0007 - TRAINING MODULE ON PROJECTS: STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND IMPLEMENTATION

LEADERSHIP SKILLS MODULE

GENERAL THEME: STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

GUIDELINES:

1.  This module assumes the concept of performance gap which is the difference between the ideal and the actual in organizational performance. The performance gap is the difference between the potential and actual performance of organizations and individuals. Many individuals and communities all over the world are experiencing phenomena of revival and renewal. There is a new reawakening and a determination to make tomorrow better than yesterday. However the zeal, commitment and efforts of the revival have not been perfectly or completely translated into practical results that everyone can see in the society. The practical achievements fall far short of the potential. Success in building and managing institutions, the backbone of real and sustained change, has been limited in several communities and countries. The gap between aspirations and achievements is due to a relative deficiency of practical skills in leadership and management. These skills are not in-born. They can be taught or developed through experience on the job. Individuals and organizations pay a high price in terms of lost opportunities for the continued existence of the performance gap.

2. There is no one fixed system of Islamic leadership or management. As with many similar social phenomena, Islam defines the broad principles and leaves it to the people of each place and era to define the system most suited to their circumstances. The system must therefore change with changes of time and space. There is no utopia. Any human system will have strengths and weaknesses. The aim should be to decrease the weaknesses and increase the strengths. The best system are those based on empirical experience and that are open to changes if empirical evidence shows that they are not working well. The empirical experience must be within the moral context of Islam for it to bear fruits.

3. This module consists of 13 workshops each covering a leadership/management skill or issue. You have to prepare by reading the material before the day of the workshop. Start by studying the outline of the session. Then read the background and text. Scan through the discussion questions. On the appointed day, the workshop facilitator makes a presentation followed by a question and answer session. For discussion, groups of a few persons are formed. The discussion covers the background reading, analysis of the text, and the discussion questions at the end. Relate everything you read or discuss to your practical experience. In some cases the group has to undertake an exercise or a case-study analysis. Each discussion group writes a summary of its discussion to be shared with members of other groups. It is recommended that you supplement the material given by readings in books and other sources on the subject. Write down your all discussions, observations and conclusions

WORKSHOP #1

UNDERSTANDING STRATEGY

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         This session defines and discusses the basic concepts of strategy and planning.

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Definition of strategy

Strategic planning

Strategic thinking

Strategic management

Strategy in seerah and contemporary work

Strategy: change, stability and growth

TEXT ANALYSIS

Allah knows ghaib; humans can not know the future; they only guess

Allah is the best planner

Trust in Allah: Prophet and Abubakr in the cave

Vision of conquest of Makka, Byzantine, Persia, Yaman, Syria, Iraq, and the peninsula

Vision of paradise as success and hell as failure

Niyyat (intention)

Sincerity of action

DISCUSSION

Vision

Forecasting

Scenario Casting

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Definition of strategy: Strategy is a rational approach to management of life's uncertainties. It involves assessment of the internal and external environments, forecasting the future, thinking forwards and reasoning backwards, and preparing for various hypothetical scenarios. Strategic behavior is a vital necessity for living and succeeding in a complex environment in which your decisions and actions have an impact on others and are also influenced by what else is going on around you. Strategic concepts are used in leadership thinking, analysis, planning, management, and negotiations. Organizations that only want to react to events and have no strategies, are waiting for their death. It is a major mistake for leaders to be so absorbed in day-to-day operations that strategic planning is neglected.

Strategic planning: Strategic planning is a very powerful tools for leaders and managers. Strategic planning is establishing strategic objectives and formulating plans to accomplish them.  Strategic plans answer three questions: where are we now? where do we want to be? how do we get there? Strategic planning involves thinking forward and reasoning backwards, preparing for all possibilities. You have to develop contingency strategies to be implemented if a chosen plan does not work as envisioned. Strategic planning has many benefits. You are not completely surprised by events. You are pro-active and not reactive. You will not be easily provoked into wrong responses. You can take pre-emptive moves ahead of the competition. Strategic planning is difficult because it essentially involves achieving and maintaining objectives in a changing and unpredictable environment. It requires considerable intellectual effort and creativity.

Strategic thinking: Strategic thinking are intellectual processes that are a background to strategy formulation, planning, and management. Strategic thinking enables you to see through difficult and complex situations and make the right decisions. A strategic thinker prepares for and exploits unpredictability and surprises. He anticipates, sees through, and prepares for a rival's strategic move. His frame of mind is prepared opportunism being ready to exploit opportunities that arise unexpectedly.

Strategic management: Strategic plans call for strategic management. Strategic management is managing pursuit of organizational mission while managing relation of the organization to the environment. It is characterized by always being ready to deal with sudden changes in the environment. Strategic management in a highly uncertain rapidly changing environment can be likened to shooting at a moving target when riding on a galloping horse.

Strategy in seerah and contemporary work: Careful study of the seerah reveals effective strategic thinking and planning at all stages of the forward march of the Islamic mission. Although the environment and technology have changed, human nature has remained basically the same. Thus many human behaviors today whether strategic or not have their parallels in the seerah. You can learn from the lessons of the past and build on them to develop your strategic skills for the modern era. Some of the major crises that contemporary organizations and movements went through could have been prevented if the leadership employed strategic thinking and planning skills. There is a need to develop strategic planning and management skills among the leaders and managers of today to be able to face the multi-faceted challenges of today. In many cases they are dealing with or opposing organizations that operate strategically and they have no chance if they do not have comparable or better skills.

Strategy: change, stability and growth: Strategic plans must be flexible enough to be able to adapt to rapid environmental changes. The organization must have an in-built capacity for change if it is to succeed. Strategy formulation requires a determination of whether the organization wants growth or stability. The plans are different for each scenario. Strategies that emphasize stability are less innovative and are based on premises and facts that are not likely to vary a lot. Strategies of growth anticipate a lot of change and with it the uncertainty and risks that are inevitable. Risk management is a very important aspect of such strategies

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Allah knows ghaib; humans can not know the future; they only guess: “Say: None in the heavens or on earth, except Allah, knows what is hidden Nor can they perceive when they shall be raised up ( for Judgement ).Qur'an 27: 65 …. "Narrated Ibn Umar: Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said, " Keys of the unseen ( knowledge ) are five which nobody knows but Allah: nobody knows what will happen tomorrow; nobody knows what is in the womb; nobody knows what he will gain tomorrow; nobody knows at what place he will die; and nobody knows when it will rain" Bukhari 2:82

Allah is the best planner: And (the unbelievers) plotted and planned and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah. Qur'an 3:54  …. “Remember how the unbelievers plotted against you, to keep you in bonds or slay you, or get you out (of your home) they plot and plan and Allah too plan but the best of planners is Allah. Qur'an 8:30

Trust in Allah: Prophet and Abubakr in the cave: ‘If you help not ( your Leader ) (It is no matter ): for Allah did indeed help him, when the Unbelievers drove him out: he had no more than one companion: The two were in the cave, and he said to his companion, "Have no fear for Allah is with us" then Allah sent down His peace upon him, and strengthened him with forces which you saw not, and humbled to the depths the word of the Unbelievers. But the word of Allah is Exalted to the heights: for Allah is Exalted in might, Wise.  Qur'an 9:40 …"Narrated Abubakr: I was in the company of the Prophet (may peace be upon him) in the cave, and on seeing the traces of the pagans, I said, " O Allah's Apostle! If one of them (pagans) should lift up his foot, he will see us." He said, " What do you think of two, the third of whom is Allah". Bukhari 6:148, Hadith #185

Vision of conquest of Makka, Byzantine, Persia, Yaman, Syria, Iraq, and the peninsula: Truly did Allah fulfill the vision for His Messenger: You shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, with minds secure, heads shaved, hair cut short, and without fear. For He knew what you knew not, and He granted, besides this, a speedy victory. Qur'an 48:27 …. "Narrated Jabir bin Samura: The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) said, " If Caesar is ruined, there will be no Caesar after him; and if Khosrau is ruined, there will be no Khosrau after him; and, by Him in whose hand my soul is, surely you will spend their treasures in Allah's cause" Bukhari 8:408, Hadith #625…"Narrated Sufyan bin Abu Zuhair: I heard Allah's Messenger ( may peace be upon him ) saying " Yemen will be conquered and some people will migrate  (from Medina) and will urge their families, and those who will obey them to migrate (to Yemen) although Medina will be better for them; If they but knew. Shaam will also be conquered and some people will migrate (from Medina) and will urge their families and those who will obey them, to migrate (to Sham) although Medina will be better for them, if they but knew. Iraq will be conquered and some people will migrate (from Medina ) and will urge their families and those who will obey them to migrate (to Iraq) although Medina will be better for them, if they but knew". Bukhari 3:56-57, Hadith # 99 … "Narrated Khabab bin Al Art: We complained to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) about our state while he was leaning against his sheet cloak in the shade of the Kaba. We said, " Will you ask Allah to help us? Will you invoke Allah for us?" He said, "Among those who were before you a (believer) used to be seized and, a pit used to be dug for him and then he used to be placed in it. Then a saw used to be brought and put on his head which would be split into two halves. His flesh might be combed with iron combs and removed from his bones, yet, all that did not cause him to revert from his religion by Allah! This religion (Islam) will be completed (and triumph) till a rider (traveler) goes from Sana ( the capital of Yemen ) to Hadramout fearing nobody except Allah and the wolf lest it should trouble his sheep, but you are impatient" Bukhari 9: 62, Hadith #76

Vision of paradise as success and hell as failure: "Narrated Abu Huraira: the Prophet (may peace be upon him) said, " Allah said, " I have prepared for My righteous slaves (such excellent things) as no eye has ever seen, nor an ear has ever heard nor a human heart can ever think of". Bukhari 9:435-436, hadith # 589 …."Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) led us in prayer and then went up to the pulpit and beckoned with both hands towards the qibla of the mosque and then said, " When I started leading you in prayer, I saw the display of Paradise and Hell on the wall of the mosque (facing the Qibla) I never saw good and bad as I have seen today." He repeated the last statement thrice". Bukhari 1: 400, hadith # 716

Niyyat (intention): "Umar b Al Khattab reported the Apostle of Allah ( may peace be upon him ) as saying: Actions are to be judged only by intentions, and a man will have only what he intended. When one's emigration is to Allah and His Apostle, his emigration is to Allah and His Apostle; but when his emigration is to a worldly end at which he aims or to a woman whom he marries, his emigration is to that for which he emigrated". Abu Daud 2:593-594, Chapter 727, Hadith # 2195 … "On the pulpit Umar bin Al-Khattab said: I heard Allah's Apostle ( may peace be upon him ) saying, " The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for" Bukhari 1:1, chapter 1, hadith #1

               

Sincerity of action: "It has been narrated on the authority of Sulaiman b. Yasar who said: People dispersed from around Abu Huraira, and Natil, who was from the Syrians, said to him: O Shaikh, relate (to us) a tradition you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). He said: Yes. I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: The first of men (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought (before the Judgment Seat). Allah will make him recount His blessings (i.e. the blessings which He had bestowed upon him) and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his life). Then will Allah say: What did you do (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I fought for you until I died as a martyr. Allah will say: Your have told a lie. You fought that you might be called a " Brave warrior ". And you were called so. (Then) orders will be passed against him and he will be dragged with his face downward and cast into hell. Then will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur'an. He will be brought and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Then will Allah ask: What did you do (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur'an seeking you pleasure. Allah will say: You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called " a scholar " and you recited the Qur'an so that it might be said: " He is a qari and such has been said. Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire. Then will be brought a man whom Allah had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them and (admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Allah will then ask: What have you done (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I spent money in every cause in which you wished that it should be spent. Allah will say: You are lying. You did (so) that it might be said about (you): " He is a generous fellow" and so it was said. Then will Allah pass orders and he will be dragged with his face downward and thrown into hell". Muslim 3: 1055, Chapter 746, Hadith # 4688

DISCUSSION:

VISION

Think of your particular organization or any other organization that you know well and answer the questions. Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it. Answer the following questions regarding your organization’s education programs.

(a) What is the organization's long-term vision?

(b) How was the vision formulated?

(c) How far has the vision been translated into mission, goals, and objectives

FORECASTING

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions. Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it. Answer the following questions about forecasting future trends in the education field.

(a) What is the present status?

(b) What are the expected trends in the next 5 years?

(c) What factors will affect these trends? Explain how each factor will impact the trends?

SCENARIO CASTING

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions. Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it. Answer the following questions about future educational scenarios.

          (a) Work out a possible scenarios for your organization’s educational efforts in 5 year's time if the external environment is supportive assuming that other factors are constant

(b) Work out a possible scenario for your organization’s educational efforts in 5 year's time if the external environment is neutral assuming other factors are constant

(c) Work out a possible scenario for your organization’s educational efforts in 5 year's time if the external environment is hostile assuming other factors to be constant.

YOUR NOTES:

WORKSHOP #2

UNDERSTANDING PLANNING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Description and classification of plans

·         Conceptual issues in planning

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Action planning or tactical planning

Relation between planning and control

Characteristics of effective plans

Classification of plans according to different criteria

Limitation of planning due to uncontrollable factors

Failure to plan

Objections to planning

Resistance to change

Bad reputation of centralized planning

Fear of commitment

Reliance on previous experience

Complexity of planning

Elements of strategy and planning

Forecasting & scenarios

Planning and trust in Allah

Over-planning

TEXT ANALYSIS

Resources: provisions for hijra

DISCUSSION

Organizational planning

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Action planning or tactical planning: Action planning is laying down the detailed tactical or operational plans. Action planning is problem-solving for the future. Plans made today have an impact on the future. Action planning is charting how to get from a point in time today to a point in the future. Action planning is important because it is a basis for other management functions. Leading, controlling, and organizing are directly determined by the plan. Action planning is preparation for and commitment to the future. It fosters pro-active decision-making and problem-solving while eliminating impulsive urges. A plan facilitates communication within and outside the organization. A plan helps the integration and coordination of organizational activities. An action plan defines what an organization is because it details what it wants to achieve; you are what you do. Organizations with plans are trusted; they know what they want to do and where to go.

Relation between planning and control: Planning and control processes are closely linked and mutually influence one another. Control ensures that the plan is implemented well. The plan defines criteria for control. Control identifies deviations necessitating plan modification.

Characteristics of effective plans: Effective plans have 4 characteristics: specific, action-oriented, flexible, and consistent with organizational long-term goals and objectives. A plan must be specific and cover only a clearly demarcated and well-defined scope of work. The more specific the plan is the more effective it will be. General and vague plans can not be implemented easily and it is difficult to evaluate their impact at the end.  A plan must be an action-oriented and not a theoretical document. It must specify what actions need to be taken to achieve the desired objectives. A plan must be flexible so that there is room for creativity during the implementation. This is necessary to be able to deal with sudden or unexpected changes. A very rigid plan fails in implementation as soon as an obstacle is encountered. A plan can not be free-standing; it must be consistent with established organizational objectives. If the plan deviates from those objectives or even contradicts them it has little chance of success. If implemented without first formally changing the organizational objectives, the organization will lose its credibility among the general public.

Classification of plans according to different criteria: The following shows classification of plans according to different criteria: (a) Objective: strategic, tactical/operational (b) Duration: short, medium, long-term (c) Specificity: general, specific (d) Complexity: complex, simple (e) Methodology: top to bottom, bottom to top (f) Scope: comprehensive, narrow (g) Importance: major, minor  (h) Scale of measure: qualitative, quantitative  (I) Security class: confidential, public (j) Formality: formal, informal (k) Implementability: easy, difficult  (l) Flexibility: flexible, inflexible (m) Creativity: rational, intuitive, creative (n) Cost: expensive, cheap

Limitation of planning due to uncontrollable factors: While emphasizing the importance of plans and planning, you should be aware of the limitations. Whole countries, organizations and even individuals have collapsed because they planned and implemented plans without being aware of the limitations. There are many factors in the environment  that are beyond your control let alone your knowledge. Only Allah knows and controls everything. You must therefore take this into consideration by distinguishing environmental factors over which you have control and those over which you have little control. You can plan exactly for what you have control over. A lot of flexibility should be built into the plan when dealing with what you have no control over. 

Failure to plan: Failure to plan is common in organizations. It is quite surprising that a high proportion of organizations do not have formal plans for guiding their activities. Most things are decided on an ad hoc basis. All new issues are discussed from first principles in order to reach a decision there being no plan to act as a reference. It is therefore not surprising that many contradictions and wrong decisions are made. Many leaders and organizations are so eager to act that they proceed without first planning. They sometimes feel planning wastes time and delays action. They think of planning after making mistakes and meeting frustrations. Sometimes program failure is difficult to identify because there is no bench-mark plan against which to compare. Many organizations believe they have plans when they do not. They follow the leader's whims presented in the guise of secretly-concocted plans. Apparent contradictions are not explained on.  The excuse that information is secret is sometimes used to hide failures. Some organizational plans have no direct relevance to the methodology of work or the types of activity the organization should be engaged in. Failure to plan, whatever its reasons, will hurt the organization in several ways.

Objections to planning: Philosophical objections to planning the future prevent some people from planning. They misunderstand the concepts of QADAR and ILM AL GHAIB. They reason that since only Allah knows the future and since everything is in His hands, it is preposterous for the human being to plan the future. The truth of the matter is that planning does not contradict QADAR or assumes knowledge of the unseen. It is just a human effort to organize human affairs in a better way. Like all human efforts it has its limitations and could be mistaken. Planning is therefore accepted as long as the planner is aware of the limitations and after making his plans places trust in Allah the almighty.

Resistance to change: Resistance to change in large well established organizations and bureaucracies is the underlying reason to oppose planning. People want to continue business as usual. Planning is objected to because it may be a catalyst for asking fundamental questions about the operation of the organization and thus lead to changes.

Bad reputation of centralized planning: Failure to see planning as rational and creative is a reason for many people avoiding planning. This is because of the bad reputation that centralized government planning has acquired in the past. Incompetent bureaucratic planners who have no touch with reality, possess no understanding of the real problems, and who had no visions to guide them have produced monstrous plans that caused havoc and waste.

Fear of commitment: Fear of commitment to plans once made is a major reason for leaders to refuse to plan. Once a plan is made and is known, there is benchmark against which their performance will be measured within a given time frame. Accepting a plan implies being committed to a certain course of action. They want to retain their freedom to do what they want, when and how they wish. Unclear goals and objectives make it virtually impossible to produce any plans. A plan is in essence a restatement of goals and objectives and practical measures for achieving them.

Reliance on previous experience: Excessive reliance on experience and failure to appreciate the need for fresh approaches and outlooks makes many long-standing leaders reject planning. Previous experience is good and should be used but there is a need for analysis of the situation and planning for the future. The future can not be the same as the past. It is a mistake to use yesterday’s solution for tomorrow without any modifications. 

Complexity of planning: Fear of planning as a difficult and complex process better left to experts results in organizations not planning if they do not have experts in planning. Planning is a difficult intellectual exercise that many people are reluctant to undertake. The basics of planning are easy to grasp and a non-expert can make a fairly good plan. Ignorance of the methodology of planning rather than making organizations seek to acquire the necessary technics and skills, sometimes makes them recoil away from the process. Planning takes time, effort and money. Sometimes a small project or organization may feel that they can not afford the expense of planning and that it is easier for them to proceed with action. You should always think also in terms of the cost of not planning. Misplaced priorities, failed projects, costly mistakes, and repetition of the work are costly and may be more expensive than the cost of planning. Individual resistance to planning may turn into systematic organizational resistance. There are individuals or groups of individuals within the organization who will resist the plan. This may be on valid and rational considerations or it may be just the disinclination to accept the  systematic work that planning institutes, reluctance to change old and tried ways of working, or personal animosity to those formulating and executing the plans.

Elements of strategy and planning: The following are the main elements in strategy and planning that are discussed in subsequent sections of this chapter: Vision, Mission, Goals, Objectives, Intentions (niyyat), Sincerity. Vision is a broad general direction. Vision is very important. There can be no strategy in absence of a guiding vision. Human experience down the ages shows that there is always a direct association between what you envision and what you achieve. Vision is non-specific. It is at the conceptual and emotional levels. It defines the general direction for the organization. Vision is the visualization of what you want the organization to be at some point in the future. The more graphic the description, the more effective. Mission is line of work and how to proceed with it. Goals are a broad definition of the mission. Objectives are exact specific definitions of goals. Intention (niyyat) is internal more spiritual than conceptual. Intentions and objectives must be sincere for success

Forecasting & scenarios: This is the ability to predict the future. The better the forecasting the better the planning. Forecasting depends on available information, study of current trends and a deep understanding of the people and institutions that you are working with. Forecasting does not assume 'ilm al ghaib. It is based on what is known at the moment. When forecasting you must know the human limitations and appreciate that you could be wide off the mark. These are various possibilities envisaged for the future. Scenario description must be as detailed as possible.

Planning and trust in Allah: When planning never forget that the ultimate aim is the pleasure of Allah. Goals, targets achieved without achieving the higher purpose of the pleasure of Allah are not worth much. You have to exert your best human effort in planning then entrust your affairs to Allah. The best of plans with very good execution can fail. Trust in Allah without planning and effort if TAWAAKUL and differs from TAWAKKUL which is effort followed by trust in Allah. Planning can not substitute for trust in Allah. He ultimately has final control over our destinies however much we plan. The trust we talk about is that which follows planning and taking all the humanly possible measures for success and then leaving it to the Lord. Blind trust without making any effort is not trust but failure and true religion can not countenance it.

Overplanning: A final word about how much planning should be done. Too much planning could stifle creativity and growth as happened in centralized totalitarian societies.

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Resources: provisions for hijra: "Narrated Asma: I prepared the journey food for Allah's Apostle ( may peace be upon him ) in Abu Bakr's house when he intended to emigrate to Medina. I could not find anything to tie the food container and the water skin with. So, I said, to Abu Bakr, " By Allah, I do not find anything to tie ( these things ) with except my waist belt." He said, " Cut it into two pieces and tie the water skin with one piece and the food container with the other ( the subnarrator added, " She did accordingly and that was the reason for calling her dhat un nitaqain ( i.e. two belted woman).  Bukhari 4:141, Hadith #222

DISCUSSION

ORGANIZATIONAL PLANNING

Think of one organization that you know well and answer the following questions regarding the educational field:

(a) Does it have a strategic plan?

(b) Does it have action plans?

(c) Who plans for the organization?

(d) How is the follow-up of plans?

