Course Title: Strategic Management in Education

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Strategic Management in Education

Credit Points: 24.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BUSM1684

City Campus

Postgraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face or Internet

 Sem 1 2006,
Sem 1 2013

Course Coordinator: Josephine Ng

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 4633

Course Coordinator Email: josephine.ng@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: City Campus


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

This course focuses on issues that relate to the process of crafting strategy, strategy formation, the implementation of strategy, and strategic change/transformation and processes in educational organisations. Quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques in improvement of an educational organisation’s strategic management will be discussed in this course.

You will examine local and international educational strategies. You will learn to visualize the educational organisation as a total entity interacting with a complex environment in an attempt to achieve strategic success. As a result of this course, the participant should have started on a path to developing "The Mind of the Strategist," where developments, opportunities, and actions are automatically viewed in terms of potential strategic consequences. It will focus on the three dimensions of strategy: strategy formulation, strategy process, and strategy context. These three dimensions are considered as key elements of the subject for the following reasons:

  • Strategy Formulation: This part is concerned with the how, who and when of strategy - how is, and should, strategy be made, analysed, formulated, implemented, changed and controlled; who is involved; and when do the necessary activities take place? 
  • Strategic Process: Stated in terms of a question, strategy process is concerned with the "what" of strategy - what is, and should be, the strategy for the educational organisation and each of its constituent units.
  • Strategy Context: The set of circumstances under which both the strategy process and the strategy content are determined is referred to as the strategy context. Stated in terms of a question, strategy context is concerned with the where of strategy - where, that is in which organization and which environment, are the strategy process and strategy content embedded.

To achieve these three crucial stages, this course will focus on the application of the relevant strategic management conceptual frameworks in various education settings. You will develop a strategic analysis and strategic plan throughout the course, facilitating further application of the theory learned. The scheduling of this is phased to match the introduction of the theoretical concerns.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the end of this course, your will be able to:


• Examine strategic management development, issues and practices as they and others have experienced in practice.
• Critically interrogate and interpret those practices in terms of theory.
• Construct their own positions on the role and nature of strategic management in achieving successful educational and service organizations.
• Evaluate critical factors in achieving effective strategic management in educational and a variety of environmental settings.
• Analyse the condition of educational organisations from a strategic management perspective.
• Develop, and effectively implement and monitor strategies.
.


Overview of Learning Activities

This subject uses a variety of learning activities including case analyses, group work and classroom discussions of both theory and practical application. Active participation is essential to your learning. Strategic Management in Educational Perspective lends itself to discussion and analysis of practical case histories as well as theoretical studies, textbooks, and academic journals. An important feature of the course is an emphasis on perspective and developing one’s own point of view.

Successful learning on the course depends on your preparation and contribution to the class, to fully prepare the cases and to have constructive discussion of issues in class.

This course aims to strike a balance between structured classes and/or workshop based activities with the expectation that participants will actively take responsibility for their own learning especially by independent research – sourcing of learning material, reading, analysis and evaluation. The concept of strategy will be explored through the use of lectures, activities, case studies and your experiences.


Overview of Learning Resources

Course materials and resources will be made available through myRMIT Studies. Further information will be delivered at the beginning of the course.


Overview of Assessment

An equivalent of 8,000 words to be submitted at the conclusion of the study. The assessment  may include a Strategic Case planning analysis, a reflective journal applying issues in educational strategic management to work/life experiences, participation in online discussions and analysis of education strategy and current affairs.