The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of middle managers in non-academic units within higher education institutions in Illinois, and how their roles impact decision making and strategic planning at the institution. Middle management is defined as a position in organizational hierarchies 'between the…

As the world economy and ways of working move in the direction of globalization (Ebrahim et al., 2009), organizations continue to look at ways to move employees into a virtual space (Malhorta et al., 2017). However, overall levels of engagement and job satisfaction tend to be lower in virtual teams (Gurtner et al., 2007), due to a number of…

The researcher demonstrates how qualitative grounded theory methodology was used to review whether higher education institutions (HEIs) incorporate risk into their strategic plans. The researcher defines and provides a history of strategic planning within higher education. He also utilizes a framework to identify the best incorporations of risk…

This mixed-method study examines Michigan's Partnership policy for school turnaround, which positions the district and superintendents as key policy implementation actors. We first interviewed 21 of 35 Partnership superintendents/leaders across Michigan and surveyed teachers to understand the initial response to the turnaround policy and the…

The purpose of this article is to present an instructional innovation called the Structure-Culture Alignment Activity, which leads students through the process of aligning cultural values pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) to two important structural elements, formalization and centralization. Using decision making, team…

Organizational maturity can inform decision-making, build strategy and underpin development. This paper argues that 'Governance Maturity Theory' (GMT) can act as a developmental modality for school Governing Bodies - and offers an alternative to disciplinary mechanisms such as inspections. Evidence generated by governors, Chairs, and Governance…

The global climate crisis is present in national and international discourse, along with other challenges the world is going through, such as the current wars in Ukraine and Gaza or the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the negative effects highlighted in the United Nations' sustainable development report. This paper aims to analyse and…

This paper investigates how Norwegian school principals prepared to carry out the LK20 reform process. The importance of school principals and middle-level leaders as enactors of change efforts results from their close ties to teachers and teacher classroom practices. This suggests that without negotiation and support from micro-policy actors,…

The impact of stakeholders in the development of academic disciplines in higher education is a somewhat infrequently addressed topic in research. This article describes an institutional change and legitimacy formation process from a dialectical perspective by analysing organisational interpretations of and strategic responses to external pressures…

Experiential education, the process of providing students with applied learning opportunities within and outside the classroom, is rife with organizational complexity. This article examines Ontario's Strategic Mandate Agreements using qualitative content analysis to see how conceptions and communications of experiential learning have changed over…

Chinese leaders in the tutoring industry encountered a crisis brought about by the Pandemic and the Double Reduction Policy. This exploratory multi-case study applied a conceptual framework that combines informal learning, strategic thinking, and experiential learning theory to explore how those leaders learned to think strategically in this…

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) through strategic policy development has been at the forefront of institutional change, especially within the higher education sector. Canadian colleges have a large equity-seeking student population due to their open admission structure, but despite this, there are implicit biases and actions that impede…

Effective leadership and management are at the centre of the strategic management of human capital in education. Principals in schools as organizations promote the effective execution of strategies by coordinating staff members toward accomplishing school goals and objectives to improve student outcomes. Principals are critical in implementing…

This study reviews the implications of the 2014 reporting regulation for public higher education institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa. Guided by the monitoring and evaluation logical framework model and the theory of change, the research assesses the alignment between the regulation's outcomes and practical implementation. Employing a Document…

In this chapter, we explore the organizational units, projects, and support that exist for digital literacy within the Vanderbilt University Library system. We frame the chapter chronologically, starting with the efforts of the past, then moving toward the present efforts, and concluding with where future efforts are going.