NHH strategic plan: Q & A with Rector Haaland

Work on NHH's strategic plan for the period 2010-2013 is well under way, and the school's leadership desire a wide strategic debate among staff and students. Read what Rector Jan I. Haaland is saying about the strategy work here.

23.06.2008 - Knut André Karlstad (translated by Jessica Hartenberger)

The new strategic plan is due to be approved by the board of directors in 2009. Until then there is a request for suggestions from as many individuals as possible within the NHH group; beginning with ideas regarding the vision and core values of NHH. Paraplyen has created a page with information concerning the work being undertaken to develop the strategic plan, and has established a new discussion forum where staff, students and other interested people can participate in the debate.

Below you can read what NHH Rector Jan I. Haaland has to say about the work undertaken so far.

The work on revising NHH's 2004-2009 strategic plan has already started.

NHH is currently designing a new strategic plan, why?
Today's strategic plan is for the period 2004-2009, so it is natural to begin work on NHH's strategy for the next period (2010-2013).

What does the plan consist of?
The plan lays a strategic foundation for the activities of NHH. It specifies NHH's strategic foundation regarding our vision, purpose and core values; and it denotes the main goals, objectives and efforts for our core activities: education, research and knowledge dissemination. It also focuses on the key requirements for success, such as further development of the academic, study and knowledge environments; corporate collaboration with SNF and AFF for further development of the NHH group as a whole; and the significance of understanding internationalization along many dimensions, organizational developments, etc.

Who designs the plan, and how does this process take place?
The work with the new strategic plan was initiated by the NHH board of directors during a strategy seminar in April. The board is highly involved with the work to develop the strategy, is continuously updated on progress and has the opportunity to offer suggestions regarding the process.

The Plan and Strategy Committee (PSU) has the overall, operative responsibility for designing the new strategy, but it is clear that a strong strategic process requires discussion and good support within the organization as a whole. The academic and administrative leader groups act therefore as reference groups, and in addition we wish for suggestions and reactions from staff and students.

The work is organized so that in the first phase, during the summer, we focus mainly on NHH's strategic foundations. Thereafter, the work will have a central focus on the main goals and objectives for all areas of business. The proposal for the new strategy for the period 2010-2013 will be reviewed in the winter (2008/2009), and will be approved by the board of directors in spring 2009. But given that there will be a new board of directors in place from August 2009, this new board could use the fall of 2009 to adjust and customize the strategy to fit their own wishes and demands.

What has been completed up until now?
The board strategy seminar in April provided a very good start to the work, as NHH's strategic foundation was carefully discussed both within groups and as a whole. In addition to the board, the academic and administrative leadership of NHH and the leadership of NHHS also participated. Thereafter, PSU worked with the work schedule and structure for the new strategic plan. The NHH leadership has informed all the departments about the work, including the academic and administrative leader groups and the communications committee. We have also had good dialogue with the leadership of NHHS. The board had an opening presentation by communications expert Hans Geelmuyden last Thursday, and strategy was also the theme for the professional portion of summer staff party the same day. We were fortunate to have both Hans Geelmuyden and board member Marit Reutz share their thoughts of NHH with the assembly.

This is the background of the process that has occurred from April until now and the suggestions that we hope to receive in the times ahead. PSU will work systematically to assess our current strategic foundation with view to identifying improvements on and how these could be made. Early in the autumn work will begin on setting out the goals and objectives included in the plan.

Rector Haaland wants a wide strategy debate among staff, students and alumni.

Foto: Paul Sigve Amundsen

Will there be big differences in relation to the former strategic plan?
Today's plan has functioned very well; it is frequently used and referred to. Many of the specified goals and efforts are already implemented. So as we work on the new strategy, we will of course build upon the best parts of today's plan. Simultaneously, we have gathered a great deal of experience that is important to bring along in developing the new plan. It is too early to say where the big differences will be, but there will undoubtedly be differences in both structure and in content.

Structure-wise the new strategic plan will differ somewhat from today's document in that we will focus to a large extent on overall goals, setting out more detailed goals in sub strategies and yearly plans. Further development of the collaboration with SNF and AFF will also become important in the work with the new action program.

How can the whole NHH group contribute to the strategy development process (faculty, administrative staff, students and alumni)?
Staff and students will receive many opportunities to participate. As the process progresses, the first proposal for the strategic foundation and then the proposal for the whole strategy will be sent for review to all relevant parties. But we will gladly accept both discussion and suggestions now, before the proposal is created.

Currently we have focused on the strategic foundation - especially the vision and core values. The strategic foundation will solidify over time, but because for the first time we have some years of experience with the strategic foundation which was formed in 2004, we hope for a debate about this as well. The school's vision and core values must be firmly anchored among staff and students. They will be something to reach for, and will put our activities into a larger perspective. We therefore wish for a good discussion about what is needed to assure the feeling of "ownership" to our vision and core values.

In today's strategic plan the vision is as follows:

The NHH Group aims to be the undisputed leader in Norway in the fields of economics and business administration, and a clear first choice as a place to study and as a centre of competence. The NHH Group will stand out amongst the best in Europe in its fields.

We want a discussion about potential enhancements to this vision. Among the questions that have been raised are: should the vision, to a large degree, reflect NHH's community mission, or should the focus be on our national and/or international position? Is the vision realistic and at the same time something we can strive for? Should it be more concrete - for example when it comes to international position? We wish a wide discussion on NHH's vision; these are some examples of the types of themes that have come up in the discussions until now. However, these are not limitations for further discussion.

In today's action program the core values are:

• Thorough and innovative
• Active and constructive in relationships
• Relevant and solution oriented
• Committed to high integrity
• Versatile and holistic

It is not a secret that these core values have been discussed from the first day they were introduced. The discussion has evolved around both suggested core values and visible characteristics of NHH and our value base. Without laying guidelines for future debate or suggestions, a few alternatives have often been named. Words like pride, ambition and curiosity have been brought forward by many. But also characteristics like credible, dedicated and genuine are mentioned often. Quality and integrity are also central.

We want a good debate about NHH's core values. In this way core values will have significance, will be well anchored within the organization, and will mean something for all who work here. They must be "living values" to quote one of our external board members.

We will gladly accept suggestions and debate on NHH's vision and core values - either direct feedback or through the debate on Paraplyen's web page. We gladly invite everyone to discuss the vision and core values, and we, of course, will gladly accept feedback on all aspects of the strategy work. The strategic foundation also consists of NHH's purpose and today's formulation will also become seriously considered in this area.

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Feedback can be sent via e-mail to the Rector or directorial staff:

jan.haaland@nhh.no; frank.mortensen@nhh.no; anita.sovik@nhh.no.

Go to Paraplyens theme page for the work with the new strategic action program.