Tag Archives: Universities

Why Do Kids Go to College?

by Ken Posted on June 23, 2014

In graduate school, I had a particularly curmudgeonly professor who claimed that college was simply post-adolescent day care, and that parents paid tuition and other fees just to get their kids out of their hair for four years until they … Continue reading →

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The Rankings Game

by Ken Posted on June 3, 2014

A few months back, I was meeting with one of our alums, and he asked me how I would categorize universities in terms of quality. I was taken by surprise, so I had to think for a minute, and then … Continue reading →

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Why Should I Go To Your School Instead of a Cheaper One?

by Ken Posted on April 4, 2014

The first half of most Strategic Management textbooks are often filled with the various models of Michael Porter. Around Chapter 4, the Strategic Positioning model is usually introduced: Like many of Porter’s models, Strategic Positioning is easy to grasp, but … Continue reading →

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Can Private Universities Compete on Price?

by Ken Posted on March 21, 2014

When I began teaching Strategic Management in 2003, Southwest Airlines was just entering the Philadelphia market. This proved to be very disruptive for the dominant incumbent, US Air. Whenever Southwest enters a market, the first impact is that overall fares … Continue reading →

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Making Actionable Goals

by Ken Posted on February 18, 2014

One more point about actionable goals and objectives before I move on to lesson #4: There are different ways to phrase them, and the best way depends on the institution’s situation. As an example, take a look at this objective … Continue reading →

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Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes

by Ken Posted on January 23, 2014

There is an acronym that every undergraduate business student knows (or should know). That acronym is SMART, and it is used to determine whether a goal or objective is effective. There is some variation of wording, but the acronym stands … Continue reading →

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Where Does “Strategy” Come From?

by Ken Posted on January 10, 2014

Once an organization sets out a mission and vision, it can begin the process of creating a strategic plan that is consistent with it’s mission and moves it toward its vision of success. There are a number of ways to … Continue reading →

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Why Universities Need Strong, Meaningful Mission Statements

by Ken Posted on December 5, 2013

In my previous post, I argued that one reason universities are running into problems is that they have failed to master basic strategic management. Chapter 2 of virtually every Strategic Management text is about Mission and Vision statements, and the … Continue reading →

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