Strategic Planning: the Case of Middle east Technical University Counseling Center

Year 2005, Volume: 43 Issue: 43, 309 - 325, 01.04.2005

Dr. Cem Ali Gizir

Abstract

During 1990s, there was a need for establishing centers which gives psychological support services to the university students in Turkey in order to help them for living in their social environment in harmony as well adjusted and socially oriented individuals. For this reason, Turkish universities began to establish Counseling Centers having various organizational structures and processes to respond to the psychosocial needs of their students. Middle East Technical University (METU), Psychological Counseling and Guidance Center (PCGC) is one of the important organization among university Counseling Centers in Turkey as related to its structure, developmental process, diversity of professions, and its variety of activities. The purpose of this study is to present a model for the Counseling Centers in Turkish universities and to explain the implementation of strategic planning that mostly designed and used to help organizations in order to prepare themselves to changing environmental conditions in a best way with respect to the results of strategic planning study accomplished in 1999 and evaluated in 2004 by METU PCGC. Summary In 1990s, with the awareness of a need for establishing centers offering psychological support services to university students in Turkey in order to help them live in their social milieu in harmony as a well-adjusted and socially-oriented individuals, Turkish universities began to establish counseling centers having different organizational structure and process to respond to the psychosocial needs of their students. Middle East Technical University (METU), Psychological Counseling and Guidance Center (PCGC) is one of the important organizations among university Counseling Centers in Turkey as related to its structure, developmental process, diversity of professions, and variety of activities. The purpose of this study is to explain the implementation of strategic planning process which is a frequently preferred planning process by various organizations and to propose a model for the Counseling Centers in Turkish universities which is developed according to results of strategic planning study accomplished in 1999 and evaluated in 2004 by METU PCGC. In 1999, administrators and psychological counselors of METU PCGC evaluated their mission and vision of PCGC and defined their organizational strategies by taking into consideration basic stages of strategic planning process in order to determine changing needs and expectations of METU students, to meet effectively these needs and expectations, to use existing resources with the most optimal way, to define activity areas, to define organizational goals by developing their vision and developing some criteria to evaluate their future activities. Furthermore, in 2004, they evaluated their strategic planning made in 1999 to observe developments in their organizational activities through five years, to define strategies helping orientation of PCGC to changing environmental conditions. Having an agreement on making a strategic planning of their organization, as a team, managers and psychological counselors of METU PCGC made a strategic plan through July- August 1999 by taking into consideration the basic stages of strategic planning defined by Bryson (1989). After examining legal scope, the team specified their stakeholders and their needs and expectations. Then, the team defined their mission and aims to make clear what PCGC is as an organization, why it exists, what their basic activities are. After stakeholder analysis, they made SWOT analysis to define strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of their organization. Then, the team defined strategic issues and solving strategies for these issues considering all the analysis they made. Finally, they developed their organizational vision for the future. In 2004, the team evaluated their strategic plan of 1999. As a result of evaluation, it was observed that strategic issues related with the organizational limitations, administrative structure, performance evaluation, effective use of technologies have been solved. Observing such issues in 1999 and solving these issues in 2004 can be seen acceptable when taking into consideration the PCGC was established in 1997. Among implementation of solving strategies of strategic issues defined in 1999, the organizational structure scheme was the most important one with respect to organize organizational processes and also being a model for other psychological counseling centers which was established or have been established. With the strategic planning made in 2004, the team observed that their organization reached higher status of institutionalization process. Also, the team observed that as a result of strategic planning, a team spirit among employees, an effective coordination mechanism among psychiatrists, psychologists and psychological counselors was developed, quality in their services was improved, and coordination between other centers in the university was enhanced.

Keywords

strategic planning , university counseling centers

Stratejik Planlama: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Merkezi Örneği

Abstract

1990'lı yıllarda Türkiye'deki üniversite öğrencilerinin psikolojik yönden sağlıklı, çevresiyle uyum içinde yaşayan sosyal bireyler olabilmeleri için her türlü psikolojik destek hizmeti veren üniversite birimlerinin kurulmasına ihtiyaç duyulmuştur. Öğrencilerin bu ihtiyacının karşılanabilmesi amacıyla üniversitelerimizde örgütsel yapılanması ve işleyiş biçimi birbirinden farklı Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik (PDR) merkezleri oluşturulmuş ya da oluşturulmaya çalışılmaktadır. Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Merkezi'de (PDRM) örgütlenme biçimi, gelişim süreci, meslek grubu çeşitliliği ve gerçekleştirdiği etkinlikler ile Türkiye'deki üniversite PDR merkezleri arasında önemli bir yere sahip örgütlerden biridir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, ODTÜ PDRM tarafından 1999 yılında gerçekleştirilen ve 2004 yılında değerlendirme süreci tamamlanan stratejik planlama çalışması ve sonuçlarını dikkate alarak Türkiye'deki üniversitelerde etkinliklerini sürdüren benzer merkezlere örnek bir model sunmak ve örgütlerin değişen çevresel koşullara en etkili şekilde uyum sağlamalarına yardımcı olmak amacıyla sıklıkla kullanılan “stratejik planlama” yaklaşımının uygulamasını bir örnekle açıklamaktır.

Keywords

stratejik planlama , üniversite psikolojik danışma ve rehberlik merkezleri

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