Strategic University Management

Book excerpt: Universities are being buffeted by multiple disruptive trends, including increased competition for both funding and students, as well as from new institutions that are nimbler and more responsive to the external environment. To survive this reality, university leaders must engage in effective strategic planning that cascades from the president or vice-chancellor’s office to individual faculty and staff. Outcomes of an effective institutional strategy are the alignment of resource allocation with strategic goals, and the facilitation of clear and transparent decision-making for new program development, research capacity growth, and infrastructure investment. With increasing expectations for university leaders to engage in strategic planning, Strategic University Management: Future Proofing Your Institution provides a practical framework for managing the process and delivering results. This book illustrates that the inherent weaving of strategic planning and organizational culture through engaged consultation facilitates a culture of responsiveness, rather than complacency. Providing an in depth overview of the value strategy can create in universities, it provides a framework for initiating, implementing and assessing strategic planning in a university setting that will make it valuable to researchers, academics, university leaders, and students in the fields of strategic planning, organizational studies, leadership, and higher education management.