Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2015, Higher Education

This study explored the process of implementing the 2005 - 2010 strategic plan at a small, private college in Michigan. As competition grows in the industry of higher education and small, private institutions attempt to maintain or grow revenue streams; institutions must find ways to successfully implement their strategic initiatives. If administrators and institutions are to put their strategic plans into action, they must do so by studying other institutions that have successfully implemented strategic plans. The purpose of this study was to study the process of implementing a strategic plan. The results of this study indicate that there were three main reasons for successful implementation. First, the leadership was in place to create and communicate the strategic plan and its goals. Second, the president created a new culture on campus of appreciation, change and direct communication. Finally, the president set expectations and held employees accountable to those expectations which contributed to the new culture on campus. These three areas allowed for ideas to be generated and implemented. This study provides examples from one institution that other colleges and universities may be able to use to better understand tactics for implementing strategic initiatives.

Committee: Debra Harmening Dr. (Committee Chair); Frank Hribar Dr. (Committee Member); David Meabon Dr. (Committee Member); Penny Poplin-Gosetti Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2011, Leadership and Change

The intent of this study was to aid academic librarians in examining their perceptions of the future of higher education, engaging disciplinary faculty members to understand their views, and determining actions to take to shape the future. In this mixed methods study, scenarios about the future of higher education served as the basis for collecting quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus group) data at one institution. During this study, staff, faculty, and administrators at one library developed new ways to craft strategies and make decisions, shifting their focus from strategic planning as an event to strategic thinking as a process, a way of organizational learning. Most traditional strategic planning processes operate from foundational beliefs that planning is rational, the future is predictable, and change is linear. Futures work, however, is not grounded in these assumptions. Creating and using scenarios as the basis to set strategic directions aided the group in thinking more broadly and more creatively about how they will approach the changing nature of higher education. This study, with its orientation toward action research and futures research, is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. This document is accompanied by a brief audio interview with the author in MP3 format. The electronic version of this dissertation is available through the OhioLink ETD Center at http://etd.ohiolink.edu/.

Committee: Jon F. Wergin PhD (Committee Chair); Alan E. Guskin PhD (Committee Member); David J. Staley PhD (Committee Member); R. David Lankes PhD (Other) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Library Science

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2024, Geography

This research conducts an analysis of urban change in Toledo, Ohio. While not explicitly stated in planning, “rightsizing” strategies that are emerging in legacy cities across America's Rust Belt as a response to decline are being implemented in Toledo. Targeted investments, particularly in the form of downtown revitalization, and targeted demolition alike are rightsizing strategies being implemented in Toledo. These strategies are being carried out through various forms of intergovernmental collaboration and public-private partnerships. They are being justified in the name of urban beautification, neighborhood revitalization, productivity, and public safety.

Committee: Yeong Kim (Advisor) Subjects: Geography; Political Science; Urban Planning

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2022, Educational Administration (Education)

Academic leaders at community and technical colleges must balance institutional projects, student success initiatives, and academic programs. Many of the tasks associated with these endeavors involve faculty and staff members. As academic leaders plan for change, it is wise to involve faculty in a positive way. The goal of faculty members' involvement would be to increase their understanding of college operations, encourage their participation in decision making, and motivate their support for new projects or recommendations for change. Ultimately, an academic leader would be wise to invest the time in building a collaborative culture of shared governance to make wise decisions and meaningful change. Creating an environment of shared governance must be an intentional effort by college leaders. Research has noted that faculty desired to be a part of decision-making but believed that their leaders were operating the college using a corporate business model that did not allow for shared governance (Kater, 2017). As budgets tighten and state support fluctuates, leaders are tempted to centralize decision-making. However, the cost of such governance could be the lack of support from faculty and staff members and possibly failure of projects, initiatives, and academic programs. The purpose of this study is to explore methods that leaders may use to share information with faculty and staff about budgets in the process of strategic planning for change. Specifically, this qualitative study sought to understand the effect of the development and use of a return on investment (ROI) tool during an academic program review process. This study examined how the use of the ROI tool impacted communication, planning, and shared governance at a two-year college. Results of this study indicate that the development and use of an ROI tool increased communication between academic leaders and faculty members. Further, it necessitated further education regarding the institution's budg (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Larson (Committee Chair) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Management

