Gaining Competitive Advantage in Higher Education Management: Exploring Strategic Management Practices at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Tamale, Ghana

Abstract

In recent times, gaining competitive advantage in higher education management has received the deserved attention from School Managers and Scholars globally. However, in Ghana, much has not been done beyond benchmarking, and gaps still exist both in literature and practice in the area of inimitable strategies employed by public universities in the quest to gain competitive advantage. This study investigated strategy formulation and implementation at the University for Development Studies within the context of quality higher education management. Specifically, the study examined internal stakeholders’ expectations of strategic management practices in quality higher education delivery using questionnaires, interview and focus group guides to collect primary data from students, principal officers and members of staff who were randomly and purposively selected. The findings revealed that internal stakeholders expect management to have a clear vision and mission for the university which should incorporate the interests of all relevant groups, especially those of students. The findings further revealed that the quality of strategic plans, policies, projects, and decisions of management to a large extent determined teaching, learning and research outcomes. To this effect, the UDS’ Pedagogy of the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme (TTFPP) makes the university unique.