Strategic Planning and College

Ob Process SWOT analysis is an important organizational behavior (OB) process. The process is so important that an organization cannot afford to ignore it or take it casually. For an organization to succeed in the long-term, it must be constantly aware of its strengths, weaknesses, and threats, as well as the opportunities available to it (Hill & Jones, 2012). These four factors significantly influence the organization's performance in the future.

A SWOT analysis enables an organization to understand its healthiness, utilize resources more efficiently, improve its operations, discover opportunities, identity and manage risks, and enhance its competitive positioning. A SWOT analysis of NSU College of Pharmacy revealed important insights about the college's internal and external environments.

The analysis provided an understanding of the organization's resources, competencies, and capabilities (such as pioneering pharmacy education in South Florida, quality teaching and research, ownership of a full-fledged community pharmacy, and faculty and student diversity), as well as its weaknesses (especially lack of baccalaureate programs and resource constraints). The analysis further showed that the college can take advantage of its resources and competencies to reintroduce undergraduate programs against the backdrop of increased demand for pharmacy education, which, according to Walton et al.

(2011), is one of the major trends affecting pharmacy schools in the U.S. This would increase the college's positioning as far as pharmacy education is concerned. It was important to understand whether the OB process was working well or not. In this regard, an interview was held with one of the members of faculty at the college. The interviewee holds a senior position in the administration of the college, and is therefore a crucial decision maker as far as the operations of the college are concerned.

The interview specifically focused on understanding what the interviewee thought about the OB process. The interviewee strongly admitted that the OB process would have significant value for the college (personal communication, February 10, 2017). According to the interviewee, the process would be a major boost to the college's strategic planning process. The interviewee indicated that the process provided valuable insights that would inform organizational decisions in the near future, particularly in relation to student enrollment, program expansion, and curriculum review.

The fundamental motive behind any OB process is to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. More specifically, an organization evaluates its resources and capabilities to determine how it may utilize those capabilities to improve its core offerings and day to day processes (Hill & Jones, 2012).

For NSU College of Pharmacy, the interviewee exhibited a strong conviction that the OB process would set the college on a path of improved organizational performance -- it would enhance operational efficiency, the quality of teaching and research, student satisfaction, academic performance, as well as the employability of its graduates (personal communication, February 10, 2017). This further illustrates that the process is working well. Nonetheless, a number of recommendations are important.

It is imperative for the organization to understand that the SWOT analysis process is not a one-time process -- it is an ongoing process. Viewing the process as a one-time event can be disadvantageous to the organization as initiatives informed by the process may not be sustained in the long-term. The need to view the process as an ongoing process particularly stems from the fact that organizations operate in a constantly changing environment (Hill & Jones, 2012). Among other phenomena, regulations, technologies, consumer behavior, markets, and industries keep on changing.

These changes affect organizations in one way or another, directly or indirectly. The implication is that organizations must constantly adjust their strategies, priorities, structures, and processes in accordance to changes in their environment. They must frequently evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. Ongoing evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats means that the process must become part of the college's strategic planning process. In other words, it must be anchored into the culture of the organization.

As learned from the interviewee, strategic planning processes at NSU College of Pharmacy pay little or no attention to SWOT analysis (personal communication, February 10, 2017). This may be excusable as it is often thought that SWOT analysis is a process relevant only to profit-oriented organizations. Contrary to popular belief, SWOT analysis can be applied in virtually any type of organization -- large and small, public or private, profit-oriented or not profit-oriented.

In this regard, NSU College of Pharmacy must start to view SWOT analysis as an important element of the strategic planning process. With such an understanding, the college would be better placed to make more effective decisions. An important aspect of strategic planning relates to staff involvement. As members of staff are directly involved in the implementation of the strategic plan, obtaining their input would be valuable.

The value of staff involvement particularly stems from the fact that strategic planning essentially entails introducing new initiatives or changes to the organization's strategy, structure, and processes. For these changes to be successfully implemented, staff members must have a comprehensive understanding of the changes and their role in accomplishing them (Hayes, 2014). Staff involvement also provides room for articulation of fresh and creative ideas as well as key staff concerns (Mullins & Christy, 2010).

In this case, for instance, members of staff may have considerable concerns about the existing curriculum, instructional techniques, and faculty-student ratios. They may also have good ideas about aspects such as research and partnership with other institutions. Allowing members of staff to participate in the process gives them a sense of ownership of the process as well as acknowledgement and appreciation. This can significantly minimize resistance to strategic change initiatives, which is often a major obstacle to change (Van Dijk & Van Dick, 2009; Smollan, 2011).

At NSU College, staff involvement in strategic planning is not common (personal communication, February 10, 2017). With a much-centralized organizational structure, major strategic decisions are left to the top management. For greater success in strategic planning, the college should cultivate a culture of involvement and collaboration. The management may have negative attitudes towards inclusive decision making, owing to the possibility of slowing decision making and interrupting structures of authority, but the benefits in the long-term can outweigh the fears -- the management may get more creative ideas of dealing with.