An effective organizational structure to implement strategic plans in higher education institutions

Strategic decision areas, within which a university has to think, include its basic mission; the targeted stakeholders to be served; the goals and objectives to serve the needs of its clientele; the programs and services offered; its geographical domain; and finally, its competitive advantage over rivals. These factors have to be followed by the examination of the use of institutional resources, governance/decision-making structures (the concern of this paper) and the maintenance/development of the institution's human resources. Organizing is the process of arranging resources (people, materials, technology etc.) together to achieve the organization's strategic goals. Saudi institutions now operate within a much greater competitive context within its national, regional and international rivals. As a result, they need to incorporate a greater education, research and community services orientation into their strategic planning process to acquire a competitive advantage over their competitors. So, these institutions are passing through a number of changes in the dimensions of their missions and visions that necessitate the establishment of suitable reliable vehicles (structures) to facilitate the adoption and control of those changes. This paper assesses the organizational structure (a vehicle) that handles the strategic plans implementation and control at KFUPM, as a representative of KSA higher education institutions, and proposes an amended one.