Nineteenth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

To an experienced eye, a Strategic Plan provides some insights into the strategic leadership of the university. However, the document itself is single dimensional; it may or may not reveal how the strategy development process was conducted, what forms of leadership were used to drive the planning process; or how well the Strategic Plan was received by the university community and its stakeholders. Is it possible to discern if the Strategic Plan is fixed to an inflexible performance framework that binds the university to strategic goals that do not reflect community aspirations, or are no longer compatible with changed external or internal circumstances? Does the Strategic Plan suggest dynamic staff engagement that will empower individuals throughout the university to “experiment, create, develop, test and innovate”? For as Moss Kanter (1983) argues “innovation requires intellectual effort. And that, in turn, means people” (p.23). This paper will explore these questions and assess if Australian universities have learned to develop effective Strategic Plans through a process of logical incrementalism or ‘learning by doing’ as Quinn suggests (1987); or are we planning strategically for 2030 using the rational-analytical model that is only able to predict the future based on what we know today?