This research project focuses on how Employee Owned Companies, more commonly known as ESOPs, can accomplish both productive and successful acquisitions. A productive and successful acquisition is defined as one that fulfills or exceeds the acquiring company's expectations. Most successful ESOPs generally implement various types of progressive management strategies including open book management and open door communication. These practices propel active employee engagement and participation and have been demonstrated to enhance productivity and profitability because the employees are both personally and financially empowered to improve organizational performance. Somewhat of a mystery is the question of why there are not more ESOP participants. If their numbers are to increase, it can only occur through two methods: 1) employees purchase the company from an owner and 2) other non-employee owned (Non-ESOP) target companies are acquired by an existing acquiring ESOP company. Most previous studies focus on the first option as well as on specific case studies involving ESOP acquisitions. This study focuses on the second option by examining ESOP organizations in general in diverse industries located throughout the U.S. and researching how these organizations can accomplish productive and successful acquisitions and what, if any, organizational behavior patterns may propel this process. The first study utilizes a qualitative approach by interviewing ESOP executives from both the acquiring and target companies, who have experienced both successful and unsuccessful acquisitions. The second study utilizes academically validated and self-designed scales for a quantitative survey also administered to ESOP executives with acquisition experience. The third study involves another qualitative approach by interviewing consultants with both ESOP and Non-ESOP acquisition experience to obtain a third-party viewpoint. The distinctive findings from all three studies of this proje (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Simon Peck Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2016, Higher Education

State and federal funding for higher education is becoming more restrictive at the same time competition for donations to non-profit and educational institutions grows. As such, university development departments are challenged with identifying potential donors and with adopting more efficient practices so as to ensure successful fund-raising campaigns. This study used de-identified alumni donation information from three, private, Ohio-based universities over a 10-year period, 1995-2005. Using Astin's Theory of Student of Involvement (1984) as its framework, the researcher sought to determine what influence, if any, alumni demographic information, undergraduate fields of study, and undergraduate experiences in on-campus academic, social, and athletic pursuits have on alumni donations. A significant finding from this study is the fact that having alumni involved in more than one on-campus academic, social, or athletic pursuit was the most significant predictor of alumnus total donations, the study's criterion variable. This study is believed to be the first to have applied Astin's student involvement theory to alumni donation patterns. Future researchers may identify even more opportunities to target philanthropic opportunities among alumni so as to ensure more efficient, effective higher education donor campaigns.

Committee: Ronald Opp PhD (Committee Chair); Debra Harmening PhD (Committee Member); Michael Coomes PhD (Committee Member); Jim Troha PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education Administration

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2014, Theatre Arts-Arts Administration

Strategic planning has many benefits including creating structure, directing the goals of a quickly expanding organization, and strengthening the long-term growth of an organization. For a small arts organization, the benefits can be astounding. Along the way though, there are many potential missteps and hazards an organization must avoid. This project will use the Fairfax Choral Society as a case study to highlight these principles. Outlining the details of both an unsuccessful and successful strategic planning process at the Fairfax Choral Society, this project will showcase the difficulties and achievements experienced by the organization.This project will use a critical eye to determine the stumbling blocks and mistakes, while creating a template for future strategic planning processes that could be used by any small arts organization.

