Strategic management practices in organisations with specific reference to the public sector

Background: The traditional models for strategic management are approaching limits in the light of increasing uncertainty to define what public service organisations must be able to achieve in terms of efficiency and satisfaction of stakeholder expectations. However, the dynamism of economic patterns calls for versatility that is deliberately designed. Aim: This article aimed to explore the importance of conflating the dimensions of strategic management triangle, in conjunction with the limits of traditional models, towards effective and sustainable public sector management. Setting: The chosen government ministry is headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe. The ministry comprises nine departments, each headed by an appointed director who acts as the Head of Department (HOD). Methods: A qualitative research approach was employed and a sample of eight participants, consisting of HODs, was purposefully selected from the population. Open-ended qualitative responses were analysed thematically. Results: The results suggest that effective and sustainable public sector strategic management requires not only a single invariant approach but a set of values, processes, procedures, tools, techniques and practices that must be selectively and strategically adapted to unique situations in order to produce desirable results. Conclusion: A strategic triangle admixture of ‘legitimacy and support’, ‘operational capabilities’ and ‘public value’ offers more marginal flexibility, decreases uncertainty, generates more focus, and is easily understandable when pursuing effective public sector management. However, this approach needs to be considered in conjunction with the traditional models to optimise set goals.