvantaged of the society which was a natural want deserving of the message and intent of the Islamic Revolution and its great leader.
Jihadi management is a tireless work relying on spiritual beliefs and values. In this method of management, regardless of excessive formalities, managers strive to quickly align potential capabilities and power of themselves and the people under their supervision with the achievement of defined goals so that they utilize the maximum potential and creativity of the individuals to achieve a comprehensive development (Mozaffari & Mohammadi, 2016). Jihadi management is in fact a style derived from indigenous thinking and appropriate to Iranian cultural and social needs. Characteristics of this management are serving with divine intention, tirelessness, endurance at work, flexibility, speed of action, innovation and creativity, leader training, courage, responsibility with sincerity and humility (Escalera Chávez, Moreno García & Rojas Kramer, 2019).
The mission of Jihadi management is to change the foundations of Western management and replace it with Islamic principles. Jihadi management is a modern re-reading of Islamic management and, in fact, its evolved model. If you want to examine the effectiveness of existing government institutions and organizations, undoubtedly, jihad is one of the organs that has the highest levels of achievement and effectiveness with regard to beneficiaries. This is of paramount importance in Islamic Iran, which seeks to provide a successful model of its political system and indigenous management style appropriate to its culture and management contexts. As we review the history of governance in Islamic Iran, we come across difficult issues and periods that the Islamic system has passed through powerfully, using its own management approach, and has shown its effectiveness that we have witnessed its reflection during Iran-Iraq War. A model that is nowadays referred to as jihadi management; a model that, according to the supreme leader, can be considered a key strategy in the process of training political leaders and making them efficient; therefore, the research seeks to answer the basic question that what are the characteristics of the model based on explaining the relationships between jihadi management and general policies? And how valid is this model?
Management is the science and art of coordinating, leading, and controlling collective activities in order to achieve the desired goal with maximum efficiency (Qaraei Moghadam, 2006). Different schools, based on their fundamental beliefs and how they perceive themselves as human beings, have presented different models of management (Sajedinia, 2012). Some, based on the "economic human economic model", see the human as merely a machine that can only be motivated by material issues (Jasbi, 2011). From their point of view, the continuation of life for earning more money and more welfare is the most important value. In some other schools, there is an extreme focus on human relationships.
In the human-making school of Islam, the ultimate goal of management is growth and perfection of human to the extent that it is possible to reveal the essence of humanity in society by meeting material and spiritual needs, and to bring the persons under management at all levels to divine adjacency. Islamic management is therefore a particular style of leadership based on the intellectual and ideological foundations of Islam (Mohammadi Rayshahri, 1990). that is based on the monotheistic worldview and in accordance with divine principles, goals and values in Islamic society. From the Islamic point of view, as management is divine trust and is followed by a heavy responsibility, it can provide the grounds for human to reach felicity in the hereafter. To assess jihadi management, this study used two dimensions of belief (belief attitude, belief behavior, belief roles and belief duties) and functional (functional attitude, functional behavior, functional roles, and functional duties). In this research, the dimensions of: registration of identity-life events (individual, social) and general population policies were used to measure general policies.
Management is the science and art of coordinating, leading, and controlling collective activities in order to achieve the desired goal with maximum efficiency (Qaraei Moghadam, 2006). Different schools, based on their fundamental beliefs and how they perceive themselves as human beings, have presented different models of management (Sajedinia, 2012). Some, based on the "economic human economic model", see the human as merely a machine that can only be motivated by material issues (Jasbi, 2011). From their point of view, the continuation of life for earning more money and more welfare is the most important value. In some other schools, there is an extreme focus on human relationships (Roshani, 2006). In the human-making school of Islam, the ultimate goal of management is growth and perfection of human to the extent that it is possible to reveal the essence of humanity in society by meeting material and spiritual needs, and to bring the persons under management at all levels to divine adjacency.
Islamic management is therefore a particular style of leadership based on the intellectual and ideological foundations of Islam (Mohammadi Rayshahri, 1990). that is based on the monotheistic worldview and in accordance with divine principles, goals and values in Islamic society. From the Islamic point of view, as management is divine trust and is followed by a heavy responsibility, it can provide the grounds for human to reach felicity in the hereafter. Callista (1994), also considers management as one of the most important factors in the formulation of appropriate policies and the proper implementation of those policies. Pressman & Wildowski (1973), also consider leadership as one of the factors affecting policymaking. Alvani & Sharifzadeh (2011), also consider management and organization issues as factors affecting policymaking and its implementation.