Committee: Kara Stewart Ms. (Advisor); Roberta Munro Ms. (Committee Member); Neil Sapienza Mr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Arts Management

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning : Community Planning

This project seeks to provide the council members and administration of Madeira, Ohio with a framework for developing a strategic plan in their community. Many of the stakeholders in Madeira have participated in this project identifying major internal and external issues that affect the community. A previous study conducted by Steve Sievers, Madeira Tomorrow Survey, was consulted for citizen input. The issues identified from the Madeira Tomorrow Survey and the stakeholders led to the development of three broad goals: Maintain the high quality of residential, Enhance revenues to replace those lost from the State of Ohio, and Maintain the high quality of services provided to residents. Before developing a strategic plan for Madeira, this project examines the applicability of the strategic planning for local units of governments. A review of three local governments' strategic plans was conducted to determine lessons that can be learned from their strategic planning processes. It was determined that many local governments do not actually complete the entire strategic planning process; thus, making it difficult for them to follow through with their efforts in a three to five year plan. Having determined that strategic planning is both applicable and effective for local governments, a strategic plan was developed for Madeira. The plan provides the council members and administration of Madeira with a proposed mission statement, goals and objectives, and suggestions on how to effectively implement this strategic plan or a revised strategic plan in Madeira, Ohio.

Committee: Professor Roger Barry (Advisor) Subjects: Urban and Regional Planning

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Community Planning

Egypt, commonly known as "Land of Civilizations", is reputed worldwide for its distinct 7,000-year-old record of civilization and immense wealth of knowledge (Egypt State Information Service, 2008a). Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the second most populated country in Africa. The population of Egypt is rapidly increasing. Its population was 59 million in 1996, and had increased by around 10 million people by 2006 (CIA, 2008). Currently, the estimated population growth is at 1 million people per year (CAPMAS, 2008).A basic challenge in Egypt is the impossibility of increasing its cultivable land to an amount that would sustain its increase in population (Tarver, 1994). Since the majority of the territory of the country is covered by desert, the population is forced to live and work in a limited area, i.e., around the Nile, in the Delta or around the Suez Canal. In most reports about Egypt´s spatial development, the following phrase can be found: "95% of the population lives on 4% of the land area" (World Bank, 2006d).This research is focused on developing a simple method to improve Egypt´ s ability to accommodate population growth and preserve agricultural areas. To start with, the problem is identified at the national level. Then, one Egyptian village is chosen for detailed analysis as a case study, giving special attention to the current and future size and composition of its population. After forecasting the population size and composition of the village in 2016, the additional needs of the village to manage population growth are investigated in terms of housing and services. Based on the additional needs, current land use, current zoning law and local residents preferences, recommendations are given to the village for modifying its zoning so that physical development can take place while preserving its agricultural areas and local heritage. Finally, the problem is explored at the national level by extrapolating this specific village´s p (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Edelman PhD (Committee Chair); Jan Fritz PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2011, Higher Education

This researcher demonstrates how applied qualitative grounded theory methodology was used in this dissertation to develop a framework to generate future substantive and/or formal theory (objective of the study). He also fulfills his dissertation's dual purpose: The researcher first describes, analyzes, and explains strategic planning in higher education and its general strategy process so that they are better understood. Second, he establishes a base (i.e., framework) for the development of formal theory from one participant interview and its situational, social, and historical contexts using grounded theory. Collectively, these two purposes and the study's objective comprise this dissertation's scope. It is problematic if faculty members who are stakeholders in strategic planning in higher education understand its general strategy process and are not included in it. Why? Faculty members collectively constitute higher education's key participants in the teaching, research, and service variables essential to its success. Yet no research studies currently exist that explain the relationship between strategic planning in higher education and faculty members who are stakeholders in it. For the researcher, this revealed the complex challenge inherent in his dissertation for developing a framework that would generate a future substantive and/or formal theory. His difficulty is compounded by the research problem: What is the relationship between faculty members who are stakeholders in strategic planning in higher education and other aspects of university policies? Results from the one interviewed faculty stakeholder generated one theme with three sub themes, two metaphors, three propositions, and two social issues about the process of strategic planning in higher education. Further analysis of this one participant enabled this researcher to develop a ten stage process model for conducting grounded theory analysis. Results fulfill this dissertation's purposes and potent (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lynne Hamer PhD (Committee Chair); Dave Meabon PhD (Committee Member); Penny Poplin-Gosetti PhD (Committee Member); Mary Ellen Edwards PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2011, Computer Science and Engineering