WORKSHOP #3

STRATEGY PLANNING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Conceptual basis for strategic planning

·         Practical strategic planning

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Stages of the strategic planning process:

    Clarifying organizational vision

    Clarifying organizational mission

    Clarifying organizational mandates

    Stakeholder analysis (vested interests)

    Situational/environmental analysis

    Identifying issues considered strategic

    Collecting information: internal and external environments

    Future forecasting

    Formulating alternative approaches/scenarios/contingencies

    Formulating plan: strategic moves & action/tactical plans

    Impact analysis

Other considerations

  Uncertainty

  Practicability

  Contingency plans

  Review and updating

  Qualitative and quantitative

  Impact

  Levels of planning            

TEXT ANALYSIS

Internal and not external weaknesses destroy the ummah

DISCUSSION

Preparing a Mission statement

Mandates

Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

Strategic issues identification

Collecting information

Outlining a strategic plan for our local area

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Stages of Planning: This session presents the sequential stages of formulating a strategic plan. Each stage is defined and its use is explained. Strategy formulation goes through the following steps: defining organizational vision and mission, clarifying externally-imposed mandates, analyzing stakeholders, analyzing the internal and external environments, identifying strategic issues, collecting information, making assumptions and forecasts, formulating general strategic approaches for various possible scenarios, choosing the most favored scenario and formulating detailed tactical plans for it. Each stage is based on the stages before it and in many cases there are functional interrelationships among the stages

Vision & Mission: The first stage is clarification of vision. The vision should be maintained all throughout. The second stage is stating the mission. This is a concrete statement of the line of work.

Mandates: The third stage is clarification of mandates, internal and external. Mandates are expectations from the organization and its leaders. Internal mandates are expectations of the members. External mandates are expectations of those outside the organizations. Fulfilling internal mandates is necessary to maintain member morale and  support. Externally-imposed mandates can not be ignored. If you can not fulfil them for lack of resources or if they contradict your mission, you must at least recognize them as important and explain your situation.

Stakeholder analysis: The fourth stage is analysis of stakeholders. Stakeholders are people or organizations who have an interest or vested interest in what you are doing. They are usually influential and can either reward or punish you. You have to understand the stakeholders’ interest, inclinations, potential rewards if you please them and potential punishments if you annoy them. Stakeholders will not support your strategies if you carelessly brush aside things that they consider important and that they would like you to address. They could even actively oppose you. The best approach is to get the stakeholders on your side. If this is not possible try to make them neutral. It is a mistake to provoke them into active opposition to your plans. You want all your energies to be directed to achieving your objectives and not to be diverted to the side-issue of fending off attacks from a powerful stakeholder. Sometimes all energy is wasted in this type of defensive action leaving no effort for achieving what you set out to do in the first place!

Environmental assessment: The fifth stage is environmental analysis. The environment may be supportive, hostile or passively neutral. Strategic planning requires careful and correct assessment of the environment: internal and external. Your strengths and weaknesses reflect your internal environment. Opportunities and threats are in the external environment. The internal and external environments are organically linked. Your strengths correspond to the opportunities available to you. You need the strengths to be able to exploit the opportunities. Your weaknesses correspond to the threats that you face. Threats will hurt you from the points of weakness.

Strategic issues: The sixth stage is identification f issues of strategic importance. Strategic issues are those that if not handled, the organization's continued existence, welfare, and successful performance will be affected negatively. You must be very careful in selecting strategic issues. You will be guided by your vision and those aspects of the environment that have a bearing on achieving or failure to achieve the organization’s objectives. Normally there are only a few issues that are really of strategic importance. A laundry list of issues indicates an unclear vision or an imperfect understanding of the environment in which you are operating

Information: the seventh stage is information gathering. No successful strategic plan can be formulated without collecting, analyzing, and using all the available information relevant to the issues under consideration. It is not possible to collect all the information needed. The future is essentially unknown; only Allah knows 'ilm al ghayb. Some assumptions and forecasts will have to be made for information that is not available.

Forecasting: The eighth stage is forecasting future trends. The main ingredient of a strategic plan is forecasting the future. The more accurate that forecast is, the better the plan. Inadequate forecasts result into unsuccessful plans. Forecasting is best done in brain storming session. Current trends are identified and their future movement is predicted using information available about the environment

Scenario casting: The ninth stage is working out possible future scenarios. Potential future scenarios are worked out using various combinations and permutations of the trends that were forecast above. Strategic planners should never be taken by surprise. They should formulate general plans for each possible future scenario. One of the scenarios is selected as the favored one based on certain pre-determined criteria. A detailed action plan is made for only the favored scenario. The other scenarios are kept as contingency plans

Analysis of the favored scenario: The tenth stage is analysis of the favored scenario. Once the favored scenario has been elaborated and the outlines of its action plans are clear, it should be analyzed using the following guidelines: Does it conform to the vision? Does it conform to the mission? How well does it address the mandates, internal and external? What are the likely reactions of the stakeholders? what will be your responses? What is the degree of uncertainty in the forecasts? How practicable are the actions envisaged?. Any chosen strategy will have external and internal impacts. Internally it will have an impact on action plans, resource allocation, policies, organizational structure & behavior, and motivation of the followers. Externally it may provoke other strategies that may be synergistic or competitive depending on the circumstances. Questions should be asked about the impact of the plan. What in general will be the internal and external impacts? What reactions are expected? How will you deal with the reactions?

Action plan and strategic plan: The final stage of planning is to translate the strategic plan into action/tactical plans. A strategic plan usually covers a long period of time. Its practical implementation is through a series of annual action or tactical plans.

Uncertainty: A strategic plan should always incorporate a degree of uncertainty because forecasts of the future are not always perfect. When forecasts are made, the forecaster must include a statement of degree of confidence in the forecast or should use a confidence range. Situations may arise in which due to uncertainty, the strategic planning process ends with various contingency plans with no chosen plan. Since none of the plans is favored, you can wait for environmental factors to indicate which plans are to be selected.

Contingency plans: Contingency plans should be ready for immediate implementation if the chosen plan fails or encounters obstacles. Contingency plans are based on the several scenarios that were generated in the process of arriving at the chosen strategy. Strategic planners do not stop to think how to get around an obstacle. They already have a plan for that contingency.

Practicability: Each chosen plan must be subjected to a workability test: can it work in practice?, can the underlying vision be maintained, can the barriers be overcome?

Review and updating: Strategic plans need constant revision as the basic information, assumptions, and forecasts on which the plans were based change with time and with implementation experience. In most normal circumstances the changes are small. Major radical changes could indicate either poor initial forecasting and planning or a radically changed environment.

Quantitative vs qualitative: All strategic targets should preferably be quantifiable for easy monitoring.

Levels of planning: A large organization with a wide array of activities may choose to have one overall strategy or may have for each area of activity if the areas are not integratable

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Internal and not external weaknesses destroy the ummah: “Thauban reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake. And I have seen its eastern and western ends. And the dominion of my Ummah would reach those ends which have been drawn near me and I have been granted the red and the white treasures and I begged my Lord for my Ummah that it should not be destroyed because of famine, nor be dominated by an enemy who is not amongst them to take their lives and destroy them root and branch, and my Lord said: Muhammad, whenever I make a decision, there is none to change it. Well, I grant you for your Ummah that it would not be destroyed by famine and it would not be dominated by an enemy who would not be amongst it and would take their lives and destroy them root and branch even if all the people from the different parts of world join hand together (for this purpose) but it would be from amongst them, viz your Ummah, that some people would kill the others or imprison the others" Muslim 4: 1497, Chapter 1194, Hadith # 6904

DISCUSSION:

PREPARING A MISSION STATEMENT

Think of your particular organization or any other organization that you know well and answer the following questions regarding the organization’s educational mission. Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it.

(a)           Who are we?

(b)           In general, what are the basic societal needs we exist to fill (or what are the basic societal problems we exist to address)?

(c)           In general, what do we want to do to recognize or anticipate and respond to these needs or problems?

(d)           What is our philosophy and what are our core values?

(e)           What makes us distinctive or unique?

MANDATES

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions regarding defining the organization’s educational mandate.  Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it.

(a)           What are the externally-imposed mandates on the organization?

(b)           How will the organization respond to the mandates?

(c)           What are the consequences of not responding to the mandates?

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions regarding educational stakeholders.  Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it.

(a)           Who are the individuals and organizations that have a vested interest in what your organization does?

(b)           What are their expected responses to your plans?

(c)           How will you deal with them?

ANALYSIS OF STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the educational field.  Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it.

(a)           List the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for the organization

(b)           Identify relationships (i) between strengths and opportunities (ii) weaknesses and threats

STRATEGIC ISSUES IDENTIFICATION

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions regarding identification of strategic issues in the field of education. Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it.

(a)           What is the issue? (Be sure to phrase the issue as a question about which your organization can take some sort of action).

(b)           Why is this an issue?

(c)           What are the consequences of not addressing this issue?

(d)           What are the practical alternatives we might pursue to address this issue?

COLLECTING INFORMATION

Think of your particular organization that you know well and answer the questions. Make sure you mention the name of the organization and the nature of your involvement with it. Think of one strategic issue in the field of education for which you want to make a strategic plan. Answer the following questions about the information that you will need to collect.

(a)           What is the information needed for the plan?

(b)           Where is the information available?

(c)           How will the information be collected?

(d)           How will the information be used?

OUTLINING A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR OUR LOCAL AREA

Think of a geographically and socially well-defined Muslim community that you know very well. Select one of the following areas of concern in the community. The following is a listing of areas of concern: family programs, youth programs, children programs, women programs, student programs, Islamic centers and mosques, pre-schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, higher educational institutions, social welfare, disaster relief, fund-raising, awqaf and investments, translation and publication of books, mass media, training,  politics. Outline a 10-year strategic plan for the area of concern that you have selected using the methods that you have learned. You have to show how the area of concern selected can contribute to the improvement of Muslim education.

Assume that the number of Muslims will either be stable or will increase. Assume that the general environment will be supportive of Islam.

Prepare a strategic plan as well as prepare contingency plans for the following scenarios: hostile external environment, neutral external environment, a situation of complete chaos.

Select the most favored scenario and give reasons for your choice.

Follow the following outline:

(a)           Vision

(b)           Mission

(c)           Mandate(s)

(d)           Stakeholder analysis

(e)           SWOT analysis

(f)            Strategic issues

(g)           Various scenarios

(h)           Favored scenario

(I)            Analysis of the favored scenario

YOUR NOTES:

WORKSHOP #4

LESSONS FROM SEERAT

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Appreciate that planning is not a new phenomenon since it occurred in the seerat

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

TEXT ANALYSIS

Events of Hudaybiyyah as told by the Qur’an

Events of Hudaybiyyah as recounted by Bukhari

DISCUSSION

Hudaybiyyah as an example of long-term strategic thinking and planning

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Events of Hudaybiyyah as recounted by Bukhari: Narrated Al‑Miswar bin Mak­hrama and Marwan bin Al‑Hakam (one of them said more than his friend): The Prophet set out in the company of more than one thousand of his companions in the year of Al‑Hudaibiya, and when he reached Dhul‑Hulaifa, he garland­ed his Hadi (i.e. sacrificing animal), assumed the state of lhram for 'Umra from that place and sent a spy of his from Khuza'a (tribe). The Prophet proceeded on till he reached (a village called) Ghadir‑al‑Ashtat. There his spy came and said, "The Quraish (infidels) have collect­ed a great number of people against you, and they have collected against you the Ethiopians, and they will fight with you, and will stop you from entering the Ka'ba and prevent you." The Prophet said, "O people! Give me your opinion. Do you recommend that I should destroy the families and offspring of those who want to stop us from the Ka'ba? If they should come to us (for peace) then AIIah will destroy a spy from the pagans, otherwise we will leave them in a miserable state." On that Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! You have come with the intention of visiting this house (i.e. Ka'ba) and you do not want to kill or fight anybody. So proceed to it, and whoever should stop us from it, we will fight him." On that the Prophet said, "Proceed on, in the Name of Allah" Bukhari 5:346-347, Hadith #495

Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makh­rama and Marwan whose narrations attest each other: Allah's Apostle set out at the time of Al‑Hudaibiya (treaty), and when they proceeded for a distance, he said, "Khalid bin Al‑Walid leading the cavalry of Quraish constituting the front of the army, is at a place called Al‑Ghamim, so take the way on the right." By Allah, Khalld did not perceive the arrival of the Muslims till the dust arising from the march of the Muslim army reached him, and then he turned back hurriedly to Inform Quraish. The Prophet went on advancing till he reached the Thaniyya (i.e. a mountainous way) through which one would go to them (i.e. people of Quraish). The she-camel of the Prophet sat down. The People tried their best to cause the she-camel to get up but in vain, so they said, "Al‑Qaswa' (i.e. the she‑camel's name) has become stub­born! Al‑Qaswa' has become stubborn!" The Prophet said, "Al‑Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for stubbornness is not her habit, but she was stopped by Him Who stopped the elephant." Then he said, "By the Name of Him in Whose Hands my soul is, if they (i.e. the Quraish infidels) ask me anything which will respect the ordinances of Allah, I will grant it to them." The Prophet then rebuked the she‑camel and she got up. The Prophet changed his way till he dismounted at the farthest end of Al‑Hudaibiya at a pit (i.e. well) containing a little water which the people used In small amounts, and in a short while the people used up all its water and complained to Allah's Apostle of thirst. The Prophet took an arrow out of his arrow‑case and ordered them to put the arrow in that pit. By Allah, the water started and continued sprouting out till all the people quenched their thirst and returned with satisfaction. While they were still in that state, Budail bin Warqa‑al‑Khuza'i came with some persons from his tribe Khuza'a and they were the advisers of Allah's Apostle who would keep no secret from him and were from the people of Tihama. Budail said, "I left Ka'b Bin Lu'ai and 'Amir bin Lu'ai residing at the profuse water of Al‑Hudaibiya and they had Milch camels (or their women and children) with them, and will wage war against you, and will prevent you from visiting the Ka'ba." Allah's Apostle said, we have not come to fight anyone, but to perform the 'Umra. No doubt, the war has weakened Quraish and they have suffered great losses, so if they wish, I will conclude a truce with them, during which they should refrain from interfering between me and the people (i.e. the 'Arab infidels other than Quraish), and if I have victory over those infidels, Quraish will have the option to embrace Islam as the other people do, If they wish; they will at least get strong enough to fight. But if they do not accept the truce, by Allah in Whose Hands my life is, I will fight with them defending my cause till I get killed, but (I am sure) Allah will definitely make His Cause victorious." Budail said, "I will inform them of what you have said." So he set off till he reached Quraish and said, "We have come from that man (i.e. Muhammad) whom we heard saying something Which we will disclose to you if you should like." Some of the fools among Quralsh shouted that they Were not in need of this Information, but the wiser among them Said, "Relate what you heard him saying." Budail Said, "I heard hum saying so‑and‑so," relating what the Prophet had told him. 'Urwa bin Mas'ud got up and said, "O people! Aren't you the sons?" They said, 'Yes." He added, "Am I not the father? They said, "Yes' He said, "Do you mistrust me?" They said, "No." He said, 'Don't you know that I invited the people of 'Ukaz for your help, and when they refused I brought my relatives and children and those who obeyed me (to help you)?" They said, "yes." He said, Well, this man (i.e. the Prophet) has offered you a reasonable proposal, you'd better accept it and allow me to meet him." They said, "You may meet him." So, he went to the Prophet and started talking to him. The Prophet told him almost the same as he had told Budail. Then 'Urwa said, ‑"O Muhammad! Won't you feel any scruple in extirpating your relations? Have you ever heard of anyone amongst the 'Arabs extirpating his relatives before you? On the other hand, if the reverse should happen, (nobody will aid you, for) by Allah, I do not see (with you) dignified people, but people from various tribes who would run away leaving you alone." Hearing that, Abu Bakr abused him and said, "Do you say we would run and leave the Prophet alone?" 'Urwa said, 'Who is that man?" They said, "He is Abu Bakr." 'Urwa said to Abu Bakr, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, were it not for the favor which you did to me and which I did not compensate, I would retort on you." 'Urwa kept on talking to the Prophet and seizing the Prophet's beard as he was talking while Al‑Mughira bin Shu'ba was standing near the head of the Prophet, holding a sword and wearing a helmet. Whenever 'Urwa stretched his hand towards the beard of the Prophet, Al‑Mughira would hit his hand with the handle of the sword and say (to 'Urwa), "Remove your hand from the beard of Allah's Apostle ". 'Urwa raised his head and asked, who is that?" The people said, "He is Al‑Mughira bin Shu'ba." 'Urwa said, "O treacherous! Am I not doing my best to prevent evil consequences of your treachery?" Before embracing Islam Al‑Mughira was in the company of some people. He killed them and took their property and came (to Medina) to embrace Islam. The Prophet said (to him), "As regards your Islam, I accept it, but as for the property I do not take anything of it. (as it was taken through treason). 'Urwa then started looking at the companions of the Prophet By Allah, whenever Allah's Apostle spitted, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (i.e. the Prophet's companions) who would rub it on his face and skin if he ordered them they would carry his orders immediately; if he performed ablution, they would struggle to take the remaining water; and when they spoke to him, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect. Urwa returned to his people and said, "O people! By Allah, I have been to the kings and to Caesar, Khosrau and An‑Najashi yet I have never seen any of them respected by his courtiers as much as Muhammad is respected by his companions. By Allah, if he spitted, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (i.e. the Prophet's companions) who would rub it on his face and skin; if he ordered them, they would carry out his order immediately; if he performed ablution, they would struggle to take the remaining water; and when they spoke, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect." 'Urwa added, "No doubt, he has presented to you a good reasonable offer, so please accept it." A man from the tribe of Bani Kinana said, "Allow me to go to him," and they allowed him, and when he approached the Prophet and his companions, Allah's Apostle said, "He is so‑and‑so who belongs to the tribe that respects the Budn (i.e. camels of the sacrifice). So, bring the Budn in front of him." So, the Budn were brought before him and the people received him while they were reciting Talbiya. When he saw that scene, he said, "Glorified be Allah! It is not fair to prevent these people from visiting the Ka'ba." When he returned to his people, he said, "I saw the Budn garlanded (with colored knotted ropes) and marked (with stabs on their backs). I do not think it is advisable to prevent them from visiting the Ka'ba." Another person called Mikraz bin Hafs got up and sought their Permission to go to Muhammad, and they allowed him, too. When he approached the Muslims, the  Prophet  said "Here is Mikraz and he is a vicious man" Mikraz started talking to the Prophet and as he was talking, Suhail bin 'Amr came. When Suhail bin 'Amr came, the Prophet said, "Now the matter has become easy." Suhail said to the Prophet, "Please conclude a peace treaty with us." So, the Prophet called the clerk and said to him, "Write: By the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful." Suhail said, "As for 'Beneficent,' by Allah, I do not know what It means. So write: By Your Name O Allah, as you used to write previously." The Muslims said, "By Allah, we will not write except: By the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful." The Prophet said, 'Write: By Your Name O Allah." Then he dictated, "This is the peace treaty which Muhammad, Allah's Apostle has concluded." Suhail said, "By Allah, If we knew that you are Allah's Apostle we would not prevent you from visiting the Ka'ba, and would not fight with you. So, write: "Muhammad bin 'Abdullah." The Prophet said, "By Allah! I am Apostle of Allah even if you people do not believe me. Write: Muhammad bin 'Abdullah." (Az‑Zuhri said, "The Prophet accepted all those things, as he had already said that he would accept everything they would demand if it respects the ordinance of Allah, (i.e. by letting him and his companions perform 'Umra.)"‑ The Prophet said to Suhail, "On the condition that you allow us to visit the House i.e. Ka'ba) so that we may perform Tawaf around it." Suhail said, "By Allah, we will not (allow you this year) so as not to give chance to the 'Arabs to say that we have yielded to you, but we will allow you next year." So, the Prophet got that written. Then Suhail said, We also stipulate that you should return to us whoever comes to you from us, even if he embraced your religion;" The Muslims said, "Glorified be Allah! How will such a person be returned to the pagans after he has become a Muslim? While they were in this state Abu Jandal bin Suhail bin Amr came from the valley of Mecca staggering with in his fetters and fell down amongst the Muslims. Suhail said, "O Muhammad this is the very first term with which we make peace with you, i.e. you shall return Abu Jandal to me. The prophet said, "The peace treaty has not been written yet." Suhail said, 'I will never allow you to keep him." The Prophet I said, "Yes, do." He said, "I won't do ' Mikraz said, [...miss..] allow you (to keep him)." Abu Jandal said, "O Muslims! Will I be returned to the pagans though I have come as a Muslim? Don't you see how much I have suffered?" Abu Jandal had been tortured severely for the Cause of Allah. 'Umar bin Al‑Khattab said, "I went to the Prophet and said, 'Aren't you truly the apostle of Allah?' The Prophet said, 'Yes, indeed.' I said, 'Isn't our cause just and the cause of the enemy unjust?' He said, yes.' I said, 'Then why should we be humble in our religion?' He said, 'I am Allah's Apostle and l do not disobey Him, and He will make me victorious.' I said, 'Didn't you tell us that we would go to the Ka'ba and perform Tawaf around it?' He said, 'Yes, but did I tell you that we would visit the Ka'ba this year?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'So you will visit it and perform Tawaf around it? " Umar further said, "I went to Abi Bakr and said, 'O Abu Bakr! Isn't he truly Allah's Prophet?' He replied, 'Yes' I said, 'Isn't our cause just and the cause of our enemy unjust? He replied: 'Yes". I said: "Then why should we be humble in our religion ?" He said, 'Indeed, he is Allah's Messenger and he does not disobey his Lord, and He will make him victorious. Adhere to him as, by Allah, he is on the right.' I said, 'Was he not telling us that we would go to the Ka'ba and perform Tawaf around it?' He said, 'Yes, but did he tell you that you would go to the Ka'ba this year?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'You will go to Ka'ba and perform Tawaf around it.' " (Az‑Zuhri said, " 'Umar said, 'I performed many good deeds as expiation for the improper questions I asked them.'). When the writing of the peace treaty was concluded, Allah's Apostle said to his companions, "Get up and slaughter your sacrifices and get your head shaved." By Allah none of them got up, and the Prophet repeated his order thrice when none of them got up, he left them and went to Um Salama and told her of the people's attitudes towards him. Um Salama said, "O the Prophet of Allah ! Do you want your order to be carried out? Go out and don't say a word to anybody till you have slaughtered your sacrifice and call your barber to shave your head." So, the Prophet went out and did not talk to anyone of them till he did that, i.e. slaughtered the sacrifice and called his barber who shaved his head. Seeing that, the companions of the Prophet got up, slaughtered their sacrifices, and started shaving the heads of one another, and there was so much rush that there was a danger of killing each other. Then some believing women came (to the Prophet); and Allah revealed the following Divine Verses:‑‑'O you who believe, when the believing women come to you as emigrants examine them . . (60:10). 'Umar then divorced two wives of his who were infidels. Later on Mu'awiya bin Abu Sufyan married one of them, and Safwan bin Umaya married the other. When the Prophet returned to Medina, Abu Basir, a new Muslim con­vert from Quraish came to him. The Infidels sent in his pursuit two men who said (to the Prophet), "Abide by the promise you gave us." So, the Prophet handed him over to them . They took hum out (of the City) till they reached Dhul‑Hulaifa where they dismounted to eat some dates they had with them. Abu Basir said to one of them, "By Allah, 0 so‑and‑so, I see you have a fine sword." The other drew it out (of the scabbard) and said, "By Allah, It is very fine and I have tried it many times.' Abu Basir said, "Let me have a look at it."  When the other gave it to him, he hit him with it till he died, and his companion ran away till he came to Medina and entered the Mosque running. When Allah's Apostle saw him he said, "This man appears to have been frightened." When he reached the Prophet he said, "My companion has been murdered and I would have been murdered too." Abu Basir came and said, "O Allah's Apostle, by Allah, Allah has made you fulfill your obligations by your returning me to them (i.e. the infidels), but Allah has saved me from them." The Prophet said, "Woe to his mother! what excellent war kindler he would be, should he only have supporters.". When Abu Basir heard that he understood that the Prophet would return to them again, so he set off till he reached the seashore. Abu Jandal bin Suhail got himself released from them (i.e. infidels) and joined Abu Basir. So, whenever a man from Quraish embraced Islam he would follow Abu Basir till they formed a strong group. By Allah, whenever they heard about a caravan of Quraish heading towards Sham, they stopped it and attacked and killed them‑(i.e. infidels) and took their properties. The people of Quraish sent a message to the Prophet requesting him for the Sake of Allah and kith and kin to send for (i.e. Abu Basir and his companions) promising that whoever (amongst them) came to the Prophet would be secure. So the Prophet sent for them (i.e. Abu Basir's companions) and Allah revealed the following divine verses: 'and it is He Who Has withheld their hands from you and your hands From them in the midst of Mecca,  After He made you the victorious Over them.  . . . the unbelievers had pride and haughtiness,  In their hearts . . . the pride and haughtiness of the time of ignorance.' (Qur'an 48: 24‑26) And their pride and haughtiness was that they did not confess (write in the treaty) that he (i.e. Muhammad) was the Prophet of Allah and refused to write: "In the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the Most Merciful," and prevented the Muslims from visiting the Ka'ba. Narrated Az‑Zuhri: 'Ursa said, " 'Aisha told me that Allah's Apostle used to examine the women emigrants. We have been told also that when Allah revealed the order that the Muslims should return to the pagans what they had spent on their wives who emigrated (after embracing Islam) and that the Muslims should not keep unbelieving women as their wives, 'Umar divorced two of his wives: Qariba, the daughter of Abu Umaiya and the daughter of Jarwal Al‑Khuza'i. Later on Mu'awiya married Qariba and Abu Jahm married the other." When the pagans refused to pay what the Muslims had spent on their wives, Allah revealed: 'And if any of your wives have gone from you to the unbelievers and you have an accession ­(by the coming over of a woman from the other side) (Then pay to those whose wives have gone) The equivalent of what they had spent (on their mahr).'(60:11) So, Allah ordered that the Muslim whose wife has gone should be given as a compensation of the mahr he had given to his wife, from the mahr of the wives of the pagans who had emigrated deserting their husbands. We do not know any of the women emigrants who deserted Islam after embracing it We have also been told that Abu Basir bin Asid Al-Thaqafi came to the Prophet as a Muslim emigrant during the truce. AI‑Akhnas Bin Shariq wrote to the Prophet  requesting him to return Abu Basir". Bukhari 3:560-573

