Strategic Management in Further Education Colleges: A Pilot Study

Abstract

There is an urgent need for academic research in further education in Scotland. This study exploring models of strategy operating in Scottish Further Education colleges has two broad aims: to assess the applicability of each of the models and to outline the policy and practical implications of the findings; and to identify areas requiring further and sustained research to bring Scottish further education into mainstream education and management research. The first model of strategy considered was strategic control from the centre. This model had some relevance but was limited in providing a full explanation of the relationship between colleges and their principal stakeholder, the SOEID. Further research is required on the further education policy community and on the roles which existing agents play in this community. Second, a model of strategic fit emphasising the management of resources in an externally competitive environment was observed. This model was contextualised by a post-incorporation environment where colleges, now removed from local authority control, are relatively autonomous. An autonomy/competition matrix was constructed to diagrammatically represent this. The research found management practice attuned to this model, though 'excess competition' was in evidence with consequential policy implications. Two emerging models of strategy were observed. One saw a growing use of organisational and sectoral strengths (core competencies) to grasp developmental opportunities. This perspective of strategy—‘strategic stretch’—highlights the requirement of colleges to address their organisational infrastructure and internal capabilities. The final model—strategy as the management of networks—accentuated the strategic importance of group and network activity. The colleges studied illustrated considerable managerial activity which was group based. Three broad implications of this were identified: first, a need for colleges to understand the management of networks and the roles played by network members; second, a likely reconfiguration of the autonomy/competition matrix due to the strains the current configuration places on collaborative working; third, the desirability of constructing an agenda to research the further education policy community as it progresses through change.