Analyzing Status Quo of KSU

  By Dr. Maadi Al-Madhhab

 Strategic planning starts with analyzing the status quo of the university in light of four factors: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT).  Strengths and weaknesses are interior factors; they are within the university. They comprise human resources, finance, technology applied, and organization chart. They comprise also organization culture, including values; conduct; trends; and work environment. Opportunities and threats are the external factors of the university.

 In the current phase, the university needs the involvement of all KSU personnel along with the beneficiaries to identify the SWOT. Workshops, forums, questionnaires and open gatherings are conduced with those in charge of chalking out the strategy. The participation of the personnel is important since they are in close touch with the SWOT of the university.

 The importance of having the beneficiaries partake in the strategy is that they can judge the deliverables be they policy makers, decision-makers and businesspersons. Their participation is also important in the execution phase; they grasp and interact with the university's trends. Therefore, their expectations are listened to, their aspirations are to be realized, their aversions should be discussed and the things that drive their satisfaction are accomplished as far as possible.

Arguments might emerge about whether this or that one of SWOTs or not. The analysis of data settles such arguments, and the indicators of internal and external environment help differentiate between SWOTs.

Student Workshops on SWOTs started last week. This week another workshop will be held amongst deans and faculty members. The next week a workshop for the personnel will be held. An email was created to help gather the feedback of whoever cannot partake in a workshop, or has brilliant ideas. They all will be taken into account, if eligible. The email is ksusp2007@gmail.com.

Finally, a successful institution is a successful man who knows his weaknesses and corrects them; knows his strengths and reinforces them; seizes the opportunity in a calculated adventure; and realizes the risks and transforms them into opportunities or at least avoids them.