JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC MANAGEMENT
Year:2021 | Volume:28 | Issue:4|Papers Count:7

The main mission of the Journal of Islamic Management is to publish scientific-research articles that, based on Islamic texts, scientifically document the lessons learned in management and the real evidence in the environment that emerges from successful managers in the Islamic world. One of the most successful management models in the Islamic world is General Haj Qassem Soleimani, whose research on managerial character is very attractive and demanded by domestic and foreign audiences. Fortunately, holding the second international conference of the second step of the Islamic Revolution with the theme of "Martyr Soleimani School; The Model of Training Civilizing Jihadi Managers at Imam Hussein University has provided the opportunity for the selected articles of the conference to be published in the special issue of the Quarterly Journal of Islamic Management. The conference was attended by over forty universities and prestigious national and international institutions, coinciding with the forty-third anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution with the aim of explaining the school of Shahid Soleimani in order to extract the model of jihadi leaders and generalize it in the dimensions of the second step of the Islamic Revolution. Its socialization is held. For this purpose, during the last year, over seventy scientific meetings were held before the conference with the presence of four thousand professors, researchers and educated students in domestic and foreign universities, and more than three hundred and ten scientific articles related to the conference topics were sent. They have selected six articles for publication in the special issue.

Problem-based teaching methodology, more specifically case-based methodology, is an effective method of problem-orientation, reasoning and motivational learning. This analytical-descriptive research, reviewing documents and experience, is intended to present a new and practical reading of this method and its implications for explaining Martyr Soleimani’ s School. Thus, while reviewing the concept, objectives, origins, and advantages of the case study, the types of case studies are introduced in view of how they are formulated (short or long, real or fictitious, single-stage or multi-stage, static or dynamic, textual or spoken, explanatory or interrogative), the method of implementation (in the field or out of the field, individual or collective, single or multi-session, group or team, with or without accessibility, closed or open ended), and the role of instructors and teachers (descriptors, explainers, facilitators, active actors). The researchers continued with explaining four other considerations in pre-compilation stage (documentary or imaginative, inductive or deductive approach, individual or situational orientation, deep or wide looking). Moreover, nine operational steps are identified for the case study implementation stage along with some points regarding the evaluation phase. To end, if we want to know and introduce Martyr Soleimani as a school, we are supposed to pay more attention to him and others commanders like him in the university curriculum in a new and different way. A simple way to achieve this goal is to benefit from case study model of education which cannot be achieved unless people who are close to Martyr Soleimani gather and synergize scholars of management and literary intellectuals to present an attractive, effective and real case study.

The history of human civilization demonstrates the fact that some human beings have changed history by playing a special role and have made the turning points of civilization. Martyr Ghasem Soleimani is one of such genius and strategists who has established a new school inspired by the Imams of the Islamic Revolution in the international range. Martyr Soleimani’ s school is a practical example and an authentic manifestation of the Hereafter-oriented organization in the Islamic management that can be studied from different aspects. As the Supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution mentioned martyr Soleimani as the most sincere character, the researcher has selected this central concept and has coined the expression “ sincere leadership” . In the background of this research, similar theoretical foundations in the present management literature related to genuine or sincere leadership were reviewed and the issue of sincerity in Islamic texts were studied. Then an attempt was made to review the lectures of Martyr Soleimani and those of the Supreme Leader and the statements and views of the Martyr’ s accompanying combatants were analyzed. Based on scientific methodology, several tables containing quotations, basic themes, organizing themes and comprehensive themes were categorized. To end with, based on thematic analysis and network of themes, a process model based on the underlying factors of sincere leadership, the traits of sincere leadership and the realizations of this type of leadership were designed and explained. A set of factors affecting the sincerity model of Martyr Soleimani are presented as the underlying factors used as input to the model. Afterwards, the components of leadership were grouped on the basis of sincerity in the form of nine comprehensive themes, the core of which is sincere behaviors regarded as the most important effective theme in interaction with other themes. The achievements of the leadership based on the sincerity of Martyr Soleimani were finally categorized in the form of six themes. To end with, considering the data extracted from the theoretical and practical life of Martyr Soleimani, a scale was designed for measuring the style of sincere leadership. This research tool consists of 122 questions of five-point scale and 49 indicators, which are classified into ten main clusters.

