BASICS.

There are some techniques to manage a University or a Research Centre:

• The services: what does the University or Research Center sell? It includes the quality (how good it is), branding, and reputation (the individuals’ opinion). The characteristics are the following: functionality, appearance, quality, packaging, and brand.

• The price. How much does the service of an academic program cost?

• The advertising: how do we tell the services to the individuals?

• Individuals.

• The customer needs: what does the customer need to solve a problem?

• The cost to the user: does the customer perceive the service's cost as fair, or is it too expensive?

• Convenience: how is it easy to find our service? Or does the customer have to make an effort?

• Communication: how should we communicate with our customers?

• Acceptability: how acceptable is the service, and do people approve of the service? Is it socially acceptable, fashionable, and attractive? Does the service respect the laws? Is it legally acceptable?

• The affordability: does the customer have enough money to buy the service?

• Accessibility: is the service easy to access? Is the service accessible for people with disabilities?

• The awareness: how many people know about, or are aware of, the service? Is awareness high?

• The objects: what do we sell? Is it high quality or excellent service, or is it bottom end?

• The objectives: revenue objectives concern the income we want to generate. Price objectives affect the price we want to sell at.

• The organization: how should we organize the sale and distribution of our product? Which distribution methods will work best?

• The operations: what kind of promotional operations, such as direct mail, will work best for the service?

Before entering the marketplace, it is essential to carry out a SWOT analysis. This analysis identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the services and the opportunities and threats facing them. Strengths and weaknesses refer to the service and are considered internal factors. The external factors, referring to the marketplace, are opportunities and threats.

The management strategy describes how the University or Research Centre will position itself and the services the University or Research Center provides in the competitive marketplace. The plan discusses target markets, services and pricing policies, and promotional initiatives.

The management plan is a written document detailing the selected managerial methods and specific actions or marketing activities. It also examines the financial and human resources needed to achieve specified objectives, such as increased members or successful service launches, over a given period.

We can develop a management plan using the stages known as AOSTC (Analysis, Objectives, Strategies, Tactics, and Control).

Analysis

• Current market situation: information on the competitors and the marketplace.

• Competitor analysis: competition in the market. We will also need to include information on our positioning.

• Service analysis: what we provide and our Unique Selling Point (USP).

• Target market: our customer groups or segments.

Objectives

• Management goals: what we want to achieve regarding image and sales.

• Set SMART objectives: specific (be precise about what we are going to achieve), measurable (quantify our goals), achievable (are we attempting too much?), realistic (do we have the resources to make the objective happen?), timed (when will we achieve the purpose?).

Strategies

• The approach to meeting the objectives: which market segment? How will we target the segment? How should we position ourselves within the segment?

Tactics

• Convert our strategy into managerial techniques and tools.

Control

• Tracking: how the success of the management plan will be measured. How will each managerial activity be assessed?

A management plan summary, known as the executive summary, is included at the beginning of the document.

Social management uses techniques to convince people to change their behavior for their good or society's benefit. Social management aims to minimize social problems.

The advantage of a University or Research Centre being socially responsible includes enhanced brand image and greater ease in attracting staff.

• Cause-related management (CRM) is when a University or Research Centre donates money to a charity or a good cause. The brand is then associated with the cause.

• Green management is the development and distribution of eco-friendly or environmentally friendly goods.

• Responsible purchasing is another way a University or Research Centre can build or maintain a good reputation. For example, a University can show concern for Human Rights.

The micro-environment

• Consumers: A university or Research Center must understand and meet consumers' needs.

• Competitors: we must differentiate our brand from our competitors.

• Employees: employing the right people and keeping them motivated is essential. Training and development play a key role in the service sector.

• Media: positive or adverse (negative) media attention can seriously affect a University or Research Centre.

• Shareholders: It is important to satisfy shareholders' needs without harming the brand in the long term.

• Suppliers: good relations with suppliers will make business easier.

