EFFECTIVENESS OF STRATEGIC MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT ON THE SUSTENANCE OF GROWTH IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTION
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
EFFECTIVENESS OF STRATEGIC MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT ON THE SUSTENANCE OF GROWTH IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTION
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The implication of marketing is that, even though “customer orientation (a derivative-of marketing concept) has become a familiar slogan, with pride of place in the strategy statements of many organisations,”
the god of actually implementing the customer orientation has consistently been deceptively innocuous” (Nwankwo, 1995). The consequence is that marketing is frequently regulated and considered as separate from them. Prison of commercial lenses.
This position has led pessimists in the educational market, in particular, to claim that applying marketing to educational concerns is unethical, with the risk that excellence may be sacrificed for commercial gain.
Such pessimism stems from the narrow definition of marketing by those who denigrate it as nothing more than a profit-making tool.
However, marketing has long been recognised as an instrument for organisational renewal, including efficient resource allocation and the creation of new markets through product, service, and process innovation.
This is congruent with the belief that universities are today viewed as typical business-like companies, with students seeking a business-like relationship with the producer (Lecturer) who provides the desired information, skills, and competences (Newton, 2002).
Following this tradition, informed opinion in the literature now agrees that knowledge and ideas that are not used to solve problems are worthless (Rokpe, 1998). This paper advocates for a market-oriented university structure in Nigeria.
Thus, the subsequent expanding of the notion, marketing, which nightly contextualised the basic role of marketing as a social process (Kotler and Lay, 1969), has provided the needed conceptual robustness that captures the role of marketing within human society.
Admittedly, early works (Levi, 1960; Kotler and Levy, 1976; Hunt, 1997) on widening the scope of the marketing notion have been valuable. However, despite this conceptual framework, marketing in the context of university management has received little attention in Nigeria.
Paradoxically, existing literature (Drucker 1958; Bayer, 1968, Bakar, 1996, Onah, 2000; Oguwo, 2003, 20005a) has continued to draw attention to the fact that underdeveloped and developing economies could benefit from modern marketing in solving their development problems.
1.2 Statement of Problems
To date, little research has been conducted to link university management to the marketing process in Nigeria. Public universities in Nigeria are recognised for being unduly dependent on the state rather than the market, which has stifled their growth and development as centres of excellence.
Tertiary institutions do not believe in using strategic marketing management to reposition themselves for national development, which has hampered their growth.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION.
The research questions addressed in this study are as follows:
1. What is the definition of marketing in general?
2. Can marketing ideas be used to tertiary education?
3. How do tertiary institutions benefit from strategic marketing management?
4. How can tertiary institutions transition from unduly state-dependent to market-oriented approaches?
1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The study’s aims include the following.
· To explore how marketing concepts can be used to education.
· Evaluate the extent to which tertiary institutions use a market-oriented approach.
· Determine whether tertiary institutions have integrated marketing concepts into their management practices.
· This study aims to assess the significance of strategic marketing management in the daily operations of organisations, including tertiary institutions.
· Examine the university management environment in Nigeria to identify issue areas that could benefit from marketing.
Propose market-oriented management as a strategic alternative for Nigerian tertiary institutions to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
1.5 Research Hypothesis
The investigation will seek to raise the following hypothesis:
1. H0: Tertiary institutions have not used market-oriented concepts as strategic management tools to achieve growth.
H1: Tertiary institutions have adopted the market-oriented idea as a strategic management tool to drive growth.
2. H0: Tertiary institutions are not market-driven entrepreneurial entities.
H1: Tertiary institutions are market-oriented entrepreneurial organisations.
3. H0: The marketing mix is not an effective management instrument for the expansion of tertiary institutions.
H1: Marketing mix is an excellent instrument for management that promotes growth in tertiary institutions.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The study will go a long way towards mandating a proactive approach to maximising the appeal of the institutional brand in order to attract desirable students and ensuring that the institution’s strategic goals are met.