Wherever there is a jihadi movement and spirit, human is dissolved in faith and ideal and service to others and forgets himself. In the belief dimension, human dignity is considered, and the animal and vegetative powers actually underpin human growth and spiritual perfection and are the means to attain high degrees of eternal bliss. Therefore, in determining the goals and policies of the organization, originality should be given to spiritual values, which means that being an Islamic organization requires that its spiritual goals and belief norms be respected, and that not only providing material benefits not trample human interests, but also, as far as possible, material interests be placed in human interests and as an introduction to the development and deepening of divine insights and the promotion of Islamic doctrines.
In fact, it is the self-jihad that has also affected management and the science of management. What is at stake in Islamic management is the dominance of Islamic values and divine standards over management alongside the use of scientific and managerial frameworks and structures, that is, if the science of management benefits from Islamic laws, guidelines, and values for its data, it will achieve its true success. In fact, it seems that Islamic management based on divine values of Islam provides the grounds for human sublimation. The ultimate goal in Islamic management is to lay the groundwork for the "nearness to Allah". An Islamic manager works both for God and guides the people towards Him. In Islamic management, the spiritual, material, political, social and economic development of society is considered for the satisfaction of God.
The basis of management in the jihadi system was founded in the leadership and guidance of human beings towards their own duties and towards constructiveness. Managers in jihad had the task of guiding, directing and the role of leading motivation toward work and effort (Kianizadeh & Golshani, 2016). Belief attitude is the unified, integrated monotheistic belief that sees God as the center of affairs and regulates human values, morals, customs and behaviors with one another, nature and self.
Behavioral dimension means that human beings in human relationships within the organization that form (informal) communication and interconnected patterns and the main content of the organization with specific forms of behavior that are in fact living factors of the organization. They are structural and behavioral "intra-organizational" factors. The components of voluntary, transformational, dynamic and flexible management in missions and the factor of self-esteem and the components of attention to human resources as important labor resources and the component of hard work, diligence, tirelessness and promptitude are considered in this dimension. Belief behavior is behavior that is not aimed at material or individual interests, whether for the sake of altruism feelings, for the sake of beauty of act, for the sake of beauty of one's own soul, or for the sake of independence of the soul and intellect, etc.
Behavioral models are about what behaviors and actions are good and what behaviors are bad in terms of behavior and decision-making. If we consider social roles the origin of behaviors expected from individuals and consider norms as definitive criteria of behavior, values can be considered as ethical, ideological criteria and musts that are effective in any social group and form the behavior of a group and its members, whatever they do or neglect, with the strength and weakness and create internal unity for the group. Values indicate invincible convictions about actions, states and behaviors that are considered to be superior and prior personally and socially to opposite actions, states and behaviors.
People judge goals and extremities based on their own values regarding the correctness and favorability of objects, actions, states and behaviors. Social values are referred to general models of behavior, collective laws and behavioral norms accepted by the public and wanted by the society. According to Islamic philosophers, values are a series of general, fixed and absolute principles that do not change but their instances are changeable. Accordingly, the general criterion of ethical value is general interest of person and society and true interest of human, that is, whatever that leads to true perfection of human, not something that is favorable and pleasant to individuals. In Islamic system, the goal is to obtain God's satisfaction.
It is an inner state that one becomes committed to by their actions and get persuaded to continue their activities through these actions (Vahdati, 2011). Jihadi managers trust their employees' abilities and skills and are humble and modest to them. In our organization, thank God, the colleagues have a high level of human skill in the organization and decisions are made on the basis of the individuals' expertise and more at executive levels. One of the most important features of this organization is the centrality of Islam and religious commitment of the colleagues. Our colleagues regulate all their actions and behaviors with divine standards and their ethical and value orders. Since managers in each organization are role models for the whole organization, colleagues in this organization reconcile their actions with the religions and ethics and in such conditions, the need to control and monitor directly by manager is reduced.
It is referred to a mental or nervous state showing desire through organized experience and has an oriented or dynamic effect on one's responses to all issues and situations (Saeedi, 2012). Mature and desirable citeria and models governing human behavior that provide grounds for cooperation, peace and continuity of collective life (Khosravi, 2014). Human and human relationships should be considered in jihadi management that form the main content of jihad and are interconnected to (informal) communications and specific patterns with behavioral norms that are in fact living factors of the organization. The factor of voluntary, transformational, dynamic and flexible management in missions and the factor of self-esteem and attention to human resources as important labor resources and the component of hard working, diligent, tirelessness and promptitude are considered in this dimension. A norm that gives a spiritual and positive value to doing a good work in society and believes that work inherently is an intrinsic value (Moeidfar, 2011). Doing full components of a work which increases the feeling of evolution and responsibility to a work.
Methodology
This research is descriptive correlational in terms of method and developmental-applied in terms of purpose, which collected data through field method. The statistical population of the research is formed by knowledgeable experts in the model developing process. Experts of this research were professors and specialists in the field of management and policymaking who participated in developing the model and 30 of them were selected as sample. The second population includes 148 managers, deputies and managers and heads of administrations of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. All the individuals in the statistical population were selected as sample due to the limited statistical population.
