Development of a Strategy for the College of Business Administration - Research Paper Example

? Development of a Strategy for the College of Business Administration Overview of the Project The aim of this project was to develop a suitable business administration strategy for a reputed college or university. The Research has been conducted on the Arizona State University (ASU) which is one of the leading American universities in the present day. It was established in the year 1885 in the south-western US state of Arizona with the objective of providing higher education facilities to the local students and also to those from the neighboring areas. Through the years, ASU has developed into one of the pioneering educational institutions of the world which offers a high an international standard of education to its students. The first part of the paper has described the Vision, Mission and Goals of the University. It has then proceeded to evaluate these goals in the light of the present strategies of the institution. The primary mission of the ASU has been to include the maximum possible students under its purview and provide a high quality of education to them. The institution has followed a two-pronged strategy of making its educational facilities accessible to a large section of the youth and simultaneously maintains a national standard in the quality of its academic courses. In the next section, the project has analyzed how the external industrial forces have influenced the business activities of the University. Following a similar approach, the next part presents a assessment of the internal environment of the ASU and its contribution to the success of the institution. Finally, the project has attempted to evaluate the alternative strategies followed by the University and has also tried to suggest a strategy which would ensure its future road to success. Vision and Mission of the University The authorities of the Arizona State University (ASU) led by its President have declared that their primary objective is to establish the institution as the ideal representative of an American University belonging to the modern era. The institution conducts majority of its educational endeavors to accomplish the three main objectives, which has been enumerated in the University’s Plan documents. ASU’s main objective is to provide higher education to the maximum number of US students that it can accommodate. The University makes its students undergo a standardized curriculum in their respective subjects and also encourages them to pursue research on their own. Finally, the institution ensures that all its academic endeavors are conducted in a way so as to improve the economic, social and cultural welfare of the surrounding social community. These have been identified as the vision of the ASU (ASU Vision and Goals, 2011). The vision statements of the University reflect the inherent objectives of the institution. The statements can be further analyzed to provide some useful insight into the ASU authorities’ long-term goals. Most of the elite higher educational institutions have always set very high standards for the students aspiring to secure admission in them. However, the objectives of the ASU have been stated to be quite different in this respect. Instead of aiming to exclude the undeserving students, the University always looks to include the maximum number of students under its educational programs. Simultaneously, ASU has also concentrated in providing these students with a high standard of higher education. Therefore, the institution has been successful in achieving the twin objectives of making higher education accessible to a larger population of students, as well as securing a good reputation regarding the standard of education offered (ASU Vision and Goals, 2011). The ASU has also declared certain additional aims and objectives which it plans to implement by the year 2012. One such objective is to become a ‘National Comprehensive University’ by the specified timeline. The institution has set its sights in becoming the leading educational center for various scientific disciplines which also encourages technological inventions and innovations. It wishes to extend its operations in the field of social sciences, arts and humanities as well, where ASU would become the pioneering academic institution honing new discoveries and developments in this domain. To fulfill these long term objectives, the ASU authorities have increased the institution’s resource allocation to the field of research. In 2006, the University as estimated to spend in excess of US $ 300 for its endeavors in the research domain. (ASU, Vision and Goals, 2011). The External Environment Situated in the state of Arizona in the United States, ASU was established to provide higher educational facilities to the local aspiring students as well as students from the neighboring states. Through a variety of academic endeavors, the institution tries to make a significant contribution to its native social community. The ASU students are trained in academic, research-based and also extra-curricular programs which nurtures them into responsible citizens of tomorrow. They become capable of dealing with all kinds of challenges and develop a healthy culture of teamwork. This proves to be beneficial as they step out into the world after completing their education at the University. As the students engage in different pursuits to earn their livelihoods, they work as responsible employees in their respective institutions and foster a spirit of community among their fellow workers (Prospective Students, ASU, 2011). The Arizona State University encourages its faculty members and students to work together in building a society that is endowed with knowledge and has the passion for unearthing new discoveries. Apart from the investment of ASU’s patrons, the institution receives financial aid from different organizations to help it to accomplish its multivarious objectives. During the fiscal year 2010-2011, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided a US $ 10 million grants to the ASU for administering environmental programs across its worldwide centers. The University was expected to pioneer the efforts of a group of organizations and service providers which would provide training to the members of the developing countries in the domains of solar and micro-grid energy, wind energy and micro-hydel power. The training providers were supposed to impart technical education on the methods of generating clean energy from these sources (Annual Report 2010-2011, ASU, 2011). The ASU also collaborates with various educational institutions to offer new academic courses to