Mission Statements, Physical Space, and Strategy in Higher Education
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Mission Statements, Physical Space, and Strategy in Higher Education Sam J. Fugazzotto
Published online: 21 July 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009
Abstract The effectiveness of higher education institutions has bases in institutional structures and cultures. However, structure and culture represent abstract concepts while institutions realize high performance in practice. Given their salience in higher education, mission statements and campus space bring structure and culture into the realm of practice. Moving from abstract to concrete, this paper shows how mission statements embody structure and culture and how physical space, in turn, enacts mission in day-to-day institutional life. By harnessing the mission-space linkage, strategy can access structure and culture for the purpose of increasing effectiveness. Key words mission statements . space . strategy . effectiveness . organizational structure . organizational culture Mission statements dictate the core activities of an organization, and physical space can define its operating territories. Mission and space are organizationally omnipresent and have notable relevance for both public and non-profit private higher education institutions. In this article, I use that relevance to establish a theoretical linkage between the two for the sake of strategic action. The first section discusses the cultural and structural bases of effectiveness in higher education, and the second shows how mission statements embody structure and culture, thus making them more concrete. The third section links mission statements and campus space. Because it impacts core institutional activities on a daily basis, I will suggest that space lends mission—and thus structure and culture—even greater tangibility. The final section draws upon the connections between mission statements and physical space to develop strategic models that seek to move institutions forward in practice. The effectiveness of colleges and universities has remained under discussion in the Sam J. Fugazzotto received his M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern University. He currently serves as Associate Registrar at Teachers College, Columbia University. His primary research interests center on strategy and management in higher education institutions. S. J. Fugazzotto (*) Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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Innov High Educ (2009) 34:285–298
scholarly literature for decades (e.g., Cameron 1978), but in more recent years rising college costs have made institutional effectiveness and performance salient issues for the general public. This article suggests that seemingly abstract links between mission statements and campus space present leaders in higher education with a concrete, strategic opportunity to reexamine and change structure and culture—ultimately for the sake of effectiveness in individual institutions as well as the overall legitimacy of colleges and universities.
Organizational Culture, Structure, and
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