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University of Bath DOCTOR OF BUSINESS (DBA) Developing a holistic strategic thinking perspective for universities Maistry, Nandarani Award date: 2020 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 Developing a holistic strategic thinking perspective for universities Nandarani Maistry A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration (Higher Education Management) University of Bath School of Management April 2020 COPYRIGHT Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis/portfolio rests with the author and copyright of any previously published materials included may rest with third parties. A copy of this thesis/portfolio has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it understands that they must not copy it or use material from it except as licenced, permitted by law or with the consent of the author or other copyright owners, as applicable. Declaration of any previous submission of the work The material presented here for examination for the award of a higher degree by research has been incorporated into a submission for another degree. (If applicable, provide the relevant details i.e. those parts of the work which have previously been submitted for a degree, the University to which they were submitted and the degree, if any, awarded). Candidate’s signature…… Declaration of authorship I am the author of this thesis, and the work described therein was carried out by myself personally, with the exception of ………. article/chapter where ……… (detail the amount in percentage terms) of the work was carried out by other researchers (e.g. detail any collaborative works included in the thesis in terms of formulation of ideas, design of methodology, experimental work, and presentation of data in journal format). Candidate’s signature……… i Dedication To Nitai and Nimai ii Acknowledgements In this endeavour, I would like to acknowledge the following people: My supervisors, Associate Professor Hong Bui and Prof Jurgen Enders for their support, advice, guidance and encouragement. Professor Rajani Naidoo, Prof Cheryl Foxcroft and Professor Robin Shields for their support and encouragement during the coursework modules. The interview participants who made the effort to be a part of this study. Professor Reshma Sookrajh for her time, reassurance and counsel. Doctor Vikash Jugoo for his efforts in keeping me on track through the process. Ms Trish Gibbon, Doctor Denyse Webbstock and Doctor Kirti Menon for their guidance. Dr Pia Lamberti and Ms Leatitia Romero for their assistance in editing. Ms Helen Rhodes for her efficient library assistance. My parents, Lalitha and Eric Jugoo for their devoted, continual care through this process. My late mother-in-law, Angela Kisten for her dedicated support. My husband, Krishna-Balarama for his incredible support and patience. My sons, Nitai and Nimai for their love and continuing to be positive. Jeshika, Yudhisthir, Shradha, Ashilla, Akira, Nishtha and Harika for their encouragement. Lastly, I am grateful for the kindness of Lord Krishna, Srila Prabhupada and His Holiness Bhakti Caitanya Swami. I would like to acknowledge the financial and support for this study from the following organisations: Department of Higher Education and Training The Nelson Mandela University University of Johannesburg iii Abstract There is a plethora of literature that suggests that strategic thinking is critical to organisational viability, yet little attention is placed on higher education (HE) institutions, despite the fact that they are operating in a super VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment. Despite the growing literature, there is still a lack of strategic thinking within organisations. Addressing the theory-praxis gap requires alternative perspectives. In this study, I develop a new perspective of strategic thinking that goes beyond conventional modelling, and therefore contributes to the theory of strategic thinking in general, and the development and implementation of enrolment strategy. The research context is public universities in post-apartheid South Africa (SA) where public universities have undergone numerous enrolment transformations. Universities have been under severe fiscal constraints since 2017 when violent student protests emerged. In this landscape