So what do customer value propositions and strategic planning have to do with teaching and learning?

Within most universities there are central areas that assist with teaching and learning and, in the case of universities offering programs through distance education or flexible learning, there are also units that develop and or manufacture course material. As budget constraints squeeze universities and, with a plethora of choices in online and integrated learning, the usefulness of centralised learning resource units can be called into question. To ensure these units remain vital and can justify their budgets to their parent organisations they need to demonstrate delivery of customer value. What do faculty staff value from a central unit? What irritates students about their course materials? What are the most important services from the point of view of a head of school? This paper outlines the process followed by Learning Services at Deakin University to discover its customers’ value model. Customer value propositions and the removal of what irritates the customer are then used to drive strategic planning, service offerings and continuous process improvement.

Strategic public land use assessment and planning in Victoria : over 30 years of trailblazing but where to from here?

Conflict over the appropriate uses and management of public land have been a feature of the Australian political landscape for at least the past 30 years. While various attempts have been made to establish land use assessment and planning institutions in various jurisdictions, the success of these often short lived attempts at institutional approaches for managing land use conflict have been patchy at best. The experience in the State of Victoria has been somewhat different, with public land use assessment and planning having been informed by a series of independent statutory bodies since 1970 (the Land Conservation, Environment Conservation, and Victorian Environmental Assessment Councils). To some degree at least the value of this approach is indicated by the extent to which Victoria’s bioregions are now protected in conservation reserves. However, while there has always been a statutory body in operation, the roles and responsibilities of these bodies have been subject to significant legislative change, with existing bodies replaced by new bodies in 1997 and 2001. Justifications for these reforms included changing circumstances and new understandings about environmental management, as well as changing views about public administration. As a way of contributing to enhancing the design of institutions for mediating land use conflict and contributing to sustainable land use and management, this paper investigates the lessons that can be learnt from the Victorian experience by examining the implications of the changing roles and responsibilities of these institutions, and then discussing possible future directions for strategic land use planning.

Managing strategic versus tactical green collaborations : a nonprofit perspective

This exploratory study examines how non-profit organisations view collaborations with other organisations, based on the objective of the collaboration. This perspective has not been previously considered within the literature. Our findings suggest that non-profits believe there are differences in the management of collaborations depending on whether they are designed
to achieve strategic or tactical goals. The variables of power and managerial imbalance were found to impact on the perceived effectiveness of strategic collaborations while organisational compatibility was found to impact on the perceived effectiveness of tactical collaborations.

Strategic competence : to soar above

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the case for change at Deakin University Library and the change process adopted, and to explore organisational competences and the structural and strategic outcomes achieved. The Library's change process was driven by university strategic priorities and financial exigencies.

Design/methodology/approach – Change management theory is drawn on to illustrate that the change process adopted is influenced by the state of the organisation and the state of urgency. Four steps are outlined that encapsulate the process developed by the Library. These four steps draw on a book by Kotter and Rathberger, Our Iceberg Is Melting. The concept of strategic organisational competences as proposed by Thomson and Cole is adopted.

Findings – The case study demonstrates the need to take a structural and strategic view of the organisation when developing new models of service and ways of operating. An organisation needs to develop the capacity to manage both continuous and discontinuous change. The change process has delivered improvements to the Library's strategic and functional capabilities, as well as sustainable cost savings. Client satisfaction surveys indicate the quality of service provision has not diminished.

Originality/value – The paper proposes a change process that may suit other organisations. It advocates a simple conceptualisation of the process that will aid communication with key stakeholders. Further, to achieve the desired strategic and structural outcomes, it is critical to assess the strategic competence of the organisation.

Global branding and strategic CSR : an overview of three types of complexity

Purpose – There is general agreement that global brands should ensure that they incorporate social responsibility. To do this properly, organisations must understand what it means to be socially responsible and how they can leverage their actions. The paper proposes consideration of three distinct areas: the range of social responsibility issues, what the organisations actually do and how to leverage those corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. This paper seeks to conceptually develop these three areas of complexity – Issue, Organisational and Communication – as it is only after organisations understand these three areas that they can effectively leverage socially responsible activities in their brands.

Design/methodology/approach – This research undertakes a review and synthesis of the academic, practitioner and industry literature examining CSR and the brand, addressing the three areas of complexity – issue, organisational and communication.

Findings – The research finds that within these three areas of complexity there are a number of sub-issues that must be addressed if CSR is to be strategically integrated into a global brand. This includes sub-issues associated with social issue complexity (identification, heterogeneity, measurement, and interpretation); organizational complexity (overall corporate brand, multiple products and brands, functional activities, and supply chain); and communication complexity (intensity of action/positioning, communicating action, types of programs utilised, and integration issues.) It thus provides an agenda for future research.

Research limitations/implications – There is limited academic literature examining how global organisations incorporate CSR activities into their brand and the research proposes the issues that need to be considered when integrating CSR into branding strategy. Future research needs to be undertaken to explore the internal processes that global firms use to develop their CSR positioning strategies and some research propositions for future research are proposed. Additionally further exploration of each of the issues (and sub-issues) identified in this paper is warranted, and some suggestions are made for this.

Practical implications – The results of this study show that developing a CSR leveraged brand in a consistent way that is salient to all stakeholders is no simple task for global organisations. By considering the three areas of complexity developed here organisations will be able to better understand and align their activities in line with CSR related issues. Being global means that organisations will likely need to ensure they address the highest set of global expectations, as any lower level may be criticised as being less than appropriate.

Originality/value – The paper develops the sub-issues of issue, organisational and communication complexity associated with global brands' CSR activities. This strategic perspective goes beyond focusing on the tactical activities undertaken or the philosophical issue of whether CSR should be undertaken. The work therefore allows global organisations to look at CSR more strategically as a branding issue.