The Practice of Strategic Planning and Strategy Implementation in Public Universities of Ethiopia

Transcription

1 The Practce of Strategc Plannng and Strategy Implementaton n Publc Unverstes of Ethopa Assefa Beyene Bassa ABSTRACT Recently Ethopa has been engaged n a huge expanson of ts hgher educaton nsttutons Ths was also accompaned by a seres of nsttutonal management reforms and qualty assurance regulatons Accordngly, the organzatonal envronment n the publc unverstes of Ethopa has been changng from tme to tme In such a context, the key to better algn these academc nsttutons wth the needs of ther rapdly changng nternal and external envronments s the desgn of approprate strategc plans and effectve mplementaton of ther preferred strateges Hence, the purpose of ths study was to nvestgate the practce of strategc plannng and strategy mplementaton n publc unverstes of Ethopa Data were collected through questonnares from staff members (from both academc and admnstratve) and students; and through ntervews from the management team members (Vce Presdents and Drectors) of three selected publc unverstes The results of ths study showed that n the sampled publc unverstes: stakeholders partcpaton n the process of strategc plannng was found to be low; less emphass was gven to crtcally assessng ther ever changng external envronment whle plannng; the practce of clearly communcatng ther preferred strateges and actvtes to both academc and admnstratve staff was found to be mnmal and neffectve; there was also lack of adequate montorng, follow up and feedback systems; moreover, major decsons were made wthout algnng them wth the unversty s preferred areas of prorty and major objectves as stpulated n the strategc plan document INTRODUCTION Ethopa, though one of the developng countres n the world, possesses a 1,7 year tradton of elte educaton lnked to ts Orthodox Church However, secular hgher educaton was ntated only n 195 wth the foundng of the Unversty College of Adds Ababa (World Bank, 4) Yet, hgher educaton s a key factor for soco-economc development agendas of countres n these days of globally nterconnected knowledge economy To ths effect, recently Ethopa has been engaged n a huge expanson of ts hgher educaton nsttutons by establshng large number of unverstes n a decade and half, ncreasng the ntake capacty of the exstng unverstes and dversfyng academc programs Ths was accompaned by a seres of nsttutonal management reforms and qualty assurance regulatons Hence, the organzatonal envronment n hgher educaton nsttutons of Ethopa s changng from tme to tme As a result, the leaders of these currently mushroomng publc unverstes of Ethopa are responsble for strategc vsonng and plannng and for effectve mplementaton of ther preferred strateges In ths ever-changng academc landscape, an effectve strategc plannng practce s hghly essental to obtan new opportuntes and resource requrements wth future prospects by better algnng these unverstes wth ther nternal and external envronmental forces The ultmate beneft of strategc plannng practce for these unverstes s helpng them dentfy clearly approprate strateges n lne wth ther mssons as well as take ther campuses where they needed to go (e towards ther preferred strategc drecton) BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY In Ethopa, the tertary educaton gross enrolment rato (GER) that was only % by the year 197 had not shown any sgnfcant mprovement after twenty fve years n 1995 (whch was 7%) and only 15% by the year (Teshome 5; World Bank, 4) Accordng to the Federal Mnstry of Educaton (MoE, 1, p 6), the GER for hgher educaton ncreased from 6% n 1999 to 5 % n 8/9 Ths means that the Ethopan hgher educaton has now come close to the Afrcan average n GER of 6% n In ths connecton, currently there are 1 Publc Unverstes operatng toward accomplshment of ther mssons, compared to the only publc unverstes (Adds Ababa and Haramaya) that exsted 15 years ago and the annual ntake of Educatonal Plannng 17 Vol, No

2 undergraduates has ncreased from 9, n the academc year 1996/1997 to 94, n 11/1 (MoE, 1) Ths fast growth n students enrolment trend n publc unverstes of the country ndcates that Ethopa has been aggressvely engaged n the expanson of hgher educaton Ths expanson polcy of Ethopa s smlar to the expansonary polces of the last 5 years Also known as massfcaton fueled by socal demand, open admsson, free educaton and guaranteed employment, have led to hgher educaton enrollments that, snce the 196s, have multpled nne tmes n Afrca and Latn Amerca and four tmes n Asa (Trow, 6) However, one of the most mportant mplcatons of ths growth s the overcrowdng at the publc unverstes wth an assocated percepton of decrease n the qualty of educaton (Altbach & Peterson, 1999) Hence, ths mere ncrease n student numbers alone n the Ethopan publc unverstes s not suffcent to meet the requrements of provdng competent graduates for the socal, poltcal and economc development agendas of ths naton Besdes expanson, the qualty of exstng unverstes s a necessary condton As unverstes are accountable to ther stakeholders and customers (the students, government and other employers and the publc at large), those who manage these nsttutons need to guarantee ther consttuences that the nsttutons they lead offer qualty teachng, research and communty servces Consequently, the leaders of publc unverstes of Ethopa must accept the challenges of developng qualty n ther operatons However, ths expandng hgher educaton systems are n need of resources: to employ growng populatons of faculty and staff, to provde study grants or scholarshps, to fund broader spectra of research areas, to buld new teachng or research facltes, to preserve older captal nvestments, to stock lbrares, or to furnsh and upgrade complex nfrastructures (Herbst, 7, p ) Above all, hgher educaton leaders all over the world (ncludng the leaders of publc unverstes n Ethopa) encounter an ncreasngly complex external envronment where socal, poltcal, and market forces are reshapng the postsecondary landscape (Bess & Dee, 8) It s also argued that the challenges of the hgher educaton envronment have become ever more complex as we seek to respond to the calls for reform comng from dfferent drectons, the need for change, the fnancal and budgetary dffcultes we are all facng, the demand for accountablty-all the ssues that surround us, or perhaps bombard us, on a daly bass (Gllespe & Robertson, 1) To ths connecton, the key to successful nsttutonal leadershp, management and advancement s the desgn and mplementaton of a functonal long range and strategc plannng process (Wlknson, et al, 7, p 11) The real sgnfcance of strategc plan s that t drects senor managers attenton away from day-to-day ssues and forces a re-examnaton of the man purposes of the nsttuton and ts key relatonshps wth ts customers (Salls,, p 119) Hence, the central reason for engagng n strategc plannng s to better algn the college or unversty wth ts envronment (Rowley & Sherman, 1, p ) Unverstes engaged n strategc plannng as means to "make benefcal, strategc changes to adapt to the rapdly shftng envronment" (Rowley, Lujan, & Dolence, 1997) Ths follows that strategc plannng process n unverstes may form the bass for a formal relatonshp wth outsde bodes, ncludng government and other fundng bodes or may be helpful n fosterng closer relatons wth other external bodes, ncludng local or regonal government, the local communty and other groups, and organzatons and ndvduals wth whch the unversty nteracts (Taylor & Mrou, ) Hence, competences of strategc leadershp style are very much requred Strategc leadershp style s the combnaton of three dfferent ndvdual sklls and abltes: vsonng; focusng; and mplementng (Neumann & Neumann, 1999) A strategc plan wthn the unversty provdes a lnk between academc plannng (such as student numbers, courses, and research), fnancal plannng (projected ncome and expendture), and physcal plannng (buldngs and nfrastructure), and wll also gude the overall allocaton of funds (Taylor & Mrou, ) Therefore, strategc plannng nvolves shftng the leaders and managers poston so that they consder the overall context and aspects of ther nsttuton rather Educatonal Plannng 18 Vol, No