It will also ensure that the institutional brand reduces perceived risk for consumers (students) while providing the higher education institution with some market stability.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The research focuses on the impact of strategic marketing management on the sustainability of growth in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Because it is impossible to visit every tertiary institution in Nigeria, the study was limited to Lagos State University, one of the postsecondary institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
· This study, like many others, is limited by various constraints. As a result, this study contains the limitations listed below.
· Lack of relevant materials (Journals, Articles, and Books) on the research topic prevents thorough assessment of related publications.
· Due to time and budget restrictions, the study did not meet expectations.
The study only includes one tertiary institution in Nigeria, out of 72 public and 45 private universities. Thus, the outcomes of this study cannot be generalised to all Nigerian universities.
1.9 Definition of Terms
· Marketing focuses on recognising and addressing human and social needs.
Strategic management is a series of activities taken on a regular basis to ensure an organization’s alignment with its operational environment.
· Marketing-oriented: refers to the deployment of marketing concepts within the organisation.
The Marketing Mix refers to the considerations made before introducing a new product, including product, pricing, place, and promotion.
1.10 University Education in Nigeria: A Contextualization.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country, accounting for over 25% of the SSA population. Clark and Sedgwick (2004) established the first university college that provided degrees in collaboration with the University of London. A fully fledged university.
The University of Nigeria in Nsukka was established in 1960, and five further universities were added between 1961 and 1970. These universities were wholly sponsored by the federal government.
Following Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960, the government of the time spontaneously welcomed him as a viable tool for development. This policy thrust found justification and legitimacy in the general belief in their economic and social development, and that university education is particularly important in creating such a knowledge-driven society and economy (Saint et al: 2004).
As a result, he was rightly positioned as a critical and highly sensitive investment area, which represented the most common denominator of development and equality in life. Since Nigeria (and the rest of SSA) championed higher education as a viable strategic development option.
This accord served as the foundation for the governments’ 1985 and 1987 summits in Mbabane and Harare, respectively (Association of African Universities (AAU) 1985, 1987).
Which fit into the Lagos plan action for Economic Development of Africa: 1980-2000 (Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU), 2001) and Africa’s priority strategy for economic recovery 1986—1990 (OAU) 1985)
In its most recent document, the organisation restated its confidence in the role of higher education in reducing poverty and promoting the region’s long-term growth and development.
In particular, as part of its action plan to overcome Africa’s education gap, the NEPAD paper recognises university strengthening as a strategy for regional development.
Given these orthodoxies, the African government decided to pursue university finance as a strategic choice for natural growth. Unfortunately, Nigeria (and possibly some countries in SSA) has been affected by the existing chronic challenges in university management in the region.
These include: Poor finding: inefficiency caused by deteriorated teaching and learning infrastructure, egalitarianism, and governance (Saint et al: 2004). In the case of Nigeria, this has a significant influence on educational sector output,
as evidenced by the low number of Nigerians in scientific and technological research jobs and publications, as well as the increasing number of Nigerians seeking.
Admission to institutions overseas, it has been stated that Nigeria has 15 scientists and engineers involved in research and development per million people, compared to 168 in Brazil. 459 in China, 158 in India, and 4103 in the US (World Bank, 2002). The number of scientific publications decreased from 1062 in 1981 to 711 in 1995.
Compared to 3413 in South Africa, 14833 in India, 310 in Indonesia, and 5440 in Brazil (Task Force, 2000, as reported in Saint et al: 2004). The problem of under-finding has created a slew of issues that call into question the institutions’ continued validity as centres of excellence for research and learning.
This growth, combined with the absence of critical infrastructure and requisite manpower, has inhibited the healthy development of He in Nigeria, a condition Ogum (2001,) describes as “the learning ivory tower” Osisioma (2006) describes the impact of Nigeria’s excessive control over colleges as follows:
The government’s legacy in the operation of these higher education institutions has been a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly. With government involvement in education came the same ignoble development. Inconsistent policies and poorly specified plans interfered with the system.
Government participation in the day-to-day administration of these institutions has frequently sidelined academic and professional considerations in favour of more mundane concerns, such as an overly ambitious increase in student population without a corresponding increase in infrastructure.
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic