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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of the external environment on the strategic thinking dimensions in Malaysia and Palestine on the banking sector.

This paper focuses on dynamism and complexity in political and economic external environments. This study uses qualitative methodology through a comparative case study method. Purposive sampling was used to collect data from in-depth semistructured interviews with 33 bank executives from Malaysia and 17 from Palestine.

The findings revealed that the banking sector in both Malaysia and Palestine shared five common strategic thinking dimensions, including vision, creativity, conceptual thinking, futurism and opportunity. However, a sixth dimension, intent-focused, was unique to Palestinian bank executives. This study indicates that Palestine’s financial strategic thinking environment is more dynamic and complex than Malaysia’s. Additionally, the study highlights the significant influence of both microenvironments (such as types of banks) and the macroenvironment (such as political and economic situations). These findings hold important implications for decision-makers in the banking sector of both countries.

As with many studies, this study has some limitations. First, the analysis examines only the turbulent and stable environment in the two countries by using a qualitative approach which enables the analysis of thoughts and actions and exposes the beliefs, perceptions, mental maps and structures of belief in their perceptions (Cavana et al., 2001). As such, the results are limited to a particular time, date and geographical location; thus, opinions and perceptions might be altered due to changes in the external political and economic environment. The second limitation of this work is that the case study might not be appropriate for generalization (Stake, 1978). Finally, the limited number of female participants in Palestine shows a high level of inequality compared to Malaysian participants.

This study explores the implication of uncertain environments at the national level on executives’ cognition and actions, links the micro- and macro-environment of the banking industry to a theoretical perspective and develops a conceptual circular model to show the effect of macro environments on bank performance. The findings offer practical contributions to the current literature, providing insights for executives to navigate a dynamic and complex banking industry.

This study fills the literature gap by exploring how strategic thinking dimensions triggered by macro- and micro-environments impact banking sector performance in Malaysia and Palestine.

Suggests that most executive support systems are designed to support executives’ information and communication needs. The cognitive aspect of executive support has received relatively little attention in the field of decisions support systems. Focuses on the cognitive aspect of executive work and discusses three types of executive thinking: retrospective, introspective, and prospective. Proposes a three‐mode conceptual model for executive support systems design.

The purpose of this paper is to survey the relationship between thinking styles with creativity in physical education teachers.

The research method is descriptive – applied and based on related purpose it was applicative. The study's statistical community includes all physical education teachers in the middle period in Iran and their numbers at the time of the study were 600 individuals. The statistical sample using a Morgan table was selected to be 235 individuals. To measure research variables two questionnaires (Sternberg thinking style and creativity, Torrance, 1972) were used. To calculate the validity of the questionnaire questions, Cronbach's α test was used, and the obtained α for the thinking style questionnaire and creativity were equal to 0.86 and 0.89, respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were also used in this study, which in statistical inference section (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman correlation coefficient, Friedman ranking test and t-test) were used.

The results showed that there is no significant relationship between individual characteristics (gender, education and work experience) and styles of thinking, but there is significant relationship between creativity and thinking style. Besides, there is a meaningful difference between creativity with thinking style. In the ranking between thinking style factors, significant differences were observed and at the end some proposals were stated.

The theoretical framework provides a new direction for conceptualizing research, development and practice, designed to promote thinking, creativity in education and other sectors in a new era of globalization and great transformation.

Behavioral scientists have long sought to capture how individuals’ understandings, perceptions and beliefs affect their decisions, often through examining the underlying cognitive processes that drive action (Schendel & Hofer, 1979). Economists, for example, are interested in how individuals’ utility functions influence their actions. Marketing researchers investigate how consumers’ preferences are reflected in their purchase behaviors. Organization researchers examine individual characteristics that influence outcomes such as job satisfaction, promotion, and turnover (Aiman-Smith et al., 2002).