3 than one partcular part, aspect, stuaton, or crcumstance For that reason, n academc nsttutons strategc plannng s about dentfyng some common drectons for the department, dvson, school or college based on needs of the external and nternal stakeholders To attan the benefts of strategc plannng, urgent strategc plannng, strategc leadershp competences and practces are needed n these chaotc academc envronments However, the academc communtes, here and there, are complanng that people n varous leadershp postons n most of the publc unverstes n Ethopa had been ntensvely engaged n trval and routne admnstratve decsons nstead of searchng for more strategc ssues and vsonary-proactve leadershp to better algn the nsttutons wth ther nternal and external forces that can postvely or negatvely affect ther actvtes RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to algn wth the objectves of the study, attempts were made to seek relable answers for the followng research questons: 1 What s the practce of nsttutonal strategc plannng n publc unverstes of Ethopa? How were the nsttutonal strateges mplemented n publc unverstes of Ethopa RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The purpose of ths study was to gan an nsght on the practce of strategc leadershp n publc unverstes n Ethopa In ths connecton, the overall objectves of ths study were to specfcally nvestgate the practces of strategc plannng and strategy mplementaton of strategc plannng n publc unverstes of Ethopa A LITERATURE REVIEW Strategc Plannng n Unverstes Strategc plannng s no longer smply the purvew of busness, and many campuses hope to duplcate the success that many busnesses and not-for-proft organzatons have had n developng and mplementng ther strategc plan (Rowley & Sherman, 1, p 5) It s the process by whch the gudng members of an organzaton envson the future and develop the necessary procedures and operatons to acheve that future (Goodsten, 199) Strategc plan, sometmes called a corporate or nsttutonal development plan, detals the measures whch the nsttuton ntends to take to acheve ts msson It sets a medum-term tmescale, usually over a three-year perod Its am s to gve the nsttuton gudance and drecton (Salls,, p 14) Strategc plannng s about what are the strategc choces that a unversty can make to help develop and sustan a compettve strategc advantage? (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Strategc plannng requres strategc thnkng, whch nvolves takng a broad set of facts and nformaton nto consderaton as you strve to understand the present stuaton and crcumstances, dentfy future trends and formulate future possbltes, decde on your organzaton s core values and value proposton, develop or frm up your organzaton s msson and vson, determne the means you wll employ to attan your vson and accomplsh your msson, and dentfy ways to mtgate or address challenges or obstacles lkely to mpede your progress or sub-optmze your overall success (Smerson, 11; Taylor & Mrou, ) Therefore, wthout a clear understandng of the nsttuton s core belefs and values, decson makng has no underpnnng or consstency (Wlknson, et al, 7, p, ) Strategc plannng enables the formulaton of long-term prortes, and t enables nsttutonal change to be tackled n a ratonal manner Wthout a strategy an nsttuton cannot be certan that t s best placed to explot new opportuntes as they develop (Salls,, p 119) It s a means of establshng major drectons for the unversty, college/school or department Taken together, strategc plannng and contnuous qualty mprovement can dramatcally mprove the ablty of the nsttuton to meet the needs of ts nternal and external stakeholders (Pars, ) No plannng process s gong to be successful f that process s not mbedded n a thorough understandng of both the nternal and external envronments (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Hence, an effectve Educatonal Plannng 19 Vol, No

4 strategc plannng n unverstes nvolves an nternal focus on the campus and an external focus on the envronment (Wlknson, et al, 7) A strategc plan s only as successful as the msson, vson, goals and values t enshrnes, as well as the accuracy of the envronmental assessment, nsttutonal capacty, resources needed and tme frame for mplementaton (Hayward, Ncayyana, & Johnson,, p 1) By establshng an envronmental scannng process, nsttutons develop an early warnng system to dentfy and montor opportuntes and threats that need to be antcpated as the campus strategcally postons tself n the plannng process (Hayward, Ncayyana, & Johnson, ; Hnton, 1; Wlknson, et al, 7;) Strategc goals motvate people to acheve them, especally f they ncorporate central aspects of the vson of the nsttuton and are understood to be testable hypotheses, not rgd formulae (Morrll, 7) Colleges and unverstes that algn ther msson wth ther educatonal polces and programs generally are more effectve and effcent (Brnbaum 1991b; Bolman & Deal 1991) The strategc leader recognzes (and emphaszes) the mportance of strategy formulaton and executon (Smerson, 11) Strategy formulaton refers to both the decson-makng processes and outcomes that colleges and unverstes employ to algn or ft ther msson wth ther poston n the marketplace (the envronment), gven the lmted resources and capabltes of ther nternal systems (Lawrence & Lorsch, as cted n Rowley & Sherman, 1, p ) As a result, the underlyng base for choosng one type over another n the strategc choce process s dependent upon two major realtes of the college or unversty: the resource base of the nsttuton and the nsttuton s prevalng phlosophcal academc poston (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Above all, successful strategc plannng s nclusve, allowng every major stakeholdermanagement, teachng and research staff, support staff, students, the councl, and other nterested partes and stakeholders to partcpate (Hayward, Ncayyana, & Johnson,, p ) Shared governance s not one of the unque features of colleges and unverstes; t s also part of what makes campus operatons effectve It s the lack of partcpaton and the resultng dstrust and power struggles that lead to the falure of the strategc plannng process n many colleges and unverstes (Rowley & Sherman, 1, pp ) Consequently, unverstes should encourage actve partcpaton of as many people as possble, ncludng the faculty, admnstraton, students and alumn, engagng them n the on-gong dalogue and nvolvng them n the strategc plannng process n order to generate a feelng of ownershp of the process and the outcomes throughout the unversty (Brnbaum, 1991a; Hax & Majluf, 1996) In the frst actvtes related to strategc plannng, f top campus leaders commt to formng a full-campus leadershp team and also commt to a full and open communcatons process, the resultng strategc plans wll have a much greater chance of succeedng In ths connecton, nvolvng staff n major ssues such as a strategc plan s one more way of gatherng support for the successful mplementaton of that plan (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Moreover, accordng to these scholars, t s a real mstake not to nclude students (and perhaps alumn) n major campus decsons, snce ths s the very group that academc programs seek to beneft Further, the thought that students really don t know what they want from ther college or unversty s a noton that often proves to be false once students are nvted to partcpate Strategy Implementaton n Unverstes Strategy mplementaton refers to actons taken by a college or unversty to put ther postonng plans nto acton by changng ther msson, changng ther envronment, or changng ther resources, capabltes, and nternal operatons (Rowley & Sherman, 1, p ) No organzaton anywhere n the world has ever added a sngle penny to ts profts from makng plans: the rewards are only realzed when plans are mplemented (Hussey, 1998) The mplementaton of strategy s arguably the most mportant stage n the process of strategc plannng for one reason: Wthout successful mplementaton, an organzaton s strategy s really nothng more than a fantasy (Hambrck & Cannella, 1989) These scholars further argue that to Educatonal Plannng Vol, No

