A Dissertation Entitled the Implementation of a Strategic Plan
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A Dissertation entitled The Implementation of a Strategic Plan at a Small, Private College in Michigan by Matthew C. Rheinecker Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Higher Education _________________________________________ Debra Harmening, Ph.D., Committee Chair _________________________________________ Penny Poplin Gosetti, Ph.D., Committee Member _________________________________________ David Meabon, Ph.D., Committee Member _________________________________________ Frank Hribar, D.B.A., Committee Member _________________________________________ Dr. Patricia R. Komuniecki, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo December 2015 Copyright © 2015, Matthew C. Rheinecker This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of The Implementation of a Strategic Plan at a Small, Private College in Michigan by Matthew C. Rheinecker Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Higher Education The University of Toledo December 2015 This study explored the process of implementing the 2005 - 2010 strategic plan at a small, private college in Michigan. As competition grows in the industry of higher education and small, private institutions attempt to maintain or grow revenue streams; institutions must find ways to successfully implement their strategic initiatives. If administrators and institutions are to put their strategic plans into action, they must do so by studying other institutions that have successfully implemented strategic plans. The purpose of this study was to study the process of implementing a strategic plan. The results of this study indicate that there were three main reasons for successful implementation. First, the leadership was in place to create and communicate the strategic plan and its goals. Second, the president created a new culture on campus of appreciation, change and direct communication. Finally, the president set expectations and held employees accountable to those expectations which contributed to the new culture on campus. These three areas allowed for ideas to be generated and implemented. This study provides examples from one institution that other colleges and universities may be able to use to better understand tactics for implementing strategic initiatives. iii I would like to dedicate this study to my wife, Kim, and my parents, Chuck and Janet Rheinecker. iv Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge several important individuals who played a critical role in the completion of this dissertation. First, I would like to thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Debra Harmening, for her guidance. She has assisted me through the entire process with patience and wisdom. I would like to thank my committee, Dr. Frank Hribar, Dr. David Meabon and Dr. Penny Poplin Gosetti for all of their contributions and insight. I would also like to acknowledge my wife, Kim, for her patience listening to my frustrations and never doubting me. I’d like to thank my parents for always making me do my homework when I was little and encouraging me no matter what new journey I started. I’d also like to thank my siblings; Lynn, Mike and Tom, for their indirect motivations throughout my childhood years. I’d also like to acknowledge Dr. Kellie C. McGilvray, who was a friend to me through coursework and helped guide me through the dissertation process. Her friendship and mentorship helped more than she probably knows. Thanks to everyone who helped me through this long process, it was well worth it in the end. v Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vi List of Tables xiii List of Figures xiv I. Introduction 1 A. Background of the Study 2 a. Latest Economic Recession 3 b. The Recession of 2007 4 c. Unemployment 5 B. Statement of the Problem 5 C. Conceptual Framework 12 D. Purpose of the Study 13 E. Research Questions 14 F. Significance of the Study 14 G. Limitations 15 H. Assumptions 16 I. Definitions of Terms 16 J. Summary 17 II. Review of Literature 19 A. History of Small, Private Institutions 19 a. Purpose of Colleges 20 vi b. Tough Times 22 c. Role in Higher Education 26 B. Current State of Higher Education 27 a. Enrollments 28 b. Competition 29 c. Globalization 31 d. Questioning of Value 31 e. Accountability 35 f. Declining Family Incomes 37 g. Rising Cost of College 37 h. Need for Education and Jobs 39 C. Small, Private College Funding Sources 39 a. Tuition 40 b. Fundraising 41 c. Endowments 43 d. Other Sources 44 D. Conclusion 45 E. Small, Private College and University Administrators 46 F. Strategic Planning in Higher Education 50 a. History 52 b. Strategic Planning