Resource management concepts practiced by private college and university presidents: A Delphi study
East Texas State University, Johnson City, TX, PhD Thesis, (1993)Abstract
The study was initiated to examine the issue of resource management concepts practiced by private college and university presidents. Major purposes were to create a group statement regarding resource management concepts, to identify the degree of consensus upon those concepts, and to identify the importance of each concept. A Delphi Study was conducted to identify resource management concepts and the amount of agreement regarding the concepts among college and university presidents considered experts. In the first round, participants identified and commented on specific aspects of resource management. These comments were analyzed and organized into a list of concepts, each accompanied by a Likert-type scale. On following rounds, participants rated the importance of each concept. Median ratings of acceptance were compared for Rounds Two and Three. The Delphi Study was concluded when no significant difference was found between those two iterations. The list of resource management concepts developed and validated in the Delphi Study was used as the instrument in a follow-up study, in which different subjects rated the importance of the concepts. The Delphi Study yielded 38 concepts which met the criterion-level rating. These statements, therefore, were accepted as resource management concepts. Level of consensus and importance for each item was identified. The follow-up study provided a confirmation of the importance for each concept. Comparison of results of the Delphi Study and the Follow-Up Study showed no significant difference in mean ratings. Although variance among responses narrowed between Rounds Two and Three of the Delphi Study, the variance was not statistically significant. Variance was compared for the final round (Round Three) of the Delphi Study and the Follow-Up Study and for Round Two of the Delphi Study and the Follow-Up Study with findings of no statistical significance. It was concluded that the Delphi Study yielded a validated list of resource management concepts confirmed by a different group in the Follow-Up Study and that a high degree of consensus exists upon the majority of identified concepts.