5 formulate strateges wthout some serous thoughts toward mplementaton seems a serous waste of the strategsts tme Implementng the plan brngs commtment, focus and drecton Implementaton s the key to makng everythng else functonal (Wlknson, et al, 7) One of the caveats of successful mplementaton s to mplement the strategc plan ncrementally By carefully selectng areas of the plan that wll be easer and more straghtforward to mplement, leaders and planners can acheve success n the early stages of the mplementaton process (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Strategy mplementaton requres strategc leadershp sklls n the organzaton Accordng to Reeves (), strategc leadershp s the smultaneous acts of executng, evaluatng, and reformulatng strateges, and focusng organzatonal energy and resources on the most effectve strateges Accordng to Harrson & John (1998), strategy mplementaton should be consdered explctly n the formulaton stage so that any resultng strategy s n fact mplementable when an organzaton has decded upon a partcular strategc plan; planners and admnstrators are then charged wth alterng or creatng an organzatonal structure to best carry out that plan Once an organzaton has chosen the proper structure, the mplementaton process moves on to dentfy specfc people and tasks to carry out the ntentons of the plannng process (Rowley & Sherman, 1, p 15) A strategc plan s of lmted value unless t s used n the budget exercse (Pars, ) In strategc plannng practces most mportant thng to help acheve ntended goals of an nsttuton s lnkng and supportng the planned ntatves and actvtes wth realstc long-range budget Strategc plannng must drve resource allocaton not vce versa (Taylor & Mrou, ) The advantage for the nsttuton usng ts strategc plan to allocate resources s that that everyone knows ahead of tme whch actvtes have prorty and whch wll be recevng the resources n any gven budget year In addton, because the prortzaton of these actvtes was an nsttutonwde negotaton, there s some buy-n and some patence wth the process Accordngly, the most common way of tyng the entre strategc plan nto the campus budget process s to prortze campus needs, values, and programs (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Thus, wthout a clear te between the most preferred strateges and nsttutonal budget, mplementng a strategc plan can become nearly mpossble endeavour Montorng and evaluaton of strategy mplementaton processes n hgher educaton nsttutons are so mportant to check whether the performance practces of planned ntatves and actvtes are beng carred out as planned Herbst (7) opned that good plannng practce of the past was unthnkable wthout montorng or performance measurement, as unthnkable as drvng an automoble wthout lookng where the car s headng and wthout steerng to keep the vehcle on course or out of trouble Above all, as to Rowley and Sherman (1), montorng the mplementaton of the plan s an essental part of the plannng process, and needs to be more than routne re-endorsement The process also needs to allow for regular revew and updatng ensurng that the plan remans relevant RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Ths study was amed at examnng and descrbng the current practces pertanng to strategc plannng and strategy mplementaton n the sampled publc unverstes of Ethopa Therefore, t was a descrptve research n desgn It was also carred out by applyng a mxed methods research desgn especally that of the convergent (concurrent) mxed method desgn wth the purpose of comparng the results from quanttatve data wth that of qualtatve one Here both types of data were collected smultaneously for trangulaton and analyzed at the same tme wth the fndngs convergng n the conclusons to answer an overarchng research queston (Ary, Jacobs & Sorensen, 1) Recently, many researchers of management related problems have employed more mxed method approaches rather than just quanttatve or qualtatve research The vew s that a combnaton of research methods can serve mutual purposes because the relatve strengths of qualtatve and quanttatve methods enable management and organsatonal researchers to address Educatonal Plannng 1 Vol, No

6 mportant questons at dfferent stages of a research nqury, thereby enhancng and enrchng current knowledge by fllng n the gaps that studes adoptng a sngular approach are unable to do (Currell & Towler,, p 54) There are also several vewponts as to why qualtatve and quanttatve methods can be combned For the purpose of ths research the legtmate reasons of combnng these two methods n a sngle study were to acheve trangulaton-combnng two or more sources of data to study the same phenomenon n order to gan a more complete understandng of t and to acheve complementary results by usng the strengths of one method to enhance the other (Morgan, 1998) Data Gatherng Instruments Descrptve-survey researchers desgn and develop ther own surveys to gather the perceptons of ther sample partcpants on current educatonal ssues (Lodco, Spauldng, & Voegtle, 6, p 16) As ths research was a descrptve survey research, the researcher self-developed questonnares and ntervew gudes to gather data from the sampled partcpants For the sample sze employed n ths research was large, the researcher prepared close-ended questonnares on the bass of the assessment levels Hence, three categores of 5-pont Lkert scale questonnares were prepared for respondents selected from management postons, from staff members (from both academc and admnstratve) and from graduatng year students of the undergraduate programs n the sampled unverstes Lkert scales were gven scores or assgned a weght to each scale, from 1 to 5 Fve numercally coded boxes usng a smple 5-pont Lkert scale for each assessment was provded to respondents To mnmze the threats to valdty, the questonnares were prepared based on comprehensve knowledge n the research area and by consultng other professonals and experts wth experence n the area of study to ncorporate ther feedback and ensure that the fnal nstrument approprate to measure what t was supposed to measure Besdes, for measurng nternal consstency and ts assocated relablty of the nstruments used n the study, Cronbach alpha was calculated and the results n each category of scales were hgher than 7, ndcatng hgh relablty of the scale tems n the nstruments In addton to questonnares, ntervews were conducted by the researcher (hmself) wth the offcals at the top level management postons n the sampled publc unverstes n order to elct an n-depth and pertnent data for the purpose of trangulatng the results from quanttatve data Data Sources In Ethopa, currently, there are 1 publc hgher educaton nsttutons wth full pledged unversty status accomplshng ther msson of teachng, research and communty servces Eght of these publc unverstes are relatvely old and organzatonally well establshed Three of them were promoted (as of 7) from colleges to the level of unversty wth adequately reasonable organzatonal development status and the rest of these publc unverstes were newly establshed and started functonng from scratch as of 7 In ths study, therefore, those publc unverstes whch started ther educaton and tranng programs from scratch as of 7 GC were excluded because they were consdered as very mmature to provde suffcent data requred to meet the objectves of the study Subsequently, the data sources for ths study were three randomly selected unverstes from the stratas of those publc unverstes whch were beleved to be relatvely old and organzatonally well establshed and from those of whch were promoted from colleges to the level of unversty Adds Ababa Unversty, Jmma Unversty and Dlla Unversty were the sampled unverstes for ths study Accordngly, the prmary sources of data for ths study were these sampled unverstes top level management team members, faculty/college/school deans and admnstratve unts drectors, department/program heads, academc staff members, non academc staff members and graduatng year students Educatonal Plannng Vol, No