its students. In 2010-2011, the University joined hands with the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and ASU’s own School of Sustainability to introduce an environment-related program concerning the aspects of its Law and Sustainability. (Annual Report 2010-2011, ASU, 2011). There are different methods of evaluating the external environment of on organization. According to the Industrial Organization (I/O) view, the external industry factors play a more important role than the internal factors in determining the business strategies and activities of the firm. However, examining ASU’s efforts, it can be declared that institution maintains a balanced response to the external and internal factors while planning its future course of action. Similar to all other modern organizations, ASU tries to formulate its business endeavors in a way which allows it to keep pace with the new developments in the international academic arena. The present age is characterized by increasing innovations in every field and students are required to be well-versed in the existing knowledge as well as the new discoveries in these areas. ASU ensures the regular up gradation of its academic programs to provide its students with updated knowledge in all subjects. The University also collaborates with other renowned educational institutions to provide new academic courses to its students. Therefore, the recent trends in the global education industry do have a bearing upon the overall endeavors of the ASU. (David, 2009, Ch 3-17). The I/O view also advocates that the performance of any firm is always influenced by certain external industrial forces such as Economies of Scale, Barriers to Market Entry, Product Differentiation and Level of Competitiveness in the Industry. These basic economic concepts suggest that when a commercial organization is able to expand its activities and attain a sufficiently large scale of operations, it is subject to certain inherent advantages of the business process. Established in 1885, the ASU has grown into one of the largest universities of USA having diverse operations in the educational field. Its primary objective is to provide higher education facilities to a large number of students through various academic programs. ASU’s well-planned educational operations are subject to increasing returns to scale which is reflected by the financial figures of the institution. This in turn enables the University to offer new courses to students at an affordable fee. Thus, the large-scale operations of ASU have helped it to reap certain intrinsic benefits in the global education industry. Evaluating the business and educational endeavors of ASU, it can be inferred that each of these external factors have had a significant impact upon the growth strategy of the organization (David, 2009, Ch 3-18). The Internal Environment The Arizona State University was established in 1885 with the primary objective of offering higher educational opportunities to the local students and those from the neighboring states. It has adhered to its primary mission in all its endeavors and has gradually developed into one of the leading universities of the world. The institution relies on the strengths of its people and its processes for accomplishing its objectives. ASU’s efforts are pioneered by a team of efficient leaders who are adequately supported by the faculty members and the students. The University’s President: Mr. Michael Crow is responsible for monitoring the overall functioning of the institution. The administration of the academic department is managed by a separate group of three officials of the University: Jonathan Koppel, Mitzi Montoya and John. W. Tippeconic III. They make sure that all the educational endeavors of ASU are carried out in conformity with the institution’s main objective of providing inclusive education for the maximum number of students. (Academics, ASU, 20111). ASU offers a variety of educational courses and curriculums to its students ranging from courses in medicine, science, technology, the social sciences, law and so on. There are different Department for each discipline of study where the students are imparted education on subjects of their personal choice. Each department is served by highly qualified faculty members who instruct the aspiring students in the various disciplines. The University has carefully inculcated an environment that is conducive to the academic pursuits. The students are encouraged to acquire knowledge and unearth new discoveries on their own. The professors and instructors urge the students to develop a research-oriented mindset which would pave the way for their future endeavors. Many of ASU’s faculty members are engaged in pursuing their own research projects at the University, which provides an excellent opportunity for the students to be associated with some research work. In the year 2010-2011, a research team from ASU’s Biodesign Institute pioneered by Josh LaBaer was involved in a path breaking discovery in medical science. They identified 30 potential genes for breast cancer genes in the human body which could enable the doctors to inform women about their respective chances of developing the disease. Those at risk can be extra careful and thus diminish the possibility of being inflicted by the fatal ailment. (Annual Report 2010-2011, ASU, 2011). All students pursuing higher education at ASU may not want to engage in a research-oriented profession but instead choose to work in a commercial organization. For this group of students, the University has designed various entrepreneurship programs in different fields including healthcare, science and technology, the environmental domain etc. According to ASU’s Annual Report, 2010-2011, students pursuing major degrees in as many as 100 different subjects had already participated in the University’s entrepreneurship programs. Under these special curriculums, the students are taught to apply their theoretical knowledge to the challenges of the modern business world and devise suitable solutions for these situations. These solutions may involve a designing a suitable process to improve medical science, inventing a new technological innovation or finding new ways to increase the sustainability of earth’s environment and so on. ASU recognizes that the modern society needs efficient entrepreneurs to provide solutions to the myriad challenges of the business world. Through its entrepreneurship programs, the institution has created an environment for nurturing the business acumen in students interested in this field. By being responsible employees in a commercial enterprise, they can contribute towards the economic, social