Innovative Strategy Making in Higher Education

By:
Mario Martinez, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Mimi Wolverton

Published 2009

The purpose of this book is to offer higher education leaders, scholars, consultants, and observers a full range of strategy tools that can be applied to the higher education industry. This is accomplished by a) introducing new concepts and tools to give a comprehensive view of strategy making in higher education, beyond strategic planning, b) demonstrating the value of the concepts and tools through description and application for different types of institutions (universities, community colleges, for-profit colleges, etc.) and at different levels within institutions (institutional, college, department, etc.), and c) providing guidance on the appropriate uses of the various tools. The last point is especially important, as applying business-like principles to higher education often receives heavy criticism. The book helps readers decipher the appropriate uses of different strategy tools to the higher education industry, but the book also points out dangers and weaknesses. All of this is done within today’s context of political, economic, demographic, and global realities.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments. Preface. 1 The New Imperative for Strategy Making. 2 The Costs and Benefits of Strategic Planning. 3 Strategic Planning: Lessons and Applications. 4 Analyzing Higher Education as an Industry. 5 Applying Industry Analysis in Higher Education. 6 Exercising Your Competitive Advantage. 7 Vertical and Horizontal Integration Strategies. 8 Canvassing the Higher Education Landscape. 9 The Strategy and Innovation Nexus. 10 Innovative Strategy Making and the Role of Leadership. References. About the Authors

REVIEWS
"Innovative Strategy Making in Higher Education is an excellent primer for understanding how notions about strategy have changed in the last 30 years." Adrianna Kezar University of Southern California in The Review of Higher Education