7 Samples and Samplng Procedures A combnaton of approprate samplng technques was employed for the study to sut each group of respondents from management postons, from students, from academc and admnstratve staff Accordngly, n ths study samples from academc staffs were selected usng stratfed cluster samplng va categorzng them by ther academc rank wthn ther natural clusters of Colleges/Facultes/Schools Ths samplng technque guarantees that the sample wll nclude specfc characterstcs that the researcher wants ncluded n the sample (Creswell, 1, p 144) Besdes, one-stage cluster samplng method was used to select offcals from mddle and lower level management postons (e Deans, Drectors, Dvson Heads) by categorzng the clusters based on ther colleges/facultes/schools and lstng all the clusters n the target populaton Then clusters for ths study were ncluded by employng smple random samplng technque On top of that, respondents from admnstratve staff were selected by usng purposeful samplng technque, as t provded the researcher an opportunty to derve an n-depth understandng from nformaton-rch cases on ssues that were mportant to the purpose of the study (Patton, ) Furthermore, for the purpose of ths study respondents from the graduatng year students were selected by employng multstage cluster samplng technque, as the sampled unverstes had multple dspersal located campuses based on ther natural clusterng n academc Colleges/Facultes/Schools Cluster samplng technque s normally used to overcome problems assocated wth a geographcally dspersed populaton where t s expensve n tme and resources to construct a samplng frame for a large geographcal area (Lodco, Spauldng & Voegtle, 6) Top level offcals -Academc and Research Vce Presdents, and Drectors of Qualty Assurance n the sampled unverstes were also selected usng purposeful samplng technque as they were beleved by the researcher to be key nformants for the ntervews All n all, the domnant samplng technque employed n ths study was cluster samplng (one of the probablty samplng technques) n ts varous forms (e one stage, mult stage and stratfed cluster samplng technques) as each of them apples to select respondents from dfferent groups and nsttutonal levels Data Analyss In ths study the qualtatve data were used for trangulaton purpose to see whether they support or refute results from statstcal analyss of quanttatve data Thus, qualtatve and quanttatve data were analyzed based on concurrent mxed method approach by mergng both quanttatve and qualtatve databases for example numbers and text (Creswell, 1) The Statstcal Package for the Socal Scences (SPSS 15) computer software was used for analyzng the quanttatve data part For quanttatve data the researcher used the Mean as a measure of central tendency (as the study comprsed of a large sample sze) to descrbe, and summarze the data n a smple and understandable manner When t comes to nferental statstcs whch are so mportant to draw nferences or make predctons about the populaton, the two most mportant consderatons for choosng between the parametrc and nonparametrc famles n survey analyss are sample sze and the type of scale used n the survey questonnare (Pallant, 7) In ths regards, the study employed large sample sze but the scale type used to collect quanttatve data was Fve-pont Lkert-scale However, snce there s an assumpton that a Lkert scale database could not satsfy a normalty dstrbuton, and hence the non-parametrc tests whch are dstrbuton free were appled as nferental statstcal technques to determne whether there was any dfference between or among the comparson groups The non parametrc statstcal technques used to test group dfferences n ths study were the Mann-Whtney U test whch s the non-parametrc alternatve of t-test and the Kruskal-Walls H test whch s the non-parametrc alternatve of ANOVA The Mann Whtney U test s used to Educatonal Plannng Vol, No

8 compare two ndependent samples when data are ether nterval scale but assumptons for t-test (normalty) are not satsfed, or ordnal (ranked) scale The non-parametrc alternatve of one-way ANOVA s Kruskal Walls and s used for ordnal data, or an nterval-scale varable, whch are not normally dstrbuted (Creswell, 1; Cohen, Manon, & Morrson, 7; McCrum-Gardner, 8; Pallant, 7) Besdes ths, ntervews were analysed usng typologcal analyss approach Typologcal analyss approach s done by dvdng all nformaton collected through ntervews nto categores on the bass of some canon for dsaggregatng the whole phenomenon under study (LeCompte & Pressle, 199) Thus, the ntervew data were dsaggregated, labelled and summarzed nto categores and themes based on the attrbutes of successful nsttutonal strategc plannng and strategy mplementaton practces n unverstes (emanated from exstng theores and emprcal studes) and, accordngly, as posed by the researcher n the ntal ntervew gudng questons Hence, n ths study the analyss of quanttatve data was done frst and followed by qualtatve data (ntervews) analyss n the form of texts and quotes to trangulate and/or corroborate the results and, fnally to dentfy overall converged fndngs RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The respondents for ths study conssted of management team members (Vce Presdents, Deans, Drectors, and Heads); staff members (from both academc and admnstratve staff members); and graduatng year (fnal year) students from varous areas of study From a total of 14 questonnares dstrbuted to those who were workng n management postons n the sampled unverstes 14 (8%) were completed and returned Out of the 1 questonnares dstrbuted to staff (both academc and admnstratve) 41(777%) were completed and returned Moreover, from the 7 questonnares dstrbuted to students 57 (79%) were returned In general, from a total of 1,154 questonnares dstrbuted to all of the respondents categores, 915 (79%) were returned and these responses were used n the data analyss process Research Queston 1 What s the practce of nsttutonal strategc plannng n publc unverstes of Ethopa? For the data analyss purpose of ths study, the values of the responses below were consdered as dsagreements, the values of were consdered as neutral (ndcatng nether agree nor dsagree) and values above were consdered as agreements If we compute for the average value by summng up all the assgned values for the response alternatves under each of the tems wthn the 5-pont Lkert scale questonnares and dvdng the result to the total of 5 alternatves provded we can get an average value of (e =15/5=) Based on ths assumpton, for ths study a mean value greater than ndcates agreement whle a mean value less than ndcates dsagreement For quanttatve data the mean responses of respondents were compared and judged aganst these values Here, the analyss of quanttatve data was done frst and followed by qualtatve data analyss n the form of texts and quotes to trangulate and/or corroborate the results of quanttatve data and to fnally draw the overall converged fndngs as presented n the followng part Educatonal Plannng 4 Vol, No

