Abstract:

The Church is a non-profit commonweal and service organization. She exists for the promotion of integral human development. She does this through her institutions of education, health, spiritual - pastoral and social welfare. However, most of these Catholic institutions are managed with insufficient strategic planning. As a result, low performance characterizes them. The focus of this paper is enhancing strategic planning for high - performance of Catholic institutions in Zambia. It underscores the need for strategic planning for efficient and effective management of Catholic institutions and identifies deficient proficiency because of inadequate strategic planning. The study was conducted in seven (7) institutions in Lusaka District and some parts of Central Province. The sample size was 257. There were 252 questionnaires which were administered purposively and randomly to first line, middle and top leadership, and management positions, and 5 in-depth interviews were purposively carried out. The research discovered that Catholic institutions were not proficient because they did not have a clear vision, precise policies and procedures, sufficient financial capacity and did not have the ability to adapt to changing times. Recommendations were made thus, to build capacity of leaders and managers in the areas of management audit, leadership and management development, and strategic management. Theoretically, the results can be generalised to all Catholic institutions in Zambia.

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