The main data collection tool in this study was questionnaire and 5 questionnaires were used to collect the required data. First, a special type of questionnaire (open and close), including general (demographic) and specialized questions, was designed and implemented in order to poll the experts with the aim of identifying jihadi management and its components and also components of general policymaking in the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. A questionnaire including 58 questions which measures two dimensions of belief (belief attitude, belief behavior, belief roles and belief duties) and functional (functional attitude, functional behavior, functional roles and functional duties) was used to measure jihadi management. The dimensions of registration of identity-life events (individual, social) and general population policies were used to measure general policies. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 23 and Smart PLS version 2.2 to evaluate the hypotheses. The significance level was considered to be 0.05 in the research. Statistical methods such as confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and one-sample t-test were used to evaluate the research questions.
Results and discussion
What are the characteristics of the jihadi management model in the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration? The Delphi technique and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the characteristics of the jihadi management model in the Iranian Organization. The final results confirm that general policies are made of two dimensions of belief and functional. It is also made of eight components of belief attitude, belief behavior, belief roles and belief duties, functional attitude, functional behavior, functional roles and functional duties (Table 1, Fig.1).
Dimension | Component | Mean | Standard deviation | t statistic | p-value | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belief | Belief attitude | 4.33 | 0.73 | 10.78 | 0.001 | Confirmed |
Belief behavior | 3.96 | 0.62 | 8.61 | 0.001 | Confirmed | |
Belief roles | 4.30 | 0.59 | 11.95 | 0.001 | Confirmed | |
Belief duties | 4.20 | 0.66 | 9.89 | 0.001 | Confirmed | |
Functional | Functional attitude | 4.47 | 0.51 | 15.83 | 0.001 | Confirmed |
Functional behavior | 4.23 | 0.63 | 10.79 | 0.001 | Confirmed | |
Functional roles | 4.03 | 0.72 | 7.88 | 0.001 | Confirmed | |
Functional duties | 4.23 | 0.68 | 9.95 | 0.001 | Confirmed |
What are the characteristics of the general policies model in the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration? The Delphi technique and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the characteristics of the general policies model in the Iranian Organization. The final results confirm that general policies are made of three components of individual, social and general population policies (Table 2, Fig.2).
Dimension | Component | Mean | Standard deviation | t statistic | p-value | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registration of life-identity events | Individual | 4.30 | 0.79 | 8.96 | 0.001 | Confirmed |
Social | 3.97 | 1.42 | 3.73 | 0.021 | Confirmed | |
General population policies | 4.17 | 0.70 | 9.14 | 0.001 | Confirmed |
What are the characteristics of the model explaining the relationships between jihadi management and general policies? And how valid is the model? The structural equations modeling test was used to evaluate the characteristics of the model of jihadi management and general policies in the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. The results indicate an increasing relationship between jihadi management, the belief dimension and the functional dimension and general policies. The path coefficients indicate that the relationship between the belief dimension and general policies is more than the relationship between the functional dimension and general policies. Also, according to the coefficient of determination (R2), jihadi management, the belief dimension and the functional dimension explain variations of general policies by 27%, 26% and 24%, respectively (Table 3, Fig.3 ).
Question | Path coefficient | t statistic | Type of relationship | Goodness of fit index | Type of fit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jihadi management → general policies | 0.520 | 9.579** | Increasing | 0.625 | Very strong |
Belief dimension → general policies | 0.511 | 10.322** | Increasing | 0.594 | Very strong |
Functional dimension → general policies | 0.487 | 9.445** | Increasing | 0.653 | Very strong |
** significant at the level of 0.05, * significant at the level of 0.1
Evaluating the research hypotheses indicated that there is a direct and increasing relationship between jihadi management and general policies in the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. If jihadi management govern the organization and managers formulate policies with belief in Islamic and ethical values and criteria and seek to formulate policies with jihadi moral and paying attention to ethics, they will formulate policies that they will achieve criteria and values higher than what is predictable and will achieve double results.
2. The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between belief dimension of jihadi management and general policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. Wherever there is a jihadi movement and spirit, human is dissolved in faith and ideal and service to others and forgets himself. In the belief dimension, human dignity is considered, and the animal and vegetative powers actually underpin human growth and spiritual perfection and are the means to attain high degrees of eternal bliss. Therefore, in determining the goals and policies of the organization, originality should be given to spiritual values, which means that being an Islamic organization requires that its spiritual goals and belief norms be respected, and that not only providing material benefits not trample human interests, but also, as far as possible, material interests be placed in human interests and as an introduction to the development and deepening of divine insights and the promotion of Islamic doctrines. In fact, it is the self-jihad that has also affected management and the science of management. If jihadi managers do their tasks based on their beliefs and accept their belief roles and have belief attitude and behavior and have a belief view to doing works related to management and leadership of the organization, these beliefs will definitely affect the way they make decisions and policies and the policies will be formulated under the effect of these conditions.