9 Clearly descrbes the nsttuton's opportunty from ts external envronment Clearly Table descrbes 1: Strategc threats plannng to the Practce nsttuton from ts external envronment Varables Under Strategc Plannng Process Overall AAU JU DU 6 Mean 9 7 Mean Mean Mean Actvtes and programs are consstent wth Exstence of Strategc Plan the goals and objectves of the nsttuton Stakeholders partcpaton n strategc plannng Clearly ndcates the nsttuton's strengths and weaknesses Actvtes Clearly descrbes and programs the nsttuton's are opportunty clearly from ts external prortzed envronment accordng to the vson and msson Clearly descrbes threats to the nsttuton from ts external 8 envronment 9 Overall Actvtes Mean and on programs Strategc are Plannng consstent Process wth the goals and objectves of the nsttuton Actvtes and programs are clearly prortzed accordng to the vson 9 and msson 8 Overall Mean on Strategc Plannng Process Keys: AAU=Adds Ababa Unversty; JU=Jmma Unversty; DU=Dlla Unversty; Queston response scale: 5 = strongly agree; 4 = agree; = nether agree nor dsagree; = dsagree; and 1 = strongly dsagree The results n Table 1 ndcate that the mean ratngs of respondents from JU were n agreement that ther nsttuton carred out ts strategc plannng by applyng all the key dmensons requred for the successful strategc plannng process (Over all Mean= 48) At the same tme the mean ratngs of respondents from DU ndcated that they were n dsagreement (Over all Mean=67), sgnfyng that ther nsttuton carred out ts strategc plannng wthout adequately applyng all the key dmensons and ndcators requred for successful strategc plannng process Even they were not n a poston to agree about the very exstence of strategc plan for ther nsttuton (M=96) When t comes to AAU the respondents agreed that ther nsttuton have a strategc plan; the strategc plan has clearly ndcated the nsttuton's strengths and weaknesses; and t has clearly descrbed threats to the nsttuton from ts external envronment However, they dsagreed on the vews that there was adequate stakeholders partcpaton n strategc plannng; the strategc plan clearly descrbed ther nsttuton's opportunty from ts external envronment; the actvtes and programs were consstent wth the goals and objectves of the nsttuton; and the actvtes and programs were clearly prortzed accordng to the vson and msson of ther nsttuton (see Table 1) When we see the overall mean (n Table 1) for all the three sampled unverstes, the two man aspects necessary for successful strategc plannng process such as stakeholders partcpaton n strategc plannng process (M=75), and clearly dentfyng the threats from ts external envronment n the strategc plannng process (M=97) were n problem ndcatng that these publc unverstes n Ethopa were not senstve to ther nsttutons ever-changng external envronments (see Table 1) Nevertheless the challenges arsng both from nternal and external envronments of these days unverstes requre forward-lookng, proactve management strateges by the leaders The results n Table 1 have also ndcated that the sampled publc unverstes n Ethopa dd not take advantage of gvng adequate chance for the partcpaton of as many stakeholders as possble n ther strategc plannng process In order to check whether there s sgnfcant dfference between the responses of the two ndependent groups (managers and non managers) about the practces related to strategc plannng n ther Educatonal unverstes, Plannng the Mann-Whtney U Test was performed 5 (as can be seen n Table Vol, below) No

10 Ethopa dd not take advantage Mof gvng adequate chance for 1 the partcpaton 9 of as many stakeholders as possble n ther strategc a plannng process n In order to check whether there a s sgnfcant dfference between the responses of the two ndependent groups (managers and gnon managers) about the practces related to strategc plannng n ther unverstes, the Mann-Whtney e U Test was performed (as can be seen n Table below) r Table : The Strategc Plannng s Practce wthn the sampled unverstes as Perceved by Managers and Non Managers (Mann-Whtney M U Test) 1 4 a Item Rn N4 M Sgnfcance Test Test Item Respondents ea Category N MnR n M Z sg R6 Man Whtney U Test Z Sg a pe 4 Non Managers n Strategc Plannng Practces or Managers ns W d h Key: Sgnfcance Level: *P e5; MnR=Medan Rank; Managers=Respondents from management postons; Non Managers=Respondents n of Staff and Students t t n As can be seen n Table the sgnfcance s levels obtaned are not less than e or equal to 5, so the results are not sgnfcant Accordng to these results there s no statstcally y sgnfcant dfference n the percepton of both C managers and non managers regardng practces related strategc plannng n ther nsttutons a U t Moreover, to check whether there e s sgnfcant dfference across the three T unverstes n ther performance practces related to strategc g plannng, the Kruskal-Walls Test e was used o s Table : Comparson of Strategc rplannng Practces among the sampled t Unverstes (Kruskal- Walls H Test) y Item UD N M Sgnfca ItemStrategc Unverstes N nu N8 MR Sgnfcance 4 R4 Test nce Test - Plannng o 1 6 X 6 9 X df Sg 1 d Strategc Practces Plannng Practces AAUn v f among the three sampled JU e unverstes r DU s Keys: Sgnfcance Level *P 5; AAU=Adds Ababa Unversty; JU=Jmma Unversty; DU=Dlla Unversty; MR=Mean Rank; t As can be seen n Table the sgnfcance e levels obtaned are less than 5, so the results are sgnfcant Accordng to these results there s s statstcally sgnfcant dfference across the three sampled publc unverstes n ther performance practces related to strategc plannng, as perceved by the respondents Based on ths A concluson, to dentfy whch 4 unversty s n a better poston, the researcher has nspected the mean A rank for the three 1 sampled 5 unverstes n Table Accordngly, an nspecton of the mean ranks U for these groups suggests that Jmma Unversty s n a better poston n terms of strategc plannng practces (see Table ) 1 Strategc Plannng 7 Practces To substantate among the the fndngs from the precedng quanttatve data 6analyss concernng ssues three related to strategc sampled plannng practces, ntervews J were carred out wth 5 the offcals at the senor unverstes management levels across the sampled unverstes 6 U In ths connecton, 7 9 my ntervewees from a senor leadershp postons at Dlla Unversty have wtnessed 5 7 the problems 4 related to strategc plannng practces n ths unversty by statng as: 7 Strategc plannng n ths unversty was not seen as a prorty ssue 4 n comparson to other day to day manageral routnes Accordng to these ntervewees, for the last four years, offcals n varous top leadershp postons had been talkng about the preparaton of strategc plan but they were not commtted about t as they were for other routne actvtes and decsons However, as to them, though the strategc plannng process completed and ready for mplementaton, the vson and mssons of the unversty were not adequately Educatonal shared wth Plannng all the concerned stakeholders (ILM-DU) 6 Vol, No S g S 1 g

