Social dynamics and the strategy process: Bridging or creating a divide between trustees and staff’, Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

This article departs from much of the dedicated voluntary sector literature, which often adopts a rationalist prescriptive approach to organization and management. It argues that studying, governing, and managing voluntary organizations involves philosophy, politics, and ethics. The context of developing strategies for sustainability depends on who says what the job is, how it should be done, and how people are affected by doing it one way rather than another. Drawing on case study data, the author presents a metatheoretical view of human resource–governance dynamics and the strategy development process, considering some of the implications associated with employing unitary and pluralist perspectives in the governance and management of voluntary organizations. Ultimately, the article aims to provide insights into bridging the divide between internal stakeholder groupings in relation to strategic decision making. Keywords critical management studies, culture, strategic decision making, strategy process, trustee–staff dynamics The 1990s saw a shift in thinking in many voluntary organizations, from a need to justify their existence to a concern for effective management practices within a now established sector (Butler & Wilson, 1990). This pressure for management comes not only from the organizations themselves but also from the increasing external pres-sures they face, such as increased competition for funding, dependence on statutor