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Managing scarce resources at three community college departments: A case study
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe how three community college academic departments successfully managed scarce resources. A panel of community college experts identified potential sites for the study in the western part of the United States. Administrators at the selected community colleges recommended academic departments that matched the research criteria. Department members granted final permission to conduct the research. This study focused on leadership styles, quality initiatives, strategic change, planning, budgeting, and specific strategies for scarce resource management. The first phase of the study was a review of literature related to the research topics. A second phase was field research at each department to interview, observe, and gather documents. Data analysis provided detailed descriptions of the three departments during the third phase of the study. The published works of Bass and Avolio, Deming, Leslie and Fretwell, Laszlo, and Dolence and Norris provided the major theoretical foundations for the study. Visionary department chair leadership, informal quality strategies, and positive beliefs about change were common to the three departments. Each department employed a niche market strategy responsive to the changing needs of stakeholders. Chair leadership styles, strategic planning, budgeting, and resource management strategies varied among the departments. Five major themes emerged from the research. They were (a) the need for visionary department leadership, (b) the need for customer-defined continuous quality improvement, (c) the need to hire and retain competent faculty and staff, (d) the need for a niche market strategy, and (e) the need for systematic program review. The research supports a conceptual model for scarce resource management. The model demonstrates that visionary leadership drives quality practices in the department that produce skilled graduates for niche markets. Satisfied business and industry partners provide additional resources to the department. Those resources include positive feedback that supports favorable program review.
Subject Area
Community colleges|School administration|Higher education
Recommended Citation
Slyter, Dennis Harvey, "Managing scarce resources at three community college departments: A case study" (1998). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9903785.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9903785