11 related to strategc plannng practces, ntervews were carred out wth the offcals at the senor management levels across the sampled unverstes In ths connecton, my ntervewees from a senor leadershp postons at Dlla Unversty have wtnessed the problems related to strategc plannng practces n ths unversty by statng as: Strategc plannng n ths unversty was not seen as a prorty ssue n comparson to other day to day manageral routnes Accordng to these ntervewees, for the last four years, offcals n varous top leadershp postons had been talkng about the preparaton of strategc plan but they were not commtted about t as they were for other routne actvtes and decsons However, as to them, though the strategc plannng process completed and ready for mplementaton, the vson and mssons of the unversty were not adequately shared wth all the concerned stakeholders (ILM-DU) Ths result suggests that the ssue of strategc plan n DU s the almost forgotten aspect of nsttutonal management actvtes Ths s contrary to other academc nsttutons that cope up effectvely wth and adapt to the rapdly changng nterests of ther nternal and external envronments Ths result from the analyss of ntervew data also affrmed the results of quanttatve data (as ndcated n Table 1) regardng strategc plannng practce n Dlla Unversty Another ntervewee from the top level leadershp poston n Adds Ababa Unversty, concernng the practce and process of strategc plannng n hs unversty, explans that: Yes we have fve years strategc plan wth clearly stated vson, mssons and values In my vew there was partcpaton of concerned stakeholders n strategc plannng process but I have been hearng here and there that academc communty were complanng that the nvolvement major stakeholders was not adequate n the frst place and was not contnuous practce He went on sayng that I can assure you that we have good strategc plan conssted of all ts major aspects (as a document) but t was not responsve to these days envronmental dynamsms as t was not open to contnuous revson Another problem, accordng to ths ntervewee, was that n hs unversty all of the decsons (both strategc and routne) whch had been made were completely gnored what was dentfed as the preferred strategc drecton and ts assocated objectves and actvtes n the strategc plan document of ths unversty Hence, accordng to hm, strategc plan n Adds Ababa Unversty was more of a formalty (ILM-AAU1) From the results (of both quanttatve and qualtatve data) dscussed above, t s recognzable that, n Adds Ababa Unversty, the pressng problems related to ts strategc plannng practce were nadequacy of stakeholders partcpaton and ts nablty to proactvely assessng and predctng changes n ts external envronment Generally, the overall merged fndngs concernng strategc plannng practce and process (from the above analyss of both quanttatve and qualtatve data) across the sampled publc unverstes ndcate that: The stakeholders (staff, students, employers, etc) partcpaton n strategc plannng process and practces n these sampled publc unverstes was found to be low and nadequate There was also less emphass gven to assess ther external envronment n order to clearly dentfy the opportuntes (to buld on them) and threats (to reduce ther negatve mpact) Hence, the prortzed strategc ssues and objectves of these publc unverstes strategc plans were hghly affected by frequently changng nterests and polcy drectons from the government and other external forces Contrary to these fndngs, the lterature suggests that successful strategc plannng s nclusve, allowng every major stakeholders-the management, teachng and research staff, support staff, students, the councl, and other nterested partes and stakeholders-an opportunty to partcpate (Hayward, Ncayyana, & Johnson, ) Moreover, shared governance s not one of the unque features of colleges and unverstes; t s also part of what makes campus operatons effectve It s the lack of partcpaton and the resultng dstrust and power struggles that lead to the falure of the strategc plannng process n many colleges and unverstes (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Scholars Educatonal also suggest Plannng that the leaders (n collaboraton 7 wth the plannng team Vol and, concerned No stakeholders) readness and commtment to contnuously assess ther nsttuton s external

12 effectve It s the lack of partcpaton and the resultng dstrust and power struggles that lead to the falure of the strategc plannng process n many colleges and unverstes (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Scholars also suggest that the leaders (n collaboraton wth the plannng team and concerned stakeholders) readness and commtment to contnuously assess ther nsttuton s external envronment and proactvely accommodate changes occurrng outsde ther nsttuton s a crucal step to success n these days ever changng academc landscape Effectve plannng n unverstes nvolves an nternal focus on the campus and an external focus on the envronment The challenges arsng both from nternal and external envronments of the current unverstes requre forward-lookng, proactve management strateges by the leaders It s dffcult to envson a hgher educaton nsttuton commtted to contnuously mprovng ts servces wthout havng a strategc plan wth clearly dentfed opportuntes (to buld on them) and threats (to reduce ther expected negatve mpacts) accompaned wth the culture of contnuous assessment from the external envronment The basc strengths of strategc plannng are ts abltes to help better algn the organzaton wth ts envronment (that set of nternal and external forces that can postvely or negatvely affect the actvtes of an organzaton (Rowley & Sherman, 1) Research Queston How were the nsttutonal strateges mplemented n publc unverstes of Ethopa? Wthout successful mplementaton, an organzaton s preferred strategy s nothng more than a dream Regardng the strategy mplementaton practces n sampled unverstes both quanttatve and qualtatve data were collected from respondents at management postons, staff members (both academc and admnstratve) and students Table 4 ndcates the results of quanttatve data and for the data analyss purpose of ths study the values of the responses below were consdered as dsagreements, the values of consdered as neutral (ndcatng nether agree nor dsagree) and values above were consdered as agreements Hence, the mean responses of respondents were compared and judged aganst these values Just n a smlar way to the analyss procedures carred out above, n ths part also the analyss of quanttatve data was done frst and followed by qualtatve data analyss n the form of texts and quotes to trangulate and/or corroborate the results of quanttatve data and to fnally draw the overall converged fndngs as put n the followng part Table 4: Strategy Implementaton Practces AAU JU DU Varable A J D Overall O Varables Under Strategy Implementaton s Under A U Mean U Mean Mean Meanve Strategy U ral Responsblty for the mplementaton of strategc plan s communcated to the staff Mechansms for montorng the mplementaton of strategc plan are n place Mean on 5 Strategy Major decsons and actvtes are carred out as per the strategc plan Impleme Resources allocated are adequate to 6 mplement the strategc 4plan ntaton There s a practce of updatng the strategc plan perodcally Practces Overall Mean on Strategy Implementaton Practces Queston response scale: 5 = strongly agree; 4 = agree; = nether agree nor dsagree; = dsagree; and 1 = strongly dsagree Keys: AAU=Adds Ababa Unversty; JU=Jmma Unversty; DU=Dlla Unversty Source: Prmary Data The results n Table 4 show that as to the respondents from the staff and management postons of AAU and DU the responsblty for the mplementaton of strategc plan was not adequately communcated to the staff Accordng to them mechansms for montorng the mplementaton of strategc plan were also not n place n ther nsttutons They dd not also agree that major decsons and actvtes were carred out as per the strategc plan n ther nsttutons For them resources allocated were also nadequate to mplement all the actvtes as stpulated Educatonal n ther Plannng nsttutons strategc plan Above 8 all, n these two unverstes Vol there, No was no practce of updatng the strategc plan perodcally (see Table 4) From ths t can be deduced that