on College Campuses 55 c. Negative Aspects 57 d. Implementing Strategic Planning 60 vii e. Communication 64 f. Senior Administrators 66 g. Middle Managers 67 h. Frontline Employees 69 i. Campus Culture 69 G. Summary 70 III. Methods 74 A. Research Questions 74 B. Context and Site Selection 75 C. Case Study Design 79 D. Participant Selection 81 E. Study Approval and Ethical Considerations 83 F. Data Collection Procedures 83 a. Document Analysis Procedures 84 b. Meeting Observations 86 c. Interviews 87 G. Data Analysis and Coding 92 a. Validation 95 E. Researcher Bias 98 F. Summary 100 IV. Findings 102 A. Overall Description of Data Analysis 103 B. Interview Analysis 104 viii a. Description of Interviews 104 b. College President 104 c. Former College Vice President #1 105 d. Former College Vice President #2 106 e. College Vice President #1 106 f. College Vice President #2 107 g. College Vice President #3 108 h. College Vice President #4 108 D. Discussion of the Coding and Analysis of the Interview Transcripts 109 E. Presentation of the Findings from the Interview Transcripts 112 a. Theme #1 – Human Resources: Hiring, Firing, Setting Expectations, the President’s Involvement, and Rewarding Employees 113 b. Theme #2 – Accountability: Holding Employees Accountable and Employees’ Commitment 120 c. Theme #3 – The Strategic Plan: The Plan, the Culture, and the Role of Enrollment, and Athletics 124 d. Theme #4 – Leadership: The Skills and Responsibilities of the President, the President’s Expectations, and the View of the President 128 e. Theme #5 – Challenges: Potential Missed Opportunities, Doubts, Frustrations, and Changes 131 f. Theme #6 – Communication: Senior Staff Communication, ix Board of Trustees Communication, Employee Expectations, and Interpreting the Strategic Plan 135 F. Meeting Analysis 140 a. Description of Meetings 140 G. Discussion of the Coding and Analysis of the Meeting Observations 142 H. Presentation of the Findings from the Meeting Observations 145 a. Theme #1 – Culture: President’s Involvement, Accountability, and Communication 146 b. Theme #2 – Analysis and New Ideas: Competitive Analysis and Generating New Ideas 150 c. Theme #3 – Appreciation and Involvement: Thank-You Notes, Compliments, and Fostering Involvement 153 d. Summary of Meeting Observation Findings 156 I. Document Analysis 157 a. Description of Documents 157 J. Discussion of the Coding and Analysis of the Documents 159 K. Presentation of the Findings from the Document Analysis 162 a. Theme #1 – Culture: Student Focus, Accountability, and Employee Improvements 162 b. Theme #2 – Competitive Analysis: External Analysis and Idea Generation 166 L. Analysis Across all Data Types 170 a. Key Assertions Method 170 x M. Summary of the Findings 177 V. Discussion 179 A. The 2005-2010 Strategic Plan – Renaissance I 181 a. Goals 181 b. Cost 183 c. Fundraising 184 d. Overall Result of Renaissance I 184 B. Summary of the Findings 185 a. Findings from Interviews Conducted 185 b. Findings from Meeting Observations 186 c. Findings from Document Analysis 187 d. Synthesized Findings from All Three Data Types 187 C. Discussion of the Findings 188 a. Presidential Leadership 188 b. Culture 193 c. Accountability 200 D. Conclusions 204 E. Limitations 205 F. Recommendations for Practice 206 G. Recommendations for Future Research 208 H. Summary 210 I. Conclusion 212 References 214 xi Appendices 239 A. Example Email for Meeting/Interview Setup 239 B. President and Vice President Interview Questions 240 C. Member of the Board of Trustees Interview Questions 243 D. Interview #2 Questions with the President 245 E. Interview #2 Questions with the Former Vice President 248 F. Interview #2 Questions with the Vice President 250 G. Interview #2 Questions with the Vice President 252 H. Interview #2 Questions with the Vice President 254 I. Interview #2 Questions with the Vice President 256 J. Interview #2 Questions with the Former Vice President 259 K. Informed Consent Form 260 xii List of Tables Table 1. Focus of Data Source by Data Type 92 Table 2. Summary of Member Checking Options Selected 97 Table 3. Interview Coding, Theme Development, and Assertion Development Process 109 Table 4. Meeting Observation Coding, Theme Development, and Assertion Development Process 143 Table 5. Specific Documents Analyzed 158 Table 6. Document Analysis Coding, Theme Development, and Assertion Development 160 Table 7. Summary of Themes from Data Collected and Analyzed 171 xiii List of Figures Figure 1. Data Collection and Analysis Workflow 84 Figure 2. Senior Staff Meeting Observation Notes from September 8, 2014 142 xiv Chapter One Introduction Higher education changed during the past decade in ways that education professionals could