Strategic Planning and Information Use: The Role of Institutional Leadership in the Community College
Community college presidents face a daunting challenge in trying to manage and guide an organization that is, by its nature, decentralized and bureaucratic in its decision- making processes, and at the same time they face external demands for greater accountability and internal demands for information. Although technological systems can accomplish these kinds of data collection tasks easily, the implementation of such systems is itself problematic. In many ways, implementing new information and technology systems, when done effectively, mirrors the open-ended, cross-functional deliberative processes of strategic planning. This paper discusses how institutional leaders at community colleges have used the implementation of strategic planning processes to break down information silos, increase collaboration among units, streamline information and work processes, and provide greater access to both academic and operational information. While this process may be time- consuming and disorderly, it is a promising tool for bringing about organizational change.