THE HUDAYBIYYAH PLEDGE: God’s pleasure was on the believers when they swore fealty to thee under the tree He knew what was in their hearts and He sent down tranquility to them and He rewarded them with a speedy victory ….  Qur'an 48:18 ….. Narrated Ibn 'Umar: When we reached (Hudaibiya) in the next year (of the treaty of Hudaibiya), not even two men amongst us agreed unanimously as to which was the tree under which we had given the pledge of allegiance, and that was out of Allah's Mercy. (The sub­ narrator asked Naf'i, "For what did the prophet take their pledge of allegiance, was it for death?" Naf'i replied 'No, but he took their pledge of allegiance for patience.") Bukhari 4:129-130, Hadith # 205

 

DISCUSSION

HUDAYBIYAH AS AN EXAMPLE OF LONG-TERM STRATEGIC THINKING AND PLANNING

(a) What was the long-range vision of Muslims?

 

(b) What was the broad mission of the Muslims on leaving Madina?

          (c) What were the specific goals and objectives of the Muslims before, during, and after the signing of the   Hudaybiyyah treaty?           

          (d) Identify the externally-imposed mandates on the Quraish? What was expected of them as guardians of the Kaaba and leaders of Arabs? How did they address these mandates? Were they successful?

(e) Who were the stakeholders. Mention the interest of each one in the Hudaybiyyah outcome?

          (f) What were the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and  threats for (i) the Muslims  (ii) the Quraysh? just before the start of negotiations?

(g) What were the strategic issues facing (i) the Muslims (ii) the Quraysh? at the negotiations

          (h) What information did the Muslims get about Quraish? What information did the Quraish get about Muslims. How would each side use that information?

(i) Imagine what moves each side forecast about the other just before the start of the negotiations?

 

(j) List all the possible scenarios from the point of view of (a) Muslims (b) Quraish

                (k) Describe the vision referred to in the opening verse of Surat al Fath. How does this relate to the Prophet's vision in his sleep before he left Madina?

WORKSHOP #5

STRATEGIC MOVES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Understand how  to make effective strategic moves

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Content

Basic terminology

Incorporation of strategic moves in the strategic plan

Speed of strategic moves

Types of strategies vis-s-vis an opponent

Assessment of key players before making a strategic move 

Sequence of strategic moves

Conditioning of strategic moves

Zero sum vs variable sum moves

Factors to consider in planning strategic moves

Assessment of benefits/losses  of cooperation vis a vis confrontation

Strategic moves in cases of extreme uncertainty

Brinkmanship

Pre-emption

TEXT ANALYSIS

Umrat al qada: fulfillment of the treaty

Treatment of believing women who came to the Muslim camp

DISCUSSION

Post-Hudaybiyyah: Management Of Strategy 6-8 Ah

The Makkah Campaign: Case Study Of A Grand Strategy

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Content: This chapter discusses the practical moves that are needed to implement a strategic plan and how to deal with obstacles and counter-moves from opponents of the plan

Basic terminology: strategic thrusts, strategic moves, programs,  action plans: Strategic thrusts are statements of strategic intents. Programs are translations of strategy into projects. Action plans are specific practical steps towards implementing a strategy, including tasks and timing. Strategic moves are actual measures taken to implement the strategy.

Incorporation of strategic moves in the strategic plan: Strategic moves must be incorporated in the strtegic plan. A strategy is useless unless it incorporates the necessary strategic moves that must be made, their timing and sequence. Flexibility is needed in planning strategic moves. The environment may change considerably during plan implementation which necessitates revision of the planned moves.

Speed of strategic moves: There are 3 types of strategic moves: (a) Sudden and major to throw competition off balance (b) Paced and incremental with continuous evaluation (c) Slow today, major impact in long-term perspective.

Types of strategies vis-s-vis an opponent: There are three types of strategies: dominant, dominated, and equilibrium. You must use dominant strategies and eliminate dominated ones. Equilibrium strategies are sometimes the best because each player's response is the best response and there is mutual benefit.

Assessment of key players before making a strategic move: Before making any strategic moves, key players (for and against the plan) must be identified and must be assessed. Key player assessment involves: their motivation, relative power, strengths, weaknesses, and probable behavior.

 

Sequence of strategic moves: Strategic moves may be sequential or simultaneous.

Conditioning of strategic moves: Strategic moves may be conditional or unconditional. Conditional moves are taken in relation to threats and promises. Promises and threats could be used as either deterrents or compellents. Unconditional moves  do not have to wait for some other event to occur. They are taken independently

Zero sum vs variable sum moves: In a zero sum situation, in which one person's gain is always another person's loss, pre-emptive action may be the best course of action. There are non-zero sum situations in which through collaboration and coordination, 2 players can assure a win/win outcome. In the extreme situation,  non-zero sum situation may end as lose-lose

Factors to consider in planning strategic moves: Relative power, resources, time, and the environment are to considered in assessing benefits/losses of particular strategic moves. Your Power, resources, timing . The opponent's power, resources, timing. Environmental changes affecting you and the opponent

Assessment of benefits/losses  of cooperation vis a vis confrontation: When deciding on which strategic moves to make, you have to consider your power vis-a-vis that of the opponent in the light of the benefits of cooperation with them. When your power is high it is better for you either to set your terms (if your benefit is low) or collaborate (if your benefit is high). If your power is low consider accepting the best offer (if yur benefit is low) or accommodation (if your benefit is high).

Strategic moves in cases of extreme uncertainty: Some strategic moves can be taken whatever the level of uncertainty. If you have nothing to lose and there is a slim chance of gaining, make the move even if the odds are overwhelmingly against you. If the immediate gains are more than the losses, the decision to make a move should be based on the long-term impact of a possible failure. A failure that could threaten the continued existence and efficient functioning of the organization should not be taken lightly.

Brinkmanship: Brinkmanship in strategic thinking is risky but may also be associated with a lot of rewards. It should be avoided where control or understanding of the risk are limited. Conservative players never approach the brink in any situation. The risk rises with the increase of the level of uncertainty. More daring players get near the brink and even stand on it. If they are wise they better know how to extricate themselves. If they do not know how to get out of such a situation, they have only themselves to blame for whatever catastrophes may follow.

Pre-emption: Pre-emptive moves involve taking reactive moves even before the events reacted to have not yet fully unfolded. Pre-emptive moves result in gain of lead-time. Reaction  to events before they occur gives you an advantage and an upper hand.

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Umrat al qada: fulfilmnent of the treaty: Truly did Allah fulfil the vision for His Messenger. You shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, with minds secure, heads shaved, hair cut short, and without fear. For He knew what you knew not, and He granted, besides this, a speedy victory. Qur'an 48:27 … Narrated Al‑Bara': When the Prophet intended to perform 'Umra in the month of Dhul‑Qa'da, the people of Mecca did not let him enter Mecca till he settled the matter with them by promising to stay in it for three days only. When the document of treaty was written, the following was mentioned: 'These are the terms on which Muhammad, Allah's Apostle agreed (to make peace).' They said, "We will not agree to this, for if we believed that you are Allah's Apostle we would not prevent you but you are Muhammad bin 'Abdullah." The Prophet said, "I am Allah's Apostle and also Muhammad bin 'Abdullah." Then he said to 'Ali "Rub off (the words) 'Allah's Apostle' ", but 'Ali said, "No, by Allah, I will never rub off your name." So, Allah's Apostle took the document and wrote, 'This is what Muhammad bin 'Abdullah has agreed upon: No arms will be brought into Mecca except in their cases, and nobody from the people of Mecca will be allowed to go with him (i.e. the Prophet ) even if he wished to follow him and he (the Prophet) will not prevent any of his companions from staying in Mecca if the latter wants to stay.' When the Prophet entered Mecca and the time limit passed, the Meccans went to 'Ali and said, "Tell your Friend (i.e. the Prophet) to go out, as the period (agreed to) has passed." So, the Prophet went out of Mecca. The daughter of Hamza ran after them i e. the Prophet and his companions) calling, "O Uncle! O (Uncle!'' 'Ali received her and led her by the hand and said to Fatima, "Take your uncle's daughter. Zaid and Ja'far quarrelled about her. 'Ali said, "I have more right to her as she is my uncle's daughter. Ja'far said, "She is my uncle's daughter and her aunt is my wife.' Zaid said, "She is my brother's daughter." The prophet judged that she should be given to her aunt, and said that the aunt was like the mother. He then said to 'Ali, You are from me and I am from you", and said to Ja'far, "You resemble me both in character and appearance", and said to Zaid, "You are our brother (in faith) and our freed slave." Bukhari 3: 536-538, Hadith #863

Treatment of believing women who came to the Muslim camp: Narrated 'Urwa bin Az‑Zubair that he heard Marwan bin Al‑Hakam and Al‑Miswar bin Makhrama relating one of the events that happened to Allah's Apostle in the 'Umra of Al‑Hudai­biya. They said, "When Allah's Apostle concluded the truce with Suhail bin 'Amr on the day of Al‑Hudaibiya, one of the conditions which Suhail bin 'Amr stipulated, was his saying (to the Prophet), "If anyone from us (i.e. infidels) ever comes to you, though he has em­braced your religion, you should return him to us, and should not interfere be­tween us and him." Suhail ‑refused to conclude the truce with Allah's Apostle except on this condition. The Believers disliked this condition and got disgusted with it and argued about it But when Suhail refused to conclude the truce with Allah's Apostle except on that condition, Allah's Apostle concluded it Accordingly, Allah's Apostle then returned Abu Jandal bin Suhail to his father, Suhail bin 'Amr,and returned every man coming to him from them during that period even if he was a Muslim. The believing women Emigrants came to (Medina) including Umm Kulthum, the daughter of 'Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait was one of those who came to Allah's Apostle and she was an adult at that time. Her relatives came, asking Allah's Apostle to return her to them, and in this connection, Allah revealed the verses dealing with the believing women).'Aisha said, "Allah's Apostle used to test all the believing women who migrated to him, with the following verse. 'O Prophet! When the believing Women come to you, to give the pledge of allegiance to you(60: 12) when Allah ordered His Apostle to return to the pagans what they had given to their wives who lately migrated (to Medina) and we were informed that Abu Basir..." relating the whole narration. Bukhari 5:317-318, Hadith # 496

DISCUSSION:

POST-HUDAYBIYYAH: MANAGEMENT OF STRATEGY 6-8 AH

(a)           Draw a table showing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Muslims in the years 6 AH and 8 AH

(b)           Draw a table showing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for Quraish in the years 6 AH and 8 AH

(C)           Identify strategic issues for Muslims in the post-Hudaybiyyah period. What strategic moves were made? What were the consequences? what were the original strategic moves? what were the counter-moves?

THE MAKKAH CAMPAIGN: CASE STUDY OF A GRAND STRATEGY

(a)           What was the ultimate vision of the Makkah campaign? Did it become a reality?

(b)           What was the mission of the Makkah campaign?

                               

(c)           Can you identify any externally-imposed mandates?

(d)           What were the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and  threats for (i) the Muslims (ii) the Quraysh?

(e)           What were the strategic issues facing (i) the Muslims? (ii) the Quraysh?

(f)            Reconstruct from your reading what you think were the main elements of the Muslim strategic plan. How was each implemented?

(g)           What strategic considerations were behind the efforts to avoid humiliating the Quraish?

(h)                 Who were the stakeholders among the Quraish? How were they won over? What were the strategic considerations behind treating them well?

YOUR NOTES:

WORKSHOP #6

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Understand effective strategy implementation

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Phasing/staging strategy implementation

Requirements for strategy implementation

Motivated leader

Resources needed for strategy implementation

Organizational changes needed for implementation

Behavioral change needed for strategy implementation

Control measures for implementation

Monitoring

Situations in which contingency planning is used

Exploiting opportunities

Equilibrium

Difficulties in management of strategy

Opposition to strategy

Inertia

Selling the plan

TEXT ANALYSIS

DISCUSSION

Implementing a local strategy

Old and new management teams

Types of managerial personalities for strategic transitions

Behavior of various management types during strategic transitions

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Phasing/staging strategy implementation: Strategic moves can be likened to a game of chess but several-fold more complicated. In chess the environment and the rules are well known; in strategy they are not. Like chess, strategic moves are in stages. The timing and sequence of such moves are part of strategic logic. Each strategic move must be broken down into its separate specific  components. This makes analysis, monitoring, and modification easier. Very big strategic moves occurring suddenly are associated with higher risk. Each move must be made taking into consideration previous moves and anticipated future moves

Requirements for strategy implementation: Strategy implementation requires motivated leaders, resources, organizational restructuring, and behavioral changes. Both the leadership and the organization (structure and culture) must adapt to the new strategy. The personality of the leader is very crucial in the early stages of a strategic shift. Pioneering types who aim at explosive growth or expansion are more likely to succeed than those who prefer stability, and continuous growth. However when the strategic shift has become complete then the more administrative types who prefer stability can take over. A new strategy may call for human, financial, and material resources not available in the organization. Part of strategic planning is to make sure those resources are available. Unavailability of resources is a strong reason for not embarking on a new strategy. It is also not wise to start the initial phases for which resources are available if there is no guarantee of resource availability for later stages. The  organization must change to match the new strategy: Changes are needed in organizational leadership, structure, design, and culture. Adaptation of the leadership style to the new strategy involves both the personality and style of the leaders. Key managers who understand and are committed to the strategic plan should  be put in the right positions. The whole strategic planning cum management process can fail if uncommitted people are entrusted with the execution. Adaptation of the  organizational structure & design to match the new strategy involves restructuring and reporting changes. The best restructuring is to let each department or unit deal with one or several related strategic issues/objectives. Top leadership then provides coordination between the various units. Operational and functional relationships must be linked through vertical and horizontal integration. The organizational culture must change to match the new strategy, the new vision and mission, and the long-term strategic perspective. Behavioral change needed for strategy implementation: Implementation of a strategic plan leads automatically to behavioral changes. This is because the vision and  sense of direction that are introduced. People are able to relate their individual contributions to a larger picture. They become more focussed and future-oriented.

Control & monitoring: Strict control measures are needed for action plans arising out of strategic plans to ensure that there is no deviation from the vision and mission of the organization or its plans. Monitoring: Monitoring of strategy implementation is of utmost importance. Monitoring covers the following: assumptions and information used in the plan, changes in key personnel, trends, and results. Monitoring can be continuous, at project milestones, during major crises, or at regular scheduled periods. The methodology of planning includes: updating information, predicting future behavior, identifying the impact of actual results on strategy

Contingencies: Situations in which contingency planning is used: Cases of high uncertainty . When forecasts are non-specific? When rapid response to changes is necessary. When particular conditions are likely.

Modifications of strategy for different levels of uncertainty: When uncertainty is low, program exactly. When uncertainty is moderate make progressive reassessment. When uncertainty is high, advance by stages. When uncertainty is very high, utilize prepared opportunism.

Exploiting opportunities: Be always prepared to exploit opportunities. This can be achieved by preparing reserve resources, monitoring the environment, and being ready for rapid reaction. Reserve resources for anticipated immediate needs must be set aside so that no time is spent in mobilizing resources. Monitoring the environment continuously is the only way of making sure that opportunities will be missed. The monitoring must be systematic. The leadership must be prepared to move into  rapid reaction when an opportunity appears

Equilibrium: Strategy implementation is a fine art of balancing opposing and sometimes contradictory forces and tendencies: Balancing  short-term vs long-term goals, Balancing internal vs external forces, Balancing the continuing vs new strategies and workplans, Balancing  stable vs risky options, Balancing time and effort spent in planning vs time for action

Difficulties in management of strategy: There are 4 main difficulties in the practical implementation, management, and control of strategic plans: There is usually a long lag-time between action and outcome. There is always uncertainty about the future. There are many dynamic shifts that require changing plans rapidly. Evaluation of implementation and results is difficult in the midst of action. Long lead-time between action and outcome. Uncertainty about the future. Dynamic shifts that cause strategy changes. Objective evaluation is difficult in the middle of action

Opposition to strategy: Strategy implementation requires dealing with recalcitrant or opposing members. Many people will oppose new strategies because they do not understand their importance for the future. There is conflict between the old and the new. Leadership must be ready to resolve conflicts that arise between new strategic plans and on-going activities. Potential opposition should be anticipated and measures taken to decrease it. Education and continuous effective communication could resolve many problems. Including potential opponents in the planning process could be useful

Inertia: Inertia is the main enemy of new strategies. Human beings stick to what is familiar and instinctively oppose the new. There is always resistance to new changes especially if there is no obvious crisis. Yet the essence of strategy is to foretell and make the necessary strategic moves before catastrophe shows its ugly face.

Selling the plan: Both motivation and logical persuasion are needed to sell a strategic plan especially in situations in which the new strategic plan is opposed

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

DISCUSSION

IMPLEMENTING A LOCAL STRATEGY

Using the strategic plan prepared in previous exercises, list the main steps you would undertake to implement it

OLD AND NEW MANAGEMENT TEAMS

                Compare the advantages and disadvantages of using new as opposed to old management teams in implementation of new strategies. For both new and old, list the advantages and the disadvantages. List possible barriers to implementation from the old management

TYPES OF MANAGERIAL PERSONALITIES FOR STRATEGIC TRANSITIONS

Give examples of the following managerial personalities from your experience in educational institutions:

Pioneer (Intuitive Thinking, Explosive Growth)

Conqueror (Rational Thinking,  Expansive Growth)

Level-Headed (Rational Thinking, Continuous Growth)

Administrator  (Conformer In Thinking, Consolidation Of Growth)

Economizer (Legal Thinkng, Cautious Growth)

Diplomat (Open-Minded, Retreat And  Repositions)

BEHAVIOR OF VARIOUS MANAGEMENT TYPES DURING STRATEGIC TRANSITIONS

Score each type of manager (pioneer, conqueror, level-headed, administrator, economizer, diplomat) as high, medium, or low using the criteria of conformity, sociability, activity/dynamism, and pressure to achieve.

WORKSHOP #7

ACTION/TACTICAL PLANNING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Understand how  to make a tactical or action plan

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Chapter overview

Relation between action and strategic plans

The time dimension

How plans are used

Components of the planning process

Stages of the planning process

 The environment

 Vision and mission

 Goals

 Information

 Assumptions and forecasts

 Alternatives

Check-list for plans

Review of plans

Float time

Allowance for the human factor

Commonsense and simplicity

Who plans?

Planning bottom-up and top-down: centralization vs decentralization

Contingencies

Overplanning

Description of the annual action plan

Skeleton of the annual action plan

TEXT ANALYSIS

Islam calls for simplicity and ease

DISCUSSION

Evaluation of a planning process

Check-list of an action plan

Preparing an action plan for a local organization

Analyzing the hijra of the Prophet as an example of action planning

Hypothetical action plan for the first year of the Islamic state at Madina

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Definitions: This chapter covers the main elements of an action plan, a description of goals, objectives, tasks (what, who, when, how). An action plan is implementation of a selected portion of the strategic plan. A series of tactical plans over several years accomplish the strategic objectives of the strategic plan. An action plan usually covers a short period of time usually 1-2 years.