13 dsagree; t and 1 = strongly o dsagree 4 7 Keys: r AAU=Adds Ababa n Unversty; JU=Jmma 1 Unversty; 5 DU=Dlla Unversty Source: a Prmary Data t M 5 e The results n Table a 4 show that as to the respondents 1 from the staff and management postons g of AAU and n DU the responsblty for the mplementaton of strategc plan was not adequately y communcated a to the staff Accordng to them mechansms for montorng the mplementaton of strategc g plan were also not n place n ther nsttutons They dd not also agree I that major decsons e and actvtes were carred out as per the strategc plan n ther nsttutons m For them r resources allocated were also nadequate to mplement all the actvtes as stpulated p n ther nsttutons s strategc plan Above all, n these two unverstes there was no practce l of updatng the M strategc plan perodcally 1 (see 1Table 4) From ths t can be deduced that strategy e mplementaton a processes n the sampled unverstes 6 were affected 1 by the lack of clear communcaton m of the n what, the where, 4and the how 7aspects of strategy 1 mplementaton to the staff - e a 9 n g 1 As can be seen n Table 4 JU was somehow better than the other sampled unverstes 7 t e 9 7 n strategy mplementaton aspects and practces However, JU has also acute problems 1 a r of communcatng responsbltes for the mplementaton of strategc plan to the staff t s 5 before begnnng ts mplementaton process (Mean=9), and more or less n carryng out major decsons o and actvtes as per strategc plan n To check whether there was sgnfcant dfference between the responses of the two ndependent groups P (managers and non managers) on practces related to strategy mplementaton, the Mann- Whtney r U Test was performed (see Table 5) a Table c 5: Strategy Implementaton Practces as Perceved by Managers and Non Managers (Mann-Whtney t U Test) Sgnfcance Test citems R Respondents Category N N MnR M Sgnfcance Test Man Whtney U Test Z Sg e e n M Z Is Strategy Implementaton s Non Managers R a tpractces p Managers n e o mkey: Sgnfcance nlevel: *P 5; MnR=Medan Rank; Managers=Respondents W from smanagement postons; d Non Managers=Respondents from Staff (academc h and admnstratve), excludng Student respondents e n t As can be seen n t Table 5 the sgnfcance levels obtaned are not less n than or equal to 5, so the results are not sgnfcant s Accordng to these results there s eno statstcally sgnfcant dfference n the percepton of both managers and non managers regardng y practces related strategy mplementaton C n ther nsttutons In addton, the Kruskal-Walls Test was carred out to check whether there a s sgnfcant dfference across the three sampled U unverstes n ther performance practces t related to strategy mplementaton as perceved by the respondents, e T Table 6: Strategy Implementaton g Practces among the sampled Unverstes e as perceved by the respondents (Kruskal-Walls o H Test) s r t Items y U N M Sgnfca n R nce Test X d v f e r S g S g Educatonal Plannng 9 Vol, No

14 to check whether there s sgnfcant dfference J across the three 1 sampled unverstes 5 n ther performance Strategy practces related to strategy mplementaton U as perceved by the respondents, 9 Implementaton 6 Table Practces 6: Strategy Implementaton Practces among the sampled Unverstes as perceved 7 by the respondents (Kruskal-Walls H Test) D N 1 M 1 Sgnfcance Test Items Unverstes Sgnfca n U N MR R X df nce Test Sg AAU X d v f Strategy Implementaton Practces JU e DU r Keys: Sgnfcance Level *P 5; AAU=Adds Ababa Unversty; JU=Jmma Unversty; DU=Dlla Unversty; MR=Mean Rank; S g As can be seen n Table 6 the sgnfcance levels obtaned are less than 5, so the results are sgnfcant Accordng to these results there s statstcally sgnfcant dfference across the three sampled publc unverstes n ther performance practces related to strategy mplementaton as perceved by the respondents Based on ths concluson, to dentfy whch unversty s n a better poston, the researcher has nspected the mean rank for the three sampled unverstes n Table 6 Accordngly, an nspecton of the mean ranks for these groups suggests that Jmma Unversty s n a better poston n terms of strategy mplementaton practces (see Table 6) To corroborate the fndngs from the precedng quanttatve data analyss concernng ssues related to strategy mplementaton practces, the data collected through ntervews were analyzed as follows Accordngly, one of the ntervewee from senor leadershp poston at AAU explaned as follows: I can assure you that we had smart strategc plan as a document but when t comes to the mplementaton aspect of the strategc plan amazngly our unversty dd not follow the strategy set out n t and all of the actvtes we had been dong were not n accordance to the objectves and preferred strateges set n the strategc plan The strategc plan document was sayng somethng and we have been dong some other thng We haven t been strategc n carryng out our mssons and objectves, but busy wth respondng to day to day routnes Our staff had been confused wth frequently changed prorty areas of the unversty on the one hand sde and nadequacy of clearly communcatng to them these ever changng prorty areas and actvtes on the other hand sde So I could say that we had been totally engaged n crses management than proactve leadershp towards our preferred strategc drecton (ILM-AAU) Another ntervewee from the senor leadershp poston at DU sad the followng: We had been dwellng mostly n the ssues whch were not consdered as strategc for our unversty Even at the top management level we were debatng n slly and routne ssues I doubt to say that we had shared vson In general, I could say that we had been perturbed wth gvng prorty to routne ssues than strategc ssues wth a sgnfcant nfluence for betterment of our unversty (ILM-DU) One ntervewee from the senor management poston at JU descrbed the practces and problems of strategy mplementaton n ther nsttuton as follows: We had clearly stpulated prortes and strateges n our strategc plan document We had been commtted to successfully accomplsh them However, our major challenges have been accommodatng the frequently changng external pressures and polcy nterests and drectons of the government wth our already prortzed strategc ssues whch requred us to change somehow our already prortzed msson areas He further went on sayng that ths stuaton has been affectng steady operaton of our unversty (ILM-JU1) The ntervew results dscussed above ndcate that strategy mplementaton practces n these publc Educatonal unverstes Plannng had been troubled wth problems that vary wth the specfc context Vol, of No each of the unverstes, but stll they all share many problems of strategy mplementaton n common If