and cultural well-being of their respective communities. Thus, much as ASU encourages research initiatives among its students, it also hones their business skills in case the students prefer to pursue a career in the corporate world. (Annual Report 2010-2011, ASU, 2011). The financial matters of the institution are managed by the University’s commercial arm which is known as ‘The ASU Foundation for a New American University’. This organization has been entrusted with the responsibility of gathering, investing and regulating private funds for the ASU. In addition to this, the Foundation also functions as the entrepreneurial arm of the University by carrying out the latter’s initiatives of commercializing technology, investing in the real estate market and so on. The ASU Foundation has also directed considerable efforts in mobilizing philanthropic financial aid for the University. In this way, it provides the financial support for ASU’s huge intellectual capital, building infrastructure, faculty members, existing students, alumni associations and other organization directly working with the University. The ASU Foundation is among the oldest and trusted organization of the Arizona state. (Annual Report 2010-2011, ASU, 2011). Analysis of Alternative Strategies The primary objective of the Arizona State University is to develop itself into as the ideal representative of a ‘New American University’ and the institution has formulated different strategies for achieving this goal. The University had simplified its main objective into a number of short goals, the attainment of which would ensure that ASU would evolve into a modern international academic institution. These block objectives can be listed as follows: ASU Objectives (2002-2012) 1. Ensuring Higher Educational Access and Quality for All 2. Becoming a National Comprehensive University by 2012 3. Ensure a National Standard in its Educational Quality and Establish a Positive Effect of its Schools and Colleges in all Branches of Study 4. Increase the Regional Impact of the University and Enhance its Presence in the Society The ASU pursues different strategies for achieving these multifarious objectives. The University has adopted a two-pronged strategy regarding its educational endeavors: it tries to provide the facilities of higher education to a large spectrum of the young population and simultaneously ensure a quality in the education imparted by its different departments. While most reputed universities try and cater to the most meritorious class of students, ASU’s strategy can be considered to be “unique” in this respect. It has consciously tried to provide its opportunities to the maximum number of students possible, while maintaining a standard in its academic curriculum. The institution has also been able to implement this twin-faceted strategy with a fair amount of success. (ASU Vision and Goals, ASU, 2011) The state of Arizona has achieved a significant degree of economic growth and diversification in its activities. ASU, being the premier educational institution of the province has formulated its strategies to keep pace with the development of the state. The University follows an exclusive strategy for its academic endeavors. To ensure that its educational facilities can be accessed by a large number of students, ASU has decided to enroll as many as 100,000 aspiring wards, some of whom would pursue complete degrees while the others would continue their ongoing education at the University. To accommodate these new students ASU has embarked on a program of expanding its infrastructural capacities in its various campuses. The University has committed itself to increasing the capacity of each of ‘The Downtown Phoenix Campus’, ‘The Polytechnic Campus’ and “The West Campus’ to accommodate 15,000 students and that of “The Temple Campus’ to 50,000 students. In another significant development, ASU has increased the enrollment provision for its online students to impart education to 100,000 aspiring learners in the coming financial year. The University has also been found to be engaged in enhancing the infrastructure related to its research pursuits. It has a number of Research Projects for the fiscal year 2012-2013, which are in indifferent stages of progress. When ASU increases its student accommodation in its degree courses it has to simultaneously ensure the enhancement of its research infrastructure to include the new set of aspiring students. The Research Infrastructural Projects planned to be pursued by the University in 2012-2013 includes constructing the New Computer Science Complex, four new buildings in the Biodesign Department: Buildings A, B, C and D, six new building in the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Complex: Building IV and Buildings VI-X, a new Gateway in the Arts and Business Complex, a new Building in the Macro Technology Works Department, a new school Campus known as the W. P Carey School and also a construction in the Sandra Day O’Connor Law School Campus. (ASU Vision, Mission and Goals, ASU, 2011) At the same time, the institution has been focused on improving the quality of education imparted in its different departments of study. One way to ensure this would be to improve the graduation rate of its students to 70 – 75 per cent in every degree course. The University also tries to improve the educational opportunities and facilities offered to its existing students by enhancing its own linkages with the other colleges in the Arizona state. In this way, ASU’s students get a chance to interact with other University students and explore new ideas in their respective branches of interest. To ensure the quality improvement in its educational efforts, the University is focused on attaining the US national standard with respect to each of its schools of study (ASU Vision Mission and Goals, ASU, 2011). Selection of ASU’s Strategy The Arizona State University has set out certain objectives to be achieved by the year 2012. The institution has also formulated different strategies for attaining these goals. ASU’s primary objective will always be to provide inclusive higher education facilities to the maximum number of aspiring students while maintaining a national standard in the quality of education offered. Naturally, the University’s main strategies would always be directed to accomplish this objective. However, ASU would do well to concentrate exclusively on the Research domain. Since ASU is a reputed institution in the area of research, it should follow a strategy of planning its future growth based on the expansion of its research endeavors. One of the core aims of the University has always been to engage in research and new