How plans are used: Plans can be used in three different ways: as standing orders, as intermediate use plans, and as single use plans. Standing orders are policies, procedures, rules and regulations that are followed in a routine way. Intermediate use plans are usually programs or projects of a certain duration and with a specific objective or goal in mind. Single use plans are operational budgets, unit plans, and annual action plans

Components of Planning process: The planning process has 2 components: (a) determination of objectives, an expression of intention or NIYYAT, and (b) formulation of actions to achieve those objectives. Planning is an expression of intent, niyyat. Every human endeavor must have a niyyat for it to be of benefit. Niyyat also implies commitment because you are supposed to undertake only purposive activities to whose completion you should morally be committed. Formulation of actions to achieve set objectives is the essence of action planning

Stages of the planning process: The planning process must be systematic and follow rational problem-solving stages. The planning process has the following stages: (1) environmental analysis (swot process) (2) state vision and mission (3) niyyat and commitment (4) set goals: refinement of mission - key issues - general ends to be achieved (5) set objectives: specific statement of results expected (6) collect and analyze information (7) make assumptions/forecasts about missing information: controllable factors - uncontrollable factors (8) search for opportunities (9) consider all alternative solutions (10) decide on best alternative (11) formulate action plans to achieve objectives: define tasks needed to achieve objectives - delegate - set targets (12) communicate (13) set up control mechanisms (14) execution of the plan (15) follow-up and follow-through (16) evaluation using goals as criteria

The Environment: The environment in which you are going to operate must be understood. The internal environment are your strengths and weaknesses. The external environment are opportunities and threats.

Vision, mission, goals, and objectives: The vision and mission of the tactical plan are derived from the strategic plan. Goals are the key issues that you want to address. They are general ends to be reached. Good goals are challenging yet attainable. They are clear, specific, measurable, and time-phased. Objectives are specific statements of results expected. They define a specific direction and are a basis for control. Good goals are clear, they set targets, can be used to measure progress within a given time frame.

Information, assumptions, forecasts: Relevant information must be collected, cross-checked, and used in planning. Assumptions and forecasts are made when information is not perfect and the unknown future. In making forecasts a distinction must be made between controllable and uncontrollable factors. You can influence the former but not the latter. All alternative approaches should be considered. The best, which is adopted as the plan, is found by elimination.

Check-list for plans: To check completeness of the plan you must ask yourself 12 questions about the main elements of a plan: objective, implementors, those affected by the plan, methodology of implementation, time of implementation, place of implementation, cost of the plan, barriers to implementation, contingency plans, any other related plans, control and evaluation.

Review of plans: Plans must be reviewed regularly, either quarterly or biannually

Allowance for time and the human factor: The time scheduling should allow for some float time to be able to absorb some delays of some stages without disturbing deadlines for the whole plan. A good plan must make allowance for the human factor. Humans are not perfect. Things can not always go as planned.

Common sense and simplicity: Quite often poor plans are made when leaders rely unduly on sophisticated statistical tools and forecasts made easily accessible by today's technology and forget the old and tested tool of common sense. What may look sophisticated on paper will prove to be sheer nonsense in the field. The test of a good plan is to be able to explain it to a teenager and he understands the main elements. Major mistakes are often hidden in the high-ringing sophisticated jargon of today's planners.

Who plans: Participation of plan implementors in the planning process increases commitment to the plan and helps its successful execution. Planning bottom-up (decentralisation) or top-down (centralisation) can be used depending on the circumstances. In general it is better to plan bottom-up than top-down. Too much centralized planning may make micro sense but prove to be micro nonsense in the field.

Contingencies: Because of limitations of information sources and inability to forecast the future accurately, each action plan must include contingencies in case the main plan does not work or faces unforeseen obstacles.

Overplanning: The temptation to overplan must be resisted. Specific details may have to be left to the initiative of the people in the field carrying out the plan. Their creativity and initiative should not be stifled.

Description of the annual action plan: An annual action plan is a document that charts course of action for 1 year and is consistent with general strategic plan. It sets out the objectives, goals, time schedules of the various activities, as well as the required material and human resources. An action plan is a constraint on 'crisis planning'  since it anticipates events and plans for them and provides a detailed guideline for those executing the program. An action plan can be prepared by the central leadership (centralized) or the local leadership (decentralized). It is always best for the plan to be prepared by those who will be directly involved in its implementation. An action plan requires quarterly reviews and should be modified should the need arise

Skeleton of the annual action plan: A good action plan should contain the following elements (headings):  Title, Vision,  Mission, Goals, Objectives for each goal,  Tasks for each objective,   Detailed planning for each task: who is responsible? - methodology - timing - place - human resources (compute person-time) - non-human resources (as money, material) - expected result criteria of evaluation.   Appendices: background information used in planning - detailed description of methodology - resumes of key persons - details of budgetary computation               

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT

.

ISLAM CALLS FOR SIMPLICITY AND EASE

Maida:6

Nisa:28

Baqara:185

Baqara:286

DISCUSSION:

EVALUATION OF A PLANNING PROCESS

Think of any educational plan in whose formulation you were involved or about which you know very well and determine whether each of the following stages of planning was followed in formulating the plan

(1) environmental analysis (swot process)

(2) state vision and mission

(3) niyyat and commitment

(4) set goals: refinement of mission - key issues - general ends to be achieved

(5) set objectives: specific statement of results expected

(6) collect and analyze information

(7) make assumptions/forecasts about missing information: controllable factors - uncontrollable factors

(8) search for opportunities

(9) consider all alternative solutions

(10) decide on best alternative

(11) formulate action plans to achieve objectives: define tasks needed to achieve objectives - delegate - set targets

(12) communicate

(13) set up control mechanisms

(14) execution of the plan

(15) follow-up and follow-through (16) evaluation using goals as criteria

CHECK-LIST OF AN ACTION PLAN

Use the following check list of completeness to assess any educational action plan that you are familiar with:

(1) What is vision, mission, goals, objectives, tasks

(2) Who will implement this plan?

(3) Who will be affected by this plan?

(4) Wow will the plan be implemented?

(5) When will the plan be implemented?

(6) Where will the plan be implemented?

(7) What will the plan cost (human and material)?

(8) What are the likely barriers to implementation?

(9) What are the contingency plans if main plan fails?

(10) What are the related plans?

(11) How will the plan be controlled and evaluated?

PREPARING AN ACTION PLAN FOR A LOCAL ORGANIZATION

This exercise can be done by an individual or a small group. Think of a geographically and socially well-defined Muslim community that you know very well or an organization to which you belong or whose operations are very familiar to you. Outline a 1-year action plan to address a selected education issue. The action plan should be based on the general strategic plan that you prepared in previous exercises.

Provide some basic information (50 words) on which your planning will be based: total population to be served, socio-demographic characteristics, existing facilities and resources in the community, main elements of the long-term strategic plan.

Since this is a class-room exercise and you have no time to prepare a comprehensive plan, choose only one field of concern.

List your vision, mission, goals, objectives, and tasks. Choose only one task and plan for it in detail. Follow the following outline:

TITLE

VISION

MISSION

GOALS

OBJECTIVES FOR EACH GOAL

TASKS FOR EACH OBJECTIVE

DETAILED PLANNING FOR ONE TASK

                WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

                METHODOLOGY

                TIMING

                PLACE

                HUMAN RESOURCES (COMPUTE PERSON-TIME)

                NON-HUMAN RESOURCES (MONEY, MATERIAL)

                EXPECTED RESULT

                CRITERIA OF EVALUATION

ANALYZING THE HIJRA OF THE PROPHET AS AN EXAMPLE OF ACTION PLANNING

(a) What was the overall vision

(b) What was the mission?

(c) What were the goals?

(d) What were the objectives?

(e) What were the different tasks of the plan?

(f) For each task provide the following:

                Who was responsible?

                How was it carried out?

                When was the task (start, end, timing)

                Where was the task carried out?

                What were the human resources involved?

                What were the non-human resources involved?

                What were the expected results?

(g) What were the opportunities and threats?

(h) What could have been the alternative contingency plans?

(i) Who would feel the impact of the plan if it succeeded?0

(j) How did Hijra contribute to the overall strategic plan?

(k) What lessons do you derive from Hijra for your local work?

YOUR NOTES:

WORKSHOP #8

THE HIJRA and YEAR 1 AT MADINA

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Promulgation of the Madina constitution

Building mosque

Brotherhood between ansar and muhajirin

Brotherhood among all Muslims

Ghazawat and saraya

TEXT ANALYSIS

Hijra

First year at Madina

DISCUSSION

Hypothetical Action plan for the first year at Madina

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

The main events in the first year at Madina were:

1. Promulgation of the Madina constitution

2. Building mosque

3. Brotherhood between ansar and muhajirin Hashr:9, Anfal: 72

4. Brotherhood among all Muslims Anfal:63

5. Ghazawat and saraya: Haj: 39-40, Anfal: 39

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT

HIJRA

'Amir b. Fuhayrah was a half‑breed from the tribe of Azd belong ing to al‑Tufayl b. 'Abdallah b. Sakhbarah [who was Abu al‑Harith b. al‑Tufay], who had the same mother as Abu Bakr's daughter 'A'ishah and his son 'Abd al‑Rahman. Amir b. Fuhayrah became a Muslim while he was their slave, and Abu Bakr bought him and set him free. He was a good Muslim. At the time when the Prophet and Abu Bakr set out, Abu Bakr had the rights to the milk of a flock of sheep which used to come to his family in the evening. Abu Bakr sent 'Amir with the sheep to Thawr, and he used to bring them in the evening to the Messenger of God in the cave there Which is the cave named by God in the Qur'an. Tabari 6:146

They sent ahead with their mounts a man from the Banu 'Abd b. 'Adl, a confederate of the family of al‑'As b. Wa'il of Banu Sahm of Quraysh. At that time, this man 'Adi was a polytheist, but they hired him as a guide for the journey. During the nights which they spent in the cave 'Abdallah b. Abi Bakr used to come to them in the evening and bring them all the news of Mecca, and then re­turn to Mecca by morning. 'Amir would bring the sheep every evening so that they could milk them, and would then drive them to pasture at daybreak, and spend the morning with other peo­ple's shepherds, so that nobody realized what he was doing.

Tabari 6:146

The Messenger of God and Abu Bakr spent three days in the cave. When Quraysh realized that he was missing, they offered a hundred she‑camels for whoever would bring him back to them. 'Abdallah b. Abi Bakr spent his time among Quraysh listening to what they were plotting and to what they were saying about the Messenger of God and Abu Bakr. Then he would come to them in the evening and give them the news. 'Amir b. Fuhayrah, Abu Bakr's mawla, pastured his flocks among the other Meccan shep­herds, and brought Abu Bakr's sheep to the cave in the evening, when the two men would milk them and slaughter jone of 1 them. When 'Abdallah b. Ahl Bakr left for Mecca the following morning, 'Amir b. Fuhayrah would follow after him with the sheep in order to erase his trail.

When the third day had gone past, and the people's interest in the two had died down, the man whom they had hired brought them their camels and Asma' brought them their travelling pro­visions. She had forgotten to bring them a strap, and when they set off, she went to attach the travelling provisions and found that there was no strap. She took off her girdle and used that as a strap to attach the provisions. Thereafter she was known as "She of the two girdles" on account of this incident. When Abu Bakr brought the two riding camels to the Messenger of God, he gave him the better of the two and said, "Mount, may my father and mother be your ransom." The Messenger of God replied, "I will not ride a camel which does not belong to me." "It is yours, O Messenger of God whom I value more than my father and mother," he said. "No," said the Messenger of God. "What is the price which you paid for it?" He named the price, and the Messenger of God said, "I will take it for that price." Abu Bakr said, "It is yours, O Messenger of God." They mounted and set off, and Abu Bakr mounted behind himself his mawla 'Amir b. Fuhayrah, who was to serve them during the journey. Tabari 6:149

When the clamor about Muhammad and Abu Bakr died down and news came to them that people were no longer talking about them, their guide brought them their camels and they set off, taking with them 'Amir b. Fuhayrah to serve them and assist them. Abu Bakr mounted him behind him and shared the saddle with him by turns. There was nobody with them but 'Amir b. Fuhayrah and the brother of the Banu 'Adi, who guided them along the road. He took them through the Meccan lowlands, then along a route parallel to the coast below 'Usfan, then across country, rejoining the road after Qudayd, then along the al‑Kharrar path, then across the pass of al‑Marah, and then along a road called al‑Mudlijah, be­tween the 'Amq road and the Rawha' road. He then met the 'Arj road, coming to a spring called al‑Ghabir to the right of Rakubah, and then ascended the Batn Ri'm, finally arriving, one day at high noon, at the quarter of the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf in Ithe south of) al ­Madinah. I have been told that the Messenger of God only stayed among them for two days, although the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf assert that he stayed among them for longer than that. Then he led his camel, which followed him to the quarter of the Banu al‑Najjar. There the Messenger of God showed them a drying floor in the midst of their dwellings. Tabari 6:147

Their guide brought them to Quba' in the quarter of the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf on Monday, the twelfth of Rabi' I [September 24, 622] when the heat of the forenoon had grown intense and the sun had almost reached its midpoint in the sky Tabari 6:150

The Messenger of God remained at Quba' among the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and founded their mosque. Then God caused‑him to leave them on Friday. The Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf assert that he remained among them longer than that, but God knows best. Some say that his stay at Quba' lasted for ten days or so. Tabari 6:152

FIRST YEAR AT MADINA

(a) Building mosque and house: According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger of God mounted his she‑camel and let her reins hang loose. The inhabitants of every settlement of the Ansar (the Muslims of Medina) which she went past invited him to stay with them, say­ing, "Come, O Messenger of God, to a settlement which has many defenders and is well‑provisioned and impregnable." He would say to them, "Let go her reins, for she is commanded (by God)." Finally he reached the present site of his mosque, and his camel knelt down where the door of his mosque is. At that time this place was a drying‑floor for dates and belonged to two orphan boys of Banu al‑Najjar under the guardianship of Mu'adh b. 'Afra'; their names were Sahl and Suhayl, sons of 'Amr b. 'Abbad b. Tha'labah b. Ghanm b. Malik b. al‑Najjar. When the camel knelt down, the Messenger of God remained on her. After a little she got up and went a short distance, while the Messenger of God let go her reins and did not direct her with them. Then she turned round, went back to the place where she had knelt first, and there knelt and laid down her neck. When the Messenger of God dis­mounted from her, Abu Ayyub took his saddle into his house. Others of the Ansar invited him to stay with them but the Mes­senger of God said to them, "The man goes with his saddle," and stayed with Abu Ayyub Khalid b. Zayd b. Kulayb among the Banu Ghanm b. al‑Najjar. According to Abu Ja'far (al‑Tabari): The Messenger of God asked to whom the drying‑floor belonged, and Mu'adh b. 'Afra' told him, "It belongs to two orphans under my guardianship, whom I will compensate for it." The Messenger of God ordered that a mosque should be built there, and stayed with Abu Ayyub until the mosque and his living‑quarters had been completed. It is said that the Messenger of God bought the site of his mosque and then built upon it, but the correct version in our Opinion is this, according to Mujahid b. Musa-Yazid b. Ha­run-Hammad b. Salamah-Abu al‑Tayyah-Anas b. Malik The site of the mosque of the Prophet belonged to Banu al‑Najjar and contained palm trees, cultivated land and pre‑lslamic graves. The Messenger of God said to them, "Ask me a price for it," but they said, "We do not want a price for it, but only the reward we shall receive from God. " The Messenger of God then gave orders concerning the site; the palm trees were cut down, the cultivated land levelled, and the graves dug up. Before this mosque was com­pleted the Messenger of God used to pray in sheep‑enclosures or wherever the time of prayer overtook him.

 According to Abu Ja'far (al‑Tabari): He himself joined in the work of building his mosque, together with his companions from the Emigrants and the Ansar. Tabari 7:4-5

(b) Muslim women brought to Madina

In this year the Prophet sent Zayd b. Harithah and Abu Rafi' to his daughters and his wife Sawdah bt. Zam'ah, and they brought them from Mecca to Medina. It is said that when 'Abd Allah b. Urayqit' returned to Mecca he informed 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr of the situation of his father Abu Bakr, and the latter brought his father's family to him. The party included Umm Ruman, the mother of 'A'ishah, ('A'ishah herself ) and 'Abd Allah b. Abi Bakr, and they were accompanied to Medina by Talhah b. 'Ubayd Allah. Tabari 7:8

(c) Expedition led by Hamza: Al‑Waiqidi asserts that in this year, in Ramadan, seven months af­ter the Hijrah (about March 623), the Messenger of God entrusted a white banner to Hamzah b. 'Abd al‑Muttalib with the command of thirty men of the Emigrants. Their aim was to intercept the caravans of Quraysh. Hamzah met Abu Jahl at the head of three hundred men. Majdi b. 'Amr al‑Juham intervened between them, and they separated without a battle. The banner of Hamzah was carried by Abu Marthad.

Tabari 7:10-14

(d) Expedition Led by 'Ubaydah: (He also says that) in this year, eight months after the Hijrah, in Shawwal (April 623), the Messenger of God entrusted a white banner to 'Ubaydah b. al‑Harith b. al‑Muttalib b. 'Abd Manaf and ordered him to march to Batn Rabigh. His banner was carried by Mistah b. Uthathah. He reached the pass of al‑Marah, which is near al‑Juhfah, at the head of sixty Emigrants without a single Ansan (Muslim of Medina) among them. They met the polythe­ists at a watering place called Ahya'; they shot arrows at one another but there was no hand‑to‑hand fighting. There is a difference of opinion as to who was the commander of the (Meccan) expedition; some say that it was Abu Sufyan b. Harb and some that it was Mikraz b. Hafs. Al‑Waqidi says: I consider the true account to be that it was Abu Sufyan b. Harb, and that he was at the head of two hundred polytheists.

(e) Expedition Led by Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas: In this year, in Dhu al‑Qa'dah, the Messenger of God entrusted to Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas a white banner (for an expedition) to al­Kharrar It was carried by al‑Miqdad b. 'Amr. According to Abu Bakr b. Isma'il-his father-'Amir b Sa'd-his father: I set out on foot at the head of twenty men (or twenty‑one men). We used to lie hidden by day and march at night, until we reached al‑Kharrar on the fifth morning. The Mes­senger of God had enjoined me not to go beyond al‑Kharrar, but the caravan had got to al‑Kharrar a day before me; there were sixty men with it. Those who were with Sa'd were all from the Emigrants. According to Abu Ja'far (al‑Tabari): Ibn Ishaq's account of all these expeditions differs from that of al‑Waqidi, which I have just related, and places them all in year 2.

(f) Expedition Led by Muhammad to al‑Abwa': According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah b. al‑Fadl--Muhammad b. Ishaq: The Messenger of God came to Medina on the twelfth of Rabi' al‑Awwal (September 24, 622), and remained there for the rest of Rabl' al‑Awwal, Rabi' al‑Akhir, the two Jumadas, Rajab Sha'ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al‑Qa'dah, Dhu al‑Hijjah--the pilgrimage in that month was directed by the polytheists--and Muharram. In Safar (which began August 4, 623), nearly twelve months after his arrival in Medina on the twelfth of Rabl' al ­Awwal, he went out on a raid as far as Waddan, searching for Quraysh and the Banu Damrah b. Bakr b. 'Abd Manat b. Kinanah. This was the expedition of al‑Abwa', in the course of which the Banu Damrah made a treaty of friendship with him; their fellow ­tribesman and chief, Makhshi b. 'Amr, acted on their behalf. Then the Messenger of God returned to Medina without any fighting, and remained there for the rest of Safar and the begin­ning of Rabi' al‑Awwal.

(g) Further Details About Expeditions: During this stay he sent 'Ubaydah b. al‑Harith b. al‑Muttalib at the head of eighty or sixty horsemen from the Emigrants without a single Ansan among them. He got as far as Ahya', a watering place in Hijaz, below the pass of al‑Marah.26 There he met a great band of Quraysh, but there was no fighting between them, except that Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas shot an arrow on that day, which was the first arrow shot in Islam. Then the two groups separated from one another, the Muslims leaving a rearguard. Al‑Miqdad b. 'Amr al­Bahram, the confederate (halif) of the Banu Zuhrah, and 'Utbah b. Ghazwan b. Jabir, the confederate of the Banu Nawfal b. 'Abd Manaf, fled from the polytheists to the Muslims. They were Mus­lims, but they had gone to try to effect a reconciliation between the unbelievers and the Muslims. The commander of the Meccan detachment was 'Ikrimah b. Abi Jahl.

 Muhammad (b. Ishaq) says: The banner of 'Ubaydah, I have heard, was the first banner which the Messenger of God entrusted to a Muslim in Islam.

According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Muhammad b. Ishaq: Some of the scholars assert that the Messenger of God sent him out while he was returning from the raid of al‑Abwa', before he reached Medina.

During this stay he sent Hamzah b. 'Abd al‑Muttalib at the head of thirty horsemen from the Emigrants, without a single Ansari among them, to Sif al‑Bahr, near al‑'Is, which is in the territory of Juhaynah. He met Abu Jahl b. Hisham on the coast there at the head of three hundred Meccan horsemen. Majdi b. 'Amr al­Juham intervened between them, being on friendly terms with both parties, and the two sides separated without a battle.

Some say that the banner of Hamzah was the first banner which the Messenger of God entrusted to a Muslim. This is be­cause he sent him and 'Ubaydah b. al‑Harith at the same time, so that there is confusion on this point.

What we have heard from scholars to whom we have spoken is that the banner of 'Ubaydah b. al‑Harith was the first banner to be entrusted in Islam.

(h) Expeditions Led by Muhammad

Then the Messenger of God led an expedition in Rabl' al‑Akhir [....] in search of Quraysh. He went as far as Buwat in the region of Radwa and then returned without any fighting.