3. The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between components of belief attitude and general policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. If managers believe in God in their beliefs and attitudes and adhere to religious and Islamic and ethical values and enjoy these blessings regarding the direction and management of the organization and projects, the policies they adopt will be affected by their beliefs and attitudes and they will make decisions that are based on the belief and embrace God-orientation and ethics.
4. The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between component of belief behavior and general policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. Belief behavior is affected by the complexity of wide and complicated mental processes and if one's behavior is a response to his external motivation and organism and is done by the human against an external action and is affected by the person's religious Islamic and ethical beliefs, it will affect the person's decisions and the way he make policies and consequently will create the grounds for belief policymaking and belief behavior in the person.
5. The results showed that that there is a positive and significant relationship between component of belief roles and general policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. Belief patterns and belief roles that are expected from managers and they must play these behavioral patterns and roles in work environment and society and playing the roles need one's inner and invincible conviction and if individuals do not follow these behavioral patterns and roles, they will be upbraided. Playing these roles and following these behavioral patterns will make their policymaking be affected by the behaviors and roles and belief dimension have effect on it.
6. The results showed that there is a relationship between component of belief duties and general policies, which is consistent with the results of Vahdati (2011); and Qotbi, et al. (2016). In conditions that jihadi managers do their duties and actions taking into account their inner want and beliefs and seek to do their tasks considering their belief values, in time of decision making and policymaking they will definitely pay attention to their belief duties, values and beliefs and formulate policies considering the duties.
7. The results showed that that there is a positive and significant relationship between functional dimension of jihadi management and general policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. Various production and service organizations need to have an accurate definition of their perspective, mission and goals for success and survival in competitive space. Then to achieve the goals, they need to formulate suitable operational strategies and plans and prioritize and implement them properly. After these states, organizations need to have a right evaluation of their performance to identify gaps and deviations and take reform measures at the right time. Jihadi management can show its efficiency and effectiveness as an Iranian and Islamic management style when it can have a significant effect on improvement of the organization's performance. Jihadi management have characteristics that can play basic role in success of organizations. These characteristics have objectively existed in orders, suggestions, views and methods used by religious leaders. If jihadi managers have belief and value attitude in their performance and do their performance taking into account this attitude and their behaviors and behavioral patterns are regulated based on maximum performance and they do their tasks in a way that being jihadi is clear in them, they will definitely make jihadi decisions in formulating policies and making decisions and they will make decisions that have a return higher than the result of the whole factors.
8. There is a positive and significant relationship between functional attitude and general policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration, which is consistent with the results of Saeedi (2012). In conditions that jihadi managers make efforts to obtain and expand knowledge and be action-oriented and avoid chanting and respect the laws and regulations and understand environmental opportunities and threats and have jihadi movement and endeavor and believe in abilities of the employees, organization and themselves and have an independent and self-reliant attitude, this attitude will affect formulating policies and make decisions by them and they will make a decision that is jihadi and has more benefits for the organization.
9. The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between component of functional behavior and general policies. Khosravi (2014), has confirmed the results of this study. Functional behavior of managers and paying attention to mature and desirable criteria and models governing the behavior of jihadi managers and continuity of these behaviors will definitely affect formulating policies and organizational policymaking and the decisions of organizational managers and their policies will be affected by functional behavior of jihadi managers.
10. The results indicate that there is positive and significant relationship between component of functional roles and general policies, which is consistent with the results of Moeidfar (2011). Jihadi managers will accept those behavioral patterns and roles which are appropriate to Islamic values governing the society and promote spiritual values in the organization and consequently this belief will be created that behavioral patterns and roles are appropriate to Islamic values and norms and therefore, policymaking will be done based on these values and patterns.
11. It was also shown that there is positive and significant relationship between component of functional duties and general policies. Vahdati (2011), has confirmed the results of this hypothesis. If jihadi managers establish their functional duties based on Islamic and jihadi values and principles and do them in a jihadi way, perform their experiences and skills based on jihad principles and use resources and facilities of the organization fully and properly, evaluate the organization's performance continuously and make efforts for achieving organizational goals, perform their organizational tasks, as a result in formulating policies they will make decisions taking into account their functional abilities and performance.
Conclusions
Jihadi work and management means working for the sake of God, without interruption, tirelessly and without obligation and as much as possible. Having these features, this managerial system can be a suitable model in all aspects. Features of jihadi management in belief and functional dimensions got confirmed in this study, which have a significant effect on general policymaking in the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration. General policies of the Iranian Organization for Civil Registration in two dimensions of registration of life-identity events and general population policies got confirmed.