Strategic planning within complex service organizations (universities, cities, and other large service – oriented organizations) is extremely challenging due to 1) tensions between top-down versus bottom-up needs, 2) number of different stakeholders and goals at each level of the organization, 3) current and future goals, and 4) continuously evolving environments and changing goals. Also keeping track of and modeling the interactions between different units within the organization is another hard task. While most of the industry uses top-down strategic planning, the disadvantage is that many details often fail as they are too farfetched and unrealistic. Most of the plans are developed for long term and these timelines don't demand immediate actions from the middle and lower level employees. Top-down approach is good to communicate the management's objectives and aims explicitly to lower levels. But it lacks a feedback loop to get inputs from ground level workers. Whereas in case of bottom-up approach, endless iterations to consolidate the final plan and resolve the negotiations between business owners and management delays & kills stakeholders interest in coming up with solid strategic plan. In this thesis, we study software features and benefits of developing a ‘Participatory Strategic Planning System' (P2S2), based on a hybrid approach combining top-down control and bottom-up creativity. We identify how P2S2 helps in knowledge mining, decision making processes and improves the resource and people collaboration. The system (P2S2) we designed and modeled has bi-directional flow of information coming from top level executives and bottom level front line workers. It sets standards to collect and convey the information and it is also a single point of information related to any strategic planning efforts in the organization. P2S2 is a two phased, multi iteration system based on the enterprise domain model that we developed for The Ohio State University strateg (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Jay Ramanathan (Advisor); Dr. Rajiv Ramnath (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science; Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Geography

Transportation costs are known to significantly impact the level of trade between regions. This is especially true for international truck-based movements requiring passage through border crossings. Movement through border crossings often involves assessment of additional costs such as tolls and transshipment fees, as well as the time consumed by the many operational and procedural difficulties encountered at these locations. The costs associated with negotiating international borders are relatively well known and many agencies and organizations are actively working to reduce them. Various solutions exist for effective improvement, involving both physical and policy related changes. Traditionally, improvements to border crossings have been justified based on their impact to a localized area of interest. However, this type of planning fails to consider how a facility's improvement might affect the transportation system as a whole. This dissertation addresses the impact that border crossing improvement may have on existing patterns of truck activity. Of particular interest is how improvements to crossings can initiate changes to flow patterns observed throughout the transportation system. To facilitate trade among regions, the primary goal for border improvement is to minimize the total transport cost associated with all international freight movements. Given this goal, an optimization model, the Transshipment Facility Improvement Problem (TFIP), is proposed as a tool for modeling the effects of border crossing improvement on trucking between countries. In order to evaluate the impact of crossing improvement on the cost of system-wide truck transportation, the TFIP is applied to the case of North American (United States, Mexico, and Canada) trucking. This application consists of two challenges: (1) obtaining and modeling current trade volumes moved by motor carriers between countries, and (2) modeling the effects of border facility improvement on the cost of moving th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Morton O'Kelly (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 1992, Organizational Behavior