He stayed in Medina for the rest of Rabl' al‑Akhir and part of Jumada al‑Ula (which began October 3I, 623) and then led an­other expedition in search of Quraysh. He took the mountain track of the Banu Dinar b. al‑Najjar (of Medina) and then crossed the desert of al‑Khabar, halting beneath a tree in the Batha' Ibn Azhar called Dhat al‑Saq. He prayed there, and his mosque is there. Food was prepared for him there, and he and those with him ate. The site there of the stones on which his cooking‑pot was supported is still well‑known. Water was brought to him from water called al‑Mushayrib. Then he set off, leaving al­Khala'iq on the left and going through a pass, now called Shu'bat 'Abd Allah. From that point, he went down to the left until he reached Yalyal, halting where Yalyal adjoined al‑Dabu'ah. Water was brought to him from a well at al‑Dabu'ah. Next, he went through the plain of Malal until he joined the road at Sukhayrat al‑Yamam, then kept to the road until he halted at al‑'Ushayrah in the Batn Yanbu'. He stayed there for the rest of Jumada al‑Ula and a few days of Jumada al‑Akhira (which began November 30, 623). During this time, the Banu Mudlij and their confederates from the Banu Damrah made a treaty of friendship with him. Then he went back to Medina without any fighting. In the course of this expedition he made certain remarks to 'Ali b. Abi Talib.

The Messenger of God had only spent a few days in Medina, less than ten, after coming back from the expedition to al‑'Ushay­rah, before Kurz b. Jabir al‑Fihn raided the herds of Medina. The Messenger of God went out in pursuit of him and reached a valley called Safawan in the region of Badr, but Kurz eluded him and was not caught. This was the first expedition of Badr.

Then the Messenger of God returned to Medina and stayed there for the rest of Jumada al‑Akhirah, Rajab and Sha'ban (De­cember 623 to February 25, 624). Among other expeditions he sent out at this time was one under Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas at the head of eight men.

Tabari 7:10-14

DISCUSSION

A HYPOTHETICAL PLAN FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THE ISLAMIC STATE AT MADINA

Using back ward thinking, draw up a one year action plan for the first year at Madinah.

WORKSHOP #9

PROJECT PLANNING & APPRAISAL

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Learn conceptual and practical aspects of project planning

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Feasibility study is basis for appraisal

What is a project?:

Stages / life cycle of a project:

Hard and soft projects

Feasibility study

Project Planning: definition

Advantages of project planning:

Components of a project plan:

Project Director

Identifying project objectives

Project Team

Stakeholders

Scope of work statement

Project tasks

Key stages

Budgeting

Milestones

Human resource allocation

Establish control procedures

Creativity

Review:

DISCUSSION

Check-list of project director responsibilities

Comparing traditional with matrix project structures

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Overview: This chapter deals with project proposals, their appraisal and determination whether they should be accepted for implementation or not.

Feasibility study is basis for appraisal

What is a project?: A project is a group of activities carried out with clearly defined time and cost to reach specific objectives. A project is not routine or part of the day-to-day operations

Stages / life cycle of a project:

1.        Conception based on research, perceived need / problem

2.        Feasibility study: includes fact finding, alternative approaches, economic evaluation, sources of finance, effect on current operations, and  project assumptions

3.        Project planning

4.        Implementation

5.        Termination

6.        Evaluation

Hard and soft projects: A hard project starts off with a clear plan and objectives and all details worked out in advance. A soft project starts only with general and vague objectives and concrete details are developed as you go along

Feasibility study: Review feasibility study and update information and assumptions

Project Planning: definition: Project planning is a type of operational planning

Advantages of project planning:

1.        Reduce risk

2.        Clarify objectives

3.        Set standards for performance

4.        Set up structure for implementation

5.        Set up a control system

Components of a project plan:

1.        Objectives

2.        Methodology

3.        Scheduling

4.        Budget

5.        Organizational structure

6.        Procedures for control

7.        Procedures for communication

8.        Performance standards

Project Director:

1.        A project director must be appointed very early in the life of the project and should participate in the planning process

2.        Terms of reference and authority for the director should be defined.

3.        A list of specific responsibilities should be drawn up for the director including: planning,  organizing, directing, and controlling.

4.        The project director must have the following leadership qualities: team leader, motivator, negotiator etc.

5.        Some large projects must have a project steering committee in addition to the director

Identifying project objectives: Project objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and  time bound

Project Team: Set up project team, explain project to them and make sure they understand. You may use a traditional hierarchical system or matrix system (skills matrix). Make sure that you balance personalities.

Stakeholders: Identify internal and external stakeholders, analyze their open and hidden agendas, plan how to manage them. Define the project stage that concerns every stake holder must be identified.

Scope of work statement: Scope of work statement describing the work to be performed including specifications

Project tasks: Brain-storm to identify project tasks and group them as key stages of the project

Key stages: Order key stages in a logical order taking into account any dependencies. Assign duration to each stage. Break down key stages into several levels of detail. Develop an operational plan for each key stage allowing for contingencies.

Budgeting: Avoid the following mistakes in budgeting: inaccurate scope of work statement, lack of standards, wrong work schedules, inaccurate time estimates, ignoring inflation

Milestones:

Determine project milestones (start, end, and duration of each stage) and represent on a chart or graphically making sure you allow for float time.

CPM is a project network diagram on which you can identify the critical path that determines the shortest time in which the project can be completed and also the total project time. Critical activities have zero float time

A Gantt chart can show the critical path, the milestones, responsible persons, review meetings. Project time should be converted to calendar time

Human resource allocation: Plan human resource allocation by day and assign tasks to individuals by name. A linear responsibility chart shows the task, who is responsible, and the estimated time.

Establish control procedures

Creativity: You should not plan to the last detail. Leave room for creativity of the implementors

Review: The plan must be updated continuously during implementation.

DISCUSSION:

CHECK-LIST OF PROJECT DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITIES

PLANNING

                PROJECT PLAN

                PROJECT SCHEDULE

                PROJECT BUDGET

                COST CONTROL PROCEDURES

                PROJECT CONTROL PROCEDURES

                SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS

ORGANIZING

                ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND CHART

                JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS

                HIRE PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS

                PLAN RESOURCES

DIRECTING

                PROCEDURES FOR PROBLEM SOLVING

                PROCEDURES FOR DECISION MAKING

                MAINTAIN TEAM MORALE

                CONFLICT RESOLUTION

CONTROLLING

                MAKE SURE OBJECTIVES ARE ACHIEVED

                MAKE SURE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS ARE FOLLOWED

                PROJECT PROGRESS/STATUS REPORTS

COMPARING TRADITIONAL WITH MATRIX PROJECT STRUCTURES

Indicate (yes/no) for each criterion below comparing traditional  and matrix project structures

ITEM                                                                                                                      TRADITIONAL   MATRIX

-------------------------------------               -                                               ---------    -------

CONTROL IS TIGHT

CONTROL IS EFFECTIVE

AUTHORITY IS WELL DEFINED

REPETITIVE REPORTING TO SEVERAL BOSSES

RESPONSIBILITIES WELL DEFINED

PROJECT LEADERSHIP IS CLEAR

COMMUNICATION CHANNELS EFFICIENT

COMMUNICATION ON PERSONAL BASIS

VERTICAL COMMUNICATION

CONFLICT BETWEEN PROJECTS LIKELY

HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION

RESOURCE UTILIZATION EFFICIENT

RESOURCE ALLOCATION FLEXIBLE

COST EFFECTIVE

PRIORITIZATION EASY

CHANGE OF PRIORITIES NOT COMMUNICATED

TEAM WORK IS EASY

COST CONTROL IS EASY

CRISIS INTERVENTION IS EASY                                                                                   

WORKSHOP #10

IMPLEMENTATION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Learn conceptual and practical aspects of project implementation

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Implementation as a management function

Components of Implementation

Start and end of implementation

Civilization is implementation of ideas

Projects failure due to poor implementation

Reasons for things not getting done:

Action deficiency

Reliance on Allah

Implementation in the plan

Implementation team

Decisions in implementation

Paper work and bureaucracy

Equilibrium between effectiveness vs efficiency

Requirements for successful implementation

Project cycle

Stages of implementation:

Information and communication

Charting project progress:

Managing multiple priorities

Time use:

Auditing deadline crises:

Contingencies

Routine and procedures

Pro-activity

Simplicity

Practicality and pragmatism

Intuition from experience

Incremental approach

Risk, perfectionism, uncertainty

Records

Human skills

Delegation

Communication

Negotiation

Termination

TEXT ANALYSIS

Actions must be consistent with words (credible)

Praise for work done by others

Completing tasks

Continuity of work

Short but perfect

Gradual requests in getting compliance

Some correct actions to be postponed if they will be misunderstood

Continuity of work

Best of work is what is continuous even if little

Best of work is what is continuous; do what you can

Building the prophet's mosque at Madinah

Digging the trench

Building of Kufah

Building of Basrah:

DISCUSSION

Successful implementation

Stages of implementation

Control of project implementation: gantt chart

Control of project implementation: pert/cm table

Causes of failure in implementation

Simulated project implementation

Use of routines in implementation

Project leader check list

Documentation for project implementation

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Implementation as a management function: Implementation is an important management function that is often neglected.

Components of Implementation

1.        Inputs

2.        Transformation

3.        Outputs (products or services)

Start and end of implementation

You start with inputs and transform them into outputs. Implementation is the process of transformation. Implementation thus has a beginning and an end.

Implementation involves breaking down the work into manageable steps or tasks, costing, scheduling, follow-up, control.

Successful implementation is an art that is learned through experience.

Civilization is implementation of ideas: All civilizations are built on ideas that get implemented. Ideas that are not put into practice are worth very little. Many good ideas and decisions never see the light of the day because of inaction.

Projects failure due to poor implementation: In our experience many group projects do not succeed not for lack of insight or necessary resources but because of missing or poor implementation.

Reasons for things not getting done:

1.        Vision not clear

2.        Goals too big

3.        Task unpleasant

4.        Indecision, lack of confidence

5.        Poor planning

6.        Time not enough

7.        Distractions

Action deficiency: In many cases, the problem is not poor implementation but lack of inertia and momentum to do something. Lack of vision, purpose, objectives, and self confidence are causes of inertia. Action deficiency disease that is pervasive in many communities. Failure to carry out things that have to be done leads to loss of credibility. Your actions must be consistent with your words. Do not tell others to do things that you yourself fail to do. Action deficiency disease sometimes manifests as an attempt to claim credit for work not done. The claim may be purely fabricated fantasies or taking credit for work done by others. Being overwhelmed by too many projects may result in inaction. You succeed by trying, there is no movement without trying. The more you try to exert yourself, the more likely is the success. Take action to make sure that what you want to happen will actually happen. Never wait for anything to happen on its own. Do not procrastinate when action is what is called for.

Reliance on Allah: When you have exerted your maximum human effort in planning and preparation, act and rely on Allah for the results.

Implementation in the plan: The implementation strategy must be built in the action plan.

Implementation team: An implementation team must be set for each project. Successful implementation requires good team management skills. You must learn dealing with different personalities.

Decisions in implementation: The implementor has to make decisions constantly. Some are long-term strategic decisions. Others are tactical/operational covering a period of 1 year. Others are day-to-day operational decisions.

Paper work and bureaucracy: Paper-work and bureaucracy are enemies of successful implementation if overused.

Equilibrium between effectiveness vs efficiency: Both effectiveness (achieving targets) and efficiency (doing things right at minimum cost) are important in implementation. Successful implementation strikes due balance between the two.

Requirements for successful implementation: A manager must have vision, good planning, follow-up and follow-through for successful implementation. Successful implementation requires, in addition,  proper knowledge and skill, clear well written goals (specific, flexible, realistic), clear priorities, a clear plan of action, and emphasis on quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA) and quality improvement (QI).

Project cycle: Project implementation proceeds through stages, also called the project planning and control cycle. A project plan is the starting point. Tasks are then defined and are assigned to persons who will implement them. Task completion is assured by follow-up and control.

Stages of implementation:

1.        Plan: Preparation before start of implementation is everything. Take time to prepare well, work out the details, and anticipate problems before commencement.

2.        Mobilization of resources: Plan your resources, know where they are, how to get to them, and how to use them. Cost planning must be exact to avoid cost overruns, a usual phenomenon in inefficient projects. A skill matrix should be drawn up for each project

3.        Definition of tasks: structured? :yes/no - skill variety - task identity (complete job) - task significance - autonomy - feedback - task interdependence

4.        Task assignments: explain what to do - explain where assignee fits in the overall picture - give a time frame - be considerate -give credit

5.        Assure task completion: get focussed - cut through clutter - understand your priorities - avoid interruptions -budget time for task

Information and communication: Make sure that all concerned are in the information loop. Set up and use communication channels. Project status reports must be timely, informative and written in a problem-solving format.

Charting project progress:

Graphic representation is effective when used to display project activities, duration of the various tasks, and an indication of the sequence of activities that are most critical at the time of project completion (the critical path).

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technic) involves deciding what functions should be performed and what activities will be necessary as well as estimating the resources needed.

Continuous monitoring helps you identify errors and take preventive or corrective action. In some cases the baseline plan may have to be changed.

Modern computer technology can be used to make project monitoring and control more timely and more efficient.

Managing multiple priorities: In many projects the implementor will have to deal with multiple priorities successfully. Budgets get squeezed and time is tight. He must be on top of all the different schedules and work-loads.

Time use:

Timing and sequencing of tasks and activities is important. Tasks well done but in the wrong sequence can wreak havoc on the whole project.

Tasks once started must be completed. Work must be continuous; a bust of activity followed by long periods of inactivity is a recipe for failure. It is better to do little at a time, do it well, and do it all the time.

Auditing deadline crises:

Deadlines must be kept. Whenever a deadline is not reached or when there is a deadline crisis in project implementation, an audit must be carried out to find the causes and learn from the experience for the benefit of future projects.

The following questions must be asked of every deadline crisis:

                What did I do to create the crisis?

                What was the distraction?

                How was time wasted?

                Will problems recur?

                What was the role of conflict?

                What did i learn?

Contingencies

Each situation requires a specific approach, we can not use a manual

Emergency situations do occur. They may be occasional or may occur at expected milestones.

Anticipation of as many problem as possible and preparing contingency plans for them is the secret of successful Implementation.

You must always have well-worked out contingency plans to deal with the usual problems that usually occur.

Despite the best of anticipatory planning surprises always occur. Successful implementors requires highly developed skills in improvising to deal with unexpected surprises.

Routine and procedures

Implementation routines have advantages and disadvantages. You must know when to use a routine. Application should be automatically triggered by the relevant situation. The implementor must understand the routine in order to use it well.

Implementation is not time for thinking about actions and their motivations. There is no time to think about alternative courses of action. All thought must be about implementing the set plan.

Thinking, planning, and information collection must finally reach a point of no return and must be followed by action.

Knowledge and information do not lead automatically to action. Many knowledgeable and creative people are not effective. Initiative, the ability to make choices are necessary for action.

Pro-activity: Project management is a pro-active effort. If you wait for things to happen and you only react you will fail very rapidly.

Simplicity: Simplicity is a key to successful implementation. Any procedure that requires involved explanation is likely to fail. Actions must be simple, doable and with a potential to be effective.

Practicality and pragmatism: A successful implementor is both practical and pragmatic. Pragmatism means being in tune with the environment and pursuing the art of the possible. Sometimes the word pragmatic takes on a negative coloration to mean lack of principles. You can be pragmatic while being principled and walking in the moral lane. You will need to remember that the end never justifies the means. Project implemenation requires a lot of pragmatism and being practical. Everything is possible. You have to take the best action in a given situation.

Intuition from experience: After a lot of implementation experience you may develop your intuition to the point that you can guess right and be "street smart"

Incremental approach: Incrementalism is an implementation method appropriate for situations with uncertain information. You assess the situation as you go along and do what is possible and is practical.

Risk, perfectionism, uncertainty: In order to be effective we have to accept some degree of risk. Trying to play safe and be perfect may destroy initiative for action.

Records: You must maintain a project diary in which all significant project events are written. Good documentation reduces errors and misunderstandings.

Human skills: Projects involve managing people. Interpersonal relations are crucial.

Delegation: You have to delegate many of the responsibilities in order to have time to carry out leadership functions such as planning and control.

Communication: Good communication is needed. You must make sure that instructions are understood and are carried out in time.

Negotiation: Negotiation ability is necessary. You have to negotiate win-win with many people to obtain cooperatio and finish the project

Termination: The terminal stages of the project are as important as the start. You must plan the termination carefully. Fix a termination date in advance and advertize it. Plan for the post-project period.

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT

Actions must be consistent with words (credible): Do you enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget ( To practice it ) yourself. And yet you study the Scripture ? Will you not understand ? Qur'an 2:44

Praise for work done by others: Think not that those who exult in what they have brought about, and love to be praised for what they have not done think not that they can escape the Penalty. For them is a penalty grievous indeed.               Qur'an 3:188

Completing tasks: "Aisha reported the Apostle of Allah ( may peace be upon him ) as saying: Choose such actions as you are capable of performing, for Allah does not grow weary till you do. The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done most continuously, even if they amount to little, Whenever he began an action, he would do it continuously"  Abu Daud 1:358, Chapter 468, Hadith # 1363

Continuity of work: "Aisha reported Allah's Messenger ( may peace be upon him ) as saying: The acts most pleasing to Allah are those which are done continuously, even if they are small, and when Aisha did any act she did it continuously"  Muslim 1: 377-378, Chapter 273, Hadith # 1713

Short but perfect: "Narrated Anas : The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) used to pray a short prayer ( in congregation ) but used to offer it in a perfect manner."  Bukhari 1:381, hadith # 674

Gradual requests in getting compliance: "Narrated Ibn Abbas : The Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) sent Muadh to Yemen and said, " Invite the people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah's Apostle, and if they obey you to do so, then inform them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers in every day and night ( in twenty-four hours ), and if they obey you to do so, then inform them that Allah has made it obligatory for them to pay the Zakat from their property and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor"  Bukhari 2;271-272, hadith # 478

Some correct actions to be postponed if they will be misunderstood: "Narrated Aisha : Allah's Apostle ( may peace be upon him ) said to me, " were your people not close to the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance, I would have demolished the Kaba and would have re-built it on its original foundations laid by Abraham ( for Quraish had curtailed its building ), and I would have built a back door too"  Bukhari 2:383, hadith # 655

Continuity of work: "Narrated Aisha : Once the Prophet ( may peace be upon him ) came while a woman was sitting with me. He said, " Who is she? I replied, " She is so and so," and told him about her ( excessive praying. He said disapprovingly, " Do ( good ) deeds which is within your capacity ( without being overtaxed ) as Allah does not get tired ( of giving rewards ) but ( surely ) you will get tired and the best deed ( act of worship ) in the sight of Allah is that which is done regularly"   Bukhari 1:37, chapter 33, hadith # 41

Best of work is what is continuous even if little: "Narrated Aisha : The Prophet used to construct a room with a Hasir at night in order to pray therein, and during the day he used to spread it out and sit on it. The people started coming to the Prophet at night to offer the prayer behind him. When their number increased the Prophet faced them and said, " O people ! Do only those good deeds which you can do, for Allah does not get tired ( of giving reward ) till you get tired, and the best deeds to Allah are the incessant ones though they were few"  Bukhari 7:499, hadith # 752

Best of work is what is continuous; do what you can:   "Narrated Aishah : The Prophet was asked. " What deeds are loved most by Allah? he said. The most regular constant deeds even though they may be few." He added. Don,t take upon yourselves, except the deeds which are within your ability."   Bukhari 8:314, hadith # 472

Building the prophet's mosque at Madina: "Narrated Anas...distributed"

Bukhari 1:246-247, hadith # 413

Building the prophet's mosque at Madinah: We have seen that the Prophet's camel stopped in the court­yard of Sahl and Suhayl. The Prophet bought the land in order to build his mosque there. While the mosque was being erected, he stayed in the house of Abu Ayyub Khalid ibn Zayd al Ansari. In the construction of the mosque, Muhammad worked with his own hands as did the Muslims, whether Muhajirun or Ansar. When the mosque was completed, they built on one side of it living quarters for the Prophet. These operations did not over­tax anyone, for the two structures were utterly simple and economical. The mosque consisted of a vast courtyard whose four walls were built out of bricks and mud. A part of it was covered with a ceiling made from date trunks and leaves. Another part was devoted to shelter the poor who had no home at all. The mosque was not lit during the night except for an hour at the time of the night prayer. At that time some straw was burned for light. Thus it continued to be for nine years, after which lamps were attached to the tree trunks on which stood the ceiling. The living quarters of the Prophet were no more luxurious than the mosque although they had to be more closed in order to give a measure of privacy. ( Muhammad pp 174-175 )

Digging the trench: Salman al Farisi, who knew far more of the techniques of warfare than was common in the Peninsula, advised the digging of a dry moat around Madinah and the fortification of its buildings within. The Muslims hurried to implement this counsel. The moat was dug and the Prophet. May God's peace and blessing be upon him worked with his hands alongside his companions lifting the dirt, encouraging the Muslim workers and exhorting everyone to multiply his effort. Ali the Muslims picked up their digging utensils, their picks and shovels, and borrowed more tools from the Qurayzah Jews who remained true to their covenant with Muhammad. With tremendous effort and exertion, the whole moat was dug in six days. At the same time, the walls of the buildings on the perimeter of the city facing the enemy were also reinforced, their inhabitants were evacuated and the buildings were reserved for military use. The women and children were removed to the interior and placed within fortified walls. Rocks were gathered and placed on the inner side of the moat for use as possible projectiles against the enemy if the need arose. ( Muhammad pp 303 )

Building of Kufah: According to Muhammad b. 'Abdallah b. Safwan-Umayyah b. Khalid-Abu 'Awanah-Husayn b. 'Abd al‑Rahman: When, on the day of Jalula', the enemy had been defeated, Sa'd recalled the army. When 'Ammar b. Yasir had arrived, he left with the forces for al‑Mada'in. But they did not like it there. 'Ammar asked, "Do the camels thrive in this place?" "No," was the answer, "because of the mosquitoes." 'Ammar commented, "'Umar once said that Arab tribesmen won't be healthy in a region in which their camels do not thrive." He went on: Therefore 'Ammar de­parted with the army and in the end settled in al‑Kufah.

When ,a d had settled in al‑Kufah, he wrote to 'Umar saying, "I have taken up residence on a site covered with pebbles, it is situated between al-­Hirah and the Euphrates, one side borders on dry land, the other borders on the water. Dry as well as tender thistles abound there. I have left a free choice to the Muslims in al‑Mada'in; those who have preferred to stay on in the latter, I have left behind there as a garrison. Thus a number of people from different clans have remained (in al‑Mada'in), the majority of them being from the Banu Abs." According to al‑Sari-Shu'ayb-Sayf-Muhammad, Tal­hah, 'Amr, Sa'id and al‑Muhallab: When the people destined for al­-Kufah had arrived there, and the people destined to populate al­-Basrah had settled there, they formed themselves into 'irafat (to find out who was missing) and whoever they had lost track of was thus returned to them.

