The use of strategic long-range planning at Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) is discussed. A structure for strategic planning analysis that integrates existing techniques is presented, and examples of planning activities at CMU are included. The key concept in strategic planning is competitive advantage: if a university has a competitive…

Prospective students who received application materials for Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), Pennsylvania, in 1976 and 1978 but did not apply for admission were surveyed to determine student background factors or attitudes that may have influenced their choice of colleges to which they applied. Findings include the following: nonapplicants…

Planning issues and computing technology changes are reviewed and decision support systems are examined as a means of providing an appropriate information system for the university institutional research office. Examples of formative attempts to provide such systems at Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) and other institutions are considered. The…

Major areas of concern of Pennsylvania school food service management--student participation, labor cost, food cost, and uses of management information--are analyzed and recommendations are made. The management information study is an analysis of the findings from a six-county sample survey of record keeping practices and personal perceptions of…

Management by Objectives (MBO) has been found to be a useful means of conducting performance appraisals for professional employees. It is also an effective process for individual and organizational goal-setting and planning. Compensation systems may also be related to the MBO process. This paper addresses the concepts underlying MBO and its…

This report provides an introduction to the use of opinion surveys in gaining information about a school system in order to make decisions. The topics addressed are reasons for surveying, selecting the respondents, survey methods, selecting the survey sample, structuring the survey, writing the questions, training interviewers, pretesting the…

Public school systems infrequently project their financial outlook beyond the coming year. Yet, financial projections over a multiyear period are necessary if the financial "crises" that frequently occur in public organizations are to be avoided. This paper discusses the importance of financial forecasting and planning, the development…