Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
This study explores the strategic thinking and strategic planning efforts in a department, college and university in the southeastern United States. The goal of the study was to identify elements of strategic planning processes that meet the unique organizational features and complexities of a higher education institution. The study employed a holistic, multi-case study approach, wherein three single case studies were conducted with one unit of analysis. The findings in each case were then compared and contrasted to provide more evidence and confidence in the findings. The findings are framed by two constructs : strategic planning and strategic thinking. The conceptual framework for the study identified the distinction between the systematic nature of strategic planning and the more integrated perspective of strategic thinking. Traditional business based strategic planning model uses an analytical process, logic, linear thinking and a calculating process to develop a plan. Strategi c thinking places a premium on synthesis, systems thinking and a social cognitive process that results in an integrated perspective of the organization. The resluts of this study indicate that the use of the Strategic Thinking Protocolà is suitable for higher education organizations to create a learning environment, to implement creative and emergent strategies, that result in the organization's positioning and responses to a rapidly changing environment. The strategic thinking process in both the department and college cases were found to be effective in altering the attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors of the participants. The integration of the plan is an ongoing process with strong beginnings in both the department and college cases.
Extent
xiii, 234 p. : ill. (some col.)
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Deborah J., "comparative, holistic, multi-case study of the implementation of the Strategic Thinking Protocolà and traditional strategic planning processes at a southeastern university" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 475.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/475
Identifier
FADT3352827
Comments
by Deborah J. Robinson.|Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Deborah J. Robinson.