Then the people of al‑Kufah asked permission to use reeds as building material. The people of al‑Basrah put in the same re­quest, whereupon 'Umar said, "Living in an army camp is easier for you to mount your military operations from and is more con­venient, but I do not like to disagree with you; what is this reed anyway?" They answered, "It is like 'ikrish (i.e. flax), when it is watered it puts forth stems and produces reeds." Umar replied, 'You do what you think best." Thus the people of the two gar­rison cities used reeds as building material. Then fires occurred in al‑Kufah, as well as in al‑Basrah, the most vehement one occur­ring in the former. Eighty roof structures were destroyed, not a single stem of reed being spared. That was in the month Shaw­wal, the people never stopped talking about it. Sa'd dispatched a few of the victims of those fires to 'Umar to try and obtain the latter's permission to use bricks for building. Thus they approached 'Umar with the news about the fire and what losses they had incurred. No detail was left unmentioned; they did not touch on anything without asking his advice. Umar said, "Go ahead but let nobody build more than three rooms for himself and do not let one build higher houses than the other. If you adhere to what is generally recognized as proper, you will thrive.' With that advice, the delegation returned to al‑Kufah. Umar wrote a letter containing similar advice to Utbah and the people of al­Basrah. The supervision over the settling of the inhabitants of al­Kufah lay in the hands of Abu al‑Hayyaj b. Malik, while the same task in respect of the inhabitants of al‑Basrah was undertaken by Asim b. al‑Dulaf Abu al‑Jarba'.

They continued: 'Umar had enjoined the delegation to carry out what he had said, and he ordered the people (in Iraq) not to con­struct buildings that were higher than the "norm." "But what is this 'norm'?" they had asked. "The 'norm,"' 'Umar said, "is that which keeps you well away from wastefulness but, at the same time, won't make you lose sight of what you are aiming at."

According to al‑San--Shu'ayb--Sayf--Muhammad, Talhah, al-­Muhallab, Amr and Sa'id: When they had agreed on the building plan of al‑Kufah, Sa'd sent a message to Abu al‑Hayyaj and in­formed him of Umar's letter containing instructions for the roads. 'Umar had ordered that (main) thoroughfares of forty cubits (in width) be planned. In between these there should be (other) roads each thirty cubits wide, and between the former and the latter (again others) twenty cubits wide; finally, the side al­leys should be seven cubits wide, no passageway should be nar­rower than that. The plots of land had to measure sixty cubits (square?) except the one assigned to the Banu Dabbah. The people who had insight in those matters assembled to carry out measurements, until Abu al‑Hayyaj divided up all the available space among them, when they had decided on a certain plot.

The first thing to be marked out in al‑Kufah and that was subse­quently erected, when they had finally decided to make a begin­ning with building, was the mosque. It was situated in what is now the market area of the soap manufacturers and date sellers. Its ground plan was traced out. Then a man stationed himself in the center of this ground plan. He was an archer of prodigious strength He shot lone arrow) to his right and ordered that anyone who wanted could start building for his own beyond where the arrow had landed. (Then he did the same with an arrow that he shot to the left) Next he shot an arrow straight ahead of him and one in the opposite direction and ordered that anyone who wanted could start building for himself beyond where these two arrows had landed. Thus they left a square for the mosque that the people could enter from all sides. Over its front part, a roof structure was built, that had no (walls at) either side, nor at the front or back. The whole square was meant for the people to congregate in, but in a way that they (need) not stand packed. In the same manner, other mosques were laid out, except the masjid al‑haram; in those days they did not try to emulate that out of respect for its holiness. The roof structure of al‑Kufah's mosque measured two hundred cubits in width supported by columns of marble. Its ceiling, resembling the ceilings in Byzantine churches, was (taken from a palace formerly belonging) to the Persian kings. They marked (the outer perimeter of) the congregation area by means of a ditch, lest anyone should inadvertently and boldly embark on building inside that perimeter for his own. They built a house for Sa'd, separated from the mosque by a nar­row alley of two hundred cubits (in length). The treasure chambers were incorporated in this house. It is the present‑day citadel of al‑Kufah. Ruzbih (b. Buzurgumihr) built it for Sa'd out of baked bricks previously used in buildings of the Persian kings in al‑Hirah.

North of the congregation area five main thoroughfares branched out, from the south side four such thoroughfares branched out, while from the east and the west (sides) three such roads were planned. All these roads were marked out (by Sa'd). North of the congregation area, adjacent to it, he settled Sulaym and Thaqif along two roads, Hamdan along another road, Bajilah along an­other and Taym al‑Lat as well as Taghlib along yet another road South of the congregation area he settled Banu Asad along one road, with another road separating them from Nakha', who in turn were separated from Kindah by another, while the latter were separated from al‑Azd by yet another road. East of the congregation area he settled the Ansar and Muzaynah along one road, Tamim and Muharib along another, and Asad and 'Amir along yet another. Finally, west of the congregation area he settled Bajalah and Bajlah along one road, Jadilah as well as various groups of mixed origin along another, and Juhaynah as well as other groups of mixed origin along yet another. Thus, all those who lived right next to the congregation area as well as all the other people were housed between (the main thoroughfares) and beyond them, the entire territory having been divided up into plots. These, then, were the main thoroughfares; they also built narrower ones that some­times would run parallel with the former, then merge with them, and yet others that did not merge with the main roads. These last­ mentioned roads, however, were less wide. The dwelling places were found in the space beyond and in between these roads. All the roads and paths began at the congregation area and, right there, he settled the "tenths", into which the veterans of the battles preceding al‑Qadisiyyah and those of al‑Qadisiyyah and its aftermath I had earlier been divided. For those warriors who were at the time manning the border garrisons and that of al‑Mawsil, he held various plots ready until they themselves might come to them. When the first and second waves of newcomers joined the Arab warriors (in al‑Kufah) and swamped them, the people found their plots too cramped. Those groups whose newcomers were particularly numerous, went out and joined them (i.e. outside al‑Kufah)/ vacating the plots they had occupied, while those groups whose newcomers were few in number, settled those--since they were only few in number--in the homesteads of those who had gone to join their newcomers i.e. outside al‑Kufah) if the latter had been living next door. If that had not been the case, those staying behind chose for themselves more cramped quarters, thus accom­modating their newcomers. The congregation area remained in this state during the entire period of 'Umar's reign, the tribesmen not coveting it. There was nothing there but the mosque, the citadel and the markets, which were devoid of buildings or even markings If or buildings). 'Umar had said, "Markets are to be orga­nized on the basis of the norms valid for mosques: he who gets to a certain place first, has sole rights to it, until he vacates it to go home or as the case may be until he has sold all his wares." For every newcomer they prepared "reception" camps,254 everyone arriving there being treated on a basis of equality. Those quarters today are the dwelling places of the Banu al‑Bakka'. (The new­comers stayed there) until they came to Abu al‑Hayyaj so that he might attend to them by assigning plots to them where they wanted.

In the plot destined for that purpose, Sa'd built a citadel facing the spot where the mihrab of the mosque of al‑Kufah is today. He built it and incorporated the treasury in it. He himself lived right next to it. Then, (somewhat later, robbers) dug a tunnel to the treasure chamber and stole from its contents. Sa d notified Umar of this by letter describing to him the layout of the governor's residence and the treasure chambers vis‑a‑vis the congregatiOn area as situated north of the building. 'Umar replied, "Move the spot where you actually perform the prayer ritual to a place as close as possible to the building housing the treasure chambers; in so doing, you make it the direction for prayer. For in the mosque there are always people present, day and night, they will act as guards of what is also their treasure." Thus the place where the prayer ritual was performed was brought closer (facing the treasure chambers) and then Sa'd set about building it. A dihqan from the people of Hamadhan, called Ruzbih b. Buzurgumihr, said to him, "I shall build it for you, and I shall also build a citadel for you; I shall make some sort of connection between the one and the other so that they constitute one and the same building. " Thus he planned the citadel of al‑Kufah according to a well‑considered design. Then Ruzbih commenced building it from baked bricks taken from the ruin of a citadel the Persian kings used to have in the neighborhood of al‑HIrah, which today is still in its place. Sa'd did not allow this to continue, however. He built the mosque facing the treasure chambers, with the entire length of the citadel being situated to the right of that side of the mosque facing south. Then he extended it to the right, up to the far end of the Square of 'Ali b. Abi Talib with this square as the prayer direction. Then he extended it yet some more so that the prayer direction of the mosque encompassed the whole square as well as the right side of the citadel.

The building was supported by pillars made of marble origi­nally from Christian churches belonging to the king. (This roof structure) had no walls, a situation that lasted until the building (complete with walls), as it is today, was constructed in the time Of Muawiyah b. Abi Sufyan at the hands of Ziyad (his adopted brother and governor of Iraq). When Ziyad set out to construct it, he invited several architects who were born in the Jahiliyyah to come to him. He described to them the location of the mosque, its size and how high he wanted it to reach up into the air, saying, "I want something higher than anything I have ever heard de­scribed." Then a certain architect, who had previously been in the service of the king, said to him, "This can only be done when supported by pillars made from blocks of stone quarried at Ah­waz; these blocks have to be pierced and hollowed out, then filled with lead and (held together by) iron bars, so as to enable you to raise the pillars made of these blocks thirty cubits into the air. Then you build a roof over them and, to grant (the whole struc­ture) extra solidity, you build walls on all sides (i.e., supporting the edges of that roof structure).'' Ziyad answered, "This is a description of a structure about which I used to have inward discussions that I have never been able to settle."

Sa'd provided the gate of the citadel with a lock. The reason for this was that the markets used to be held nearby right in front of Sa'd's living quarters, the tumult being so deafening as to prevent Sa'd from conducting a normal conversation. When the citadel was built, people began to ascribe things to him he had never said. Thus they alleged that Sa d had said (on one occasion), "Stop that terrible noise!" News of this reached 'Umar, and also that the people were calling it "Sa'd's citadel." So he called Muhammad b. Maslamah and sent him to al‑Kufah, saying, "Make for the citadel and burn down that gate, then return to me forthwith." Muhammad b. Maslamah departed and journeyed until he arrived

in al‑Kufah. He bought some firewood, brought it to the citadel and burned down its gate. Someone went to Sa'd and told him what had happened. Sa'd said, "This must be a messenger sent here for this very purpose." So he dispatched someone to find out who it was. It was none but Muhammad b. Maslamah! Imme­diately, Sa'd sent a message inviting him inside. But he refused. Then Sa'd came outside and invited him in, offering him hospi­tality. But he refused again. Next Sa'd offered to bear the expenses of the man's staying on in al‑Kufah, but he would not hear of it. Instead he handed Sa'd a letter from 'Umar that read, "It has come to my notice that you have built a citadel and that you have taken possession of it as your personal fortress, it being called 'Sa'd's citadel.' You have even made a gate separating you from the peo­ple! However, it is not your property; have you gone insane? Go and find yourself a place to live near the treasure chambers and lock that (if you insist), but don't have a gate in the citadel preventing the people from entering it and depriving them of their right to sit freely with you in counsel even at the time when you choose to leave your quarters." Sa'd swore to Muhammad b. Mas­lamah that he had not said what the people had imputed to him. So, instantly, Muhammad b. Maslamah set out on his return journey. When, in the vicinity of Medina, his provisions had run out, he had to still his hunger with what bark of trees he could find. Suffering from indigestion, he finally approached 'Umar and told him all that had happened. 'Umar asked, "Did you not take anything from Sa'd for me?" Muhammad answered, "If you had wanted that, you should have (said so in the) letter you gave me for him, or you should have given me leave to use my own judg­ment in this matter." Whereupon 'Umar said, "The most sagacious man is he who displays his own initiative, when he has no directives from his superior to fall back on, or who, without holding back, gives expression to his own views." Then Muham­mad b. Maslamah told 'Umar of the oath Sa d had sworn and what he had said (on that occasion). Believing Sa'd to be sincere, 'Umar said, "He is surely more veracious than those who informed him or those who told me (all about this)."

Building of Basrah: "According to Muhammad b Bashshar-Safwan..sahib al furat"

Tabari 12:163 …. According to Muhammad b. Bashshar--Safwan b. 'Isa al‑Zuhn-- 'Amr b. 'Isa Abu Na'amah al‑'Adawl--Khalid b. 'Umayr and Shu­waysh Abu al‑Ruqqad: 'Umar b. al‑Khattab dispatched 'Utbah b. Ghazwan and said to him: "Set out, you and those who are with you. When you reach the farthest part of the Arab land and the closest part of the non‑Arab land, then halt." They marched out. When they reached al‑Mirbad, they found soft stones (kadhdhan) and said: "What are these soft stones (al‑basrah)? Then they moved on and reached a place in front of a small bridge. There were tall grass and sprouting reeds. They said: "This is the place where you were ordered (to halt)," so they halted short of [crossing into the territory of] the governor of the city of al‑Furat (sahib al-furat)….. "..He ordered them to dig a canal...drinking water to Basrah" Tabari 12:165 … He ordered them to dig a canal through which water could be made to flow from the Tigris, so they dug a canal for drinking water to al‑Basrah.

DISCUSSION

SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION

Identify factors of successful implementation in the cases that you have studied

STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Identify stages of implementation in the cases that you have studied

CONTROL OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: GANTT CHART

Think of a project that you have been involved or one you are planning to undertake in the field of education. Complete the following GANTT chart. You may not know all the information and may have to estimate

ACTIVITY                             TIME SINCE START

                                                0              1              2              3              4              5

                                               

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

                                                               

CONTROL OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: PERT/CM TABLE

Think of a project that you have been involved or one you are planning to undertake. Complete the following GANTT chart. You may not know all the information and may have to estimate

ACTIVITY             ACTIVITY                             PRECEDING          ESTIMATED

REF No.                 DESCRIPTION                     ACTIVITY             DURATION

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Using the information from the table above complete the following PERT chart

                                                                                *3

                                                *1                                                            *6            *8END

                *START                                                *4                           

                                                *2                                            *7

                                                                                *5           

CAUSES OF FAILURE IN IMPLEMENTATION

SIMULATED PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

USE OF ROUTINES IN IMPLEMENTATION

ACCIDENTS

MISTAKES

CREATIVITY

FLEXIBILITY

COMMUNICATION

COORDINATION

AUTOMATIC IMPLEMENTATION

PROJECT LEADER CHECK LIST

CONCEPTION STAGE

                DEFINE OBJECTIVES

                DEFINE DEADLINES

PLANNING

                GATHER DATA

                TAKE DECISIONS

IMPLEMENTATION

                EXECUTE

                MONITOR

                TRACK

TERMINATION

                EVALUATION

DOCUMENTATION FOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

OBJECTIVES

SCOPE OF WORK

SPECIFICATIONS

STAKEHOLDERS

LOGICAL DIAGRAM OF KEY STAGES

WORK BREAK-DOWN FOR KEY STAGES

MILESTONE SCHEDULE

GANTT CHART

NETWROK CHART

BUDGET (APPROVED AND OPERATIONAL)

WORKSHOP #11

CONTROL

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

·         Learn practical skills for project control during implementation

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

What is control?:

Planning and control

Uses of control

Misuse of control

Monitoring and Tracking

Primary problems and symptoms

Control of costs

Parameters to consider in project cost control:

Human resources:

Control is not an end in itself:

Internal and external control:

Timing of control:

Control at various levels of planning

Control by management function

Control by structural unit

Characteristics of a good control system

Steps of the control process

Trade-offs in the control system involve

Reasons for change of base plans:

Factors to consider in making changes in plan

Management control tools

CPM

Project Reports

Progress report

Exception report:

Managerial authority to correct:

Evaluation of individuals:

Types of project meetings:

Purpose of project progress meetings:

Agenda for project meeting

Accountability

Project Review Meetings

Why control fails

TEXT ANALYSIS

Allah records everything

Continuous observation

Our work is observed

People ranked according to performance

No  expectations beyond the individual's capacity

Doing wrong without realizing it

Mistakes can occur

People judged by outward actions

Work according to capacity

Be ready to change course in case of mistakes

Omar's fact-finding tours in Syria

Omar consults about tours of inspection

Omar's last trip to Syria

Check on workers; ombudsman; not a police state:

Omar' check on subordinates

Omar had spies in every army

DISCUSSION

Control in the seerah

Control in your organization

Analyzing project problems

Project cost control chart

Performance check-list

Time check-list

Cost check-list

How to deal with cost overrun

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

What is control?: Control is assuring that plans are carried out effectively and efficiently. It is an important management function because it helps overcome some of the problems of human limitations by providing a systematic and methodologic approach to ensuring compliance.

Planning and control: Planning and control are interdependent. The project control system is determined by the plan. The plan will be changed from the findings of the control system. Plan implementation will be modified in case of mistakes.

Uses of control

Misuse of control

1.        Blame

2.        Ridicule

Monitoring and Tracking

Project monitoring is checking to make sure that everything is going well and according to the set plan. It aims at making sure that work is progressing according to schedule and that costs are within the approved budget

Tracking is use of monitoring information and results to update the base plan

Steering control is continuous monitoring of performance with corrective measures being taken as soon evidence predicts deviation from the desired target. Observation and monitoring of performance should be continuous; anecdotal observations do not help.

Seeds and symptoms of organizational decay or project failure can be detected early and corrective action taken if efficient control mechanisms are in place.

Many people and organizations commit mistakes and are on a failure path without realizing it. They think that they are doing well.

Deviations from the plan that are insidious in onset and progress slowly are more likely to me missed than sudden and dramatic ones.

Control can not discover or prevent all mistakes. Any human system is liable to error. What is important is to detect as many errors as possible and as early as possible so that corrective action can be taken.

Primary problems and symptoms

The project control system may uncover problems. Care must be taken not to take symptoms as primary problems. The underlying problems must be unravelled. The problem must de identified, described, and analyzed. Data should be collected to better define the problem in more detail and identify primary and secondary causes.

Problem solving requires action plans to address the problem. The action plan should define the strategy and objectives as well as the tactics to achieve the objectives.

The action plan should be implemented immediately. Its impact should be evaluated.

Some apparent problems may be the tip of an iceberg of many underlying problems to be uncovered and resolved.

While studying and resolving problems, you should not stop project execution because that will demotivate the project team members. In practice this implies that problem solving must be quick to make sure that necessary corrections are made before the project proceeds too far.

Control of costs

Project costs must be controlled. Every project team member must be conscious of cost control. The accounting system should be set up in such a way that data is available for each key stage and for each activity. The operational budget must be compared to the approved budget.

Monitoring project costs must be done in detail. If the general organizational accounting system can not provide the level of detail required you should consider setting up a separate system for the project. The system should be simple and straightforward and should not be a generator of unnecessary paperwork.

Parameters to consider in project cost control: The following parameters are considered: actual cost of work performed, budgeted cost of work performed,  and budgeted cost of work scheduled. Cost overrun is computed as the difference between the actual cost of work performed and the budgeted cost of work performed

Human resources: The most important factor in project implementation are human resources. No amount of control however judicious will get good results out of demotivated, weak-willed workers. Thus control should not be a substitute for good planning, selection of qualified workers and training them, and providing the right environment for successful work. Each worker should be treated as an individual. There should be no expectations of performance beyond individual capacity. Control is sometimes misunderstood to mean personal control over individuals. If used in this way it leads to negative results. You control systems and not people. You seek to understand problems so that you may solve them. You are not going after individuals, apportioning blame and punishing.

Control is not an end in itself: Control should not be seen as an end in itself. The overall goals of the organization should always be kept in mind. Too much or wrong misguided control could appear successful in the short run but destroy the organization in the long run. Over-control destroys creativity, results in a negative atmosphere within the organization, and demotivates workers.

Internal and external control: Control may be internal or external. Internal control is achieved by instilling consciousness of Allah in the worker, instilling pride in good workmanship, and hope for thawab. Control intrinsic within the worker (self control) is more effective and permanent than external control. External control depends on bureaucratic control tools, rewards and punishments.

Timing of control: Control activities may be described by their timing, by the planning level, management functions or organizational unit. Control activities may be pre-action, ie before start of implementation. They may be concurrent with project implementation. They may also occur at the end of the implementation.

Control at various levels of planning: Control may be at the level of strategy or at the level of tactical plans or at the level of day-to-day operational plans.

Control by management function: Control may concentrate on particular management functions such as problem solving, or planning.

Control by structural unit: Control may also concentrate on particular departments of the organization such as finance, personnel, dawa, education etc

Characteristics of a good control system: A good control system must be flexible, timely, accurate, cost-effective, understandable, acceptable, and objective.

Steps of the control process: Control has four steps. The start is with setting standards, criteria, or objectives. Actual performance is then measured and is compared to the expected standards. The findings of the control process will be followed by the necessary corrective, preventive, or reinforcement measures.

1.        Setting objectives and standards: There are two types of standads: numerical and qualitative. Examples of numerical standards are: number of units, cost, and  attaining program objectives. Examples of qualitative intangible measures are: satisfaction. Standards are set in the following  areas/dimensions: quantity, quality, time use, timeliness, and  cost. Once performance standards are set, they should be respected and upheld consistently otherwise they lose value and moral authority.

2.        Measuring actual performance:

3.        Comparing actual to expected performance: A deviation is the difference between actual and expected performance. The cause of deviation must be determined. Its causes could be system errors or human errors. System errors arise from management/organizational structure, tools, materials, and poor planning. Human errors can be mistakes committed or actions not taken. There is a narrow region of normal or acceptable deviation from the set standard. Anything within this region is tolerated. Anything outside it is a deviation that requires corrective action. Non random systematic deviation within the zone of tolerance may call for corrective action. Random deviation even outside the zone of tolerance may not call for corrective action because it is non-recurring.

4.        Taking necessary action: When there is no deviation, the action to take is reinforcement. In cases of deviation, preventive and corrective measures re taken.

Trade-offs in the control system involve: The control program can not ensure perfect performance in everything and trade-offs may be accepted. Trade-offs can be among the following:  costs, time, resources, and performance.