discoveries which can be applied in practical life to improve the welfare of the society at large. ASU only needs to build on this basic platform. The different Departments are enriched by the services of highly qualified faculty members, majority of whom are also engaged in pursuing research at the University. This also provides an excellent opportunity for ASU’s students to be a part of a variety of research projects. In fact, ASU has already gathered a reputation of fostering a conducive environment for new developments and some research groups of the institution have been involved in path breaking discoveries. (ASU Vision Mission and Goals, ASU, 2011) ASU has also declared its ambition of becoming a comprehensive American University which can cater to the needs of the modern generation of students. It has further devised an eight-pronged strategy for achieving this purpose, among which it assures that it would continue to be engaged in research efforts that would prove to be beneficial in the practical world. The institution has already made considerable headway in this domain. During the financial year 2010-2011, ASU was reported to have undertaken research projects in various fields including “earth and space exploration, sustainability and renewable energy, advanced materials, flexible electronics, healthcare, national security, urban systems design, and educational method in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).” By 2012, the University plans to increase its annual research expenditures to more than $ 350 million, (valued in terms of the 2006 dollar). This would help the institution to enhance its competitiveness in the field of research and discovery. ASU’s enhanced position in this domain would help it to augment its economic competitiveness in the regional economy of the Arizona state. In this respect, ASU can formulate new educational programs which would offer the students a choice to participate in the research projects of their respective departments of study. This endeavor would surely enhance ASU’s national standing in the domain of research. (Annual Report 2010-2011) (Annual Report 2010-2011, ASU, 2011) To accomplish its mission of offering inclusive higher education to a large spectrum of the young generation, ASU plans to increase its overall student enrollment capacity to 100,000 by end of year 2012. Needless to say, a significant percentage of these students may be interested in pursuing academics as their future profession and would want to be involved in important research projects of the University. In such a situation, it becomes absolutely essential for the University to increase its accommodation capacity in its Research departments as well. ASU has already lined up a number of Research infrastructure projects for this purpose. It will be constructing new buildings in the existing complexes of the institution as well as implementing an extension of the already existing buildings. During 2010-2011, ASU has entered into collaboration with the W.P School and also the Sandra Day O’Connor Law School. Thus ASU will also be setting up new buildings having research facilities of the new educational curriculums (ASU Vision Mission and Goals, 2011). The University already maintains a culture of encouraging research and development in all its branches of study. It must now aim to become the pioneering university in the research domain in the maximum possible subjects. ASU has established a Research Strategy Group as a part of its Knowledge Enterprise Development, which exclusively concentrates on the University’s research endeavors. The Group helps to enhance the functioning of ASU’s Strategic research Areas by identifying research opportunities at the regional, national and international level and then aligning the University’s research projects in line with these requirements. The Research Strategy Group is involved in organizing research forums, providing intelligence support to ASU’s departments and helping to develop large scale proposals for forthcoming research projects. It has classified the entire spectrum of the ASU’s Strategic Research Areas into Emerging Areas, Core Areas, Established Areas as well as those research domains where the University needs to build up its capacity. The capacity building areas have been identified as the fields pertaining to science and policy, informatics and communications, humanities, social sciences and decision sciences. (Research Strategy Group, ASU, 2011) Conclusion The Arizona State University was established in 1885 with two clear objectives. It aimed at providing higher educational opportunities to a large spectrum of students and also achieve a national standard in the education imparted through its various academic courses. ASU has been able to attain both these objectives with a fair amount of success. The University has further expressed its ambition of becoming a national comprehensive American University by 2012 and has laid down certain strategies for attaining this goal. The external forces in the global educational industry have helped ASU to chalk out its own path of development. External economic conditions like economies of scale, barriers to market entry, differentiation of its academic courses from those of the other Universities and competitiveness in the education market have all contributed significantly towards the growth of ASU. Following a similar approach it has been established that ASU’s internal environment is also a major factor which has ensured the sustained development of this institution. ASU has fostered an internal environment that has been conducive for the students to pursue learning and also engage in research endeavors. By 2012, ASU aims to be a national comprehensive university in USA and has accordingly formulated a number of strategies for achieving this goal. An innovative strategy on the part of ASU would be to consider its research efforts to be en engine for its future growth. The University has already built up a reputation of being one of the pioneering institutions in the field of research and it just needs to build on this platform. REFERENCES 1. ASU Vision and Goals, (2011), Arizona State University, retrieved on December 20, 2011 from http://president.asu.edu/about/asuvision 2. ASU Centers of Excellence, (2011), Arizona State University, retrieved on December 20, 2011 from http://www.asu.edu/excellence/ 3. ASU Knowledge Enterprise Development (2011), Arizona State University, retrieved on December 20, 2011 from http://asuresearch.asu.edu/ 4. ASU Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, retrieved on December 20, 2011 from http://sustainability.asu.edu/index.php Read More