The New Strategic Plan

The New Strategic Plan

Introduction:

The unstable market conditions around the world have forced even the education system to re-examine both its operational and business practices. Higher education today has become increasingly complicated as the planning and decisions are constrained in light of the current sluggish economy. There is an increased demand on higher education to provide more services with little resources in line with global competition and the ever-impending legislation reform. The stress is felt mostly within the nation's education facilities, requiring a steady hand in the planning and management of the university’s facilities with a view to meeting the needs of the university in line with the components of a conducive learning environment.

According to Seyoun’s (2009) study, there are no exceptions to the rules when it comes to facility planning. University administrators seem to be relegating to the background the rules and regulations that govern dilapidated or aging infrastructure. “Instead, administrators are basing decisions within their respective strategic context and are attempting to align buildings, services, personnel, and technology to an overall plan that looks at markets, operations, and finances as resources for competitive advantage” (Seyoun, 2009, p. 27). A complete turnaround from these types of reasoning is needed at the university level, where the main goal of strategic planning with regard to the university’s facilities is simply to put in place a comprehensive facilities strategic planning process, with a view to meeting the needs of all stakeholders within the institution of higher learning.

Alignment with Organizational Needs

The fact remains that the alignment process is neither static nor stationary. It is an on-going process. Therefore, “as markets, customers, goals and strategies change, leaders need to realign, often during periodic planning activities and hopefully guided by a performance reporting system that is providing the focus areas for improvement and enhancement.” (Harvard Business School, 2009, np). The title of “Project” must be given to any organizational alignment improvement initiative. It is also known as “working on business” in which clear-cut ways of executing a strategic project is highlighted. In certain situations, there may be the need to apply the transformational method of leadership with a view to accomplishing the shared goal of the university in terms of its facility and management. Furthermore, and like it is in some other dynamic systems, when all metrics, processes and policies are functioning well, an organization performs at its very peak. Organizational alignment simply means linking the behavior and the processes, as well as faculty, and staff within the university in order to work