Reasons for change of base plans:

1.        Over-optimistic estimates

2.        Omissions

3.        Lack of resources

4.        Loss of resources

5.        Change of strategic plans during implementation

6.        Poor team work

Factors to consider in making changes in plan

1.        Budget implications

2.        Time implications

3.        Impact on objectives

4.        Impact on resources

5.        Impact on other projects

Management control tools: Managers use some tools for control. They provide either standards or results of actual performance for use in control. Examples of control tools are: strategic plans, long-range financial plans, operating budgets, project progress reports, statistical reports, and financial reports. Strategic plans define mission, goals,  and objectives. Long-range financial plan provide information on anticipated income and anticipated expenditure. The operating budget helps in  monitoring monthly expenses, monthly income. it can help make a determination of whether expenses match objectives. it also helps check on resource allocation. Evaluation of individual workers. Project progress reports. Statistical reports. Financial reports: balance sheet - income statement - financial ratios - cost accounting - financial audits

CPM: CPM is system where critical activities are represented by arrows on a diagram. Critical path is the sequence of activities which determines the total time for the project

Project Reports: Control requires setting up an efficient and timely reporting procedure. The project team and stakeholders must be involved in setting up the reporting system. Written progress reports are superior to oral reports. They are more concise, formal, and force the reporter to be more organized. A standard format could be established for each project. The nature of the project determines the frequency of reporting. The report should not be a secret document. It should be widely distributed among members of the project team. Exception reports should be generated in cases of deviation from the plan. A standard format could be used for them as well. All changes to the base plan should be documented: details of the change, reason for the change, financial and other implications of the change, revised forecasts of project milestone and completion dates. All various reports generated should be logged so that they are easy to look up.

Progress report: shows each task, scheduled duration, scheduled completion date, forecast completion date, slippage

Exception report: details of deviation, reason for deviation, consequences of deviation, forecast completion, financial implications

Managerial authority to correct: Managers must be given enough authority to resolve control issues in areas of their responsibility. Not having sufficient authority to put things right is very frustrating.

Evaluation of individuals: Evaluation of individual performance is a type of control. People should be ranked according to their performance. Individual workers are judged by outward actions; the inner intentions can not be known. A good worker produces results of the quality expected. A bad one does not. The following methods can be used in performance appraisal: rating scale, ranking, descriptive essay, check-list, and critical incidence analysis. Only objective criteria should be used in performance appraisal. You should avoid any emotional considerations.The following factors/criteria are considered: effectiveness, efficiency, thoroughness, initiative, perseverance, loyalty, responsibility and commitment, and technical skills. Feed-back is very important to let the worker know where he stands. Positive feedback if consistent and timely is a powerful motivator.  Negative feed-back should be specific, and fair. Criticism is directed to the bad actions and not the individual. At no time should the person criticized feel that he is attacked personally. Incompetence in whatever form should not be tolerated because it will eventually hurt the organization. Performance problems will not disappear on their own. They have to be confronted head-on immediately. Hard decisions may have to be taken. No action should be taken against a non-performing employee until the cause is carefully diagnosed.

Types of project meetings:

1.        Informal one to one

2.        Informal short team meetings

3.        Formal project progress meetings

4.        Formal project review meetings (involve stakeholders)

5.        Negotiations with functional managers

Purpose of project progress meetings:

1.        Review action plans from previous meetings

2.        Update processes

3.        Discuss and solve problems

4.        Anticipate problems

5.        Assess

6.        Forecast

7.        Motivate

8.        Deal with grievances

Agenda for project meeting: The agenda of the project meeting should include:  action lists, current status, deviations, future plans,  anticipated problems, performance evaluation, and an updated action list

Accountability: Leaders and managers of public organizations must feel accountable to Allah, their superiors, the governing boards, the members, and the stakeholders. leaders and managers may be tempted to corruption. Some may confuse private with personal interest. Others may even turn subversive. It is therefore important to keep a close watch on them. They can avoid close scrutiny because they have custody of the information. People in a bureaucracy protect one another in cases of scrutiny. Transparency of the organization provides an opportunity for followers to play a watch-dog role by continuously observing all what is going on in the organization so that they can intervene when an abuse is detected.

Project Review Meetings: Project review meetings require good preparation. Written reports should be given to the participants in advance to study. During the meeting oral presentations should be brief and should concentrate on the following points: what is going well, what are the problems encountered, what action is planned to correct the problem, what decisions need be made, and what are the problems anticipated in the future. An action list from the meeting should be distributed.

Why control fails: The control program can fail for one of the following reasons: resistance,  inaccurate information, rigid bureaucracy,  negligent management, too rapid changes, and when the  organization is overstretched

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Allah records everything: All that they do is noted in ( their ) Books ( of deeds ). Every matter small and great is a record. Qur'an 54:52-53 

Qur'an 99:7-8

Continuous observation: Is was we who Created man and we know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him for we are nearer to him than ( his ) jugular vein. Not a word does he Utter but there is a sentinel by him ready ( to note it ). Qur'an 50:16-18

Our work is observed: And say " work ( righteousness ) soon will Allah observe your work and his Messenger and the believers: Soon will ye be brought back to the knower of what is Hidden and what is open then will he show you the truth of all that you did. Qur'an 9:105

People ranked according to performance: To all are degrees ( or ranks ) according to their deeds: for your Lord is not unmindful of anything that they do. Qur'an 6:132 

No  expectations beyond the individual's capacity: On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. ( Pray:) " Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which you did lay on those before us; our Lord! lay not on us a burden greater than we have strenth to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Protector; help us against those who stand against Faith. Qur'an 2:286

               

Doing wrong without realizing it: Say: " Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds?. " Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life. While they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?" They are those who deny the signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet him ( In the hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall we, on the Day of Judgement, give them any weight. Qur'an 18:102-105

Mistakes can occur: Call them by ( the names of ) their fathers: that is juster in the sight of Allah. But if you know not their father's ( names, call them ) your Brothers in faith. or your Mawlas. But there is no blame on you if you make a mistake therein : ( What counts is ) The intention of your hearts: And Allah is oft-Forgiving most Merciful. Qur'an 33:5

People judged by outward actions: "I have heard Hadrat Umar ( Rad ) saying, The people acted according to Wahi ( Allah's Revelation ) during the life of the Holy Prophet ( Salam ) but the system of Wahi has now discontinued. Now we shall judge by outward conditions and general practice. Whoever performs good deeds will secure peace and favor. We are not at all concerned with his unseen acts, for Allah is there to take an account from him. But whosoever acted mischievously in our time, will neither be spared  nor approved by us, no matter how much clean he declares him self from within " Hayat 2:97

Work according to capacity: "Narrated Aisha : Whenever Allah's Apostle  ( may peace be upon him ) ordered the Muslims to do something, he used to order them deeds which were easy for them to do, ( according to their strength-endurance"  Bukhari 1;23, chapter 13, hadith # 19

Be ready to change course in case of mistakes: "Narrated Aisha : Abu Bakr As-Siddiq had never broken his oaths till Allah revealed the expiation for the oaths. Then he said, " If I take an oath to do something and later on I find something also better than the first one then I do what is better and make expiation for my oaths" Bukhari 8:404, hadith # 618

Omar's fact-finding tours in Syria:  " All in Ali .... donkey " Tabari 11: 188

Omar consults about tours of inspection: A plague broke out in Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. lt was persistent in Syria, but making victims among the inhabitants of all the garrison cities who had spent the months of al‑Muharram and Safar there. Then the plague disap­peared. Letters describing this reached 'Umar except from Syria. So 'Umar set out and traveled until, when he was near to it, news reached him that the plague there was more severe than it had ever been. So he said, "As the Companions say, the Mes­senger of God said: 'If there is a pestilence in a certain country, do not enter it and if it breaks out in a country while you happen to be in it, do not leave it."' So 'Umar returned (to Medina and stayed there), until the plague had disappeared and the people of Syria had written to him about it. They also wrote about various inheritance matters they were concerned with. 'Umar convened the people in the month Jumada I of I7 (May‑June, 638), and sought their advice on the (conquered) territories, saying, "It seems a good idea to make an inspection trip along the Muslims in their conquered territories in order to see what influence they exert on their surroundings. May I have your advice?" Ka'b al-­Ahbar, who had become a Muslim in that very year of 'Umar's reign and who happened to be present, said, "Where would you like to make a start, Commander of the Faithful?" "Iraq," was 'Umar's reply. Ka'b said, "Do not do that. Evil and good both consist of ten parts. But whereas the one part that is good lies in the east and nine in the west, the one part that is evil lies in the west while the nine other, evil parts lie in the east. The devil and every severe disease are linked with Iraq."

According to al‑San--Shu'ayb--Sayf--Sa'ld--al‑Asbagh--'All: 'Ali went up to him saying, "Commander of the Faithful, by God, al‑Kufah is a place to which one makes a hijrah after the Hij­rah it is the 'dome' of Islam. There will come a day when there is no believer left who does not go there out of longing. God will be made victorious through its inhabitants just as He over­came the people of Lot with stones."

According to al‑Sari-Shu'ayb-Sayf-al‑Mutarrah-al‑Qa­sim-Abu Umamah: Then 'Uthman said, "Commander of the Faithful, the westem part of the conquered territories is a land of wickedness; this wickedness is divided into one hundred parts, one part of which is seated in its people and the other parts in the land itself."

According to al‑Sari-Shu'ayb-Sayf-Yahya al‑Taymi-Abu Majid: 'Umar said, "Al‑Kufah is the spear of God and the dome of Islam. The tribal chieftains will protect their frontier ways of access and they will give military aid to the garrison cities. The estates of the victims of the plague in 'Amawas are left untended so I will begin (my tour of inspection) there."

According to al‑Sari--Shu'ayb--Sayf--Abu 'Uthman, Abu Ha­rithah and al‑Rabi' b. al‑Nu'man: 'Umar said, "Since the estates of the people who recently died in Syria are left untended, I shall start my tour there. I shall properly divide the estates and I shall take measures for them as I think best. After that I shall return and travel all over the country, renouncing my previous orders to them."

(In all,) 'Umar went to Syria four times, twice in the year I6 (637) and twice in I7 (638), but he did not set foot on Syrian soil on the first trip of the year I7 (638).

Tabari 13:94-96

Omar's last trip to syria: Sayf's Account of 'Umar's Last Trip to Syria and How He Introduced New Ideas for the Well‑Being of ‑ the Muslims

According to al‑Sari--Shu'ayb--Sayf--Abu 'Uthman, Abu Harithah and al‑Rabl': Having left 'Ali in charge of Medina, 'Umar departed, taking a group of Companions with him. They made good time, taking the road to Aylah. Finally, when he was near Aylah, he left the track, followed by his servant, and alighted in

order to pass water. Then he went back to the track and mounted his servant's camel. A pelt turned upside down was placed on its saddle. 'Umar gave his servant his own camel to ride. When an advance party of the local population met him, they asked, "Where is the Commander of the Faithful?" "In front of you" 'Umar answered, meaning that he himself was facing them. They went on ahead passing him. Finally 'Umar arrived at Aylah and dismounted. The advance party was told, "The Commander of the Faithful entered Aylah some time ago and dismounted." So at last they made their way to him.

According to al‑Sari--Shu'ayb--Sayf--Hisham b. 'Urwah--his father ('Urwah b. al‑Zubayr): When 'Umar b. al‑Khattab had ar­rived in Aylah with his following of Muhajirs and Ansar, he gave a cotton qamis of his, which had a tear in the backside as a result of the long journey, to the (local) bishop saying, "Have this cleaned and mended." So the bishop left with 'Umar's qamis and had it mended. He also had another one just like it sewn for him, which he brought to 'Umar, who said, "What is all this?" "As for this one here," the bishop answered, "that is the qamis you gave me that I had washed and mended; as for the other one, that is a garment I hereby give you as a present." 'Umar in­spected it and rubbed its fabric. Then he donned his own qamis, but returned the other to the bishop saying, "The one I am wear­ing is better in that it absorbs more sweat."

According to al‑Sari--Shu'ayb--Sayf--'Atiyyah and Hilal-- Rafi' b. 'Umar: I heard al‑'Abbas in al‑Jabiyah say to 'Umar, "If you practice the following four customs, you deserve the title 'right­eous': honesty in money matters, equality in dividing up, keeping your promise and steering clear of disgrace; purify your­self and your people."

According to al‑Sari-Shu'ayb--Sayf--Abu 'Uthman, al‑Rabi' and Abu Harithah each with his own isnad: 'Umar divided the allowances and ordained the winter and summer campaigns. He manned the frontier roads and observation posts at the border of Syria and he began to make inspection tours in the country, ordaining those measures in every district. He made 'Abdallah b. Qays govemor over the coastal plains of every district; he dis­missed Shurahbil (b. Hasanah) and appointed Mu'awiyah (b. Ab Sufyan) as governor in his place. Abu 'Ubaydah and Khalid (b. al­-Walid) were given high commands in the army under the authori­ty of Mu'awiyah. Shurahbil asked 'Umar, "Did you sack me out of discontent, Commander of the Faithful?" "No," was the reply, "I appreciate you as you are, but I really want a more forceful man." "All right," Shurahbil said, "but, please, clear my name in public, lest I be criticized for a shortcoming (which I do not have)." So 'Umar addressed the congregation and said, "(Listen, you) people, by God, I did not relieve Shurahbil of his functions out of discontent, but I just wanted a more forceful man." He placed the granaries under the supervision of 'Amr b. 'Abasah and ordained all those measures. Then he addressed the people (in a meeting) to say goodbye.

According to al‑San--Shu ayb--Sayf--Abu Damrah and Abu 'Amr--al‑Mustawrid--'Adi b. Suhayl: When 'Umar had finished seeing to the access routes (to the Hijaz) and his other business, he divided the estates of persons recently deceased, letting vari­ous heirs who were still alive inherit from various others, and then he presented the estates to the living heirs of every man deceased) among them.

According to al‑San--Shu'ayb--Sayf--Mujalid--al‑Sha'bi: Al­Harith b. Hisham departed (for Syria) amidst seventy of his rela­tives of whom only four eventually returned. Al‑Muhajir b. Khalid b. al‑Walid recited the following lines (in sari):

Who settles in Syria goes surely to rest there! For ev'n if we can't be destroyed by calamities, It's Syria that killed off the children of Raytah, Those twenty young knights, their lips' down still untrimmed, And likewise their equally noble young cousins! At such a disaster th' onlooker's perplexed. Their deaths were all caused by spear wounds and the plague That's what we were told by the military scribe.

He went on: 'Umar returned from Syria to Medina in the month of Dhu al‑Hijja. When he was about to depart, he addressed the people in congregation, praised God and extolled Him, and said, "I have been put in charge over you and I have carried out what I had to do in respect of those matters concerning you, which God has entrusted to me. If He wills, we will justly distribute among you the revenues of your fay' lands, your living quarters and your raiding assignments. We have given you your due We have mobilized armed forces for you, we have put your access routes in order. We have indicated places for you to settle. We have ex­tended the revenues of your fay' lands for you and of that part of Syria you fought for. We have ordained your foodstuffs for you and we have given orders that you will be given your stipends, allowances and supplementary allocations. He who possesses information on a certain issue, should act upon it. Let anyone inform me about something special he knows), then I myself shall put that into practice, God willing. There is no power except with God."

The hour for the prayer ritual had struck and the people asked 'Umar, "Could you please order Bilal to call us to prayer?" So 'Umar issued the order and Bilal sang out the call to prayer. There was no one, whose lifetime reached back to the lifetime of the Messenger of God, who did not weep, moistening his beard, when Bilal's call rang out. 'Umar wept most copiously of all and every­one too young to have seen the Prophet with his own eyes wept all the same, moved by the weeping of the others, with memories of the Messenger of God coming back to him.

Tabari 13:101-105

Check on workers; ombudsman; not a police state: Muhammad bin Musalamah commission of enquiry on Saad ibn Waqqas: 

Sa'd was being beleaguered by certain peo­ple, who incited against his authority in the time that elapsed between the exchange of letters among the Persians and their assembling at Nihawand. But the latter were not concerned with the commotion that their maneuvers caused the Muslims. Among those people who recalcitrated was al‑Jarrah b. Sinan al-Asadi amidst a group of followers.

'Umar wrote back, "Proof that not everything is in order among you lies in your rising up just at the moment when those who are preparing to fight you are getting ready. But I swear by God, this crisis will not prevent me from looking into your situation first, even if the Persians attack you." Then 'Umar sent Muhammad b. Maslamah. In the meantime, the Muslim forces were getting ready to fight the Persians, while the Persians were con­centrating their forces. Muhammad b. Maslamah was the overseer of the governors, whose task it was at the time of 'Umar's reign to investigate the administrative measures taken by those against whom complaints had been filed.

So Muhammad went up to Sa'd to be escorted amongst the inhabitants of al‑Kufah, while deputations meant for the people of the garrison cities were sent in the direction of Nihawand. Sa'd escorted Muhammad along the mosques of the people of al­Kufah. Muhammad did not address himself in secret to any question raised about Sa'd, since in those days problems related to people's circumstances were never dealt with behind closed doors‑ Muhammad did not stop at a prayer site in order to interro­gate the people about Sa'd without receiving the answer, "We know nothing but good (about him!,‑ we do not wish him to be replaced, we will not say anything that discredits him and we will help no one against him." AlI expressed these and similar ideas) except those who supported al‑Jarrah b. Sinan and his associates. The last‑mentioned had kept silent, not saying anything detri­mental, nor had Muhammad given them permission (to speak for that matter). They had also deliberately abstained from uttering salutations Finally, the investigation committee reached the abode of the 'Abs. Muhammad addressed them, "I swear by God, let anyone who knows the truth speak up."  Then Usamah b. Qatadah said, "If you adjure us, by God, [to be frank with you], Sa'd does not divide the booty equally among us, he does not act justly among his subjects and he does not mount campaigns (sc. that might bring in spoils)." Hereupon Sa'd ex­claimed, "By the almighty God, if he has told a deliberate lie for everybody to see and hear, then, God, blind him, give him numer­ous children, and expose him to tribulations that will make him take leave of his senses!" And indeed, (in the time that fol­lowed), Usamah did become blind. Moreover, in the end he had ten daughters, having heard about a woman whom he went to seek out, until he felt his way toward her. Later, when people bumped into him, he would say, ''(The state in which I am is the result of) an imprecation of Sa'd, that blessed man."

Then, in conformity with his imprecation, Sa'd addressed (al-Jarrah's) hangers‑on and said, "O God, if they have stepped out of line in brazen impertinence with false pretenses, mete out a se­vere punishment to them. " And indeed, the afflictions that befell them were great: al‑Jarrah was cut down by sword blows on the day he pounced on al‑Hasan b. 'Ali to kill him at Sabat; Qabisah (b. Dubay'ah al‑'Absi) was stoned to death; Arbad was killed as a result of emasculation and blows with sword scab­bards. In addition, Sa'd said, "Remember that I was the first man to shed the blood of unbelievers. The Messenger of God asked that both his parents be held ransom for me and that was something he had never done for anyone before. At one time I saw that I comprised one‑fifth of the adherents of Islam. And now these yokels from Asad claim that I cannot perform the salat correctly and that I am solely concerned with hunting." Muham­mad Ib. Maslamah took Sa'd and those men from Asad with him back to 'Umar. When they had arrived at 'Umar's abode, Muham­mad reported to him, whereupon 'Umar said, "Woe unto you, Sa'd, how do you perform the salat?" "I take my time in per­forming the first two (rak'as)," Sa'd replied, "and I shorten the last two." "But that is merely your own private interpretation," 'Umar said and he went on, "Had it not been for their (lack of) circumspection [in their accusations], their line of action would have been clearly (justified)." Then he asked, "Sa'd, who is your deputy in al‑Kufah?" "'Abdallah b. 'Abdallab b. 'Itban," Sa'd an­swered. 'Umar confirmed this appointment and nominated him as governor.

Tabari 13:190-192

Omar' check on subordinates: " Whenever a delegation a delegation would come to Umar (Rad) he put a number of questions about the Amir ( Governor ) of the area; i.e. Does he visit the patients? Does he listen to the grievances of the slaves too? How does he behave with those who come to see him? Thus if the delegation would confirm the good traits in the Amir, well and good, otherwise he ( Smir ) was sacked straight away.

Ibrahim narrates, whenever Umar (Rad) appointed any governor, he would enquire from the delegations coming from the area about the governor i.e. Do you like your governor ? Whether he attends the slave-patients or not ? Whether he joins the funeral procession or not ? Does he receive people well ? Is he mild or not ? Thus if the people would confirm his mild treatment and his care for the slaves, he would say nothing otherwise, he sent a messenger without loss of time to get him ( Amir ) dismissed."

Hayat 2: 89

Omar had spies in every army: Furat and 'Utaybah had gone off in their own directions until they attacked $iffm, where the Namir and the Taghlib were under their various standards. They attacked them, throwing a band of them into the water. These pleaded with them, but they did not leave off from [attacking] them. They started calling out to them, "Drown­ing, drowning!' 'Utaybah and Furat began to instigate the men, calling out to them, "A drowning for a burning! " reminding them of one of their battles in the Jahiliyyah in which they had burned up a group of the Bakr b. Wa'il in a certain swampy thicket. Then, having drowned them, they turned away, going back to al‑Muthanna. When the men had returned to their camp at al‑Anbar, and the expeditions and raiding parties had come together there, al‑Muthanna led them down to al‑Hirah' and camped in it.

'Umar used to have spies in every army. As 'Umar was informed by writing of what took place on those expeditions, he heard what 'Utaybah and Furat had said at the battle of the Banu Taghlib and the water. He sent a message to the two of them, asking them [about it]. They informed him that they had said that because it was a prover­bial saying and that they had not said it to seek revenge for the Jahi­liyyah. He asked them to swear an oath, and they swore that they had meant by that only [to use] a proverbial saying and to strengthen Islam. He believed them and sent them back, so that they came to al‑Muthanna.