The purpose of this paper is to identify and characterise executives’ inside-out (firm-oriented) and outside-in (market-oriented) mental models. As these two orientations are vital for strategic decision-making, yet potentially contradictory, it is important to understand the role of inside-out and outside-in thinking in executives’ agendas.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews of 15 senior executives were used to capture insights into executives’ mental models. Data analysis was conducted following the principles of abstraction, theory emerging from data and constant comparison.

Four archetypes of executive mental models are identified and characterised along two dimensions (inside-out or outside-in orientation and focus on rational or emotional aspects).

The study introduces a tentative framework for practitioners to identify and deploy the potential of the mental models that guide executive decision-making.

The study extends prior research on mental models by combining this approach with inside-out and outside-in orientations and customer value propositions. In addition, it introduces four archetypes that illustrate the distinct potential of different mental models.

The purpose of this paper is to provide readers with research findings based on qualitative data that describe the benefits of executive coaching from a sample of 70 senior business executives, all of whom have a personal executive coach. In addition, the paper provides readers with specific questions concerning their organizations’ approach to executive leadership development and the application of these potential benefits to their enterprise.

The findings of this study are based on personal interviews with 30 executives and ten four-person focus groups in which both sets of participants were asked to describe personal and organizational benefits associated with their experiences in using executive coaches.

Interviews and focus group findings converged around a number of benefits associated with effective executive coaching. These benefits included improved executive focus, better alignment of key leadership behaviors, candid and ongoing feedback, accountability for appropriate leader behaviors, improved emotional intelligence and ego control and personal support and encouragement, among others.

This qualitative study provides empirical evidence of the benefits of executive coaching from the perspective of senior business leaders. These findings provide researchers with specific criteria that can be tested and measured on a larger scale. The primary limitation of the study is the small sample size of only 70 executives.

The findings of this research provide a compelling set of benefit trends that individual executives, boards of directors and organizations need to consider in the development of their senior leaders. Specific questions are included to guide practitioner’s thinking concerning executive coaching and its role in their organizations.

These findings make a compelling case that senior leaders can become more effective and can experience great benefits when they properly make use of an effective executive coach. The development of senior leaders using this tool can have a powerful impact on organizational performance and organization’s culture.

A review of the literature will reveal that anecdotal evidence abounds, but there is limited empirical research chronicling the true benefits of executive coaching.

In a review of the literature, supported by six case studies, executive development for senior managers in public and private organisations is explored in depth. The study looks at the roles and responsibilities of the chairman, CEO, executive and non‐executive directors, the required capabilities to achieve successful performance, and the related executive development activity implemented to support these. Methods of delivery, development needs analysis and evaluation are explored in case organisations to ascertain current practice. A detailed review of the leadership and governance literatures is included to highlight the breadth of knowledge required at director level. Key findings of the study include the importance of focusing executive development on capability enhancement, to ensure that it is supporting organisational priorities, and on its thorough customisation to the corporate context. Deficiencies in current corporate practice are also identified.

The 170-year-old Master in Business Administration (MBA) program is becoming obsolete and inefficient to address today's real-world problems, and is facing mounting criticism from business scholars, management deans, and academic scholars alike. Reviewing major criticisms, this chapter suggests a new design for the MBA program that will not only address the criticisms but also accept a paradigm shift that will spearhead it in coming decades. The redesigned MBA “structure” proposes a four-semester full-time program, during which each semester delves into deeper marketplace problems of increasing complexity (i.e., from simple to complex to unstructured to wicked problems) and deals with these problems with new levels of critical thinking skills and ethical reasoning processes tempered by corresponding entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and values. The “content” of the redesigned program is anchored around five major themes of business learning: namely, intrinsic motivation management, creativity and innovation management, productivity management, revenue management, and eco-sustainability management, each geared to generate professional entrepreneurial knowledge, and skills and values urgently needed today. Numerous beneficial features of this newly redesigned integrated business management program (MBA) are also discussed.