Not too long ago I took a class that discussed organizational behavior and strategic thinking. In this class my professor conducted an exercise where students in the class were grouped into a scholarship committee whose purpose was to use strategic thinking to budget scholarship money to several incoming freshman. The other students, including myself, represented the freshman who were in the running to receive the scholarship.
These hopefuls all had different strong points that would sustain the standards and esteem of the university. For example, my candidate was a high school senior who would not be able to attend college without a scholarship. Music is her strong point and should she receive a scholarship to the university, she would contribute to the school's music program. One of the other hopefuls is a gifted athlete who would be a benefit to the school's basketball team. A third candidate was an scholarly who would grow in the academic realm. Moreover, my point on why my candidate deserved the scholarship was among the other arguments from classmates who would like the same for their candidates.
We had a few options to consider: "Are some candidates more in need of funding than others? "Do some candidates deserve more funding than others? "Should we evenly distribute the scholarship fund so that everyone benefits? "Should we give all scholarship money to the best-rounded candidate who would make the biggest impact on the school's reputation?
After listening to each representative make their point about the needs of their candidate, a few classmates discontinued from the debate because they felt their student did not need the money as much as others. One classmate commented that his student came from a financially stable household and that the lack of funds would not cause him to not go to college. Another classmate said that her student would be working and would be okay without scholarship money. With strategic thinking among the committee members, we were able to look over how everyone would be assisted from the situation. Our committee's final agreement left two students without scholarship money, but benefited three recipients with a part of the scholarship money, based on their needs and accomplishments.
This process of strategic thinking lead to a group effort of brainstorming ideas, initiating change, and finding solutions. We were able to effectively consider the highest priorities of our candidates and make the most educated decisions.
If you would like to learn more about CMOE's Applied Strategic Thinking Workshop visit their website or contact one of their Regional Managers at (801) 569-3444.
Come learn more about CMOE's Workshop on <a href="http://www.cmoe.com/strategic-thinking.htm">New Strategic Thinking</a>. Also, click to read CMOE's latest blog post: <a href="http://www.cmoe.com/blog/what-is-strategy.htm">What Is Strategy?</a>
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