The macro-environment

A STEP analysis looks at sociological, technological, economic, and political factors in the market environment on a macro level.

Price Elasticity of Demand

Demand's price elasticity measures the quantity demanded's responsiveness to a price change, with all other factors held constant.

Some factors are affecting the price elasticity of demand:

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• Availability of substitutes;

• Degree of necessity;

• The proportion of the purchaser's budget consumed by the item;

• The period considered;

• Permanent or temporary price change;

• Price points.

Industry Concentration

The concentration of firms in an industry is of interest to economists, business strategists, and government agencies. There is the Concentration Ratio (CR) or the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Economic growth is measured in terms of an increase in the size of a nation's economy. The most widely used measure is the Gross Domestic Product. GDP generally is defined as the market value of the goods and services produced by a country. One way to calculate a nation's GDP is to sum all expenditures in the country. This method is known as the expenditure approach. However, there are three approaches to calculating GDP: the expenditure approach, the product approach, and the income approach. These three approaches are equivalent, with each rendering the same result.

There are other concepts like the nominal GDP and the real GDP.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The CPI has many important uses, including the following:

• Economic indicator;

• Reference for escalation agreements;

• Deflation indicator.

The CPI tends to overstate inflation because of the following biases:

• Substitution bias;

• Quality bias;

• New product bias.

The Business Cycle

Economic growth is not a steady phenomenon; it tends to exhibit a pattern as follows:

• An expansion of above-average growth;

• A peak;

• A contraction of below-average growth;

• A trough or low-point.

These fluctuations in economic growth are known as the business cycle.

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The Strategic Planning Process

• Missions & Objectives;

• Environmental Scanning;

• Strategy Formulation;

• Strategy Implementation;

• Evaluation & Control.

Hierarchical Levels of Management Strategy

Strategy can be formulated on three different levels:

• Corporate level;

• Business unit level;

• Functional or departmental level.

Management Strategy

In pursuing an advantage over the other Universities, the University can choose from several competitive moves:

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• Changing prices;

• Improving product differentiation;

• Creatively using channels of distribution;

• Exploiting relationships with suppliers.

The market is sometimes characterized by:

• A more significant number of Universities;

• Slow market growth;

• High fixed costs;

• High storage costs;

• Low switching costs;

• Low levels of product differentiation;

• High strategic stakes;

• A diversity of organizations.

There are vertical and horizontal strategies of integration.

The differentiation strategy is based on the following internal strengths:

• Access to leading scientific research;

• Highly skilled and creative product development team.

Managers also use the Value Chain System to reach their goals, the Ansoff Matrix, the BCG Growth-Share Matrix, the GE / McKinsey Matrix, the core competencies strategy, and other strategies if the organization wants to sell products or provide services at an international level, like the Diamond of National Advantage, and other global marketing concepts.

University Managers

University Managers are often qualified as individuals with strong analytical and creative skills. They are involved in the Business Model at all levels (value proposition, market segment, value chain structure, revenue generation and margins, position in the value network, competitive strategy). Managers have multiple approaches, and they know well how society works as a whole because they are constantly studying the environment (the geographical environment, the demographic environment, the socio-cultural environment, the technological environment, the political and social environment, and the economic and juridical environment) by doing some research. Managers have strong knowledge of multiple financial and business disciplines (business management, accounting, operations, finance), and the concept of innovation characterizes them. They must create new products, provide new services, find new markets, or even find new organizational forms. They must make significant wealth for the organization and its employees and care for their clients. Managers also have to take risks by always providing innovations through reflection and research.

Managers have to respect international laws to avoid legal problems. For example, when collecting data, they must respect the privacy of individuals.

Managers must have solid juridical skills. They must know:

• The legal issues to consider;

• The legal system in which they are working and the legal system that must be followed by their University (lawful basis, sources of law, classifications of law, jurisdiction, business legal structures);

• The other conventions (and also work with trusted organizations).

All Universities also follow a lot of ethical standards.