The Role of Middle Managers in Strategy Execution in two Colleges at a South African Higher Education Institution (HEI)

Ntokozo Mngadi, Cecile N. Gerwel Proches

Abstract


This research examined the role of middle management in executing strategic plans in two colleges in a South African higher education institution (HEI). Strategy execution is a complex operational process. Flawed sense-making of the strategy could lead to strategy breakdown, and challenges may occur concerning understanding and executing the strategic plans. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine how middle management in the two colleges at the HEI engaged in the sense-making of the strategic plan. The study set out to: examine how middle management participated in the sense-making of the two colleges' strategic goals; determine how middle management communicated the strategy to employees at the two colleges, and identify the challenges middle management faced with strategy execution at the two colleges. The research employed a qualitative research approach. Interviews were conducted with a purposive non-probability sample of ten middle managers in the two colleges at the HEI. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The interviews were conducted at the middle management’s offices and lasted between 20-45 minutes. The study findings revealed that each college engaged in the sense-making processes differently and that there are different understandings of the role of middle management in executing strategic plans. The study highlights the need for middle management in the two colleges in the HEI to engage in training in executing strategic plans. The findings may help us understand how middle management in the two colleges executes strategy and how sense-making occurs. In addition, it could assist with role clarification of university service units in implementing the strategic initiatives, as most literature focuses on strategy formulation rather than execution.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.21.8.5


Keywords


Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); middle management; South Africa; stakeholders; strategic plans and execution

Full Text:

PDF

References


Adobor, H. (2019). Opening up strategy formulation: Benefits, risks, and some suggestions. Business Horizons, 62(3), 383-393.

Ahmed, J. U., Ahmed, K. U., Shimul, M. A. S. & Zuñiga, R. (2015). Managing Strategies for Higher Education Institutions in the UK:An Overview. Higher Education for the Future, 2(1), 32-48.

Badat, S. (2017). The Idea of Higher Education as an Instrument for Social Mobility and Societal Transformation: A Critique of Nelson Mandela. In Nelson Mandela (pp. 125-136). Brill Sense.

Burgelman, R. A., Floyd, S. W., Laamanen, T., Mantere, S., Vaara, E. & Whittington, R. (2018). Strategy processes and practices: Dialogues and intersections. Strategic Management Journal, 39(3), 531-558.

Davies, & Davies, B. (2004). Strategic leadership. School Leadership & Management, 24(1), 29-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/1363243042000172804

Hambrick. (2007). Upper Echelons Theory: An Update. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 334-343.

Hambrick., & Lovelace. (2018). The Role of Executive Symbolism in Advancing New Strategic Themes in Organizations: A Social Influence Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 43(1), 110-131.

John, A., Qadeer, F., Shahzadi, G., & Jia, F. (2019). Getting paid to be good: How and when employees respond to corporate social responsibility? Journal of Cleaner Production, 215, 784-795.

Kazmi, S. A. Z., & Naaranoja, M. (2015). Cultivating strategic thinking in organizational leaders by designing supportive work environment! Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 181, 43-52.

Kemp, N. (2021). Toward an Ontology of Strategy in an Enterprise Context. International Journal of Business Strategy and Automation (IJBSA), 2(4), 1-23.

Li, P.-Y. (2018). Top management team characteristics and firm internationalization: The moderating role of the size of middle managers. International Business Review, 27(1), 125-138.

Logemann, M., Piekkari, R., & Cornelissen, J. (2019). The sense of it all: Framing and narratives in sensegiving about a strategic change. Long Range Planning, 52(5), 101852.

Mahdi, O. R., & Nassar, I. A. (2021). The business model of sustainable competitive advantage through strategic leadership capabilities and knowledge management processes to overcome Covid-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(17), 9891.

Mair, J., & Thurner, C. (2008). Going global: how middle managers approach the process in medium-sized firms [Article]. Strategic Change, 17(3/4), 83-99.