Tabari 11: 220-221

DISCUSSION:

CONTROL IN THE SEERAH

For each situation studied in the seerah

(a)           draw up a control plan that could have detected and corrected the problems encountered. Use the following outline:

                                criteria

                                actual performance

                                compare actual to expected performance

                                corrective/reinforcement action

(b)           Identify management control tools that were used

CONTROL IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

Think of a recent project in your organization,

(a)           draw up a control plan that could have detected and corrected the problems encountered. Use the following outline:

                                criteria

                                actual performance

                                compare actual to expected performance

                                corrective/reinforcement action

(b)           Identify management control tools that were used

ANALYZING PROJECT PROBLEMS

PROJECT COST CONTROL CHART

Using actual project financial reports draw up a project cost control chart showing the following for each stage of the project:

BCWS                                    budgeted cost

BCWP                                    budgeted cost

ACWP                                   actual cost

COST VAR                            cost variance %

SCHED VAR                         scheduled variance %

PERFORMANCE CHECK-LIST

Standards

Specifications

Effectiveness

TIME CHECK-LIST

Forecast

Slippage

COST CHECK-LIST

Cause of cost overrun

HOW TO DEAL WITH COST OVERRUN

Reallocate resources

Use lower cost materials and resources

Allow schedule slippage

YOUR NOTES:

               

WORKSHOP #12

EVALUATION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

Objectives of evaluation

Benefits/uses of evaluation

Basis for evaluation in the Qur'an and sunnah:

Types of evaluation:

Research design and analysis

Methods of collecting data for evaluation:

Project final report:

Self evaluation

Criteria for project success

Evaluation of individual workers: (move to con/mgm-personnel)

Limitations of evaluation

TEXT ANALYSIS

Every action however small will be accounted for

Everyone is personally accountable

Evaluation of uhud:

Condemning those who claim credit for things they did not do:

Evaluation too late for corrective action:

Self evaluation:

Judge by what you see; the inside in unknown:

The last actions determine how good job is:

Outcome evaluation: ghazwat uhud: Qur'an account

Uhud: the archers' fault:

Outcome evaluation: ghazwat uhud in the seerah:

Outcome evaluation: the ghazwat of Hunayn:

Process evaluation: ghazwat of mu'tah:

Evaluation of jisr debacle:

DISCUSSION

Evaluation of events in the seerah

Evaluation of your organization

Process evaluation

Evaluation of a critical incident

Stakeholder evaluation

Project life cycle

Project team

Project success

Process factors

Project factors

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

Objectives of evaluation

Assess whether objectives were achieved

Assess efficiency

Assess effectiveness

Learn from experience

Benefits/uses of evaluation

Identify success and reinforce

Help management see areas of weakness and improvement

Reassure workers that they are moving well

Reassure stake-holders

Gain confidence of supporters and donors

If the results of an evaluation process are not used to improve future performance the evaluation has not achieved its pupose

Basis for evaluation in the Qur'an and sunnah:

Accountability

Reward and punishment

Types of evaluation:

What is evaluated?: Evaluation may be of the process or the end-results.

Who does it: internal or external

When is done: active throughout the project - post project after the declared finish date (helps future projects)

Research design and analysis

Research design: experimental, quasi experimental

Analytic technics

Methods of collecting data for evaluation:

Direct observation

Questionnaire

Interview

End-product

Records review

Performance/knowledge tests

Project final report:

Objectives

Project schedule

Review of project process

Problems encountered and how resolved

Recommendations

Self evaluation

Self-evaluation is very difficult but yet very important. Only the most mature, most self-confident, and most sincere people are capable of looking at themselves in mirror and deal objectively with their performance, negative or positive.

Ask yourself the following questions:

                What have you done well

                What could you have done better

                What further training do you need

                What can you to improve process

Criteria for project success

Keeping the  schedule

Finishing  within budget

Meeting  all project objectives

Meeting stakeholder expectations

Evaluation of individual workers: (move to con/mgm-personnel)

Purposes: determine rewards -improve future performance - identify high potential employees - identify problems and address them 

Benefits of evaluation for workers: know their progress - acknowledge and reward good performance

Benefits of evaluation for managers: assess worker ability 

Methods: formal - informal: check lists - critical incidents - rating scales

Preparation for evaluation: review goals - review performance criteria/targets

Tips for evaluation of an individual worker: give advance warning - explain purpose of evaluation - stick to facts - listen to the employee - do not criticize - give feedback - pinpoint areas of improvement - conclude on a positive note

Limitations of evaluation

Evaluation is post action. It answers the question whether the objectives of the plan are achieved.

Evaluation is too late to be of use to the current project. Its findings are however useful for future projects that are of a similar nature.

Evaluation tends to be affected a lot by the activities towards the end of the project. A project that has been performing badly may get a good evaluation when it ends well; all is well that ends well. A project that was performing well throughout its life may get a bad evaluation when it fails towards the end.

Evaluation is judgement by what you see. The inner intentions and motivation can never be known.

There are a few cases when evaluation is unfair. The outward results may not reflect all the intentions, sincerity, and commitment of the worker. There is little that can be done to alleviate this unfairness because the factors involved cannot measured objectively by humans.

Evaluation by others must be accepted as an attempt to help and not criticize or attack.

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Every action however small will be accounted for: Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. Qur'an 99:7-8

Everyone is personally accountable: Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. That man can have nothing but what he strives for. That ( the fruit of ) his striving will soon come in sight. Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete. Qur'an 53:38-41

Evaluation of uhud: Allah did indeed fulfil his promise to you when you with his permission were about to annihilate your enemy until you flinched and fell to disputing about the order and disobeyed it after he brought you in sight ( of the Booty ) which you covet. among you are some that hanker after this world and some that desire the hereafter. Then did he divert you from your foes in order to test you.But he forgave you for Allah is full of grace to those who believe. Qur'an 3:152

Condemning those who claim credit for things they did not do: Think not that those who exult in what they have brought about, and love to be praised for what they have not done think  not that they can escape the Penalty. For them is a Penalty Grievous indeed. Qur'an 3:188

Evaluation too late for corrective action: "Ali bin Abi Talib said, " The world is going backwards and the Hereafter is coming forwards, and each of the two has its own children; so you should be the children of the Hereafter, and do not be the children of this world, for today there is  action ( good or bad deeds ) but no accounts, and tomorrow there will be accounts, but ( there will be ) no deeds to be done"  Bukhari 8:285

Self evaluation: " Hadrat Thabit Ibn Jajjaj ( Rad ) says that Umar ( Rad ) said, " Weigh your own selves before you are yourself weighed ( by Allah, concerning your deeds ) If you do so today, then tomorrow, on the Day of Judgment, you will have an easy reckoning. So prepare yourself for the Great Reckoning well in advance before comes the Day whereon you shall be mustered nothing hidden by you shall be hidden Hayat 2:701 …. "Hadrat Anas Ibn Malik ( Rad ) says that one day he was accompanying Umar ( Rad ) and he entered into a garden. There was a small parapet in between us the two and he heard him saying, O the Commander of the Faithfuls! Fear Allah or Allah will surely punish you" ( This he said to his own self. )

Hayat 2: 701

Judge by what you see; the inside in unknown: "Narrated Umar bin al Khattab : People were ( sometimes ) judged by the revealing of a Divine Inspiration during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle but now there is no longer any more ( new revelation ). Now we judge you by the deeds you practice publicly, so we will trust and favor the one who does good deeds in front of us, and we will not call him to account about what he is really doing in secret, for Allah will judge him for that; but we will not trust or believe the one who presents to us with an evil deed even if he claims that his intentions were good" Bukhari 3:491, hadith # 809

The last actions determine how good job is: "Narrated Sahl As-Sadi: The Prophet looked at a man fighting against the pagans and he was one of the most competent persons fighting on behalf of the Muslims. The Prophet said, " Let him who wants to look at a man from the dwellers of the ( Hell ) fire, look at this ( man )" Another man followed him and kept on following him till he ( the fighter ) was injured and seeking of die quickly he placed the blade tip of his sword between his breasts and leaned over it till it passed through his shoulders ( i.w. committed suicide)." The Prophet added, " A person may do deeds that seem to the people as  the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact, he is from the dwellers of the ( Hell ) fire; and similarly a person may do deeds that seem to the people as deeds of the people of the ( Hell ) fire while in fact, he from the dwellers of Paradise. Verily the ( results of ) deeds done, depend upon the last actions"  Bukhari 8:330-331, hadith # 506

Outcome evaluation: ghazwat uhud in the seerah: Muslims achieved victory in the first encounter at Uhud. Actually, the victory the Muslims achieved on that morning was a genuine war miracle. Some may attribute it to the sound judgment of Muhammad in placing the archers on the mountain side so that they could hit the enemy cavalry before they could reach the Muslim lines while at the same time protecting the rear of all Muslim forces. Muhammad's good judgment is undoubtedly true. But it is equally true that when six hundred Muslims threw themselves against an enemy force five times greater than theirs, they could not possibly have done so and achieved such bravery unless their deeds sprang from their candid faith in the righteous­ness of their own cause. Whoever believes in the cause of truth is not bothered by the material preponderance of any power, how­ever great, and his will would not be shaken even if all the forces of evil rallied against him. Sincere faith in God Almighty is the greatest power, the greatest idea. It is invincible. As long as its subject remains sincere and loyal to it, there is no doubt that sincere faith must obtain all it wills. Therefore, Quraysh was shattered and defeated with all its three thousand fighters by the six hundred Muslims. That is why the women of Quraysh were about to be taken captive. When the Muslims followed up their enemies far from the battlefield, those who remained fell upon the large booty left behind. Indeed, many Muslims were thus drawn away from pursuing the defeated enemy.

The archers whom Muhammad had commanded not to leave the mountainside even to rescue the Prophet and his companions from what might seem to them to be certain death watched the battle from their height, and saw the defeated enemy running away and the pursuing Muslims seizing the booty. This whetted their appetites. For a moment, they argued with one another in seeking to convince themselves that no purpose would be served by keeping their position now that God had defeated their enemy. As they watched their fellow Muslims gather the booty, they strongly felt like joining them. When a wiser voice reminded them that the Prophet had commanded them not to leave their position even for rescuing the Muslims from certain death, they rationalized that he had not intended for them to remain in their positions that long, certainly not after the defeat of the enemy. 'Abdullah ibn Jubayr advised them not to violate the Prophet's commandment whatever the circumstances. The majority did not heed his advice, however, but descended to the plain. Ten men only kept their ground. This provided Khalid ibn al Walid, Com­mander of the Makkan cavalry, the golden opportunity to attack and seize the mountainside where the archers were. He eliminated the remainder of the Muslim archers and occupied the mountainside. The other Muslims were not aware of what was happening, preoccupied as they were in gathering everything of value on the field. After he occupied the mountainside, ibn al Walid signaled to the Quraysh to attack again and he advanced upon the Muslims from the rear. The defeated Makkans rallied to his call, turned about and resumed the fighting. The Muslims dropped the booty they carried, drew their swords and defended themselves. But their victory was lost. Their ranks were dis­orderly and their unity was in shreds. Quraysh took a heavy toll of Muslim lives. Earlier, the Muslims were fighting by the com­mand of God and out of their faith in Him and in victory; now they fought in order to save their own lives from certain death and humiliation. Earlier, the Muslims were fighting in a united and orderly manner, under a strong and resolute leadership; now they fought without order or leadership. So great was the dis­order that some may have struck their own fellows. Finally, when somebody raised the cry that Muhammad was killed, chaos reined supreme, Muslim morale plunged to the bottom and Muslim soldiers fought sporadically and purposelessly. This chaos was responsible for their killing of Husayl ibn Jabir Abu Hudhayfah by mistake, as everyone sought to save his own skin by taking flight except such men as 'Ali ibn Abu Talib whom God had guided and protected.

When the Quraysh heard of the fall of Muhammad, their forces fell upon Muslim ranks with renewed vigor. Every one of them was seeking to hit Muhammad, even if dead, that he might have the honor and pride of having participated in his downfall. The Muslims who stood close to the Prophet protected him and drew a close circle around him. Their faith had come back to them and they now stood their ground anxious to lay down their lives in order to save their Prophet. The fact is that one of the stones thrown by the Quraysh had hit the Prophet and caused him to fall to the ground, with a cut lip, a wounded face, and a broken tooth. The stone that hit the Prophet was thrown by 'Utbah ibn Abu Waqqas. It landed with such force that it pushed two links of Muhammad's helmet chain into his wound. Muhammad at­tempted to stand up behind a shield of his companions, but he fell again, this time in a hole which Abu 'Amir had dug as a trap for the Muslims. 'Ali ibn Abu Talib ran to Muhammad and gave him his hand and, together with Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullah, lifted him again to his feet. He and his companions then began to re­treat toward the mountain of Uhud while fighting their pursuing enemies.

In a moment, however, a number of other Muslims joined the circle of the Prophet, and these were so determined and desper­ate in their defense that they formed an impregnable barrier between the Prophet and the enemy. Umm 'Amarah al Ansariy­yah, the Madinese, had been on the battlefield since the morning to give water to the Muslim fighters to drink. When the Muslims suffered defeat, she threw down her water jug, drew her sword, and joined the other fighters around the Prophet for his protec­tion. She shot a number of arrows until she herself was wounded. Abu Dujanah placed himself as a shield before the Prophet and even exposed his back to the falling arrows lest they should hit the Prophet. Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas shot arrows which Muham­mad passed to him while lending him encouragement. A little earlier, Muhammad himself was using his bow and shot at the enemy until the string of his bow broke. Those who thought that Muhammad had perished, including Abu Bakr and 'Umar, went toward the mountain and sat down. When Anas ibn al Nadr in­quired why they were giving up so soon, and was told that the Prophet of God had been killed, he retorted: "And what would you do with yourselves and your lives after Muhammad died? Rise, and die like he did." He turned, charged against the enemy, and fought gallantly. He kept on fighting despite his wounds and did not give up until he was hit seventy times. His body was so torn up with wounds that only his sister could identify it by means of his fingers alone.

Quraysh took the news of Muhammad's death with exhilaration and joy, and Abu Sufyan began a search for his body on the battlefield. The Muslims around Muhammad did not deny the news of his death in obedience to Muhammad's own commandment designed to prevent any new onslaught by the Quraysh against him. Ka'b ibn Malik, however, came close to the circle and, bending himself over Abu Dujanah, noticed that the Prophet was there and still alive. He proclaimed at the top of his voice: "O Believers, be glad, for the Prophet of God is here and still alive." The Prophet, however, asked him to keep quiet. The Muslims then reinforced the protective circle around the Prophet and moved with him farther up toward the mountain; they were led by Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Ali ibn Abu Talib, al Zubayr ibn al 'Awwam and others. The cry of Ka'b brought about a different effect upon the Quraysh. Most of the latter did not believe it but regarded it as an enemy trick designed to rally the Muslims to fight again. A few Makkans ran to,ward the Muslims shouting, "Where is Muhammad? Death to me if he lives!" The Prophet hurled the javelin of al Harith ibn al Simmah at the oncoming party. It hit the leader, threw him off his horse, and killed him. When the Muslims reached the entrance to the valley on the other side, 'Ali filled his shield with water, washed Muhammad's face and poured some water on his head. Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al Jarrah pulled out the two links of chain from Muhammad's wound, and his two front teeth fell off in the process. While this was taking place, Khalid ibn al Walid pursued the Muslims on the hillside with a small force of Makkan cavalry. But they were repelled by 'Umar ibn al Khattab and a number of the Prophet's companions. The Muslims continued their retreat. So great was their exhaus­tion that when it was noon, the Prophet led the prayer seated, suffering as he was from his wounds, and the Muslims prayed behind him seated also.( Muhammad pp 263-267 )

The Prophet then commanded burial for all the dead, which numbered seventy; and, when this was completed, he led his party back to Madinah. The Muslims were quite sad and solemn for having encountered such defeat after their victory, and such humiliation after their splendid accomplishment. They fully realized that it was the archers' disobedience of Muham­mad as well as the Muslims' preoccupation with booty that had exposed them to this sad turn of events. ( Muhammad pp 268 )

 

On the morrow, which fell on Sunday the 16th of Shawwal, the mu'adhdhin of the Prophet called upon the Muslims to regroup and pursue the enemy. Only those who had participated in the previous day's battle were, however, allowed to proceed. When the Muslims set out toward the Makkan force, Abu Sufyan im­mediately learned that his enemies had returned from Madinah with new reinforcements. Muhammad reached Hamra' al Asad while Abu Sufyan and his companions were still at al Rawha'. Since he passed by both camps, Ma'bad al Khuza'i, who was still an associationist, was asked by Abu Sufyan about Muhammad and his forces. He replied that "Muhammad and his companions are coming after you with such a large army that I have never seen the like of it. Those who were not present yesterday are all with him today shouting with anger and seeking revenge." Abu Sufyan, on the other hand, though he wanted to run away from any more confrontations with Muhammad, pondered the consequences of such a flight. Would not the Arabs say of Quraysh in such an eventuality what he himself would have liked to say of Muhammad and his companions? But then, were he to return to Muhammad and the Muslims defeat them this time, would not the Quraysh be destroyed once and for all? He therefore made recourse to a trick. With some riders of 'Abd al Qays proceeding to Madinah, he sent a message to Muhammad that the Quraysh had decided to pursue the Muslims in order to finish them off. When this message reached Muhammad at Hamra' al Asad, his will and determination remained constant and his decision unchanged. The whole Muslim force, which remained in place for three days and three nights, made large bonfires during the night in order to show the world that they were there to stay. Finally, disagreeing with Abu Sufyan, the Quraysh pre­ferred to save the memory of their victory of Uhud and to return to Makkah. Thereafter, Muhammad returned to Madinah with more confidence in Muslim power, though the insincere believers began to raise their heads in derision of the Muslims and asked: "If the battle of Badr was a sign from God proving the veracity of Muhammad's prophethood, what was the sign of the battle of Uhud?" (Muhammad pp 269-270 )

DISCUSSION:

EVALUATION OF EVENTS IN THE SEERAH

Evaluate the following critical incidents in the seerah by answering the questions: What went wrong, how was it identified, when was it identified, what was the corrective action taken, how could the results of this evaluation benefit planning of similar events in the future.

                (a)           Ghazwat Uhud

                (b)           Ghazwat Hunayn

                (c)           The Jisr debacle in Iraq

EVALUATION OF YOUR ORGANIZATION

Think of a successful educational program or project in your organization that you know well or were intimately involved with and make an evaluation using the following criteria:

                (a)           What went wrong

                (b)           How was it identified,

                (c)           When was it identified,

                (d)           What was the corrective action taken,

                (e)           How could the results of this evaluation benefit planning of similar events in the future.

PROCESS EVALUATION

Carry out a process evaluation of the following events in the seerah

                (a) Ghazwat Mu'tah

                (b) Ghazwat Tabuk

EVALUATION OF A CRITICAL INCIDENT

Think of a critical incidence you know or have read about and answer the following questions:

What happened

What were the consequences

Why did it happen

Could it have been anticipated

What early signals were ignored

When was problem first recognized

Who should have reacted

Why did he not react as needed

What did we learn from the incident

STAKEHOLDER EVALUATION

Think of a project you read or know about and answer the following questons:

Who are the stakeholders

Did stakeholders change during project

Did project fulfil expectations

Did project address needs

Did project satisfy benefits

Did prpject produce results needed

PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

Answer the following questions about a project you know or read about. For each criterion indicate yes or no

Feasibility study present

Timetables realistic

Responsibility and authority clear

Objecves clarified

Milestones fixed

Tasks identified and allocated

Resources estimated correctly

Documented control system

lLnes of communication

Monitoring cost

Termination

PROJECT TEAM

Answer the following questions about a project team that you know or read about. For each criterion indicate satisfactory/unsatisfactory

Team working together

Conflict resolution

Team leadership

Team motivation

PROJECT SUCCESS

Think of a project that you know or read about and indicate (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) for each of the following factors of success

Project base

Planning

Organization

Control

Monitoring

Tracking

Stakeholders

Project leader

Team performance

PROCESS FACTORS

Think of a project that you know or read about and indicate (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) for each of the following process factors

Setting objectives

Support of senior management

Stakeholder consultation

Project team

Project plans

Control system

Tasking/work breakdown

Stakeholder approval

Monitoring

Communication

PROJECT FACTORS

(FROM OBJECTIVES STATEMENT- SEE GUIDE)

YOUR NOTES:

WORKSHOP #13

QUALITY

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

OUTLINES:

BACKGROUND READING

What is continuous quality improvement:

Tools of quality control:

Data collection:

Sampling:

TEXT ANALYSIS

Quality Performance

Constant Improvement

DISCUSSION

Quality improvement

BACKGROUND READING

INSTRUCTIONS: THE DISCUSSION LEADER OR THE MEMBERS (IN TURNS) WILL PRESENT THE MAIN POINTS IN THE BACKGROUND READING SECTIONS PRE-ASSIGNED THE PREVIOUS WEEK

What is continuous quality improvement: Continuous quality improvement (QI) is a management philosophy that is committed to continuous and consistent improvement in quality. It involves training for quality, making the necessary changes in the organizational structure, It is both long-term and short-term. Long-term QI should be the main aim. QI is consistent with the Islamic concept of IHSAAN. Improvement must be continuous. Humans can never reach perfection and rest on their laurels. They must always strive to approach it; the nearer the better. Quality assurance or quality improvement is a type of control. Muslims must be leaders of quality because this is the very essence of their creed.  The concept of IHSAN is the basis of quality. A Muslim tries to achieve excellence in whatever he does. He seeks to improve every day.

We talk of quality improvement rather than quality control or quality assurance. The aim is not to perform at a pre-set standard but to constantly improve and get better. Quality requires a change in organizational culture so that all members take pride in quality work. Material incentives or punishments are not sufficient to assure  quality. Free exchange of information and ideas without fear of censure, a non-judgmental approach, sharing authority, cooperation and not competition help foster a culture of quality improvement. The debate over which is more important, quantity or quality, is irrelevant. Both are important. Good management does not trade one for the other. It has the skill to produce the optimal quantity needed at the optimal quality desired. Of course both quantity and quality are affected by the resources available to management.

Tools of quality control: The following tools are used in quality control: control charts, histograms, scatter diagrams, pareto charts, fish-bone diagrams, run charts, binomial probability paper, flow chart, cause effect diagram. A control chart is a graph showing the average and the range (upper and lower control limits). A histogram shows the distribution, shape and dispersion. Scatter diagram is a graph of number of defects against the type of defect. The pareto chart exposes the relative magnitudes of defects. A fish-bone diagram. Run charts. Histogram. Scatter diagram. Flow chart. A cause-effect (CE) diagram is a type of flow chart. It shows boxes and arrows. Fault tree diagram

Data collection: There are 3 main purposes for data collection: understand the situation, analysis, and process control. The data collected may be continous or discrete

Sampling: The sampling scheme chosen must fulfil the following conditions: accuracy, reliability, speed, and economy. The following types of samples may be used: random, 2-stage, cluster sampling

TEXT ANALYSIS

INSTRUCTIONS: READ OUT EACH TEXT ALOUD TWO TIMES. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAIN POINTS RAISED. WRITE DOWN THE MAIN LESSON(S) YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Quality Performance: "Idha amila ahadukum amalan fa liyutiqnahu"

Constant Improvement: "Man istawa yawumaahu fahuwa maghboon"

DISCUSSION:

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Imagine you are a management consultant during the reign of Omar Ibn al Khattab and were asked for advice on the provincial administrations.

               

                (a)           suggest a quality improvement program

                (b)           construct a fault tree for provincial revenue collection

YOUR NOTES: