Izmir University Strategy
To: Receiver
From: Sender
Date: July 5, 2005
When Izmir National University (INU) was chartered in 2000, it hoped to provide educational resources in the field of business, science and engineering to pave the way for Turkish entry in to the European economy. And while enrollment numbers at INU have increased in the last few years, it is evident that issues internal to the organization have stalled its growth. The purpose of this memo is to provide a summary of key observations and provide recommendations for addressing these issues. The information being shared in this memo is based on information provided by the staff and data that has been collected.
Why INU is Facing Difficulties
Growing pains are expected in any newly developing organization. The difficulties that INU is experiencing exist within other organizations and can be in part attributed to the following: * Vague performance expectations * No central decision making process
* Lack of focus on core capabilities * Absence of strong leadership
Most often, an organizations business strategy will address these issues. However, the prevalence of these issues throughout the organization is an indicator that the existing strategy needs to be revised or that a strategy does not exist at all (Meredith & Shafer, 2009). Therefore, the first action to remediate or minimize the effect of these issues on the organization is to incorporate a business strategy.
Why INU Needs a Strategy
In order to be effective, an organization must have a strategy that establishes how the business will operate. A strategy is a roadmap for the organization—it states who we are, where we are going and how we plan to arrive at that place. It is a specific pattern of decisions and actions that managers follow to use core competencies to achieve a competitive advantage (Jones, 2009). It includes such elements as the vision and mission of the organization, provides a plan for achieving the vision by focusing
From: Sender
Date: July 5, 2005
When Izmir National University (INU) was chartered in 2000, it hoped to provide educational resources in the field of business, science and engineering to pave the way for Turkish entry in to the European economy. And while enrollment numbers at INU have increased in the last few years, it is evident that issues internal to the organization have stalled its growth. The purpose of this memo is to provide a summary of key observations and provide recommendations for addressing these issues. The information being shared in this memo is based on information provided by the staff and data that has been collected.
Why INU is Facing Difficulties
Growing pains are expected in any newly developing organization. The difficulties that INU is experiencing exist within other organizations and can be in part attributed to the following: * Vague performance expectations * No central decision making process
* Lack of focus on core capabilities * Absence of strong leadership
Most often, an organizations business strategy will address these issues. However, the prevalence of these issues throughout the organization is an indicator that the existing strategy needs to be revised or that a strategy does not exist at all (Meredith & Shafer, 2009). Therefore, the first action to remediate or minimize the effect of these issues on the organization is to incorporate a business strategy.
Why INU Needs a Strategy
In order to be effective, an organization must have a strategy that establishes how the business will operate. A strategy is a roadmap for the organization—it states who we are, where we are going and how we plan to arrive at that place. It is a specific pattern of decisions and actions that managers follow to use core competencies to achieve a competitive advantage (Jones, 2009). It includes such elements as the vision and mission of the organization, provides a plan for achieving the vision by focusing
References: Jones, Gareth. Organizational Theory, Design and Change. January, 2009. Prentice Hall. Porter, Michael. Leadership Excellence. 2005. Volume22, Issue 6. Executive Excellence Publishing. Meredith, J. & Schafer, S. (2009). Operations Management for MBAs, 4th edition. John Wiley and Sons. SWOT ANALYSIS StrengthsHigh enrollment, program interestWell educated staff | WeaknessesNo central decision making processLack of focus on core capabilitiesAbsent leadershipNo precise way to measure productivityNew, inexperienced DekanNon diverse education level among teachers | OpportunitiesRapid GrowthCurriculumStaffing levelsTechnology | ThreatsStudent dissatisfaction w/lack of organization |