McKiernan, P., Ackermann, F., & Eden, C. (2018). Stakeholders in strategy: their'invisible'and yet an inevitable presence? EURAM 2018: 18th Annual Conference of the European Academy of Management,

McKnight, R., & Hawkrigg, J. (2005). Leading the human side of change. Canadian HR Reporter, 18(21), 17-19.

McTavish, D. (2006). Further Education Management Strategy and Policy:Institutional and Public Management Dimensions. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 34(3), 411-428. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1741143206065273

Mirbabaie, M., Bunker, D., Stieglitz, S., Marx, J., & Ehnis, C. (2020). Social media in times of crisis: Learning from Hurricane Harvey for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic response. Journal of Information Technology, 35(3), 195-213.

Mzangwa, S. T. (2019). The effects of higher education policy on transformation in post-apartheid South Africa. Cogent Education, 6(1), 1592737.

Neilson, G. L., Martin, K. L., & Powers, E. (2008). The secrets to successful strategy execution. Harvard business review, 86(6).

Netz, J., Svensson, M., & Brundin, E. (2019). Business disruptions and affective reactions: A strategy-as-practice perspective on fast strategic decision making. Long Range Planning, 101910.

Nurlansa, O., & Jati, H. (2016). Analysis porter’s five forces model on Airbnb. Elinvo (Electronics, Informatics, and Vocational Education), 1(2), 84-96.

Popescu, F. (2015). South African Globalization Strategies and Higher Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 209, 411-418.

Putro, S., Rianto, R., & Wibisana, B. H. (2022). Making Business Policies and Strategies in the Vuca Era with Technology Development: A Literature Review. International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science(1 33).

Rengarajan, S., Moser, R., & Narayanamurthy, G. (2021). Strategy tools in dynamic environments – An expert-panel study. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 165, 120560.

Rotaru, K., Fehrenbacher, D. D., Liang, M. H., & Schulz, A. K.-D. (2019). Causal Inference in Judgment Using the Balanced Scorecard. Journal of Management Accounting Research.

Rouleau, L. (2005). Micro?practices of strategic sensemaking and sensegiving: How middle managers interpret and sell change every day. Journal of Management studies, 42(7), 1413-1441.

Rouleau, L., & Balogun, J. (2011). Middle managers, strategic sensemaking, and discursive competence. Journal of Management studies, 48(5), 953-983.

Ryan, G. W., & Bernard, H. R. (2003). Techniques to Identify Themes. Field Methods, 15(1), 85-109. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1525822X02239569

Shaik, A. S., & Dhir, S. (2020). A meta-analytical review of factors affecting the strategic thinking of an organization..

Sutphen, M., Solbrekke, T. D., & Sugrue, C. (2018). Toward articulating an academic praxis by interrogating university strategic plans. Studies in Higher Education, 1-13.

Tawse, A., & Tabesh, P. (2021). Strategy implementation: A review and an introductory framework. European Management Journal, 39(1), 22-33.

Thompson, C., & Wolstencroft, P. J. R. i. P.-C. E. (2018). Trust into mistrust: the uncertain marriage between public and private sector practice for middle managers in education. Foresight 23(2), 213-230.

Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing & Health Sciences, 15(3), 398-405.

Van Rensburg, M. J., Davis, A., & Venter, P. (2014). Making strategy work: The role of the middle manager. Journal of Management & Organization, 20(2), 165-186.

Van Schalkwyk, F. B., van Lill, M. H., Cloete, N., & Bailey, T. G. (2022). Transformation impossible: policy, evidence and change in South African higher education. Higher Education, 83(3), 613-630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00687-7

Vuori, J. (2016). Towards Strategic Actorhood? The Execution of Institutional Positioning Strategies at Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences [Article]. Higher Education Quarterly, 70(4), 400-418.

Vuorinen, T. (2018). Mapping the landscape of strategy tools: A review on strategy tools published in leading journals within the past 25 years. Long Range Planning, 51(4), 586.

Xing, B. (2019). Towards a Magic Cube Framework in Understanding Higher Education 4.0 Imperative for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In Handbook of Research on Challenges and Opportunities in Launching a Technology-Driven International University (pp. 107-130). IGI Global.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493