Jihadi management and jihadi institutes require managers with strategic thinking ability who are able to formulate and implement their strategic and operational plans on the basis of valuable strategic thinking. This research is aimed at developing a strategic thinking model for the managers of Jihadi organizations. This is qualitative research seeking to design the model by conducting thematic analysis of the content of the Godly-political will of General Martyr Ghasem Soleimani. The content of the Martyr Soleimani’ s will can be regarded as the document and statement of strategic thinking of Jihadi leaders. The content of this document is analyzed by thematic analysis. Having identified and analyzed the basic themes and organizing themes, the researcher identified six comprehensive themes as the components of strategic thinking of Jihadi leaders. They include religiosity, Velayat-orientation, the culture of martyrdom seeking, Islamic unity, God-centered governance, and military and defense authority. The findings indicated that the components of strategic thinking of Jihadi managers are different from those of the strategic thinking patterns in current scientific management.

The developments that has taken place in the national and transnational arenas after forty years of endurance and resistance, while arriving at the second step of this holy revolution, indicates that the traditional models of leadership in other organizations cannot not meet all the needs of the Islamic Revolution. More than ever, there is a need for indigenous and effective leadership styles. A form of leadership that considers a wholehearted relationship between the leader and the followers and regards the leader as a servant of his followers who accompanies them to obtain organizational goals, is called the helper leadership paradigm. The leadership style of Martyr Ghasem Soleimani, as a magnificent example of helper leadership, is an indigenous and effective style that has brought about remarkable successes, including the demolition of ISIL. After his assassination, Ghasem Soleimani’ s style was given more attention as an appropriate method fitting the nature of the Islamic Revolution. Aimed at identifying the components of the leadership style of this commander, this research attempts to review the biography, speeches, notes and the will of this Martyr through library method of data collection. The researcher arrived at 248 basic themes, 21 organizing themes, and 10 themes by thematic analysis strategy. These themes included “ mercifulness to people” , “ taskorientation” , “ receiving train from divine values” , “ focus on mission” , “ individual spirituality” , “ dignified personality” , “ staff development” , “ having a transcendent ideal” , “ sincerity in action” and “ deep insight” as the components of the transcendent leadership helper style of the Martyr Ghasem Soleimani.

The Islamic Revolution, as the greatest event of the contemporary history in the Islamic world and the region, promises progress towards a new civilization on the basis of Islam. Islamic values and concepts are applied to all of its aspects everywhere. Theorizing the Islamic and Jihadi management and proposing appropriate solutions, as a proper system to the internal situations of the country, can help us move towards this goal. However, the researchers’ works have not yet been able to achieve this. This research is an attempt to increase the effectiveness of these researches, and help achieve Jihadi management by focusing on the required features of Jihadi managers in order to obtain success. For this end, a qualitative research is conducted through theme analysis, which focuses on identifying the style and manners of Martyr Soleimani, one of the most successful and well-known Jihadi managers proposing civilization, by reviewing various sources in this field to has introduce these features. So, 30 written sources in this field were reviewed, which resulted in 920 basic themes, 74 organizing themes, 13 comprehensive themes at level 1, and 3 comprehensive themes at level 2. To end with, a proper model containing three dimensions of Jihadi managing behaviors at individual, organizational and national-transnational contexts were identified as the comprehensive themes at level 2. Competencies including spiritual personality, moral virtues, strong and influential personality, Jihadi spirit in all affairs, strategic look, humanitarianism, revolutionary features, comprehensive traits, popularity, accountability, maximum absorption, and acting across borders are presented as comprehensive themes at level 1.

Martyr Haj Ghasem Soleimani, at the level of a world manager, was able to establish, organize, and apply the Resistance Front with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Investigations of his managerial dimensions, as a precious heritage left by him, can be considered as a model for continuing his path. This research is aimed at investigating Martyr Soleimani’ s interpersonal communication pattern in his command hierarchy. The data collection involves a semi-structured interview with his close knowledgeable colleagues across the resistance front, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Theme analysis was employed for the analysis of the obtained information. The results revealed that the interpersonal relationship of Martyr Soleimani influenced by the position of individuals in the command hierarchy, covered a scope from determination and formality to intimacy and informality. The closer the colleagues were to Martyr Soleimani in the hierarchy of command, the more decisive and formal his behavior was, and the lower the ranks of the people, the more informal and sincere the Martyr's behavior became.