Organization sustainability depends on the creation of innovative partnerships that engage organization members at all levels in setting strategy and achieving goals. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an approach to exploring what gives life to human systems when they function at their best. The use of an AI approach to strategic planning, invites…

In this article, the author discusses disaster-recovery planning in light of his personal experience following Hurricane Katrina. He relates the advice he received from Captain Joseph R. Castillo, Chief of Operations for the U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District in New Orleans: Focus on the process of planning, and not on building a plan. The author…

How teachers tell the story behind their school's success means the difference between making a connection with their community and positively shaping awareness, or leaving a negative impression and losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the very public they are trying to serve. While most schools have someone whose job is specifically that…

In this article, the author presents the strategies used by Delaware to improve its schools' academic performance. In 1992, the First State was among the first states to adopt teaching standards in key academic subjects, craft tests aligned closely with those standards, and create sticks and carrots to ensure that schools use them. By the end of…

This study examines the similarities and differences in faculty and administrator perspectives on strategic planning in Kentucky, a state in the United States undergoing extensive reform of its public, postsecondary system. The findings suggest that three variables are critical to faculty and administrative support for strategic planning…

In this paper we critique grounded theory's ability to fulfil its aim of offering a practical vehicle for prediction, change, and control as stipulated in grounded theory's original formulation by Glaser and Strauss, and later developed by Strauss. We do this through a case study approach, whereby we develop a grounded theory of leisure and…

The need to develop marketing strategies in higher education is evident. In order to develop effective strategies, marketers must understand the basic needs that their product fulfills. Exploratory research was utilized to identify and better understand the needs that motivate consumers to pursue an MBA degree. This paper emphasizes the importance…

This conference explored the policy issues surrounding the growth of strategic alliances among telecommunications firms and explored the forces stimulating (and discouraging) alliances. It asked how alliances might affect public policy goals or create problems such as anticompetitive behavior or excess market power. It also explored how alliances…

This paper prescribes a significant change in the budgeting practices of most public colleges and universities by urging an approach to budgeting that focuses on the creation and maintenance of institutional assets and the use of mechanisms that reward accomplishment through effective utilization of these assets. This approach contrasts with…

This guide suggests that public awareness campaigns can be an important part of a community's strategy to fight substance abuse. They can call attention to problems, and they can be a mobilizing force to unite different groups. The numerous public awareness campaigns that other communities use can be models for local efforts. This Action Kit lists…

The presence of a skilled and stable workforce in out-of-school time programs for children and youth plays a significant role in the quality and continuity of these programs and consequently, the impact they have on young people. Yet the past 2 decades have consistently revealed many obstacles to the cultivation of such a workforce. The absence of…

In June 2003 the Board of Education adopted "Our Call to Action, Pursuit of Excellence," the second edition of the school system's strategic plan. This update of the original November 1999 Our Call to Action, while remaining focused on the core mission of providing every student with a high-quality, world-class education, strengthened the…

The Intensive Technical Assistance Assessment Tool was originally developed for use in states and communities participating in Smart Start's National Technical Assistance Center's intensive technical assistance program. It is designed to identify specific areas where technical assistance will be of benefit. Assessment results are used to develop…

In this article, the authors describe one small liberal arts college's experience implementing a four-page strategic plan and outline the challenges in allocating resources and gauging outcomes that arose during the planning process. They conclude that the simplicity of the four-page plan, though hiding some of the real complexity of strategic…

This report was produced in response to a mandate of the Texas legislature requiring the development of a long-range plan for higher education by region. A wide variety of factors related to higher education were reviewed for the report. General demographic observations show that the state's population is expected to increase significantly in five…