and under these circumstances, strategic action is generally theorised as being vital to institutional survival. In this empirical qualitative study, I have investigated strategic thinking from the perspective of an individual strategic thinker. A total of 33 semi-structured interviews were captured, coded and analysed using thematic analysis with NVivo software. The findings show that there is a distinct flow from development into implementation of enrolment strategy and that the strategy context is shaped in three levels - the individual, organisation and national. There are three corresponding binary realities including an overarching complexity and ubiquitous emergent behaviour that has largely not understood. Individuals who are performing strategic thinking need to re-orientate themselves via a number of ontological shifts, accomplished through process, methodological, dialectical and complexity shifts. Ultimately, strategic thinking in development and implementation of enrolment strategy requires an overall shift in a person’s mindset towards being more conscious of their own and other’s limitations. In other words, strategic thinking requires cognisance of people as essential parts of the development and implementation of enrolment strategy system. iv Table of Contents Dedication i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Rationale 3 1.2 Research Questions 5 1.3 Significance and Contribution of the Research 7 1.4 Overview and Structure of the Thesis 8 2 Literature Review 10 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Strategic Thinking and Strategy 10 2.3 Strategic Thinking 11 2.3.1 Definitional ambiguities 13 2.3.2 Strategic thinking in deliberate and emergent strategy 15 2.3.3 Purpose and measures of success of strategic thinking 19 2.3.4 Difference between strategic planning and strategic thinking 21 2.3.5 Key component of strategic thinking: Systems thinking 24 2.3.6 Various conceptualisations of strategic thinking 26 2.3.7 Individuals, emotions and strategic thinking 31 2.4 Global Drivers of Strategic Thinking in Higher Education 34 2.5 Strategic Thinking in Higher Education 35 2.6 Strategic Thinking in South African Higher Education 37 2.6.1 Policies underpinning enrolment at universities in South Africa 38 2.6.2 Background on enrolment at South African universities 40 2.7 Structural Framing of the Study 42 2.8 Conclusion 43 3 Methodology and Methods 46 3.1 Introduction 46 3.2 Research Philosophy 46 v 3.3 Research Approach 49 3.4 Sampling 53 3.5 Research Setting 54 3.5.1 Layer 1: Universities 55 3.5.2 Layer 2: Practitioners 56 3.6 Bio-data: Participant Profile 57 3.7 Techniques and Procedures 62 3.7.1 Pilot study 64 3.7.2 Interviews 65 3.7.3 Metaphor analysis 74 3.8 Data Collection Procedure 76 3.8.1 Scheduling and undertaking interviews 76 3.8.2 Transcription 78 3.9 Ethics 79 3.10 Validity and Reliability 83 3.11 Conclusion 87 4 Findings: Part 1 – Individual 88 4.1 Introduction 88 4.2 Data Analysis Strategy and Tools 88 4.3 Bounded Rationality 93 4.3.1 Human limitations 93 4.3.2 Skills and experience 99 4.3.3 Trust and relationships 103 4.3.4 Leadership 107 4.4 Cognitive Dissonance 110 4.4.1 Contrasting attitudes and beliefs 110 4.4.2 Future and big picture orientation 119 4.4.3 Interdependency and institutional intelligence 124 4.5 Complexity: Uncertainty and Emotions 129 4.6 Conclusion 138 vi 5 Findings: Part 2 - Organisation 140 5.1 Polemic Trade-Offs 140 5.1.1 Creating alignment between priorities at higher and lower levels 140 5.1.2 Evidence and ethical decision making 153 5.1.3 Shared mental model 156 5.2 Organisational Dynamics 163 5.2.1 Organisational structures 163 5.2.2 Organisational culture 167 5.3 Complexity: Trade-offs and Transitions 169 5.4 Conclusion 172 6 Findings: Part 3 – National 174 6.1 Chronicity 174 6.2 Political Instability 178 6.3 Complexity: Uncertainty and Chronic Instability 181 6.4 Conclusion 182 7 Synthesis of the Parts, Concluding Remarks and Contributions 183 7.1 Introduction 183 7.2 Research Overview 183 7.3 Theoretical and Practical Contributions 185 7.3.1 Complexity 187 7.3.2 Impact of perspectives 191 7.3.3 Ontological shifts 197 7.4 Limitations 204 7.5 Reflections on the DBA journey 204 7.6 Directions for Future Research 206 7.7 Final Remarks 206 8 References 208 9 Appendix 1: Invitation to participants 242