15 drectons of the government wth our already prortzed strategc ssues whch requred us to change somehow our already prortzed msson areas He further went on sayng that ths stuaton has been affectng steady operaton of our unversty (ILM-JU1) The ntervew results dscussed above ndcate that strategy mplementaton practces n these publc unverstes had been troubled wth problems that vary wth the specfc context of each of the unverstes, but stll they all share many problems of strategy mplementaton n common If we take AAU, t was hghly engaged n crses management than focusng on the mplementaton of ther preferred strateges and sgnfcant actvtes In ths nsttuton strateges were dentfed for the sake of dentfcaton only AAU s gong to somewhere that cannot help t to wn ts compettve and strategc advantages n ths globalzed and hghly compettve hgher educaton envronment DU had no adequately shared vson and excellence areas let alone thnkng about strategc postonng JU had clearly shared vson wth ntensely dentfed prortes and strateges but ts mplementaton practces were affected by volatlty of the polcy drectons and pressures from hgher educaton system management level whch s external to the nsttuton Ths s the same as Taylor & Mrou () asserton that n hgher educaton, commonly, much effort s deployed n the development of strategc plans; much less n ensurng effectve mplementaton The overall fndngs regardng the strategy mplementaton practces across the sampled publc unverstes summarzed as follows: There was weak communcaton of responsbltes for the mplementaton of preferred strateges (as they were stpulated n ther nsttutons strategc plans) to the staff (both academc and admnstratve) Lack of adequate montorng, follow up and feedback mechansms (by the management poston holders and concerned others from top to lower levels n these sampled unverstes) for checkng and supportng the strategy mplementaton practces of the staff (both academc and admnstratve); Leaders of these sampled unverstes frequently makng major decsons wthout referrng to and algnng them wth the major objectves and preferred areas of prorty (e ther preferred strategc drectons) as ndcated n ther nsttutons strategc plans; Leaders of these unverstes dd not adequately share ther nsttuton s vson and preferred excellence areas where they were headng to all concerned stakeholders (staff, students, employers, and the lke) Fluctuatons of preferred nsttutonal strategc ssues, prortes and strateges as a result of frequently changng polcy drectons at the naton s hgher educaton system level and other external envronment related pressures and resultant confusons by the unverstes communtes Nevertheless, as scholars n the area of hgher educaton management suggest that mplementng the plan brngs commtment, focus and drecton Implementaton of strategc plan s the key to makng everythng else functonal (Wlknson, et al, 7) To formulate strateges wthout some serous thoughts toward mplementaton seems a serous waste of the strategsts tme (Hambrck & Cannella, 1989) No organzaton anywhere n the world has ever added a sngle penny to ts profts from makng plans: the rewards are only realzed when plans are mplemented (Hussey, 1998) The mplementaton of strategy s arguably the most mportant stage n the process of strategc plannng for one reason: Wthout successful mplementaton, an organzaton s strategy s really nothng more than a fantasy Hence, f the unverstes dd not mplement the strateges they dentfed what was the purpose of strategy formulaton? It s smply a waste of tme, talent and energy as well as other resources CONCLUSION The results of ths study ndcate that, n the sampled publc unverstes, stakeholders partcpaton n the process of strategc plannng was found to be low There was less emphass gven to crtcally assessng ther ever changng external envronment whle plannng The practce of clearly communcatng ther preferred strateges and actvtes to both academc and admnstratve staff was found to be mnmal and neffectve There was also lack of adequate montorng, follow up and feedback systems Moreover, major decsons were made wthout algnng them to the nsttuton s preferred prorty areas and objectves as stpulated n the strategc Educatonal plan document Plannng Thus, t could be nferred 1 that reachng to ther preferred Vol, No strategc drecton n these publc unverstes mght be negatvely affected and as a result, ther prortzed

16 organzaton s strategy s really nothng more than a fantasy Hence, f the unverstes dd not mplement the strateges they dentfed what was the purpose of strategy formulaton? It s smply a waste of tme, talent and energy as well as other resources CONCLUSION The results of ths study ndcate that, n the sampled publc unverstes, stakeholders partcpaton n the process of strategc plannng was found to be low There was less emphass gven to crtcally assessng ther ever changng external envronment whle plannng The practce of clearly communcatng ther preferred strateges and actvtes to both academc and admnstratve staff was found to be mnmal and neffectve There was also lack of adequate montorng, follow up and feedback systems Moreover, major decsons were made wthout algnng them to the nsttuton s preferred prorty areas and objectves as stpulated n the strategc plan document Thus, t could be nferred that reachng to ther preferred strategc drecton n these publc unverstes mght be negatvely affected and as a result, ther prortzed mssons accomplshment and achevng strategc goals and objectves could not be reached Ths could also lead to the concluson that these sampled publc unverstes mght lack strategc leadershp competences to deploy the human talents and materal resources of ther nsttutons towards the effectve mplementaton of ther prortzed strateges n strategc plannng RECOMMENDATIONS Consderng the sgnfcance of the fndngs of ths study, the followng recommendatons are made: For the successful mplementaton of strategc plan, all the stakeholders who play sgnfcant roles n ts mplementaton must be nvolved n the plannng process Successful strategc plannng must nclude the major partes--management, teachng and research staff, support staff, students, the board, and other nterested partes The mportance of strategc plannng s ts ablty to better algn the unversty wth ts envronment (that set of nternal and external forces that can postvely or negatvely affect the unversty s actvtes) Hence, whle they are n ther strategc plannng process, the leaders of publc unverstes of Ethopa are expected to gve hgh emphass to an n-depth scannng and assessment of ther nsttutons everchangng external envronment to take advantage of opportuntes and to reduce outsde threats by makng nformed decsons Snce a unversty s vson s a drectng force wth a powerful nspratonal and ntegraton effect of all stakeholders to the preferred future of the nsttuton, the leaders of publc unverstes of Ethopa need to have a clearly artculated and shared nsttutonal vson wth all concerned stakeholders especally the staff (both academc and admnstratve), students, the government and other employers Wthout successful mplementaton, a good strategy s nothng more than a smple desre Therefore, t s recommended that the leaders and management team of the publc unverstes n Ethopa need to: Clearly communcate the responsbltes of the staff (both academc and admnstratve) toward the unversty s prortzed strategc ssues and preferred strateges before startng full-fledged mplementaton process of the strategc plan, Introduce adequate montorng, follow up and evaluaton mechansms for the strategy mplementaton practces The am s to assess progress made towards the achevement of the strategc targets and also for updatng and revson of plans based on the feedback, Refer to the major objectves and prortes n ther strategc plans when they are makng major decsons REFERENCES Educatonal Plannng Vol, No

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