STRATEGIC PLANNING and THE PRINCIPAL-AGENT ISSUE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP
Strategic planning is well entrenched in colleges and universities around the globe. It is not only essential for effective resource allocation but in some jurisdictions, legislation requires that strategic plans be submitted to government as part of the funding approval process. The difficulties associated with strategic planning and indeed planning in general in colleges and universities has not gone unexplored. It is our contention and the thesis of this paper that the failure to develop and execute strategic plans flows from the distinctive aspects of the principal-agent framework within which many higher education institutions work. Understanding and responding to the deficiencies that beset this model in higher education should improve the effectiveness of planning.