The objective of this study is to investigate the contextual characteristics of co-constructing reality, on which the strategic changes could be planned and implemented in the community development. The method of participant observation was used to investigate the Institute of Cultural Affairs' (ICA) participatory strategic planning processes in community development with three Native American tribes.Data was collected from interviews with ICA members using an appreciative inquiry to articulate the highest held values of ICA in its community living, and its work in strategic planning. Interviews conducted with Native Americans focussed on their viewpoints on integrated community economic development. The result of the study indicates that ICA's self-governance of its living community is in congruence with its intervention strategies. Central to ICA's interventions are the participatory planning processes and management education as well as their intention to make the intervention skills available for Native Americans to learn and use. ICA has been successful because they use the methods in the first instance in their own community life; and secondly, because they adhere to a philosophy of communal learning.Furthermore, the congruences exist in the organizational culture of ICA and Native Americans' culture made it possible for the construction of the common reality in community planning processes.This study has theoretical and practical implications in the community development, especially for those who work in different cultures. A discussion on the process of co-construction of reality suggests that we need to re-examine an emerging moment for reciprocal receptivity to influence and be influenced, thus allow the relational knowledge to be created. It is in this process, the co-construction of reality occurs. Practitioners attempting to bring about changes to communities should consider interventions on the basis of co-constructing common grounds, so that community (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Donald Wolfe (Advisor) Subjects:

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2008, Leadership and Change

As evidence of the earth's limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions:What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher education? What processes guide higher education institutions in efforts to deeply and comprehensively implement sustainable changes? A sequential mixed-methods research design was used to gather data from questionnaires administered to 86 colleges and universities in the United States implementing sustainability programs, from interviews with 20 individuals who are guiding the change processes at ten different institutions, and from archival records documenting the initiatives and outcomes at these colleges and universities. After the data had been analyzed to identify common themes, factors and change process strategies, the results of the analyses were examined in relationship to existing models of change in higher education. Significant correlations were found between the change strategies used and the support systems provided by these institutions and the level of progress achieved on the sustainability initiatives.

Committee: Jon Wergin PhD (Committee Chair); Carol Baron PhD (Committee Member); Richard Couto PhD (Committee Member); Jean MacGregor PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Science; Higher Education; Management; Organizational Behavior

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2013, Environmental Sciences

This internship report details the background research, process, and results of a strategic planning process for a case study with a national environmental non-profit. American Rivers' California regional office identified the need for the development of a new stormwater program. A strategic planning process was engaged to inform the development process and maximize program efficiency. This case study included a review of the literature on non-profit strategic planning, California water policy, and stormwater management techniques. The results of this review produced a series of methods, tools, and program examples that were incorporated into two rounds of strategic planning retreats. In coordination with national staff, the strategic planning process produced a successful strategic plan to guide a well defined California stormwater program for non-profit American Rivers.

Committee: David Prytherch (Committee Chair) Subjects: Environmental Science; Water Resource Management

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Leadership Studies

The Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, reauthorized as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), increased accountability measures in public schools across the nation. One component of NCLB dictated that school districts publicly report annual summative testing scores. Noting that previous research has shown that school district leadership engaged in the strategic planning process increases student achievement, the State of Ohio formed the Ohio Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC). OLAC's work embraced the use of leadership led strategic planning and thus wrote the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) for use in all Ohio districts regardless of size, typology, leadership tenure, or average daily membership. This quantitative causal-comparative study investigates the effect of OIP on Local Report Card (LRC) ratings in Ohio school districts. To determine if differences exist school district leadership responded to a survey that reported 2011-2012 LRC ratings and measured their respective stage of implementation and commitment to OIP. Using responses from the 14-item research constructed survey, data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the research show that the impact of OIP on LRC is more complex than previously assumed. Contrary to researcher expectations, the use of OIP did not statistically impact LRC. Future research using Value Added or Performance Index Scores (both growth measures of the LRC) could potentially produce statistically significant results, as they are more specific in nature than the LRC ratings are. Research Question 1 notes 94% of the survey respondents were school district central office administrators with 65% being in their current position three or more years. Seventy-four percent of respondents have been their district point of contact or OIP facilitator. Responses from Research Questions 2 and 3 highlight LRC data were positively significantly skewed. This created the foundati (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patrick Pauken (Advisor); Eric Worch (Committee Member); Rachel Reinhart (Committee Member); Paul Johnson (Committee Member); James Lloyd (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education History; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; School Administration